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Marlo Pratt clicked back the deadbolt and unlocked the warehouse he
managed. He liked coming in early. The 70 year-old building was always
quiet, smelling of wood and oils. He enjoyed walking through the calm,
dark expanses before the rush of the day.
Today, however, the building was not quiet, and it was cold. Very cold.
To Marlo’s left, the stairs led down to the inky blackness of the
windowless basement. There, he heard the sound of . . . water? Rushing
water?
Marlo hit the lights and ran down the stairs. At the bottom, his boot
landed in two inches of water. He carefully made his way past the stacks
of merchandise, wading through the rising water. From the open door to
the boiler room, he could see a huge spray of water shooting from the
doorway. Marlo rushed to shut off the main, then ran up the stairs, his
wet boots leaving a trail behind him.
Grabbing the phone, he dialed a familiar number. “I need someone over
here and I need him now,” he barked at the receptionist.
“Mr. Franklin will not be in the office until 8 am, sir. Is this an
emergency?”
“You're dang right its an emergency! I've got two inches of water
covering 20,000 square feet, and no heat. I need help over here now!” He
shouted.
Unflustered by Marlo's outburst, the receptionist calmly prompted him to explain his situation, and took down all
of his relevant information. She took the time to explain to Marlo how
she would contact Mr. Franklin, and how soon he could expect help to
arrive. She read back his description of the emergency and asked him if
there was anything he would like to add.
Calmed, in part by her own poise and in part by the promise of help on
the way, Marlo replied, “No, you've got everything. I'm sorry I was so
hard on you when I called, I just can't believe this mess.” The operator
assured Marlo that Bob Franklin would be personally informed of his
emergency, and that his concerns would be met promptly.
Twenty five minutes later, Bob Franklin, owner of Franklin's Boiler
Repair arrived in his truck and began unloading his tools. Marlo met him
at the door. Bob confirmed the information that Marlo had provided
earlier. Marlo replied, “I was pretty hard on your secretary. I'm really
sorry about that. I just could not believe this happened.”
“My secretary? Oh,” he said, “we use an answering service
to manage our emergency calls. Most people are pretty upset when
something like this happens, and it always seems to happen at night. So
we need someone to be available day and night. Then, by the time we get
here, everybody is a little calmer, and it makes our job a lot easier.”
Thinking back on his own outburst, Marlo replied, “I'll bet it does!”
Learn more about telephone
answering services and discover how they might be able to help you.
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