Hey! I Am the Customer!

Those of you who are like me and are in the customer service field know that it can be a stressful and demanding job. We had an infomral meeting the other day at work that discussed how to provide exceptional customer service and I wanted to share the main points with you.

Attitudes, Motives and Values all play a big part in customer service and this discussion struck a cord with me and has halped me to provide a better experience for each customer that I speak with every day. First, i want to define each of these.

My attitude is the way I think and is reflected in the way I carry on in my work and relate to others. It's also evident in times of stress.

My motives are the reasons why I do things. I may work hard because it makes me feel good or maybe because I want that promotion that is up for grabs.

My values are inner guidelines that direct my behavior or rules by which I live my life. A person's behavior is almost always consistent with his or her values and they will not do things that conflict with them.

So, what do these things have to do with good customer service? EVERYTHING! Customer service isn't just painting a smile on your face and performing plastic tasks. People can see through these easily and quickly. They are thinly vieled attempts at being nice.

VALUES DRIVE OUR ATTITUDES, MOTIVES AND BEHAVIOR

Three things that you should be sure to think to yourself at every customer interaction are:

1. "You're the customer - you pay my salary!

2. "There's something about you I like."

3. "You make my job possible."

When these are values of yours you will automatically make the custopmer feel important. You can choose to focus on what you like about a person or on something you don't like. It's your choice!

I decided to post this not only because of the meeting I had at work but also because I experienced the exact opposite the other day at a business. As a person in the field, it is easy to see mistakes that other customer service personel make and crituiqe them.

I took my nephew to a local video game trading store located near my home. As we walked in the person behind the counter was on the cell phone speaking about some sort of ball game somewhere. Now the fact he was on the phone did not bother me. What did bother me was that he did not acknowladge our presense in any way, even though he walked by us numerous times. He could have simply waved or nodded his head or even simply stated "I'll be with you in just a moment." But there was nothing. So, after about 5 minutes, we left and went to Game Stop down the road where we were greeted immediatley even though the store was packed. Which store do you think i will be going back to? The one that greeted me and let me know they appreciated the time I took to come into their store that's who!

T-Mobile My Touch (G2)

So, I got my hands on a My Touch. It is basically the G2 but is not being marketed as such. It has the same Android OS and same interface but is different in several ways. First and the most noticeable is weight. Because it does not have a physical keyboard (Opting for the on screen keyboard only) it is probably more than 50% lighter than the G1. It is also much sleeker than the G1 and will fit in ones pocket much better. The interface has changed in that it is much more personalized. You can add several "panes" and create your own icons. The device will learn what you search for most often and anticipate things you might like. Comes with a 4GB SD Mini it has plenty of memory. maybe not as much as the iPhone but who the heck needs 16GB for a phone anyways? :P 90% of the applications are free in the market place and most are open source as well. Some cons are apparent. The device is a bit sluggish if you have too many applications but manageable. Also, the on screen keyboard is not something I care for, although that may be because I have those big sausage fingers.

Current T-Mobile customers can pre-order the device beginning July 8 and it will be released early August. A nice perk I get is the fact that they have set aside 20,000 units for employees and we get it weeks before the release date. I just wish they would do it like Apple did the first iPhone and GIVE one to each employee. The unofficial word is that it will sell for $199.99 with a 2 year contract.

Dealing With Customer Service Rant

This post was intended to be simple tips but has turned into more of a rant from a customer support agent. Don't take anything said here personally. I try 110% to give each customer exceptional service and strive to let each one know they are special to me. Customers like you pay my salary and I understand that.

I have been on the other side of the phone in customer service for many years now and I must admit that before I had this experience, I would call customer support with a less than a pleasant attitude, yell at the agent and was of the mind that my problem was the only problem and demanded it get fixed immediately. In the past years that attitude has changed for the better. This post is intended to give you some tips on how to deal with customer service. I will focus on wireless communications in this writing but the tips could apply to any company.

The first thing I want you to realize is that while every customer is considered important, you are not the only customer. Do not call customer service with the attitude that you are better than anyone else and demand that your issue be resolved immediately along with credits for your "inconvenience." Having this attitude will put the agent on the defensive as soon as you start talking. This will prevent you from getting the service you deserve because the agent will be looking for ways to get you off of the phone as quickly as possible instead of working to fix what is wrong. A calm, polite customer stands a much better chance of getting their issue resolved on the first call. The old addage "You get more flies with honey" holds very true here.

Next, read your manual and know your phone. Agents are there to help you along but you can not expect them to walk you through simple tasks like how to make a phone call. Agents are glad to help you with the more complicated aspects of the service or phone functions, but not the simple things. It is simply a waste of time and resources and the information can easily be found in the first few pages of the manual.

