As PVB Employees (and some outside of the Bank) know, beyond the rather mundane role of President and CEO of the Bank, I have a truly important role – Junior IT Level Support! I even have a certificate presented to me by the Management of our IT Department noting this.
It was in my “geek” mode this past Saturday that I undertook the issue of the poor WiFi system in my home. This includes WiFi extenders – devices that push your WiFi signal out further so you can hear the ballgames on your WiFi radio while pretending to be working in the yard.
Recently, I worked with Xfinity on my WiFi router and had to set up a new secure WiFi network. This meant that every WiFi connected device (including our phones, laptops, wireless printer, my internationally famous local weather station, our furnace and a couple of other things) had to be reset with a new password. (Reminded me how much tech we use.)
With this update, my old and new extenders were no longer performing well. Matter of fact, they were super slow.
So, at 8AM I began a chat with the extender company that continued until 10:30AM. At some point, they suggested it was an Xfinity issue and that I needed to chat with them. So around 9:45AM, while still chatting with the extender company, I opened a chat with Xfinity on another Surface Pad that also lasted until 10:30AM.
I could go on and on about this (or send you the chat), but at 10:30 I knew two things:
- The issue was the Xfinity router – not the extender, and
- Xfinity, in this case, had a person chatting with me that did a better job than the other company.
The Xfinity Rep kept pursuing the situation for me until he discovered what was wrong. He did so by continuing to ask me questions about my service, including some questions that seemed unrelated to the situation.
Every day we chat with our customers, our family and our friends. But when we chat, do we listen? And beyond listening, do we ask questions that help us solve problems and devise the best solutions? Or do we simply “follow the playbook” to say we have helped?
Much has changed in the world – from WiFi enabled furnaces to WiFi cameras (dang, forgot to reset that one).
What has not changed is the need for us to listen, ask questions (sometimes tough or sensitive questions) and provide the best service we can.
Now back to work and my rather mundane role as Bank CEO. 😉
– Leton
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“Letters From Leton” is a blog series comprised of the weekly updates that Leton Harding – President, Chairman, and CEO of Powell Valley National Bank, shares with the Bank’s team members. These newsletters are full of uplifting anecdotes and intriguing insights that are applicable beyond the Bank, so we want to share them with you.
