31–40 of 45 posts
Speaking of customer support... I'd love to read some good information about how to successfully set it up in a somewhat organized fashion. Tricks, tips, do's and don'ts... as well as some advice on trying to make the proper tradeoffs. Anyone got good books or other resources they can recommend?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Support requests should be treated as opportunities to make a positive brand experience. Even if this person doesn't become a high paying customer, they might become an advocate. Perhaps they overhear a conversation about your product and say - oh I know - they are so friendly and helpful! If your support is good enough, people will even tweet about how amazing you are. It's hard to pay for advertising that effective…
Would that customer even know what she's advocating? I bet she'd end up advocating her hosting company, not 37sig. So you go the extra mile, find contact info for her host and give it to you, what's the response? Probably "OH now you're pawning me off on someone else?!" The classic story of customer service is Nordstrom giving a customer a refund on tires (they don't sell tires). But that's an uncomplicated transacti…
You might be surprised, but the expected result of calling Zappos for help with your iPhone is that they would give it their best shot to be helpful and get it working. There are limits, of course, and I hope you don't try it, but that is how they are trained. At least that is the mantra from Tony Hsieh, in several talks I have listened to over the years.
Tony keeps telling a story about how he was out partying with some friends once, they got home at 2am, and one friend said they'd like to order pizza. "Let's call Zappos and have them get us a pizza!" he suggested. They called Zappos, and the service rep patiently looked up the nearest late night delivery pizza places and gave them the phone numbers. There was a small hesitation to start, but the rep's training kicked in to give world class customer service. And Tony gets to tell that story forever...
1) http://gettingreal.37signals.com/ch04_Hire_the_Right_Custome...
How does she know it would have made any difference? Maybe it wouldn't. Maybe things would have turned out worse. I don't see any evidence of a lesson.
The article she linked to is much more useful IMO: http://37signals.com/svn/posts/3566-found-in-translation It explains a technique and why it's worth doing.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
A good, logical reason to be empathetic in all situations would be to help yourself. If you needlessly act negative toward another person, you will be more inclined to be negative about similar situations in the future. You are essentially training yourself to be negative which, I can assure you, bleeds into the rest of your life. It's important to recognize that even if you don't see value in being empathetic toward…
That first argument is unlikely to convince someone coming from a cold hard logic standpoint. Coming from a cold hard logic standpoint, that person is going to act in their best interest/companies best interest in all cases (or so the theory goes). I understand where you're coming from, but "Be nice to everyone to train yourself to be nice" isn't the optimal path from the companies perspective. Though you're second a…
Though, an argument could also be made that being a nicer person is definitely a quality that most organizations would applaud, especially in a customer service position.
Empathy goes both ways. That customer clearly had none, and furthermore didn't believe the support person when they repeatedly tried to explain things to her. We tend to see things like, say, boxers on their website and we instantly feel a connection to a person where none may be warranted. To unilaterally make that connection with an abusive person is a recipe for unhappiness and disappointment. I feel reminded abou…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granfalloon
edit: this is in re to the first paragraph on unnecessary connection
I remember reading a post on these pages that explained Apple's sales and support methods... to empathize with the customer. One message I got from giving customer feedback was that instead of saying 'No, that is not the problem' when a customer complains, I start by saying 'I understand how frustrating that could be'.
That tone is enough to put the most angered customer at ease. With that approach, I rarely ever require a second response.
Empathy goes both ways. That customer clearly had none, and furthermore didn't believe the support person when they repeatedly tried to explain things to her. We tend to see things like, say, boxers on their website and we instantly feel a connection to a person where none may be warranted. To unilaterally make that connection with an abusive person is a recipe for unhappiness and disappointment. I feel reminded abou…
What possible worth would we get from being empathetic with people who can't even understand the difference between ours and somebodyelse website? They are unlikely to become customers, and each support incident cost the company money. Yeah I am sure there is an emotional reason for it, but I am asking for a cold hearted logic reason.
A good, logical reason to be empathetic in all situations would be to help yourself. If you needlessly act negative toward another person, you will be more inclined to be negative about similar situations in the future. You are essentially training yourself to be negative which, I can assure you, bleeds into the rest of your life. It's important to recognize that even if you don't see value in being empathetic toward…