Do you consistently exceed customer/client expectations? Share.

[Ichinisan]

It happens to me every day...repeatedly. Sometimes it gets old, and sometimes it's pretty rewarding.

Do people consistently praise your every-day performance as if you're ultra-special?

Share.



I work for an cableco as some kind of go-to guy for tricky stuff. When neither of our call centers can handle a tricky issue, it comes to me. A commercial customer with an unusual request? A non-customer entity with a technical issue? Call center folks speaking to customers with unusual questions? Field tech with a problem? They all come to me.

I don't work on a team or anything. The position was kinda made for me because everybody somehow learned to "ask -----." There are sometimes far more issues than I can handle by myself...but I do what I can. I'm not an expert on any field in particular, but my range of experiences is apparently notable enough for this to be my role.

I often find myself going above-and-beyond to resolve an issue. I often do this just to show a customer that our service is not actually the problem. I sometimes work hands-on with problem customers when we've tried everything else to solve their problem, or they just refuse to work with Tech Support. If it's a special-needs customer, I've been known to take care of the issue in-person (one customer was nearly blind, another had a speech impairment).

Of course, the downside is that everyone asks for me by name and I'm already overwhelmed.

I know... Most people who can right-click a mouse are bombarded with questions from half the people they know. I remember when it was just an annoyance. Now, it's so much more than that.

 

[Ichinisan]

Here's my example from today:

Over the phone, I spoke with one of our cable techs at a customer's house. He already got the customer's modem working again and noticed that the Google homepage wouldn't load and other pages worked fine (this probably confused him for a while). Not knowing the cable guy's comfort level with the command line, I walked him through checking the plugins quickly to see if there were any Google add-ons we could disable in IE. There were no Google add-ons (strange, because people usually install that stuff without thinking). I had him go to http://join.me [highly recommended after using this for a month]. Seconds later, I'm controlling the computer remotely so I can check things more quickly and get our tech out of there (he was running behind on other service calls).

From the command line, I pinged Google.com and saw an IP that definitely was not Google.

Run > \windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts ...saw TONS of stuff that shouldn't be there, redirecting a several Google and Yahoo hostnames. Some popular security sites were also redirected (a sure sign that some malware was/is installed and tried to prevent the user from easily downloading a removal tool).

Tried to remove everything but the localhosts line and save it, but Windows refused to save the file ("access denied"). I asked the tech to pass the phone to the customer and go to his next call. He was calling from his own mobile phone. *Ugh* I gave him my direct line so the customer would call me while I was still able to control the system.

From the command prompt, browsed to \windows\system32\drivers\etc\ and ran "attrib hosts", revealing the System, Hidden, and Read-only attributes had been set. Even ATTRIB couldn't remove the attributes (yes, I know you have to remove S and H at the same time, and I know the syntax).

I had to turn off "Simple File Sharing" so I would have the NTFS file security options (thank God XP MCE lets you do this, unlike Home Edition), add the username ("Owner") and enable "Full Control".

Then I could use ATTRIB to remove the S and H attributes.

Then I removed the bogus stuff from the hosts file (everything but the localhost line).

Now Google works again.

The whole time, the customer asked various questions, mostly unrelated. That slowed me down a bit, but he appreciated the advice. Customer gushed on-and-on about the "great service." In the end, I left him installing updates because he had no antivirus and didn't have the prerequisites for Microsoft Security Essentials.

The "Microsoft Update" shortcut is prominently placed on the desktop for him to use repeatedly until there are no more priority updates. Then, he'll open the "Microsoft Security Essentials Installer" folder right next to it to install that.

I got the vibe that this was done by some piece of malware that was already removed. Customer knows to watch for anything else strange that would indicate the system is still compromised.

 

[RKS]

Great, you do your job.

I have a client who is blind, another is deaf and many others with disabilities. However none of my 125 or so clients give a fuck how special I make them feel or how lovey-dovey I am with them, they just want positive results yesterday.

 

[guyver01]

So... basically... you provided support and assistance for an issue that was not your companies problem.... probably causing more issues for front line support down the line... and you want a pat on the back for it?

 

[Ichinisan]

So... basically... you provided support and assistance for an issue that was not your companies problem.... probably causing more issues for front line support down the line... and you want a pat on the back for it?

No. I own the problem. That's what they want me to do.

Everything they can't handle or adequately explain comes to me.

 

[guyver01]

Everything they can't handle

what cable company now supports operating system issues? i want to make sure i dump my stock asap.

 

[SandEagle]

i set low expectations. that way no one is ever disappointed and i feel good when i do just ok.

 

[vi edit]

what cable company now supports operating system issues? i want to make sure i dump my stock asap.

Customer support as a whole has completely gone in the shitter. I feel truely sorry for non-technical people that have to deal with the miserable support that most companies put on the lines any more.

God forbid somebody actually takes some time and delivers real honest to god support effort.

 

[rcpratt]

Err...interesting thread.

I don't really have any "customers" per say, so I can't exceed their expectations.

 

[Ichinisan]

Err...interesting thread.

I don't really have any "customers" per say, so I can't exceed their expectations.

Clients, maybe?

 

[vi edit]

As for the topic...for me it's not so much that I go "above and beyond" it's just the simple reality that many IT people are apathetic, compassionless, powertripping assholes that really want nothing to do with anything that even remotely involves direct customer interaction.

So if I simply deal with an issue in a friendly, casual, and non-condenscending manner I'm like the best IT person on the planet to that person because I actually seem to care and don't feel like helping them is a burden to me.

