I used to work for an offshore business process provider, and a famous American credit card company was one of our clients. We worked the graveyard shift, so we could provide over-the-phone service to our American customers. I wrote this for my team, to remind them that we have our jobs because of our customers. Somehow, my little note reached the president of our company, and he commended me for sharing this:
Dear Team,
I’d like to share a poignant call we received on September 11. In the midst of chaos and confusion, a customer was clear-headed enough to have called our 1800-number (thinking that she reached our client’s headquarters in NY) imploring everyone in the building to leave the premises immediately because the neighboring buildings–the twin towers of the WTC–have just been hit by hijacked planes and are currently on fire!
Out of fear and concern that the other buildings in the area–including our client’s building–will meet the same fate, this caller told the agent to “Get out of there right now! Watch the news, tell your supervisor that the WTC has been attacked! Get out now!”
In normal circumstances, this would have been classified as a “crazy” call. But as it turns out, the warning was for real! The customer/caller had no idea that her call was routed to Manila; she didn’t call to inquire about her balance or to report her card missing. She didn’t call to be served by us. She called to try to “save” us… This call was a genuine act of kindness.
Doesn’t this say a lot about our customers? We get a number of calls everyday taking for granted the fact that we have our jobs because of our customers. So the next time you answer a call, bear in mind this concerned customer. Just think that if we were actually in that building in New York, she might have just saved our lives…
Let’s pray for her and all our other customers. God bless and protect America.
Sincerely,
Liana Vaquer
Team Leader, Team V
To this day–10 years later–that call still rings clear in my mind and heart. I still get goosebumps, and I still hear the lady’s voice. Though we are not Americans, and we were on the other side of the world when it happened, we still felt (and feel) the effects of the horrific September 11, 2001 attacks.
On this day, we pray for all those who suffered and died in that tragedy. God bless and protect us all.