Charles (Chuck) Kensinger

Twenty-five years working for a power transmission distributor starting in purchasing, going to sales both inside and outside, and taking the office manager position which led to the operations manager, has put me in a unique place to know what customer service should be and what it usually is not. What we strive for is treating the one we are serving in a way that would be pleasing to ourselves, if in their shoes. That is the Golden Rule. “Do to others as you want them to do to you.” (Matthew 7:11-13)

I say we strove for that knowing that often that high peak is not attained. The difficulty there was in recognizing what was needed to please the one we served, not in identifying who the customer was. In purchasing it may appear that we do not need to supply customer service because we do not have any customers. My philosophy is shared by many in the purchasing profession. Our customers are those who have requested products or services ordered by us.

We indeed work for the same company they do. It is also true that not respecting the person and delivering the needed outcome may adversely affect our employment status. Aside from the possibility of reprimand or even termination, I strive to deliver my “customers” the best service I can because my work is to be “as unto the Lord”. (Colossians 3:23-24)

I never had a job title of customer service representative (CSR). One of my managers referred to me as the best CSR in his region. He pointed out to me that I was not one of the best salespeople. That disqualified me for being given a position that was considered a sales job. My title at one point was sales service specialist. This was what others called a salesman.

One radio host is well known for talking about customer no-service. What he wants us to realize is that companies we deal with do not put service ahead of getting the order. This manager of mine showed me that the most important part of what our employees did was to close a deal. Service was not important.

This was the same company that issued business cards that had sales service specialists on them, not salespeople. I call this hypocrisy. This is saying one thing but doing the opposite. I left that company and returned to purchasing and retired as a purchasing manager almost twenty years later.

Instead of overseeing delivering the best service for a company I became the one that judged if this business and others employed those that gave the quality of product and service that I had proven that I would give. I believe the customers lost on that transaction.

©Copyright 2025 by Charles Kensinger