Superman to the Rescue...

Kevin Pierce

Superman to the Rescue...

 

The #1 train, going downtown, departed 42nd Street Station.  The train, which I was on, had just entered the darkness of the tunnel when a “first” happened for me.  The train stopped on a dime with no warning.  The people standing (luckily I had a seat) flew forward in a synchronized motion.  Those holding onto poles, straps, etc. were no longer able to maintain their grips, and any concept of maintaining personal space abated as people fell on the floor in a blob.

From the window behind me, I saw a light racing toward us.  Another train passed within feet of the front car of our train, transitioning off a parallel track onto our track.  Within moments the conductor made an announcement, “Ladies and Gentlemen the emergency braking system has been activated.  Please excuse our delay as it will take several moments to get the braking system reset.”  No mention of the near collision, just a rote announcement similar to a flight attendant’s proclamation before taking off.  We sat in the dark for 10-15 minutes; the entire time I’m thinking, “Why didn’t I take a taxi?”

34^th Street Station – People shuffle off (probably a few extras who did not want to see if lightening might strike twice) and people shuffle on.  I look up, and there he is – Superman.  In reality he was still in his Clark Kent persona, but everyone knows Clark is really Superman!  He must have been proactively monitoring the city for potential disaster, noticed our close call, and he was on the scene to prevent calamity.  I knew the remaining trip would be okay…

Superman can teach us a lot about customer service.

Superman is always listening, proactively monitoring, ready for action, dependable, and 100% focused on speedy and complete resolution when emergency happens.  Now that’s great customer service!  I’m glad whoever pays Superman’s salary has a firm understanding that continued investment in customer service is critical!  It may have been tempting to reduce costs by hiring a mere mortal, or perhaps even outsourcing Superman, but I can tell you that my trip from 34^th Street to 14^th Street was much more secure and pleasurable knowing an expert was present! 

There is no replacement for expertise when danger lurks!  Imagine if all IT service providers would only learn a similar lesson…