Trust
I have officially worked in phone customer service for two years.
I don't love my job, nor do I hate it.
(Okay, sometimes I do love it, and there are some days I have to walk away from my desk to have a short cry in the bathroom, but for the most part it all balances out. I've been called stupid, I've been called a savior. It pays the bills.)
There's a lot of things that bother me about my job: being on the phone, outbound calling, terrible hold music, the sheer aggravation of having to tell someone they can't get something because of paperwork....
But I think the worst part is the balance of servicing the members, while also watching the bottom line.
I have a tendency to take the member's side. They are calling us for a reason, and my job is to assist them in whatever way we can. In fact, it's company policy that we present ourselves as caring people.
Occasionally I have to call out to an assist line to do things I cannot. Inevitably their reaction is the opposite of mine.
That is what I hate. When the immediate reaction isn't about the person who is calling, but what helping them really means. I hate that there is an immediate distrust, and that I'm supposed to be the same way.
I know there is a reason for this, after all some our business involves government money. I understand that. But if we are supposed to be compassionate, the first reaction should always be to trust first. At least that's what I do.
Someone else can cut the cards for me.