Written by Riccardo Lorenzi
- Here it is, your handgun. Beware, it only has one shot.
- Oh, why?
- Just in case you need to end your suffering.
*Loud rumor of a shot*
Average support guy with customers.
Support centers, better known as: “when will this annoying song stop”, “when will they answer me?”, or “I feel stupid chatting with a bot”.
But yes, let’s give them something. Support centers are usually very crowded. And as they have a lot of requests, you have to be specific and straight to the point – otherwise you and your issue will lose priority, if they’ve ever had any.
Here there are 5 super tips to have a faster and better response from support centers.
1) Rising a problem priority
Problem priority is managed differently by each support platform; what support platforms have in common is that higher priority means faster support, and a bigger effort to solve that problem.
SPOILER: If your support center has a different plan to handle problems, that’s probably not a support center, that’s a laundry place, but feel free to clean your mess as you want.
What are the issues I am experimenting? Yes, the screen now is all black, but what have you done to turn it into this? Which were the steps you took to arrive at that situation?
This helps a lot because it cancels the analysis phase of the support center, arriving to a solution faster.
2) Use messages – or online resources
Calls are hell.
Calls are faster, yes. Or maybe not, depending on how long you had to wait with that Beethoven song in the background. Anyways, it might seem to you that you’re solving the problem efficiently, but this is only a mirage: with calls, keeping track of all info might be difficult and time-consuming.
In addition, messages are readable through a desktop, calls aren’t. So if you have some unfamiliar accent on the other side, you might have trouble getting the issue solved.
Messages or emails are also useful to keep track of the explanation and processes handled by support operators in the past, which might turn in handy.
Bonus: if you use online support, the government won’t spy on you anymore by using an ice-cream truck parked at the end of your block which can wiretap your phone conversations.
3) Create a team
We are social animals; in groups, we work better. Counting on or working with the same group that has already overcome problems is a very important thing.
Try to always work with the same support guy. This is fundamental: working with the same person will create a sort of relationship that will allow you to avoid explaining the same things over and over again, and to have an aligned person who knows your company’s background and past and present issues.
This also allows you to have a faster support availability and a faster resolution of the issues, as the support guy already knows you and the context.
Pro tip: if you fall in love with your support guy/lady, do not follow them around their house, there is this new thing called “stalking”, which might cause some trouble.
4) Keep calm
Having a problem is frustrating and can ruin your day, but even if all the world is collapsing on you, please try to stay as calm as you can: with anxiety and pressure, the problem is harder to solve. Try to be a relaxed person, explaining your issues objectively and without too many emotions.
The support department is not in any way responsible for what is happening to your software/ devices, try to always remember it. Try to be kind and calm with them, on the phone and via chat, and you’ll see that they will work way better than when you scream, exactly like when your boss is talking to you calmly vs. rudely.
5) Create repsteps
This is the most important tip on our list.
Try to be as accurate as possible when describing your issue. Do you have any repstep?
Repstep, or reproduction steps, are steps which a user has to take to come across a bug. This is a very effective way to describe a problem without using too much description, and it gives the support guy the possibility to try it first hand. This way, they will surely understand better what kind of problem you have, arriving to a solution faster, for your own sake or your company’s.
Aaaaand a final bonus tip
By implementing a digital adoption tool on the software you use, you can ease the burden on your support department: when users have in-app support, they are more independent. Also, support departments can, for instance, simply forward a Journey link to help people get through business processes. Newired is here to help users ands support teams with their challenges!