Baymax is the Gold Standard for Customer Service

I've been down with a respiratory infection for a couple of days. While I lay in bed yesterday, practicing "accepting what is" I was also thinking about what I might post about today. Big Hero 6 popped into my head because Kepler is all about Baymax these days, which put me in mind of patient care, which reminded me of ...

Customer Service. The very phrase can bring about heart palpitations from frustration, anger, and irritation. As good as some CSRs can be, anyone who calls Customer Service will usually need extra patience and understanding, as well as a willingness to tell the same story to multiple people.

My most frequent customer service interactions are with the good people at Verizon, and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield. They, and several others, usually finish their conversation with a yes/no question: "Have I addressed your concerns completely today?"

I always say yes, even if the answer is yesbutno or nobutyes. By the time this question arises, I've been on the phone for ages and am ready to bid them adieu.

But Baymax, the lovable nurse bot from Disney's Big Hero 6, KNOWS how to give the best customer service. You can read more about Baymax's story here. As a nurse bot, Baymax is equipped to diagnose and treat the conditions he encounters in his patients.

Among the many things that I love about Baymax is his penultimate statement to each patient: "I cannot deactivate until you say you are satisfied with your care."

That's what Verizon, and Anthem, and Time Warner, and the IRS, should say. "I cannot disconnect from this call until you say you are satisfied with your experience on this call." It's kind of similar to someone saying, "I'm sorry for all the hassle on this call; will you forgive me?" and responding with, "I forgive you."

Like Don Henley says in his song The Heart of the Matter, it all comes down to forgiveness, letting them off the hook. And rather than carrying my frustration from the call into the next portion of my day, I'm going to accept the imperfections of the system, and move forward in peace.

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