Is Kelly Kapoor Good at Her Job?

The Office is a great show all about sales, but there are other characters that are no the traditional salesperson.  One being Kelly Kapoor.  Kelly works in customer service.  She will answer phone calls all day long and respond to disgruntled customers.  In a particular scene in an episode, “Product Recall,” Ryan, who sits right beside Kelly mimics her phone call.  Every time she answers the phone, she says, “Customer service, this is Kelly. Oh my [goodness] I’m so sorry, it’s so messed up. Everyone here is so upset, you have no idea. I’ll be thinking about you all day.”  Ryan is thoroughly annoyed because he is tired of hearing the same sentences over and over again.  However, is Kelly a good salesperson?  Does her response help to keep customers that are not happy to come back?

Kelly is extremely extroverted.  She talks furiously about herself to others and does not seem to truly listen.  Her persistence about whatever the topic may be often annoys her audience.  As for her response on the phone, she has room to improve, but, in contrast to her character, it is a fine start.  Looking at the positives, Kelly will listen to the customer.  She will make sure that he or she feels heard.  She tried to emphasize with whoever she is talking to.  She does not want to rock the boat any further, but instead lets them know she too is concerned.  Still, she can most definitely improve.

Kelly should listen to the customer and ask questions.  She needs to understand why they are feeling the pain they do.  Then, she needs to work to draw them back into the company.  Kelly needs to find if there is more to the pain than the surface level complaints; she needs to dig deep.  After that, she needs to listen.  Kelly and listening are typically not in the same sentence, however listening is key to truly understanding the pain.  Once she listens and digs deep enough, then she can help to draw the customer back into wanting to work with Dunder Mifflin.