Can I talk to your supervisor?
Posted on Feb 5th, 2008
by 
Brian
Brian
Just got off the phone with Wawanesa Insurance. Time for a quick note:
Alexandra and I have made it a personal goal to talk to the supervisors of every customer service agent we're talking to these days. :)
Our intention is to create such a great exchange with the reps we're chatting with that the natural conclusion is, "You know what? You're awesome. Can I talk to your supervisor and tell them how much I appreciate you?!?"
Gives me tears in my eyes even as I type that. :)
You can FEEL the love in the air when you say that and they really feel appreciated.
Try it!!!
And, then, when you chat with their supervisor, let them know that THEY must be doing a great job to have such a great team member working for them! :)
Then FEEL THAT! :)
Damn. Gets me all emotional thinking about it.
It might just be the best 2-5-10 minutes you can invest a day.
In the little things,
-bri
Alexandra and I have made it a personal goal to talk to the supervisors of every customer service agent we're talking to these days. :)
Our intention is to create such a great exchange with the reps we're chatting with that the natural conclusion is, "You know what? You're awesome. Can I talk to your supervisor and tell them how much I appreciate you?!?"
Gives me tears in my eyes even as I type that. :)
You can FEEL the love in the air when you say that and they really feel appreciated.
Try it!!!
And, then, when you chat with their supervisor, let them know that THEY must be doing a great job to have such a great team member working for them! :)
Then FEEL THAT! :)
Damn. Gets me all emotional thinking about it.
It might just be the best 2-5-10 minutes you can invest a day.
In the little things,
-bri
Access: PublicTagged with: Love, Appreciation
appreciation
August 2008 
What a fabulous idea/1
I like it! I also like the fact you picked people who are used to getting beat up and when someone usually asks for the supervisor it's so they can beat up on him/her as well.
You're probably flipping out a few people and they might go home and pet their dogs tonight instead of passing on the usual punishment.
It's amazing how people light up out of their apathy when someone shows they care. All of a sudden they care too.
Just think what might happen if everyone cared!
Awesome idea Brian! I absolutely love it! I am on it!
Oh yeah! I'm feeelin it!
EXACTLY, guys!!
I had the epiphany when I was writing this last week:
Dukkha
“Being stuck is not the problem. Staying stuck is.”
~ Genpo Roshi, 21st century Zen Master
Dukkha. I was originally introduced to the concept by Genpo Roshi during his lecture on Big Mind at an Integral Institute week-long workshop.
Dukkha. The word is translated as “suffering” and is prominently featured in Buddha’s First Noble Truth.
The word has a much deeper meaning, however.
In classic Sanskrit, dukkha is used to describe a potter’s wheel that is stuck and screeching as it turns. Contrast this with its opposite, sukkha—which represents a potter’s wheel that is freely flowing.
The idea is that suffering occurs only when we’re stuck. Specifically, when our minds are stuck—when we can’t shift our perspective and take a more spacious view of the world.
How amazing is that? Reminds me of the flowing essence of the Tao, or even Flow, the state of optimal human experience defined scientifically by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.
Are you stuck? Get unstuck. Stop the suffering. Flow.
(And, check out “Big Mind” by Genpo @ bigmind.com.)
…
Here’s a little practical application: After writing those last words, I took a little break. The phone rang. It’s a woman calling to say that our Tempur-Pedic bed would not be delivered, as scheduled, until Monday (today’s Friday). The bed’s taken nearly 3 weeks to get here as it is and we’ve been sleeping on (a surprisingly comfie) air mattress since we got to our little cabin here in Topanga, California. I asked if there was any way to get it today. She said the local carrier couldn’t get it and apologized profusely. It was clear there was nothing I could do.
–> Insert moment of choice
What was FASCINATING was that I could SEE the part of me that was attached to getting what I expected. (And what I was told I would get God damnit!!!) I could literally see that if I wanted to suffer—AND, very importantly, MAKE HER SUFFER—I could remain stuck—stuck to my attachment of how things were supposed to be.
