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…
have you ever said that to yourself or others?
Most, if not all of us, use software
applications and at some point have needed to
call for support.
So the question arises… how do you maximize the
event recognizing two fundamentals: first, you
(or I) are unhappy with something which prompts
us to seek help, and second, support folks spend
their days getting one call after another from
us and who, very specifically are not calling to
simply say “hi.”
I will tell you how I approach it and use a
specific example. I am a photographer by hobby.
I have a high end digital SLR camera and like
much of the industry, use an application from
Adobe called Photoshop CS2 to edit digital
images. Now this product is designed for
professionals - not for software users like me.
I could easily spend the balance of my life
learning how to use the application and never
get beyond probably 25%. And to frustrate me
further, they come out with “updates” several
times per year which I suspect are specifically
intended to keep me alert.
I have come to realize that generally when I
have a problem with an application from a
reputable organization, the solution is going to
be reached by fixing a human error (wife and two
sons delight in pointing this out), mine. So, I
determine I will solve the problem on my own and
go through all the things I am certain I did
wrong that got me in this irascible frame of
mind. I check all my settings, click on help,
pull out paper documentation, call friends and
curse - a lot. Then I call support.
Now, I know from my business experience about
the person taking my support call. I understand
how they spend their day and what pressure and
occasional frustration they experience.
Consequently, I know that if I fully disclose my
current homicidal thoughts, I will probably get
very little effort from their side and I will
still be left with my “problem.” So, when they
answer the call I immediately get a name (in
case I inadvertently disclose my real frame of
mind and they hang up… has happened to me twice)
and ask where they are located. Currently, I
suspect that the world’s tech support is located
in suburban Madras or Bombay, occasionally North
Carolina. Then I adopt a veeerrryy friendly tone
and a patient, casual style of communicating.
This is not easy… even when everything is going
well. I have never failed with this approach.
The thing that makes it work is this: left to my
own devices, I would probably never solve my
problem, so if it takes more time than seems
reasonable, I simply remind myself that this has
always been successful and that this support
individual wants a good outcome as much, or
more, than I do. They are committed. For me,
it’s a software issue, for them, their
livelihood. |
