Somebody told me that is getting harder to spend your money without getting angry. I agree. How sad is that? We put up with so much lame customer service that it’s become the standard that companies aspire to.

I mean, why don’t we boycott companies that outservice their customer service call centers (like my phone company)? Nothing is worse than pushing your way through an automated answering system only to finally get a human on the line who is on the other side of the planet outsourced by the company you’re trying to call. When I call a company because I have a question about their product or service, I want to talk with someone who works there, who makes that product or offers that service. They’re more personally invested in what they’re selling me. It’s difficult enough to get people to understand what the heck I’m saying without having to explain it to someone who doesn’t really care. Which, sadly, is the norm nowadays.

I guess the reason for this rant is that when we’ve launched and are actively selling policies, we have some relatively simple goals. By goals I mean something we will work every day to accomplish. They are:
1) Give Value - to treat every client as if they are our only client.
2) Be Reliable - fix problems and answer questions the first time we get a call.
3) Be Honest - in our treatment of others
4) Exceed Expectations - of all the goals above.

I once told a friend of mine that if there was a roofing company in Richmond that answered their calls, showed up on time and sober, and finished a job in time - they could charge anything, do only adequate work, and corner the market. Looking back, I can see a correlation from what I felt to what people currently feel about pet insurance companies.

I don’t vow much. But I’m telling you now that we’ll be setting a new standard of what you’ll expect from everyone in your life - from roofers to your phone company.

Love to all, 

Dr. AJ