Beehind the Curtain: Secrets of our Support Success

#1

Post by dreeves » Sun, Aug 04, 2013, 8:26 PM UTC

Beehind the Curtain: Secrets of our Support Success
blog.beeminder.com

Re: Beehind the Curtain: Secrets of our Support Success

#2

Post by dreeves » Sun, Aug 04, 2013, 8:31 PM UTC

Author here. Quick summary of the customer support lessons discussed in the post:

    1. Be (really) informal
    2. Be grateful (even to jerks)
    3. Don't just offer help, ask for it
    4. Reply immediately
    5. Avoid going down rabbit holes

I think #3 is the most surprising. It was sort of an epiphany when we figured it out. You can bend over backwards offering help and it makes users feel guilty or suspicious and ignore you. If you ask them for help then they respond effusively, and bend over backwards to help you.

So make explicit in your support replies that asking you questions is not a burden but a vital form of feedback.

Re: Beehind the Curtain: Secrets of our Support Success

#3

Post by fourgone » Sun, Aug 04, 2013, 9:58 PM UTC

Great feedback on feedback. I'm a Beeminder customer and I can confirm that support really does run the way the author describes.

My general rule on contacting customer support: Don't.

Perhaps like Joel's Rules for software companies, there should be some kind of customer service certification. Oh well, I can dream, can't I?

Re: Beehind the Curtain: Secrets of our Support Success

#4

Post by dreeves » Sun, Aug 04, 2013, 10:09 PM UTC

fourgone wrote: post #3

Great feedback on feedback. I'm a Beeminder customer and I can confirm that support really does run the way the author describes. My general rule on contacting customer support: Don't. Perhaps like Joel's Rules for software companies, there should be some kind of customer service certification. Oh well, I can dream, can't I? See also: http://xkcd.com/806/

Ha, yeah, that's the biggest secret to amazing customer support, for as long as you can handle it: have the founders do it.

We have a few non-founders helping us with support but they're quick to say "let me pull in the hackers/founders on this".

Re: Beehind the Curtain: Secrets of our Support Success

#5

Post by nslater » Sun, Aug 04, 2013, 10:31 PM UTC

Almost signed off an email to the Beeminder support team with two kisses the other day.

(Not a joke! Fortunately, caught myself before pressing send.)

Re: Beehind the Curtain: Secrets of our Support Success

#6

Post by dreeves » Mon, Aug 05, 2013, 3:32 AM UTC

nslater wrote: post #5

Almost signed off an email to the Beeminder support team with two kisses the other day. (Not a joke! Fortunately, caught myself before pressing send.)

By the "best-friend heuristic", as we say in the post, you should totally go with the kisses.

(I'm pretty sure we'd not have batted an eye at that. :) We're talking about emoticons, right?)