In sports, especially track and field, “PR” stands for personal record.
When I started hearing that abbreviation on a regular basis a few years ago, it got my attention — considering I’ve been working in the “PR” industry since 1987.
A PR is what every athlete chases — beating their best time, jumping higher, throwing further. It’s the gold standard of personal improvement.
Take the recent breakout performances at BYU, my alma mater, for example:
- Meghan Hunter crushed a 36-year-old facility record in the 800m with a time of 2:00.67 — third fastest in BYU history.
- Carter Cutting became just the fifth runner in Utah history to run a sub-4-minute mile.
- James Corrigan dropped nearly 13 seconds from his 5000m time to run a blistering 13:27.39 — fifth all-time at BYU.
- Lexy Halladay-Lowry ran the third fastest ever in the 5000m by a collegiate woman.
Now those are some serious PRs.
Setting PRs for Your Business
But here’s the thing — we should all be setting our own “PRs” daily in business, too. Only in this case, PR = Public Relations.
That means striving for greater clarity and care in every email, phone call, chatbot interaction, etc.
And unfortunately, not every company is hitting their marks. In fact, one company I recently interacted with set a new PR for PR fails.
Let me tell you about my saga from earlier this week with a customer service department for my ceiling fan. (You may need a fan just to cool off from the frustration I’m about to share…)
The Customer Support Case Study in What NOT to Do
After moving to Tennessee in September 2019, I bought and installed a Harbor Breeze fan/light combo from Lowe’s for my office. It’s a sleek-looking unit with a brushed nickel base, three blades, and a remote control. Very chic. Very chill. I like it.
I keep the wall switch on and use the remote from my desk drawer. But last Sunday evening, the remote did nothing. No fan, no light, no breeze.
I replaced the battery. Still nothing. I checked the circuit breaker — even though other outlets in my office were working fine. Everything looked good. The wall switch? Yep, still on.
I started thinking: both the fan and light stopped working at the same time? That’s not just bad luck, that’s suspicious. Wiring issue? Rat feasting on the wiring? (Let’s hope not.)
So, I turned to my office assistant for tech support: ChatGPT.
Turns out, the most likely issue is the remote control receiver kit inside the fan. Easily replaced for around $20 from Amazon. Great!
But just for peace of mind, I thought I would call the customer service number on the front of my owner’s manual and see what they had to say.
After about six interactions with them from various phone calls, I felt more like I wanted to give them a piece of MY mind.
The dysfunction I experienced was a PR in the opposite direction.
No PRs Set for Their PR
Monday (Memorial Day)
Even though it was Memorial Day, I thought I’d call. After waiting about 10 minutes on hold, somebody answered. That was probably because they offshore their customer support — at least that’s what I’m guessing because it was a little difficult for me to understand the foreign accent of the rep. (And I’m sure they thought my Milwaukee accent was equally foreign. Ask me to say “bag” or “tag” sometime.)
The very nice gentleman said he needed to put me on hold and then he transferred me to the technical support department. But then he returned and said that this department won’t be open for another hour.
Later that day
I called back a little later that same day and waited on hold again for a customer service rep. After giving my reference number, I was transferred once again to the technical support department. After a longer time waiting on hold, my call strangely went straight to an online employee survey.
So I had to call back customer service and wait on hold for another 5 to 10 minutes before they answered. After again giving my reference number they transferred me again to their technical support department.
This time I received an automated phone message that said they were closed for the holiday (this department must be U.S.-based) and will reopen tomorrow at 8 AM central time.
Tuesday
The next day after another hold session, I gave my reference number to customer service, got transferred to tech support, and — plot twist — they told me they no longer make parts for my fan’s model number.
So I ask to be transferred back to customer service.
Tech support: “Sorry, we can’t transfer calls.”
Seriously? Isn’t there a tech support dept. YOU can call for help with that? Okay…
I called customer service again. This rep says they in fact DO support that model — it just has a new model number now. I asked why tech support wouldn’t know that. He said, “I don’t know.”
Back to tech support I go.
But just five words into the conversation — BAM — I’m dumped into the same automated survey again. What in the world?
(Believe me, they really don’t want me to answer their customer survey at this point.)
I called back. Again. I explained to this customer service rep what just happened. They apologized to me for that experience.
I’m transferred again to the tech support dept.
Following the advice from the customer service rep, I kindly explained that apparently the model number has been updated, and here was the new number (which I then gave to them).
Tech support: “The model number hasn’t changed. And we don’t have parts for your model fan anymore.”
Me: “But customer service just told me it’s the same model — but with an updated model number.”
Tech support: “Customer service doesn’t know what they’re talking about.”
Wow. Now that’s what I call a disconnect.
Thankfully, they didn’t send me back to that stupid survey again.
It was like a comedy routine, but one that wasn’t very funny.
The 3 Big Takeaways
- Unify your message — globally. Even if your departments are on different continents, they need to sound like they’re on the same page (or at least the same script).
- Check your phone system for glitches. Don’t make it harder for customers to get help than to fix the problem themselves. And certainly — don’t ambush customers with a survey in the midst of a conversation.
- Make customer service a breeze. Because if you don’t, they might harbor bad feelings toward you. (Sorry. I couldn’t resist.)
Customer relations is a vital component of your organization’s PR. Hit me up if you want some advice on how to set PRs with your PR.
I won’t put you on hold — but I can’t promise you’ll understand my Midwest accent either.
Stay authentic (and stay cool)!
Jeffery E. Pizzino, APR (seen here in a vintage photo circa 1983 serendipitously doing a Clash impersonation in a since-forgotten location) is a spin-free public relations pro who is passionate about telling the why of your story with clarity, impact and authenticity. He began his PR career in 1987 at Ketchum Public Relations in New York City but has spent the majority of his career as a solopreneur. He’s the Chief Authentic Officer of the Johnson City, TN-based public relations firm, AuthenticityPR. He also functions as the fractional CCO for technology startup Converus.
Jeff has an MBA in Management from Western International University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications — with an emphasis in PR — from Brigham Young University (rise and shout!). He’s a native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but also holds an Italian citizenship. Jeff and his storyteller wife Leticia have four children and four grandchildren. In his extremely limited nonwork hours, he studies italiano, practices guitar, write songs, gardens, disc golfs, reads, listens to New Wave music, serves in his church, watches BYU football, and plays Dominion and Seven Wonders. Email Jeff.
