22 Mar Keep Emotion Out of Emails
Would you probably agree that from time to time, conversations between the agency and your customers (whether on the phone or face to face) do not go as planned? There are a whole host of issues that could prompt a customer to become very agitated at an agency staff member, such as advising them of a likely uncovered claim, notifying them their premium is going up 50%, etc. The opposite (agency staff member getting agitated with a customer) could also occur, but hopefully, those circumstances are few and far between.
As agency staff is well aware, it is very important that these conversations be documented in the system. Based on the situation, it may also be appropriate and beneficial to document these conversations in written communication back to the client.
Let’s focus on documenting the conversation in the agency management system. Many agency staff members think these agency notes are for “their eyes only” or at least only for select fellow agency personnel. In most cases, this is probably true. So the agency staff member records something to the effect of:
“Just spoke with the insured regarding their uncovered loss. What a jerk they are. I can’t believe that we insure someone so stupid in our agency.”
Now fast forward the timeline, and now that same customer is pursuing legal action against your agency because they thought they should have coverage for their loss. Both the defense attorney (defending your agency) and the plaintiff’s attorney (defending the client) will have a right to see the entire agency file (notes, proposals, emails, etc.). As the agency staff member involved, how do you now feel about the agency notes you entered that you thought were for “your eyes only?” There is certainly the possibility these notes containing negative comments will be used against your agency. I would trust that the jury will look very negatively at the comments.
Several “rules of thumb” are used regarding notes entered into the agency management system. One that every agency staff member should honor very carefully is:
Don’t put anything in the agency file that you wouldn’t want a jury to read!