While working on new training documents for the summer interns, I found this in a training I drafted up on March 28th - in the heat of Customer Service Meltdown 2012. It was hidden at the bottom of a document about how to answer phones and emails, under a section entitled “In Closing”. I probably wrote it at 11pm on three hours of sleep, five cans of diet Coke and many tears. Funny how I feel like I was talking to myself all along. (p.s. so what if I get sappy about customer service? get over it.)

“As much as possible, try to be personal. IC has always been amazing at maintaining a personal connection with our supporters, and while we have lost that slightly with the use of templates, etc., from now on, let’s be as intentional as possible about regaining that personal connection.

Be yourself. The best weapon that we have against the army of angry customers is the fact that we’re a bunch of kind people with great personalities. Engage with people. We have to potential to turn them from angry to happy, and from customers to supporters. Go get ‘em!

Most of all, thank you. You all are doing a killer job that is mostly thankless, tiring, and at times emotionally draining. People will be angry. Forgive them and move on. We will mess up – in every way possible. Know that we’re doing the best we can. Keep on keepin’ on, we got this.”