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Voiceover:��Welcome to The Wave Strength: Innovative Solutions for a Secure Retirement. Presented by �鶹��ý.

Jim Breen:��Hi, everybody, and welcome to another episode of The Wave Strength. I'm your host, Jim Breen. I'm a marketing director with �鶹��ý's Institutional Division. And with us today is Jamie Finkral, visiting from Colorado actually today. So, first off, Jamie, thanks for making the trek out here from Colorado to California to join us on the show.

Jamie Finkral:���۱𲹳�. Happy to be here.

Jim Breen:��And Jamie, you are on the sales team for �鶹��ý's Institutional Division. But before we get into today's topic, which is �鶹��ý's philosophy as it pertains to customer service and some of the customer service innovations that �鶹��ý's Institutional Division is bringing to the market, I'd love for our viewers to maybe learn a little bit about your background and your role at �鶹��ý.

Jamie Finkral:��Yeah, absolutely. So, I've been with �鶹��ý since 2017, and one amazing thing that I've noticed with �鶹��ý is we're very people focused, whether that's with its own employees or the people we serve, our customers.

Jim Breen:��That's very true. And you are very; you are, I would say in particular, you are very people focused because we spent some time at a conference last November in D.C., and I remember that was our first time really meeting each other in person. And I remember going, "Wow, you're really good with people, and you really enjoy talking to people, and people enjoy talking to you." And you really have a desire to kind of understand where people are and maybe their process, whether it's a sales process or just their journey as it pertains to our business.

Jamie Finkral:���龱�����. Yeah. And that's what attracted me to my current role. So, like you said, I'm with Institutional Sales, and the same goes for this team. We're very people focused, so we're really focused on ensuring the best customer experience.

Jim Breen:��Now, �鶹��ý is known for its excellent customer service. Many customer service awards across the enterprise, across the company. And, you know, talk to me a little bit about your philosophy on customer service and the importance of customer service in the role that you bring to the table.

Jamie Finkral:��So, I help onboard when we win a plan. And so when I'm onboarding the plan, I'm just really focused on making sure we have a great customer experience, especially with the first interaction with �鶹��ý. So, that's what our team is focused on.

Jim Breen:��And that customer experience, that's really important. I think in years past, sometimes customer experience wasn't always, you know, not just the financial industry, but just in general, customer experience wasn't always the first and foremost focus. I think Steve Jobs and Jony Ive, a lot of what they did at Apple back in the 90s, you know. And even as they, if you move all the way to 2007 with the iPhone, creating something that the people didn't really know they needed or creating something or an experience or an interface that the customers just didn't know they needed yet. And so it is important where you're trying to look ahead and trying to always make sure that the folks that you work with are well taken care of.

Jamie Finkral:���龱�����. One thing I like to think about is anticipating needs, just making sure that we're one step ahead and making sure that our clients and customers are well taken care of.

Jim Breen:��Yeah, And I think that it's important to always make sure that when you're in that position to take care of people or have the opportunity to provide that service, that philosophy that �鶹��ý brings to the table where, you know, the "P" in Pacific, right? People: always looking at our people. Looking at, you know, the participants in this case and the conversation we're having right now, making sure that they're taken care of. And it's not always through, right, that, I mean, it's important to always make sure that that customer, that high level of customer service, the actual human interaction there is top notch. And it's also, though, providing innovation, right? What do you think about that?

Jamie Finkral:��So, innovation is also another very important thing to �鶹��ý. We have recently undergone an administration upgrade, and with that, we've implemented some really great innovation with our web experience, for example. Just trying to stay ahead of the curve and making that interaction with �鶹��ý that much easier.

Jim Breen:��So when those participants, when they need to have some sort of interaction, whether it's something as simple as uploading forms...

Jamie Finkral:���龱�����.

Jim Breen:��...or something like that, it's a much more technologically advanced or maybe more user-friendly experience?

Jamie Finkral:��Right! Like, who faxes anymore, right?

Jim Breen:���۱𲹳�.

