Wednesday, May 02, 2007
More things not to say
Further to my post yesterday, one of the most infuriating things for a tech agent is when a customer calls in for help and then makes sounds of grudging acceptance when they're asked to do something. An example:
Me: "Alright, now we'll want to unplug that filter."
Caller: SIGH..."OK, fine."
If my request isn't too onerous, your majesty. Seriously, you're calling us for help, and we're not usually asking you to do anything too difficult. If you don't want to perform the troubleshooting steps, please feel free to hang up and call back when you are. If you do want some help, stow the 'tude and follow along.
And then there's another thing: saying you know what you're doing because of all your experience. OK, fine, I guess that invalidates whatever we know. Obviously our experience matters less. Let's look at an example from earlier today:
Caller: "I've been working with computers since 1995. I think I know what I'm doing."
Good for you. I've been working with computers since 1986, but my vast experience with a C64 playing the seahorse game doesn't necessarily mean much to troubleshooting your issue. More importantly, I've got a bunch of training and experience doing tech support, and I have access to a bunch of resources for troubleshooting, some of which you've got too (Google) and some which you don't.
You might know what you're doing when it comes to web design or setting up your printer or whatever your experience is in, but if it's not relevant to what we're doing right now, then don't bother bringing it up with an air of self-importance. You're not going to make me any more willing to help you, but you might make me less so.
Me: "Alright, now we'll want to unplug that filter."
Caller: SIGH..."OK, fine."
If my request isn't too onerous, your majesty. Seriously, you're calling us for help, and we're not usually asking you to do anything too difficult. If you don't want to perform the troubleshooting steps, please feel free to hang up and call back when you are. If you do want some help, stow the 'tude and follow along.
And then there's another thing: saying you know what you're doing because of all your experience. OK, fine, I guess that invalidates whatever we know. Obviously our experience matters less. Let's look at an example from earlier today:
Caller: "I've been working with computers since 1995. I think I know what I'm doing."
Good for you. I've been working with computers since 1986, but my vast experience with a C64 playing the seahorse game doesn't necessarily mean much to troubleshooting your issue. More importantly, I've got a bunch of training and experience doing tech support, and I have access to a bunch of resources for troubleshooting, some of which you've got too (Google) and some which you don't.
You might know what you're doing when it comes to web design or setting up your printer or whatever your experience is in, but if it's not relevant to what we're doing right now, then don't bother bringing it up with an air of self-importance. You're not going to make me any more willing to help you, but you might make me less so.
Labels: communication
# posted by Terry @ 9:00 AM 
