Solutions – Not Empathy is What Matters Most
About two months ago, I messed up with paying a bill for another business that I am involved in. I sent a check for $6,500 made payable to one vendor to a different vendor for a $45 bill. Of course, they cashed the check and my other vendor wondered why they did not get paid.
I took care of the vendor that did not get paid right away, but then tried to get my $6,500 back. This company is an international telecommunications business. I started the process by calling the 800 # on the bill. After pushing about 5 different numbers to get the “right department”, I ended up with somebody from India who could not help me. She then transferred me to another department that should be able to help.
On this transfer, I then had to re-input the account number on the phone and go through another five layers of help menus to talk to a human being (also in India). I then had to repeat the account number since the phone system does not seem to keep track of that number for customer service. We then found out she was not the right person to help and started a transfer to another department.
This process went on for many days. They assured me that a check was being mailed and I should receive it shortly (their definition of shortly was three weeks). In the mean time, I reconciled my bank account for the month and determined they had actually wired the funds into my account on the day after my first call. Nobody was able to tell me this and I must of spent at least five hours on the phone getting very frustrated. In almost every case of talking to somebody, there was at least one to five apologies offered by each person. These people are trained to offer apologies when solutions are not available.
In all cases, every person I talked to was very empathic with my case, but nobody was able to offer me a solution. What is most important in these type of situation is to provide a solution. I would rather deal with somebody who is gruff and can get my problem resolved, than somebody who smiles and says I am so sorry. That does not solve anything.
This does not relate too much to the business of farming, but remember, there’s empathy, and there’s empathy. The harm is not using too much empathy, but doing it by rote, sloppily or without the proper intent.
I hope if you ever need to contact me for advice that I can give you a solution and never say I am sorry.
Paul Neiffer is a certified public accountant and business advisor specializing in income taxation, accounting services, and succession planning for farmers and agribusiness processors. Paul is a principal with CliftonLarsonAllen in Walla Walla, Washington, as well as a regular speaker at national conferences and contributor at agweb.com. Raised on a farm in central Washington, he has been immersed in the ag industry his entire life, including the last 30 years professionally. Paul and his wife purchase an 180 acre ranch in 2016 and enjoy keeping it full of animals.
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