The Kingdom of Don't(s) - Customer Service Representative Ackerman Security Employee Review

The big Telco companies are coming and this company cannot survive without knowing the below. - - - "The Kingdom of Don't(s)" - - - I have been both an employee and a customer of this company. So, you can trust my two-sided view. My experience as a customer gave insight to what I'd learn about the company, once I became an employee. Overall, Ackerman is a relatively good company to work for. There is a tone of care for the employee between the front office and Human Resources. Beyond the front offices, however, the most common word you'll hear is "Don't". Once training is completed, you'll learn more of what you don't do than anything else. There's no synergy amongst the departments and you'll often hear "it's like one hand doesn't know what the other's doing" from both customers and employees! Communication between the departments is often discouraged or forbidden. *Something about the human mind does not like "no/don't" and will find a detour around it. Encouragement trumps demeaning. - - - Customer "Care" - - - I was a call center rep for a year. It is, without a doubt, the slowest train-wreck I've ever seen. Not only do the managers have little-to-no clue what they're doing but the director is very laxed in his position. Either they don't care about their roles or the lack of synergy has broken their desire to act. The managers promote their friends(and in a Very verifiable way). Not only has this proven to be ineffective but the supervisors on the floor are truly as incompetent as supervisors come -with the exception of one or two. They don't have answers for standard questions at times. They don't know how to truthfully CARE for the customer while being their liaison and asserting company policy. They engage in gossip with employees and promote an environment that mirrors most middle schools'. The assistant managers are stressed at the least. But they do tend to take their position a bit more serious than the supervisors. To boot, there is a Poor follow up procedure. I've handled accounts that were meant to be cancelled in the summer but weren't touched until After the customer still received bills in the winter. This is Not an exaggeration. *If you show someone you don't care, they won't stay. - - - Cancellations - - - Lastly, cancellations is their biggest concern! But let's step away from the company for a moment. Think of it like a relationship. If you're in a relationship and your partner wants to leave -Your primary focus at that point becomes "how do I keep him/her?". You would bend over backwards for someone who's already decided to leave. After all's said, you realize all the things you didn't do during the relationship that would've made a break-up improbable. The call center has a general practice of poor training, lack of care, mishandling, excusing mistakes and making every move to end a customer relationship -but then desperately attempts to salvage a relationship They broke. The truth is that Ackerman is reactionary in it's nature, It's got a hole in its process that is Bleeding the company and the directors know it. I now work in analytics and can assure you that with the new swings the giant Telco companies are taking at the alarm industry, it would do Ackerman well to at least look into all I've mentioned. This company has tremendous potential and can become the giant they deserve to be with a few adjustments. Thank you.