LoQ (Line of Questions)

"Oh hi, I'm having an error message on my television."

"What does it say?"

"It says 'ONE MOMENT PLEASE, THIS CHANNEL WILL BE AVAILABLE SHORTLY.'"

"Please stay on the line, let me check on that."

(pulls up troubleshooting tool and opens the LoQ)

Line of questions. Call center agents like me are very familiar with this. Of course, we need to probe whenever a customer calls in. That way we will know better what is happening with the piece of equipment or issue that we are trying to resolve. We ask in order to get a better picture of what is going on on the other end of the phone line. Well, probing actually isn't enough. Yes, we more or less know what to do when a customer calls in and tells us what the problem is. But we don't know everything. We still need to use the LoQ tool in order to be sure that what we are doing is correct. If we miss one step in doing a basic troubleshooting step, then it might lead to a technician visit. Instead of having the problem fixed at during the phone call, the customer needs to wait for a few days for the technician to come out. See how important it is for us to follow the LoQ?

The other day I found out that LoQ usage is already a part of our score card. To be honest, I'm the type of agent who is fond doing a "work around". I would only pull up and utilize my LoQ tool if my work around failed. It would lead to longer troubleshooting and a longer call. Bottom line: the LoQ is designed not to be an add-on to the agent's tool but to serve as an aid.

I realized that life can be likened to a problematic customer who calls their service provider. The agent on the other line has the LoQ, and we have to follow what the agent tells you. Sometimes we complain "Do I really have to do this? Why not send me a technician instead? I'm paying for the service anyway!" We have the tendency to look for the easy way out. We don't want to do life's basic "troubleshooting steps." I'm guilty of this. If you read my previous entries, you'll realize right at the start that I want my problems to simply vanish into thin air. For me, life is just a bowl of cherries. Life is meant to be enjoyed. Yes, it's true. Life is meant to be enjoyed but I also realized that in the course of the daily grind, we need to take risks. And mind you, taking risks aren't always successful. Failure is just around the corner, but it's not tantamount to being eaten up by it. Failure is there to teach us to stand up and go on. Remember when you were a kid? Mommy was on the other end of the room saying "Come here baby!" We fall, but then she would say "Get up baby, mommy's here!" When we manage to reach the other end of the room where she's waiting, she would hug you and say "Good job baby. I love you!"

One valuable lesson I learned from the LoQ tool: take your time to go through life's problems. I was looking for a perfect world, not realizing that I myself am not perfect. I was looking for a world free of problems, not realizing that I myself am contributing to the problems of the world. I was crying for change, yet I am not willing to start it with my self.

Sometimes I cry whenever I think back of all the faux pas that I did. I guess it's normal, but as they say, never cry over spilled milk. Past is past. We all need to move on, one step at a time. The calendar never reverts back to the previous day nor does the date jump two days ahead and the clock never runs backwards or in advance.

Well, I guess the clock is an exception if you observe daylight savings.