Chad’s insufferable sales malady
Published: Sun, 09/25/22
Sleepy Sonoma.
We're in the heart of wine country - and smack dab in the heart of wildfire country.
So it's not at all unexpected, particularly after 2017's horrific confluence of blazes, that many homeowners' insurance carriers began to pull out of the market.
And it finally happened to us. Our carrier, Safeco, simply sent a 'Dear Policyholder' notice stating that we were to be uninsured in 60 days time.
Our neighbors made it clear that the
"A good man who knows his insurance", they said.
What they neglected to mention was that Chad suffers from a debilitating sales malady: he shines during the courtship and fails miserably in after-sale support.
Although, in Chads' case, simply failing miserably would be a dramatic performance improvement.
Witness this telephone exchange:
Me: "When I received my final policy documents, the premium stated is $197 more than you quoted and collected in payment."
Chad: "While I applied the 'No Claims' discount, you did in fact have a claim almost 5-years ago. That's why it was more"
Me: "It would have been good to know about this BEFORE the final docs were received, 21 days after I paid in full."
Chad: "You mean, a PHONE CALL?"
Me: "That's exactly what I mean."
Chad: "Listen, I have a lot going on in my life. And I'm busy. If that's not ok then you need to do what you need to do. Ok? Have a good day, Bud."
Apparently Chad comes to work each day and aggressively waits for the phone to ring, which if you are the only carrier in a sleepy town, with a product residents cannot do without, that phone is ringing - a lot!
In turn, Chad has decided that he's too busy to dial the phone to service his now existing client.
He's also decided that being cocky/rude has no consequences, since you show up for work with a State Farm branded barrel and the fish just jump into it every single day.
But here's the thing my +40 years of experience reminds me of about this Chad, and all other Chads like him: sales exists in a big, round, wonderful world.
Those that serve their clients, and do right by their clients, get more clients - year, after year, after year.
Versus Chad, whose practice will fall victim to his actions and attitudes and will, over the years, ingloriously flame out.
Though he will still be aggressively waiting for his phone to ring, staring into his now empty State Farm branded fish barrel and wondering what went wrong.
Rob