Brian is AT&T. AT&T is Brian.
I mentioned in a recent post that earlier this summer I traveled out of country. As a part of that process, I had a primary and secondary plan for being able to use my phone overseas. The primary plan was Airalo, an app recommended by a friend which would ensure that I was able to connect to local cell towers. The secondary plan was to sign up for my cell company’s “international day pass,” a comparatively-expensive way to remain connected.
(Anybody want to guess where this is going?)
Because of some phone settings I didn’t have ready and good old-fashioned user error on my part, as soon as our phones came off of airplane mode, my wife and I received texts letting us know that the international day pass was up and running. We eventually configured Airalo to work, but not before the AT&T overlords had made a down payment on their vacation home, courtesy of the Franks family.
Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago, when the monthly bill arrived and I realized I had $90 worth of charges for a service that I technically connected to but really didn’t use. I called AT&T, humble and contrite (or maybe ready for a fight), looking forward to that conversation about as much as a trip to the dentist.
And then I talked to Brian.
As customer service reps go, Brian was like a leprechaun riding a unicorn. People like him shouldn’t exist. He was friendly. Helpful. Proactive. Gave me some advice on how to navigate overseas calling next time. And then he asked me to hang on while he dug into the activity while I was overseas:
“Mr. Franks, the best I can tell, while you were connected to the international day pass you and your wife only sent or received about a half-dozen texts. Now, if you didn’t have the day pass, we would’ve charged you about fifty cents per text. So how about this: would you be okay if I reversed the $90 charges for your day pass, and just charged you the full rate for those texts?”
Pay three bucks instead of ninety bucks? Brian, my man. You just got naming rights to my next grandkid.
Here’s the truth: I hate talking to cell phone providers, internet providers, airline help desks, and whoever else, because whoever I get is usually the opposite of Brian. And those reps usually leave a bad taste in my mouth … not for them … but for the company they represent.
But Brian actually made me like him. And crazily enough, he increased my love for AT&T a little bit that day.
My point: our guest services teams have their fair share of Brians. And they have their fair share of anti-Brians. The key is knowing that both represent your church to your guests. The question is how do you elevate and replicate the Brians of your team, so your guests walk away loving Brian … and your church … and most importantly, Jesus … just a little bit more?
