The best kept secret of Customer Service
In most industries, including the tech world, “support” is a piteous word. Posts like this one, while written in jest, enforce the stereotype that working in support essentially sucks. We are known for getting abused by ranting, angry customers. We can’t take a day off, because the emails never stop flowing in. We *must* just be doing this to get trained with the company, right?
I’d like to offer a slightly different view into the world of Customer Service. While we do occasionally bear the brunt of unhappy customers and receive unkind words, those experiences are overwhelmingly outnumbered by the patient, smart, grateful and human emails that usually flow in. I recognize that I’m spoiled by my Buffer users, but I’ve experienced this same trend in all previous customer service jobs.
Engineers may get most of the glory in the industry. But, they also spend most of their customer interactions on the hardest, fringe, or bug-related cases. Tom (our chief hacker) often helps Alyssa and me figure out the trickiest ones, and sometimes speaks with the most irate customers who have been passed around a few times without an answer. Alyssa and I, on the other hand, are spoiled by spending every day teaching our users how to use Buffer in the best way possible.
The best kept secret in support is that we actually get *all* of the glory. Each time one of those “Thank you so much!” emails comes in, the Warm Fuzzies swarm.
Recently, Buffer started using Hively to invite customers to share how we’re doing. They can leave comments and rate us using faces ranging from happy to unhappy. (For more on the customer service efforts at Buffer, including our Hively stats, check out our November Happiness Report.)
Admittedly, the “unhappies” sting a lot. Joel, the founder of Buffer, recently likened the feeling to “being punched in the gut.” It feels a bit like being told “you are bad at your job.” That hurts.
However, Hively also encourages people to give kind and honest feedback that they might not otherwise have shared.
Here’s a recent comment left for me by Mike Gilroy (@mike_gilroy), re-printed with his permission:
“Carolyn was brilliant! She answered my questions and gave me all the information I needed in a polite and friendly manner. It’s not often you come across an excellent product combined with excellent customer service, but Buffer provides exactly that. Credit to Carolyn and the entire Buffer team. Keep it up!”
Did I mention the Warm Fuzzies part of the job?
So the next time you’re feeling sorry for those whose job titles include the word support, customer service, or even “Happiness Hero,” take a second look at the pep in our step. We may have received an email like that today. Or 10.
(Disclaimer: It’s my personal opinion that the customers of Buffer are tremendous. This may not be the case for all customer service reps; do still be kind to them and bring them cupcakes and stuff.)