I told her it certainly wasn’t her fault and not to worry about it. Monday would be great.
As I chatted with my Goddess about it just a moment ago, I realized, THIS is what war is. I could have created a mini-war with the customer service agent who had the unenviable task of giving me the bad news. And she would have carried the battle wounds with her throughout her day—impacting her co-workers, her family, the person on the freeway. One big ripple. TIMES MILLIONS and millions EVERY SINGLE frightening moment.
That is war. How can we be surprised when a nation at war with itself goes to war against others? Can’t be.
As always, “We must be the change we wish to see.”
Get unstuck. Be the change.
…
“Thus, ultimately to try to escape a distress merely perpetuates
that distress. What is so upsetting is not the distress itself,
but our attachment to that distress.
We identify with it, and that alone is the real difficulty.”
from Ken Wilber's No Boundary
Thanks for the idea - I am doing similar things over her in Germany - in German, of course.
There's a guy in Canada, Calgary, I think who has load of cards with 'you are awesome! - thanks for making my day' which he passes to everyone he meets continually. I met him in the Netherlands and we must have handed our hundreds that week-end. On the other side of the cars is #be the change you wish to see in the world - Gandhi' and his web site is www.G1KCard.com
nice! talk about ARK (acts of random kindness). i see a book compilation about this. or how about a blook and/or audio blook? :)
keep it flowing.
~C
This is a really great post, Brian. I loved the compendium of notes here, you all are awesome, so much info.
Hey, look, I just did it myself! I'm on the road to being unstuck already.
Anyway, I just wanted mention that we shouldn't stop to thank just the nice ones. As you mentioned, there are times when we don't get what we want to hear and we want to blame the first available representative. So, from now on, I'll not only make it a point to be nice to someone who helps me, I'll be nice to people who are not so nice to me, because frankly, those are the people who need it the most. Kindness can go farther to soften the sting than retaliation ever can.
dukkha is as dukkha does. ooooh, a new Theaism. Thanks, guys!
Namaste
Thea
This is a huge but simple thing - take a breath and don't go for the Zinger!
Why is it that we have a knee-jerk reaction of indignation when something slightly tilts our perception of what “should” be happening, and we attack the message bearer. Why do we pump up the volume? Much better to neutralize the situation, and then put a positive spin on it and do some good so everybody wins.
Yeah. Love One Another…
Hello everyone.
I am here for two reasons. One is to get unstuck. (Seriously:-)
And the other…well…umm…the Universe sent me…She wants Brian and his Goddess to know that she is really, tremendously proud of them for cracking yet another code…which contains the formula for absolute unity and peace. (She said deeper things but this is the gist of it)
….And you know what else? She says that there are instances when our universe splits…(ya know…string theory stuff) but in moments like this one, many universes merge together…literally and figuratively.
She says it's the key to erasing all those unnecessary boundaries on the map as well.
** Deep bow **
And thanks for letting me add my-er-the universal rambles here… Sure glad I found this blog….
huge smiles!!
Thea: nice theaism. :)
ROD: Always, brother.
~c4: :)
Mimi: EXACTLY!
Goddess: thank you for the bow and the sweet ramble! :)
Declan: Love it!!
In flowing and creating love,
-bri
Great post! I love the idea (and all the comments, too)!
Brian, could you please get your supervisor on the line? Your Goddess? God? I'd like to let them both know how awesome you are, bud! :)
hehehehhehe
that's hilarious, Michael. Love it.
My supervisor says thanks. :)
huge hug and right back at you and your supervisor. :)
Really appreciate all your help lately and over the last several years!
-bri
; ) This is awesome! I usually just tell the person how amazing they are. This is the next level! I love it….thanks for the reminder :)
:)
As a customer service worker I appreciate your great efforts!
Cheers!
right on, travis.
May I speak with your supervisor?!!? :)