Public Relations/Customer Service

"Public Relations is a set of management, supervisory, and technical functions that foster an organization's ability to strategically listen to, appreciate, and respond to those persons whose mutually beneficial relationships with the organization are necessary if it is to achieve its missions and values." (Robert L. Heath, Encyclopedia of Public Relations). Essentially it is a management function that focuses on two-way communication and fostering of mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and its publics."
Source: Wikipedia

I have been thinking about Public Relations (PR) and Customer Service a lot lately, especially since beginning a new job last September. As a Web Developer, I am pretty deeply entrenched in the PR engine of my place of employment. Technically I am in IT, so we interact with the "official" PR department from corporate. Most of the people in this department have done a good job representing the company. One person, who fortunately is no longer employed, had no clue about PR.

I will call attention to the last line of the above quote. "Essentially it is a management function that focuses on two-way communication and fostering of mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and its publics." I highlighted two sections that are completely unknown to this person. This person decided that it was their way or the highway, and had no tact, even in front of an on-duty U.S. Marshall.

The sad thing is that this person is not an anomaly. Every time I call some sort of customer service rep, which I count as a qualified PR member, I run into someone like the person I described above. There is a general sense of dismissal and lack of empathy that radiates heavily from these people. Does this say something bad about society, or the companies who employ them?

To be fair, occasionally someone up the chain from these horrible representatives does have a clue as to their job description. I think that genuine, empathetic, caring, intelligent people do work in PR. I just wish they were easier to find.