Seven steps to remarkable customer service

By /
Joel on Software blogCracking read over at Joel Spolsky's blog.

His headings (which you'll really need to read the article for are):
  1. Fix everything two ways
  2. Suggest blowing out the dust
  3. Make customers into fans
  4. Take the blame
  5. Memorize awkward phrases
  6. Practice puppetry
  7. Greed will get you nowhere
  8. (Bonus!) Give customer service people a career path

Some of the ideas from his article that resonated with me:
We treat each tech support call like the NTSB treats airliner crashes. Every time a plane crashes, they send out investigators, figure out what happened, and then figure out a new policy to prevent that particular problem from ever happening again. It’s worked so well for aviation safety that the very, very rare airliner crashes we still get in the US are always very unusual, one-off situations.

...

Instead of telling them to check a setting, tell them to change the setting and then change it back “just to make sure that the software writes out its settings.”

...

When customers have a problem and you fix it, they’re actually going to be even more satisfied than if they never had a problem in the first place.

...

“Ah. It’s my fault,” he said.

And suddenly, I wasn’t mad at all.

...

“I don’t care if you’ve been coming here forever. My waiters are not rude.” The owner proceeded to yell at her. “I never had no problems. Why are you making problems?”

...

And since they’re treating you like a puppet, an iconic stand-in for the real business, you need to treat yourself as a puppet, too.
...



Use stories to get your point across
One note I would end on that's a wee bit off the subject - use stories to get ideas across. All through the above excellent article Joel has used real life, personal and emtovie stories to get the underlying story across. We all connect with stories!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular articles

The Difference Between One Million And One Billion

Image
It's feels like a billion is just a bit bigger than a million. Obviously it's bigger but it fits on the same scale as a million, surely. It doesn't. A billion is so so so much bigger than a million. I've trawled the internet finding graphics and videos that show the VAST difference between one million and one billion. Oh, and just to finish with a different misconception about space starting with the classic opening line from the great Douglas Adams and The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy : “Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space.”

Break The Chains And Be Your Own Person With RSS

Image
We like to think that information ("content") on the Web comes at us from every angle and at speeds that our poor brains just can't take, stooooppp, it's all too much. Nope, most people get small amounts of Web information in very limited ways, Facebook, YouTube, maybe Twitter (ick) or something more wholesome but similar like Bluesky or Mastodon. You'll likely also get messages (through something) with a link to something wonderful and glorious, but I'd say that's mostly it for the vast unwashed. You, are much better than those ignoramus though, and also visit the BBC, RNZ, Stuff, or some other old skool media website (or app, different but same). I applaud you, but what about all those other websites that you like the look of but forgot. You should be using an RSS reader ... yup! This conduit is anti-lock-in, it works for nearly the whole internet. It is surveillance-resistant, far more accessible than the web or any mobile app interface. It is my secre

W. C. Fields quotes

Image
The office has all been moved around - new desks (with starter handles to raise and lower them), new high(er) speed network and ... the same old work. At least I have a differing view of the world, my team (well, the team I'm a part of not "my" team) is a lot closer - finally - and it's like an office from the 80's ... or even a classroom. But I still have time to move the crap off the PC : ------ Any man who hates dogs and loves whiskey can't be all bad. Anyone who hates Dogs and Kids Can't be All Bad. Hey! Who took the cork off my lunch??! Who stole the cork from my breakfast? Now don't say you can't swear off drinking, it's easy. I've done it a thousand times. Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people. If at first you don't succeed, try, try, again. Then quit, no use being a damn fool about things. Madam, there's no such thing as a tough child - if you parboil them first for seven hours, they alwa

Men, Stop It!

Image
A friend of mine recently related how she was so over men sending her weird, annoying, and sometimes creepy messages via LinkedIn. I know, bloody LinkedIn, so I assume these are men are just using a "business reason" to get off, or something 🤮 So, the first message of this article, MEN, STOP IT! If you think you have the right to give a woman mental work by sending any unwanted message, you are wrong. It is so tiring and boring and sad, don't do it. The second message of this article is, men, atone by reading the next three articles and tell a woman, maybe your daughter, what it meant to you. Ask them what they think of you reading it, you will be happily surprised. 1: Stop praising women’s strength. We need a world where we don’t have to fight to be valued To change these harmful systems, we must continue radically shifting norms, despite continuing resistance. Second, creating accountable and equitable governance structures is not just women’s work; it is everyone’s ta

The Oxygen Of Attention

Image
Stephen Fry mentioned it many years ago as a means of not only deflating Donald Trump but everyone like him, the self important that survive on the energy that attention gives them. .. Trump is the most talked about man in history, every single restaurant table, every single bar room, every single coffeeshop conversation you can just hear the word Trump Trump Trump.  He's the Trumpallo, he's like a Dr Seus character, the more you say his name the bigger he gets. All you have to do to defeat him is never mention his name. I have failed with this and other posts, but I think I'm gonna do just that. For my own sanity, I'm just never going to talk about him, no matter what happens from tomorrow on - I just don't need him in my life. If we all did that he would deflate like a balloon after the party lights have long been turned off. I also recalled a quote from Adolf Hitler: “It makes no difference whatever whether they laugh at us or revile us … whether they represent