A snow day means different things to different people. For kids, it means, NO SCHOOL! For those of us that head to work, it means cleaning off the car and navigating treacherous roads, snow plows (big and small) and then figuring out how to get your car into the parking lot once you arrive safely at work. For an answering service it means, Game On!
Stella in full swing.
Winter Storm Stella was no exception. As weather conditions worsened in the Upstate NY area, offices began to close up to allow their employees the opportunity to get home and off the roads. In our company, just the opposite was happening. People were being asked to come in because when a storm hits, the phones start ringing. And they don’t stop! We have teams in 5 offices and they all rolled up their sleeves and took on the task of being the voice on the other end of the line.
We have a remarkable team of professionals. Our Customer Service Representatives, Supervisors and Managers were energized by what they knew was coming. They proactively geared up for the storm and organized to make sure shifts were covered. They went above and beyond to help each other. They were car pooling with those that couldn’t get transportation, they picked people up that couldn’t get out of their driveways or manage the road conditions. Others worked extra shifts to help distribute the load for their colleagues and yes… we had 2 people spend the night in the office because they couldn’t get home. Did any of them complain? Nope. Even more remarkable was the level of understanding that our clients gave our teams.
When we face these kinds of challenges, it becomes all about, ”Let’s see how good we can be.” And when we got the stats about the numbers of calls we handled, we truly impressed ourselves. Stella set records for snowfall totals all over Upstate NY and set a record with us too. We handled the largest volume of calls in one day in our company history ~ 16,470. Our prior record was 14,099, which was set back in January 2012.
This is what exceptional looks like. Congratulations to all who stepped up, well done to those who spent the night, hats off for the positive “can do” attitude that was pervasive across our offices. Enjoy the “thank you” lunches this week and THINK SPRING!