Good Service

So, this is a rare public post in which I talk about work. I'm doing this because of something that has been percolating in my brain for, well, years. Names are omitted because it's work, y'all.

People who go into the computer industry aren't, as a whole, those you could consider People Persons. They may be geeky, cool, and great to have conversations with. When dealing with other people in a "Professional" manner, however, they just don't have the finesse or customer service skills that people are looking for. This can be really problematic. Once upon a time, it was fine since only computer people were really working with computer people. Now that's not the case. Everyone is using computers.

Now let's talk about Tech Support specifically. There are a lot of people who get into Tech Support because they love working with computers and they want to break into the IT industry. There is a problem with this, though. What many of these folks don't realize is they are actually getting into the Customer Service industry. Yes, you need some pretty specific skill sets for it, but it is still Customer Service. And there is a disproportionate number of techs out there who just do not have good Customer Service skills.

So, I don't like to brag (Spike: Who am I kidding? I LOVE to brag!), but I give good customer service. No, seriously. I know I'm good at it and I'm not going to sit here and be all "Gee, no, it was nothing, really" about it. Why? Because there is a widespread impression, which is not entirely unfounded, that most people in the Tech Support industry give shitty customer service. Yes, I get it, we deal with people daily who have no business dealing with anything that uses moving parts, but our job is to help them so that they can do their job. That's one part knowing how to fix the problem they're having and nine parts knowing how to communicate with them efficiently and nicely.

This morning, I got an email forwarded to me from my boss that was sent by someone I worked with yesterday. She told me on the phone that I was the nicest person she's dealt with in my department. I did the polite "Thank You"'s that you should do in a case like that. Compliments are always welcome, after all! Then she mentioned nobody else in my department was as nice as I am. Nobody.

Now, in a case like this you're supposed to do the apologizing and say things like, "oh I'm sure it was an isolated incident", but my response was pretty simple: "Yeah, I know. We're working on it." And it's true. It is something my department has been working on recently, and things have improved. But like every other Tech Support I've ever dealt with, we have a way to go.

So, here's what I think the most important thing anyone looking to get an immediate improvement on their customer service skills should do: Smile. Any seminar or training you get about customer service is going to include it, and very very few people actually do it. If you smile, people will hear it in your voice. That can turn an entire incident around from "Man, I hope I never have to talk to them again" to "Wow, that was good service!" It's not corny, it's not stupid, it's not schmaltzy. It's true. It's a bit of non-verbal communication that carries over into our verbal communication so directly and easily that not doing it is akin to shooting yourself in the foot. And, let's be honest here, I know a lot of people who are shooting themselves in the foot every time they answer the phone.