You gotta have a back up plan

No, I’m not talking about data back up this time. I’m talking about having a back up plan for how you will handle incoming calls when your system is “down.”

I called my doctor today to make an appointment. I was immediately told “Our system is down, can you call back in an hour?”

Really? A customer is calling you, to spend money on you, and your response is “call back later”? How about “Let me take your name and number, and once our system is operational again, I’ll call you to make the appointment.”

How about your association? Do you have a plan in place to manage those inevitable times when your system is inaccessible? If your database wasn’t working, would you know what to do when users call to register for a meeting, join or renew membership, or otherwise do business with you? Or, like my doctor’s office, do you simply say “I’m sorry, I can’t help you right now. Please call back later.”?

About Wes Trochlil

For over 30 years, Wes has worked in and with dozens of associations and membership organizations throughout the US, ranging in size from zero staff (all-volunteer) to over 700. In that time Wes has provided a range of consulting services, from general consulting on data management issues to full-scale, association-wide selection and implementation of association management systems.

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