Freshman Seminar

To be honest I was not looking forward to taking this class, the way it was describe to me and the fact that it didn’t count towards any credits made think that it was going to be a waste of my time. Como to find out I was wrong about the class and way that it was describe to me wasn’t really a description. This course puts into perspective, many aspects of life that each adult has to deal with in their professional careers.  On the other hand the course helped many of us out with any questions we had about the university and especially when we reviewed the sheet will al the humanities we had to take. Just find out a week later that had change, and we were going to have to choose other courses since the career plan had change, but that was the courses fault.

One aspect I will take away from this class is all of the topics we covered about the workplace and activities related to each topic. In opinion they were great, and for some classes I wish we had a more time to discuss the different topics about the workplace. I do have to be honest, I did not real the book in full, but I promise myself that I would do it. Because the parts that I read were made up of great material that can be apply in both our personal and professional lives.  Therefore we can only take positive feedback from the lessons taught throughout the book.

Semana 13 Tema 11-13

DESARROLLO DE HABILIDADES POLITICAS POSITIVAS

Ethical behavior is crucial to a company’s success, without it a company would not be able to function as a respectful and safe environment. This personal opinion is reinforce by the fact that most companies including the one I work for, invest a lot of resources on creating a code of ethics that each employee must follow. Failure to adhere to the code of ethics in my place of work can result in disciplinary actions up to termination. Therefore we have been giving the proper tools and resources as to how to report unethical behavior in the workplace. As a result of that it’s quite easy to report unethical behavior in my place of work, but before doing so there must constructive evidences before pleading to such behavior.

            Ethical behavior is applied in the private sector much more than it is the public sector here in Costa Rica. As a country we’re constantly dealing with unethical behavior right before our eyes, from the issues with “La Trocha” to the concession of the road that intended to be build at the expense of the citizens, while other get rich. That’s the reality of this country but the government is who is responsible for inducing this type of unethical behavior which is passed on to generations. As long as our government does create a code ethics for citizens and themselves to abide by, we will continue to have problems with unethical behavior taken place among us.

CONDUCTA ETICA Y LIBERTAD PERSONAL Y RESPONSABILIDAD SOCIAL.

            In my opinion opportunities in life come after the hard work has been done, I don’t think that they just fall from the sky. The reason why in my opinion it’s simple, I’ve to work hard to get to where I ‘am right now and I can say that nothing was given to me. In fact I had to work very hard to accomplish my goals which have taken me up the ladder at each job I had and in the position I currently hold. The strategic to get to the top and get that much wanted opportunity is to work hard at it, without drifting away from the code of ethics. For example I want move the ladder at my job. I have to let my work and actions speak for themselves instead of depending on other factors to get me there. Such as inviting and bribing my superiors to get on their good side and to say the least we should always avoid cheating, doing so will not get you anywhere.

            There are norms as well as rules that we must follow to get the job we want, but most important to hold it once we have it. I have been very fortunate (because of hard work) to higher positions at jobs held in the past, but most important in the one I currently hold. At my place of work I have manage to move up the ladder not just one but two positions. How did I get there? The answer is simple… I simply try to exceed expectations set by my superiors and most important have a positive attitude towards the job, even when I’m not I don’t let my emotions get the best of me which it has pay dividends.  

            What are some of the suggestions to improve ethical behavior in Costa Rica?

DESARROLLO DE HABILIDADES PARA SATISFACER AL CLIENTE

It’s part of my job duties to provide customer with the best possible customer service held by Bank of America standards. We are talking about the biggest bank of the United States, which has over 300,000 employees and about 60 million customers worldwide. I work in the credit card department where every day we have service customers with inquiries and request about their credit cards. We want their business and appreciated as well, therefore to make sure they continue being Bank of America cardholders we must provide the best customer service we can, not only for the customer but also because our incentives and job itself depends on it.

I've had my share of positives and negative experiences while dealing with customer over the phone. As result I don’t have an specific example of call that sticks out the most, but I do have certain types of calls that can influence in a positive or negative experience for the customer. A positive experience is giving to the customer just about every time they call to get fee waived, even though I have a process to follow I always take full control of those calls to make sure that customer realizes that I’m removing the as courtesy and to make them feel special as well. On the other hand there are other types of calls in which the customer are quite stubborn, consequently it creates the conversation to become tense and most of the time the customer will leave dissatisfied. I do my best to make sure that does not happen but there’s a point in which anything I say won’t get through the customer mind set. These types of uncomfortable calls are a product of the customer not understanding how finance charges work when the account is not pay in full. Therefore they become quite stressful for both the agent and customer and most of the time the customers don’t understand it and drop the line unhappy.

Personally I have study in depth the different types of customers that call into the bank, thus I have my own way of dealing with each type, but I have to be honest it awhile before I got the grasp of each of them. I have to deal with elderly, baby boomers, young adults, teenagers (18-21), rude, stubborn, know it all (at least they think they do) and the one’s that lied to get what they want. Many of us have hear that “the customer is always right”, well in opinion that can only apply sometimes but I do not see it as a norm. I have come up with my own way to provide quality customer service; here are the steps I take:

1.      Acknowledge the customer

2.      Understand the issue or request

3.      Paraphrase

4.      Tell the customer how I can fix and explain it

5.      Go over the resolution provide

6.      Ask the customer if there’s anything else I could assist them with

Those simple steps have resulted in positives experiences to my customers, which are reflected on the surveys they answer. For the last year I've manage to get to reach the target or exceeded it according to Bank of America standards.

            There are other techniques that can be apply to provide top notch quality service, which results in exceeding the customer expectations by going the extra mile. The techniques I use to exceed the customer expectations are simple, I like to recognize future needs the customer might have or how to prevent future inconveniences with their credit cards. For example if customer calls to make a last minute payment I go ahead and provide them not one but several other payment options to help them avoid any late fees in the future. While on the other hand if I notice the customer will be traveling, I go ahead and make them aware that it’s highly recommended to set up a travel notification to prevent their credit card being decline while they are taking their vacation. The customers are very thankful when they noticed that we are taking care of them and needs. As result we are exceeding their expectations but most important creating a deepen relationship between the largest bank in the U.S. and a single customer.

That’s my method of providing good customer service to my customers. What are some techniques use by you guys while dealing with customer face to face?