Jamie Finkral:��So, that's exactly one great example is you can upload a form now, so it's just that easy. So, we're trying to stay ahead of that curve and innovate.

Jim Breen:���۱𲹳�. And it seems small, but that's a big deal because many systems still, from a document repository standpoint, still require the fax. And especially during the pandemic, when you had a lot of stores, or you couldn't just go to the FedEx/Kinko's and have them scan something. And, you know, I don't know about you, but I threw away my scanner some time ago; or my fax machine, excuse me.

Jamie Finkral:��I'm a Millennial; I don't have a printer even.

Jim Breen:��Yeah, fax machine. I don't know. Did they still sell fax machines? Can you go buy a fax machine? I don't even know.

Jamie Finkral:��That's a good question.

Jim Breen:��Yeah, that's a good question. I remember what they sound like; I remember that noise. Like noise that they make.

Jamie Finkral:��[Makes fax machine noises]

Jim Breen:���۱𲹳�. Yeah. That's pretty accurate.

Jamie Finkral:��Or, that might be...

Jim Breen:��A modem?

Jamie Finkral:��Dial up.

Jim Breen:�����첹��.

Jamie Finkral:�����첹��.

Jim Breen:��We're getting our sound effects mixed up. But anyway, you're right, though, because it's not just about that opportunity to connect and communicate, you know, person-to-person, but providing those touch points so that your participant feels like they're in a very clean user experience. It's a user experience that's not just easy to use, but they feel thought of, you know, like their needs have been carefully thought of and providing that digital-first experience.

Jamie Finkral:���龱�����. Exactly. And we, you know, we're always going to provide that ability to give us a call if you need to; if you still want to call us, if you still want to fax us, we still have that option. But we're just thinking ahead for those that might want to use the internet a little bit more often.

Jim Breen:��Jamie, this has been great. I want to thank you for taking the opportunity to sit down and just give us a brief overview about your thoughts on customer service as they pertain to �鶹��ý in our Institutional Division. Is there anything else you'd like to add?

Jamie Finkral:��Well, I just really appreciate this opportunity to chat about one of my passions: customer service and the customer experience. You know, �鶹��ý has been around for over 150 years, and that is because of our strength and stability. And we just look forward to sticking around for another 150+ years and innovating for that great customer experience we're known for.

Jim Breen:��Awesome. Well, thanks. Great, Jamie. Really appreciate it. Hopefully, we'll have you back.

Jamie Finkral:���۱𲹳�.

Jim Breen:��And to our viewers, I want to thank you for spending time with us today. And I want to encourage you to head on over to YouTube, Spotify, or Audible and make sure you like and subscribe to our content so you can stay current with the most recent episodes. Have a great day, everyone.

Voiceover:��This has been another episode of The Wave strength presented by �鶹��ý. Don't forget to catch us on YouTube and make sure to subscribe. Although this podcast is presented by �鶹��ý, the opinions and views expressed are those of the hosts and participants and do not necessarily reflect �鶹��ý's views on any of the topics discussed. �鶹��ý is a product provider. It is not a fiduciary and therefore does not give advice or make recommendations regarding insurance or investment products. �鶹��ý, its affiliates, its distributors and respective representatives do not provide any employer sponsored, qualified plan, administrative services, or impartial advice about investments, and do not act in a fiduciary capacity for any plan. �鶹��ý refers to �鶹��ý (Newport Beach, California) and its affiliates, including �鶹��ý & Annuity Company. Insurance products are issued by �鶹��ý in all states except New York and in New York by �鶹��ý & Annuity Company. Product availability and features may vary by state. Each insurance company is solely responsible for the financial obligations accruing under the products it issues. This podcast was recorded on August 1st, 2022.

Jim Breen:��Thanks for joining us on today's show. We'd love to hear from you. Join the conversation below and leave a comment on your thoughts on what the industry can do better for participants as it pertains to lifetime income solutions. And if you'd like more interesting content, click one of these links over here.