A rewarding day….
During the auditing of an invoice for one of my newer clients, I spotted an nxx (exchange) number that I did not recognize as part of their inventory. After a very short while, you begin to memorize your client’s Telecom stats.
Digging further, I found it was a fax line with a fair amount of usage. Digging even deeper still, I found this particular fax number had been billing since 2005 and that my client had been diligently paying for this line each month; never questioning it’s presence. It was a fairly large invoice, and I knew it probably hadn’t been audited in a long while; it’s so easy to miss one little line item.
I called the vendor and was told this invoice was billing correctly….. I pushed back, knowing it wasn’t billing correctly. I was informed that all the ordering paperwork was on file – signed and dated. I requested the paperwork, and a now very irritated vendor representative finally sends it my way only after I apply some kind Telecom vendor management….. Now we’re getting somewhere!
After reviewing the paperwork, I immediately noted that not only was this line being billed to my client in error, but that it was supposed to be billing to a competitor in a the same field using a similar name!
When I called my client to report my findings, he started howling with laughter – very pleased, indeed. Apparently, this particular competitor had not been playing nice in the sandbox.
I informed my client of the credit his business would be getting. “HOW MUCH?! That is AWESOME!” he yells. Now he’s giddy and I can practically hear him dancing around his office – over the phone lines…. He’s calling people in to his office to tell them and excuses himself from the call. (I can’t tell you the details here, but while the credit was very nice – the annonymous “poke back” to the not-so-nice competitor was probably just as sweet. <wink>)
Later in the day, I get a “thank you” email and request for numbers and full accounting so that he can report this to his peers in upper management. I’m all too happy to comply. This is the positive impact I strive to make every day. I smile, because I was just doing a job I love for a client I feel really fortunate to serve.
Who is looking out for you? Did anyone make you dance around your office in celebration after providing Telecom expense reduction numbers? Client service and support at its finest!
No? Let’s talk!