When was the last time, if ever, that you experienced what your customer or prospective customer experiences when they attempt to do business with your company? If you don’t know what kind of experience they are having, now would be a great time to find out!

What happens when they call you on the phone? Are they greeted by a live person with a friendly voice who is happy to help them? Or are they greeted with “Your call is very important to us; your approximate hold time to speak with a representative is forty-five minutes?” Is the call answered on the first or second ring or on the eighth ring by someone who sounds like they’re annoyed that you’re even calling? Or do they have to press 1 for English, then press 7 for the customer service department, accidentally get transferred to the accounts payable department where they are then put on hold for ten minutes before they ultimately get disconnected waiting for someone to answer their call.