A Day in the Life: Open-Aire Customer Service Rep, Susan Walker

To be awarded a place on the Open-Aire Customer Service Team, one must have the heart of an angel and the intellect of a scholar. Susan Walker encompasses Open-Aire’s daily standards of integrity, genuine compassion, and a Spartacus 'never give up' mentality. A normal day for Susan consists of answering questions, troubleshooting equipment, tubing issues and aiding with set-ups. Some days are more rewarding though for both Susan and the customers. On one particular afternoon in January 2011, Susan’s’ inner Spartan arose as she was needed by an Open-Aire customer. The call seemed pretty standard, as a customer needed help with her portable unit. After some troubleshooting, Susan noticed it was the charger that was having the problem and it needed to be replaced. She diligently did the proper paperwork, and placed the order for shipment. That could have easily been the end of the service issue with Susan and her customer. However, Susan took her time to speak longer with this customer.

It’s a good thing she did, because Susan also learned the customer was having issues with her stationary unit. Susan was fearful the portable unit wouldn’t hold up long enough for the charger to arrive in the mail, and the customer might be left without any oxygen at all. Unbeknownst to the customer, Susan was right. She instinctually and personally went to the warehouse in search of a replacement stationary unit she could send to the customer. Since it was the end of the day, they had missed the normal FedEx pick up. Most mediocre employees would say, "I'll mail it first thing tomorrow'. . . but not Susan, not an Open-Aire extraordinaire for the past 4 years. She personally packed up that 30 pound stationary unit herself, and drove it to FedEx. She insisted on an overnight delivery. Susan's instincts and skills proved positive, as she received a letter in the mail weeks later from the New York customer thanking her for her efforts as her stationary unit had in fact ran out before her charger arrived for the portable. Thanks to Susan and her warriorlike instincts, our Open-Aire customers don't have to worry about not being able to breathe.