Customer Service with Ron Johnson-CMAW179

Jacobs Ladder Podcast

By day, Ron Johnson works in a customer service call center soothing angry customers and helping them resolve issues with their accounts; by night, he teaches philosophy at a local college and writes books and articles inviting readers to consider their place in the Big Picture. Q&A:

1. Give us a brief overview of your relationship with Christ from childhood until now.
2. You start the book acknowledging that many people think of CSR’s as the bad guys. Why does that stereotype exist and what advice can you give to our listeners who likewise are in a job that has a negative label attached to it?
3. Being a CSR was not your original career of choice. What was your original training and desired career
4. You describe a moment early on where you saw your role as a holy calling rather than just a job and that while it wasn’t the perfect job it was the perfect job to practice imitating Christ. Tell us about that moment and all the factors that brought you to that place
5. How did Christ show the difference between serving and wanting to serve and how important is that distinction in our jobs?
6. “People ask me to perform customer service miracles every day. When that happens I can’t just shrug and say “I’m not a miracle worker. “ As a follower of Jesus I don’t have that luxury. I may not be out to save this world but Jesus is and His plan includes me.” You say that believing in and relying on miracles is the next step after wanting to help but this may sound like a huge leap of faith for those of us used to thinking of our work as just a job. How do we start with this big step of being in the miracle business (3 way conversation and having good relationships with those you need).
7. Why is it so important that we stay out of the judges seat when we are at work, and what tips can you offer on how to avoid this?
8. As a CSR you’re trained on how to deal with irate customers or you could call them “the customer from Hell”. I like the technique about pumpkins. Tell us about that technique and how as Christians we have better tools at our disposal.
9. What should do when we disagree with our employee’s policy on a matter and we are asked to go against what we believe is right?
10. It sounds kind the evaluation process for CSR’s is particularly brutal, it this aspect of our jobs is often one of the most stressful. What encouragement can you give our listeners for how to think about and respond to the employee evaluation process?
11. Walk us through how we can apply Matthew 11:28-30 in our jobs
12. If someone wants to buy your book or learn more about your other books or even reach out to you directly, how would they do that?
13. Any final thoughts?