Its been several weeks now. We woke up one Sunday morning to the sound of silence. The house was freezing. We looked at the thermostat to discover what we already knew: the furnace was on the fritz.

Im continually grateful for the amazing people we have in our lives, one of whom came over and helped us diagnose the problem. We needed one part.

One. Part.

This was Sunday, but our furnace was from a major chain store. Theyre open seven days a week. Wed be fine.

Or so we thought.

Turns out that they dont keep this part in stock. We could order it, but that would take two days.

We didnt have two days. We had six people living in a house where the temperature was holding steady at 59 degrees.

We told them thank you, but no thank you. Well take our chances and find a place in town that would be open on Monday. We had space heaters galore, and wed camp out. No big deal.

Except that we couldnt find the part in town.

Resigned to the fact that wed have to use the major chain store, we called them back up to order the part and have it overnighted. We couldnt order the part. We had to be a certified technician to order the part. Wed have to make and pay for a service call to have someone come out to the house, tell us everything we already know, and order us the part at a premium price.

Thats what we did. He confirmed our diagnosis, ordered our part, and showed us on his computer that the part would arrive in two days at the latest.

Part didnt come. We called. The part was on backorder indefinitely.

Cue the bad words running through my head.

Thankfully, we have amazing friends. We ended up getting the part from another on-line store, and nine days from the start of this ordeal we had our furnace up and running again.

As Ive thought about this for the past several weeks, Ive learned so much about customer service. Companies are amazing when theyre good at it, and when companies are lacking, well, wed all rather take our business elsewhere.

What does this have to do with kidmin? Well, Im so glad you asked. Here are some of things I learned through this process:

1. Communication is King:

During this process, it was evident that the different arms of this company werent communicating with each other. The parts department knew this part was on backorder. The technician in the field did not. This is a problem. The people that are closest to your customer need all the information necessary to order good service.

Welcome Centers:do your church welcome centers know which rooms are open? Which snacks are being served (allergy questions)? Or where that new family can find the Jr High room?

Front Desk:You may not take every phone call. Does the front desk know your schedule? Do they have basic information about sign-ups and events to answer basic questions?

Cross-Train Staff:Can anyone in your kidmin answer most questions about your ministry? Can anyone step into a volunteer gap when the need arises?

2. Just Help People:

When I called the company after our part didnt come, no one could help me. Due to dropped calls, I talked with six people, none of whom offered me any solution to my problem. I didnt have heat in my house, and no one even tried to empathize with me.

There will be times when were not able to give parents the answer they want to hear. Still, we need to put ourselves in their shoes. Try to empathize and see if an exceptions can be made due to extenuating circumstances. If not, watch your tone of voice and be full of grace. The person on the other end of this conversation comes to your ministry with a lifetime of story that is impacting this exchange. Let people know that youre really there to help.

3. Make the Process Easy:

I left out a detail from our story. After canceling the order for the back-ordered part, the part came four days later. I had to return to the parts department at the store and return the part. This process was excruciating. The cashier took all of my information down on a paper form before inputting all of the same information into a computer. What could have been a simple return took almost 30 minutes to complete.

We all have systems and processes in place for registration, volunteer applications, and health-forms. Do the hard work of streamlining these.

Which forms can be electronic on your website?

Can any of your forms serve a dual purpose?

Can you combine information on a single form?

How long does it take for a visitor to register on Sunday morning?

We have access to the greatest story ever told. A story that we want all people to hear, is our costumer service standing in the way of more people experiencing our ministry?

This week, take a look at your processes. Where can you streamline a process or communicate more effectively? Make a plan that you can put to work immediately. Your parents will thank you!