It's not that I think I'm better...it's just that there's a lot of horrible support people out there.

 

[AreaCode707]

Yeah, I'm with you on this, OP. My coworkers ask if I ever sleep, I get the highest customer satisfaction ratings (since I moved into a role that measures stuff like that) and my peers escalate anything they can't figure out over to me.

I like the recognition, I enjoy the appreciation, and I thrive on being the one who knows all the answers (even though I don't really, I'm just better about bullshitting while I take extra steps to figure it out.) Extra bonus money doesn't hurt either.

Downside is that I inevitably wind up working 80 hour weeks, customers refuse to transition into regular customer support, and my peers (global) now notice anytime I'm offline for more than 20 minutes, including the middle of the night.

I'm working on better expectation-setting and balance in my newest job. So far I'm happy with the tone I'm striking...

 

[Drako]

Err...interesting thread.

I don't really have any "customers" per say, so I can't exceed their expectations.

Who do you work for? They are your customers. Anyone that your work ultimately affects is a customer.

 

[manimal]

under promise, over deliver...simple...




In sales its all about perceived value. Give a bit of margin to make it on the back end...

 

[shiner]

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

My rule for customers is a simple one. Regardless of whether she asks me to drop a load on her back or her face, always avoid the hair. Makes for glowing reviews.

 

[guyver01]

God forbid somebody actually takes some time and delivers real honest to god support effort.

companies should focus on supporting their own product. I expect Cable Companies to support... CABLE. It is their first business.

If someone's internet is slow.. and you've determined they have a virus or malware on their PC... refer them to a real tech support company that gets paid to fix those issues.

The more you dilute your own support... the worse your actual support becomes.

Those who try to specialize in everything.... become master of nothing.

 

[rcpratt]

Who do you work for? They are your customers. Anyone that your work ultimately affects is a customer.

Sure, there are obviously customers at the end of the line. But I never interact with them at work...so they have no personal expectations of me.

 

[CZroe]

companies should focus on supporting their own product. I expect Cable Companies to support... CABLE. It is their first business.

If someone's internet is slow.. and you've determined they have a virus or malware on their PC... refer them to a real tech support company that gets paid to fix those issues.

The more you dilute your own support... the worse your actual support becomes.

Those who try to specialize in everything.... become master of nothing.

Those customers will then praise Geek Squad and speak ill of your cable company. They will tell all their friends about how the incompetant cable guy "couldn't hook up their Internet" until Geek Squad saved the day.

Some times, it is important to do more than the minimum of what your job entails, especially in CS.

 

[guyver01]

Some times, it is important to do more than the minimum of what your job entails, especially in CS.

there is a difference between configuring IE options for access.... and re-writing a host file.

I wouldn't expect a cable company to walk me thru re-imaging my OS..

 

[CZroe]

there is a difference between configuring IE options for access.... and re-writing a host file.

I wouldn't expect a cable company to walk me thru re-imaging my OS..

You aren't the customer. News flash: The majority of Internet customers who get their Internet service connected would believe that their service is to blame if it won't even load their homepage and you left it like that. To them, it's still behaving as if you did nothing.

 

[Ichinisan]

Our email host recently transitioned to Gmail. A lot of customers have Outlook XP (2002) and can't send, even with correct / updated settings. After paying special attention to each case, I've determined that all of them didn't have the Office XP Service Pack 3 update.

Problem: The fucking update requires the Office disc, and no one I speak with can ever find it.

Still, customers perceive that it's our fault because we changed email hosts and require new settings (even though our previous email system was intolerable).

 

[guyver01]

Still, customers blame us because we're the ones that changed email hosts and require new settings (even though our previous email system was intolerable).

They would however be correct. if you make a change (or a company you pay to provide a service makes a change) .. and the impact to your customers are not taken into account... you are to blame.

If you made a change that required all your customers to use IE9.. and didn't check to see if they had it.. or could upgrade to it easily... then you DONT make the change.

THIS is part of customer service.

 

[guyver01]

To them, it's still behaving as if you did nothing.

then you learn how to explain it to them.

you ask them... would you expect the DMV to fix an issue with your car? No. The manufacturer does that.

The ISP is the equivalent of the DMV.

I have used this explanation MANY TIMES.. and customers understood it easily.

 

[Ichinisan]

They would however be correct. if you make a change (or a company you pay to provide a service makes a change) .. and the impact to your customers are not taken into account... you are to blame.

If you made a change that required all your customers to use IE9.. and didn't check to see if they had it.. or could upgrade to it easily... then you DONT make the change.

THIS is part of customer service.

Of course, there's no way to make sure thousands of customers have installed a service pack for an old version of Outlook that Microsoft has abandoned and no longer supports. Who even knows why, without the service pack, Outlook XP doesn't support the new settings. It has SSL and port number settings. Why should I assume they don't work? There's no practical way to know that beforehand.

The old mail system had to go. It was constantly blacklisted by half the Internet. It was operated by the company that made the system we use to manage everything. They host email for dozens of other small cableco ISPs, so it seemed like a competent choice when we outgrew our own email system.

Despite the woes of the Google transition, it has been a long time coming and I welcome it.

then you learn how to explain it to them.

you ask them... would you expect the DMV to fix an issue with your car? No. The manufacturer does that.

The ISP is the equivalent of the DMV.

I have used this explanation MANY TIMES.. and customers understood it easily.

I frequently deal with customers that have insisted, despite various reasoning, that their system is not the problem.