## 1 frustrated customers [The Mom Test - How to talk to customers | Hacker News](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28667439) [The Mom Test - How to talk to customers. A Summary](https://sandro.volpee.de/the-mom-test-summary-validate-ideas) [Giving a Shit as a Service (2022) | Hacker News](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38056637) [Giving a Shit as a Service - Allen Pike](https://allenpike.com/2022/giving-a-shit) REDDIT COMMENTS Our physical presence / approach toward the user will sometimes fix the problem they are facing without any additional effort - IT Support I always tell users that I scared the computer into working by showing up. I tell them I "faith healed" it. Also, it's so funny when they apologize when it's an easy fix. Dude, I fucking LIVE for the easy fix. Decades ago when I was an intern I rubbed my hands together quickly and "laid hands" on PCs that I fixed remotely before the end users knew the issue had been resolved. This got back to my boss and he politely asked me to forgo the faith healing show and just tell the end users that the problem was resolved. I used to chant in Latin at the computer while the SA in the other room connected remotely and fixed the issue. I was the only one who was amused by this. Your boss sounds like a nerd, my boss is a miserable person but would love this. Ah yes, the "IT aura" I joke with my clients when this happens that "it decided to behave because it knows I'm watching" I jokingly call it "proximity based resolution" and usually manage to get a chuckle. The customer is not always right, but they must always feel heard My magic phrase is "I'm so sorry, that's really frustrating!" Boom! I've taken zero responsibility, admitted nothing, and yet they know I understood them and am showing empathy. Now it's us-against-the-world not me-against-you. From working technical support for longer than I dare think about, most angry customers just want to be heard. Let them have their rant, do active listening, and make notes about what they're saying. They will eventually run out of steam. Then, read back everything they talked about and go through it step by step. Works almost every time, and often they are very thankful by the end of the call. Customer service is the art of making people feel more important than they actually are It involves the art of listening, a LOT Make sure to under-promise and over-deliver - people will often say "you said...", so make sure you make NO promises if at all possible - since it leads to some major [contract] issues, ONLY promise if you 100% know it will happen sorry for the delay -> thank you for your patience apologies for the oversight -> you're free to do it instead ## 2 fixing things [Asking your customers what they want doesn't work | Hacker News](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38814152) [Why asking your customers what they want doesn't work](https://techbooks.substack.com/p/why-asking-your-customers-what-they) Most of the "fixing" issue is NOT [actual fixing problems], but is instead "user error" - their ego is, however, too weak to accept that in that moment, so that's what most tech support is there to do do NOT focus on their behavior or problems - instead, only focus on what you can do to help them - if you don't, you'll either lapse into rudeness or want to kill yourself from being overly nice I tell people that no matter what system you're troubleshooting, it's always layer 1. if it isn't, check again, because it's always layer 1. To caveat on this, I have Xfinifty internet. Once a month I am forced to call customer service about declining speeds. Their step one is to "unplug, wait 30 seconds and plug back in." I say yes its unplugged and I wait 30 seconds (meanwhile I don't unplug a fucking thing and they blame "Resistance in the line") Then my speeds are what I paid for; for about 2-3 weeks until contract renewal time. Give ppl what they want - if they want an unfavorable situation, still give it after warning them - just make sure to [leave notes about what you warned](legally safe) Schultz believed they should just say yes to customer requests. So, for example, Schultz was initially determined to avoid using nonfat milk since he didn't think it tasted as good as regular milk and because it was at odds with the Italian coffee experience. When customers kept requesting nonfat drinks, Schultz relented. The success of those drinks became an important small win and soon much more: nonfat milk would grow to account for almost half of Starbucks's lattes and cappuccinos. ### basic reseating Another tip: instead of asking the customer if something's plugged in ask them to check if the plug's prongs are corroded. After they check they'll unconsciously plug it back in. Reminds me of my friend in tech support. She does things like that too so people don't get more frustrated. Instead of asking them if they tried turning it off and starting it again she'll say something like "Let's try a fresh reboot and tell me if you see anything strange as it's booting up." People don't want to feel dumb or have someone think they're dumb. When they do, many lash out. That's not just true in tech support though, that's a general customer service thing. That or just "unseat and reseat." Anything that makes them think they're doing something technical and important. I would ask them to unplug the computer at all insertions, blow on the plug to remove any dust or anything interfering with the contacts, then plug it back in. - My company's support group started asking users how many pins the power connector on printers had. Completely useless but it made them actually look at the power connector and make sure it is plugged in. - Yes, the cord was absolutely plugged into the wall. It was not, however, plugged into my laptop Back in my broadband support days my go to was "can you unplug the line from the router, I want to test the exchange and can't while your line is active" wait a little bit then "ok pop it back in" IT Support, you can fix 90% of your problems by turning hardware off and on again. Also if you're nice to us instead of being horrible we will fix your problem faster. Imo Customer Support is not paid enough for all the shit they have to deal with. Customers are very fucking rude through the telephone. ### getting them involved PASS RESET Take their phone, pretend I'm opening up some special password reset program, hand them their phone back and ask them to enter their "new password", and I'd say about 70% of the time, they entered their current password and gained access. - That is such a high level trick, I sold phones for 8 years and never thought of that. I did get lucky a good amount of times just telling someone, if you HAD made a password/pin, what would it have been? Give them what they want: Dude I used to work in an office and an older employee would complain about his internet speed constantly (it was fine, user error completely) so to make him be quiet I got an old set of rabbit ear antenna and told him it would make the internet faster. It worked and he stopped complaining. ## 3 giving space for yourself indicate your availability to ppl, esp. as windows of time give time to "check" on things, which gives you time to emotionally decompress or think on what to do with bad news Be consistent in your hours, habits, and behaviors. We are most comfortable with people whose behavior we can predict. - LEARN TO BE MORE CONSISTENT THAN ACCOMMODATING How to Sneak Past the Gatekeeper Technique (The Sneaky Screen): If you must screen your calls, instruct your staff to first say cheerfully, "Oh yes, I'll put you right through. May I tell her who's calling?" If the party has already identified himself, it's "Oh of course, Mr. Whoozit. I'll put you right though." When the secretary comes back with the bad news that Mr. or Ms. Bigwig is unavailable, callers don't take it personally and never feel screened. They fall for it every time, just like I did. [Tell HN: I salute everyone on call/working support through the holidays | Hacker News](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38725015) REDDIT COMMENTS Just because you’re on hold doesn’t mean we can’t hear you. Another fun one: if you're using a chat feature, we can see what you type even before you hit enter. I've seen some wild things typed then deleted. ## 4 advanced resolutions Avoid refunds - akways aim for exchanges when possible - preferably, throw cheap crap at them (e.g., soft drinks) ## 5 giving closure ALWAYS end with "is there anything else I can do for you today?" CLOSE THE LOOP: If your doctor says, "We'll call you if there's a problem" - and there's no call 2 weeks later, you're still wondering. When people don't close the loop, they leave the other person hanging. It's not only distracting, but subtly erodes the relationship. Never let yourself be known as someone who leaves other people hanging. Once that label is applied, it's hard to shake. Consistently close the loop, and build a reputation as a dependable professional. FROM MY WORK: (16:32:30) dave: BW operates on the presumption that "nonpayment" means "desires to cancel" (16:33:35) dave: however, around here, "nonpayment" can often mean any of the following: 1. "unemployed" 2. "forgetful" 3. "bad at budgeting" 4. "doesn't understand how to pay bills on time"