Don't ramble. Agents have an expectation to be on and off a call within a certain amount of time. On any particular day, the average time an agent is on each call is taken into consideration to determine that agent's status, raises, bonuses, etc. Pleasantries like the weather and speaking breifly about a common experience are great but when a customer starts talking about their dog that made the green poopie, it's time to close the call and move on. Stick to the issue as much as possible and I guarantee you the agent will thank you for it.

Do not call from the phone you are having trouble with. This one is a biggie. An agent cannot troubleshoot your phone if you are talking on it. In most cases the fix involves powering the phone off and then back on again. There have been a number of times where I have forgotten to ask the person if they were talking to me on the phone, requested they turn it off and the call disconnects.

Know that technology has problems from time to time. It is inevitible and cannot be prevented. If your phone stops working for 2 hours it is not a breach of contract, nor does it dictate a month's worth of service credit. If you loose a $100,000 sale because the call dropped, it is not the responsibility of the phone company to reimburse you. That being said, if you take the first tip to heart and be polite about the issue, chances are you will get some small credit on the account for your troubles.

Finally, speak clearly and be ready to answer questions and perform troubleshooting that you may have already done on your own. Agents have specific troubleshooting that must be done in order to determine what the issue is, if your phone needs to be replaced, if the issue is within the network, etc. If you are at a party with loud music, step outside. If your child is crying in your arms, let someone else hold him/her. In other words, be ready to focus on the call and be able to provide the agent with your full attention. this will help to resolve your issue much more quickly. We understand that you are busy and have better things to do than call customer service, but the more you are able to focus on the call, the faster you will be done.

Finally, look up your account on the internet before calling in. Chances are the issue you are having has been experienced before and you can find the answer in the support area of the web site. Most cell phone companies have forums online that will help with common issues. If you are reading this post then you probably know how to use forums. Some companies even have live chat support available.

Customer support agents are people too. Sometimes it is hard to remember that fact. Not only for the customer but the agent as well.

I hope these tips don't seem too blunt but I wanted to be straight forward and taking these tips to heart will, I promise you, make for a much more pleasant and faster resolution of your problem.

Gary Vanerchuk

I am going to stray from talk of cell phones today and give a kudos to an internet presence that I found some time ago. Gary Vanerchuk started out his career owning a wine shop and has used social media such as Facebook and Twitter to expand his brand. He has been interviewed by many well known companies such as CNN and recently signed a book deal. If I am not mistaken, he has strayed from the wine industry slightly to speak to large companies on his ideas. He has so much energy and so much presence that he seems to pop out of the computer screen. Every day I try to pull up one of his videos to get inspired before I go to work or to get pumped before working on this blog. I suggest you check him out at his website.

Android 1.5 Video

Some of the changes to G1 from the Android developers' team.

Skin Your Phone and Other Devices

Ever want a custom made, quality skin for your phone? Well, look no further. HP brings to you “Skin It.”

This allows you to create customized skins for your phone, computer, laptop, monitor, and a number of other things. It’s not limited to HP devices either! Don’t like the premade pictures and designs? Not a problem, just create your own using the “Customizer.” Here you can use your own pictures or designs and create truly original skins for your phone and other devices. Even add text and shapes, whatever you want.

Change your mind at a later time? No problem, using 3M technology, the skins are easy to apply as well as remove leaving no residue so you can apply new ones.

The price for my cell phone is $14.99 per skin, but it is a high quality print and guaranteed as well so i think it is worth the money.

Create your own skins, make all of your devices match…or not.

Let me know what you think of this site. Have you ordered any skins yet? I want pics!

G1 Android 1.5 Update (Cupcake)

On my way home last night I received the long awaited “Cupcake” update for my G1. The actual name is “Android 1.5″ but it has become known as the “Cupcake” ever since the developers’ name for it was leaked.

The update gives the G1 a lot of changes. An on screen keypad, video recording, changes to the camera function, easy link to upload to Picasa and You Tube, as well as stereo blue tooth support. Along with other firmware updates.

I have had the chance to play around with these changes and I must say, while not too fond of the on screen keypad, I’m loving it. The camera is much better and faster. Before the update it would take up to 3 seconds from the time you pressed the button to the time the picture was taken. now, they have added an on screen button that takes the picture almost instantly. The video recorder is nice and the ability to upload directly to You Tube is a great feature. The phone seems a little faster and more responsive to commands as well.

The on screen QWERTY keyboard is nice, but I’m not really a fan of it. I chose the G1 because it has the physical keypad. My fingers are a bit too big for the small letters on the screen and I have a lot of typos.

The camera is by far the best update. Much faster response time when taking pictures plus the ability to upload directly to Picasa.

The video recorder is a nice addition along with the ability to upload directly to You Tube.

The icons have been updated as well, with better looking graphics.