Give up the Good

If you’ve never bought a used car before, well, let me tell you. You just don’t know what you’re missing.

Our adventures in car-buying aside, the experience got me thinking about customer service.

Customer service is ranked up there with quality and price in terms of what makes a person want to do business somewhere. While some places offer outstanding customer service, I have a problem with any salesperson who, after closing the deal, believes the job is finished. With those types, the customer is No. 1 until money changes hands. Then, you better hit the road, Jack, and dontcha come back no more.

There are several places where I’ve been treated so poorly that I won’t take my money there anymore. I realize this won’t make a dent in any business’ sales figures. (In fact, one sales representative told me her company wouldn’t care if we took our business elsewhere because it has millions of customers. She said this in the middle of the sales floor. I kid you not.) Even so, I won’t pay someone to treat me badly, and I’ll warn anyone who considers patronizing that business.

Of course, my expectation of customer service comes with some ground rules. For example, if a store’s return policy is 30 days with a receipt, I wouldn’t expect to get my money back if I decide to return my item two months later. Or if I enter a contract with a company and stop paying my bill, I don’t expect them to continue providing the service. However, the reverse is also true. If I pay my bill, I expect to get quality service. And if I don’t, I expect customer service to be impeccable, not full of excuses or, worse, blame.

I know people and businesses make mistakes. Stuff happens, products break, services lapse, whatever. It’s the customer service after the mistake that makes or breaks a business in my eyes.

If I’ve held up my end of the bargain – paid for the product/service and abided by the rules I agreed to follow – then I expect follow-through on the other end. Basically, I want a guarantee of service. All too often, those responsible for customer service find any excuse not to provide it.

But as adamantly as I’ll disparage a business that has not held up its end of the deal, I’m also a huge cheerleader for businesses and products I love. One of my very favorites is God’s gift. I have already gotten far more than I could have imagined, and I highly recommend it. (You’d think that because it’s free the customer service after you get it home would be terrible. Not so!)

Many of us come to him broken-hearted. That’s OK with him, though. He’ll take your broken pieces and give you something even better in exchange – peace. And you don’t even need a receipt. Which is good, because you never paid for it in the first place; Jesus did.

You can call him up any time of day or night (even weekends!), and you’ll never be put on hold to wait for the next available customer representative (who will be happy to assist you). In fact, you don’t have to wait at all because you get to speak directly to him, and he’s always available.

Of course, there are some ground rules:

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:6-7

We are commanded to trust him and not be anxious about our problems. Easier said than done, I know. But them’s the rules.

We also must present our requests with thanksgiving to God for what he has already done. I never have a hard time coming up with a long list of blessings I’m thankful for.

So if we keep up our end of things, God offers a lifetime eternal guarantee on his gift. (I frequently fail to trust him fully, and when I break that ground rule, the peace he offers also begins to fade. Thankfully, my failure doesn’t void the agreement – I can pick up right where I left off.)

God doesn’t disappear on us after the sale. He never abandons us. We don’t have to wait in line for 45 minutes only to talk to a rude clerk about how their hands are tied and there’s nothing they can do for us. Nope. God’s there, ready to help. He really, really, really wants everything to work out after you’ve accepted his gift.

And something else earthly businesses never offer: No matter how long you’ve had it or how many times you break it, God will fix it, no questions asked. And all the repair work is free! (And let me tell you, I’ve messed up so many times that I’d be in debt up to my ears if the repair work hadn’t already been paid for 2,000 years ago. That’s a pretty sweet extended warranty if you ask me.)

He also supplied the user manual. I don’t know about you, but I never read those things for other products. They are too long and technical and boring. No thanks.

But I enjoy reading God’s user manual. There are countless testimonials from other satisfied customers, many who have broken God’s gift and gotten it fixed again. (Check out this handy-dandy User Manual Emergency Index.)

My favorite part is that it’s completely free and guaranteed. It will never wear out or be repossessed. The only way I can lose it is if I decide I don’t want it anymore.

So that’s my cheerleader’s spiel. This gift never gets discontinued, goes out of stock or ends up on back order. It’s always immediately available, so get yours today!

Hurry, because time is running out.