I’m writing today out of frustration.
Frustration over the lack of compassion. The lack of creative problem-solving. And, perhaps most frustrating, the lack of willingness to think beyond a script or a set of predetermined answers.
My frustration stems from helping care for my mom following a stroke. My sister and I have navigated some frightening moments, celebrated Mom’s recovery, and learned to adapt to her ongoing needs. There is so much to be thankful for, but the journey has also opened my eyes to just how difficult everyday tasks can become when life changes in an instant.
Mom is 85. She’s fun-loving, strong-willed, and resilient. She’s also living with limitations that make some things we take for granted much more difficult. Technology isn’t her strong suit. She doesn’t even have an email address, and using a cell phone is challenging, particularly when she has only one fully functional hand.
So, imagine spending more than 3.5 hours on the phone with her supplemental insurance company trying to resolve an issue. Imagine making repeated calls because the company specifically instructed you to call back the following week. Then imagine being told you’re calling repeatedly because you’re fishing for a different answer.
That was my experience.
I requested the opportunity to speak with a leader who could help evaluate the situation, or better yet, the person who had written the letter offering the instructions I was attempting to follow. My request was denied, and eventually, the call was disconnected.
I did my best to remain calm, keep my tone warm, and approach the situation constructively. Yet we remained trapped in a cycle of scripted responses and rigid processes, with no apparent path to someone empowered to consider the circumstances and help find a solution.
I’ll leave the specifics of the dispute between us. The details aren’t the point. The experience is.
When did we become so focused on following the process that we forgot to serve the person?
We live in a world increasingly driven by technology, automated decision trees, standardized responses, and efficiency metrics. Those tools have their place. But they should support good customer service, not become barriers to it.
A script cannot replace judgment. A decision tree cannot account for every circumstance. And a frontline employee should not be left without a path to escalate a situation that requires thoughtful consideration.
Sometimes, the answer isn’t immediately obvious. Sometimes, the solution requires asking another question, involving someone with greater authority, or simply taking the time to understand what the person on the other end of the phone is actually experiencing.
That isn’t asking for special treatment. That’s asking for customer service with compassion, patience, and empathy.
Throughout my career, I’ve seen firsthand how much the way we treat people matters. An injured worker navigating a claim may be dealing with pain, uncertainty, financial stress, family responsibilities, and a future that suddenly looks very different. The last thing that person needs is to feel like another number in a system that has no room for their circumstances.
We talk about compliance, efficiency, processes, and outcomes. We invest in technology and develop procedures to ensure consistency. We should absolutely do those things.
But we cannot allow the process to become more important than the person it was designed to serve. Experiencing that lack of compassion and advocacy during my lengthy phone call was frustrating enough. But having spent years working to instill those very values in the team I led, experiencing their absence firsthand made it all the more frustrating.
My post-retirement goal has been to influence positive change in an industry of which I care deeply. That means continuing to challenge ourselves to do better, even when the conversation is uncomfortable.
Here’s my plea, whether you work in workers’ compensation or any industry that serves people:
- Lead with empathy. You rarely know the full story of the person on the other end of the phone or counter.
- Listen to understand, not just to respond. The answer may be hidden in the details your script doesn’t ask about.
- Empower your people. Give employees the training, judgment, authority, and escalation pathways they need to resolve problems.
- Think beyond the checklist. Consistency matters, but so does recognizing when a situation requires a different approach.
- Treat every interaction as an opportunity to help. Even when you cannot give someone the answer they want, you can still treat them with dignity, explain their options, and help them understand the next step.
We may not always be able to say yes. We may not always be able to change an outcome. But we can choose how we treat people along the way.
My mom and I felt backed into a corner, with no clear path forward and no one willing to help us find one.
We can do better than that.
Listen with compassion, not judgment. Think beyond the script. And never forget that behind every call, every claim, and every customer service interaction is a human being who deserves to be heard.
That’s the kind of service our industry needs. And it’s the kind of service we should all expect from ourselves.
