Called Up To The Majors

This post first appeared on the First Call Resolution blog.  Click here to read the original.

I grew up in the wonderful city of Rancho Cucamonga, California.  In Cucamonga we were pretty proud of our Quakes, a single A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels.  That’s minor league baseball if you’re not tracking with me.  One of the cool things about minor league baseball is that you get to watch young players grow up before your very eyes.  The ones that develop well at each level eventually get called up to the big leagues.

One interesting thing that often occurs in this progression is that where a player might have batted with a .350 average in single A, they might only bat .260 in the majors– which is actually a respectable average.  The reason for this is that the level of talent and competition increases at each level.  The great players work extremely hard constantly to improve their game.

I was recently afforded an opportunity to leave a role as a Customer Service Director and join FCR (formerly First Call Resolution), one of the most respected outsourcers in the business.  In several years at Phone.com, I was part of an amazing team and helped build a reputation for awesome customer service.  Now I am going to work for a customer service company that is chock-full of customer service talent, working closely with the top customer service talent from a variety of companies.  This isn’t a perfect analogy because I’m not actually going from the minors to the majors, but being in a customer service role, I’m going to work for a company whose chief purpose is customer service.  Get my drift?

Needless to say, I feel a little bit like that guy that just got called up to the big leagues and is stepping up to the plate for the first time to face Felix Hernandez (or some other star pitcher).  I have butterflies in my stomach along with some mixture of fear and excitement.  I recently heard someone say:

Butterflies are a good thing.  It means you’re still in the game.

There’s something that happens when your level of competition and responsibility changes or increases.  You’re forced to either step up your game or quit.  Should you choose to step up your game, your competition will compel you to be better.  It’s that whole iron sharpening iron thing that happens.

From a customer service standpoint, that’s where I’m at.  I’m thrilled, scared, and humbled all at the same time to be a part of an awesome customer service organization, facing new competition where I have no choice but to step up my game.  Play ball!

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