Sometimes the report is unfair. Sometimes the complainer is unreasonable. Sometimes the report is just wrong. All this might be true, but the following rules still apply.
Assume the customer is reporting in good faith. They just have to problem they want solved, and they hoped your product would solve it.
Be respectful. Even if it's their nth complaint. Even if they're a free user. Even if you are frustrated.
Don't get into a discussion about opinionated things. Thank people when they offer an opinion that is different to yours. Feel free to explain the reasoning behind your position once.
Try and understand the root cause of the issue, not just the symptoms. The root cause might be information in your docs, or on your web site. Or a bug. Fixing the issue makes the problem go away forever (or turns the answer into a link)
I recommend adopting the same approach regardless of forum. You may consider email to be "private" but treat it as "public".
B2C is also different to B2B. In the B2B case, when the issue is IT related get their IT department involved.
Lots of people like to complain about the business model. This should cost less, or be free. That's OK, they're not your customers. (Free users are not customers, just users, and your question specified customers, so I'll ignore Free users for now.)
If the issue is your fault, admit it, don't deflect. Work to fix it. Let the customer know it's been fixed.
Above all understand that customer support is your job. Your job is not programming. Your job is not writing code. Your job is making customers happy. A day spent doing good support is a good day.
(Writing code is just how we get customers. Incidentally subscription models better align with better support which in turn means a better product, which is why it generally applies for most successful businesses. )
#0 Do your staff understand how they are paid? #1 gives a hint.
#1 Ensure that all staff dealing with clients know and accept Pareto...
The Pareto principle (also known as the 80/20 rule, the law of the vital few and the principle of factor sparsity[1][2]) states that for many outcomes, roughly 80% of consequences come from 20% of causes (the "vital few").
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle
#2 Listen to (and record) your clients' concerns, they may reveal opportunities for improvements/additions providing a better product.
I try to filter for better customers and I use higher prices and the better service that pays for to discriminate between better and worse customers.
In my experience when people get more by paying more they tend towards positive behaviors because the relationship is clear and one they deliberately chose. And customers who will pay more to get more are the best kind of customers on average. Good luck.
bruce511 ·27 days ago
Assume the customer is reporting in good faith. They just have to problem they want solved, and they hoped your product would solve it.
Be respectful. Even if it's their nth complaint. Even if they're a free user. Even if you are frustrated.
Don't get into a discussion about opinionated things. Thank people when they offer an opinion that is different to yours. Feel free to explain the reasoning behind your position once.
Try and understand the root cause of the issue, not just the symptoms. The root cause might be information in your docs, or on your web site. Or a bug. Fixing the issue makes the problem go away forever (or turns the answer into a link)
I recommend adopting the same approach regardless of forum. You may consider email to be "private" but treat it as "public".
B2C is also different to B2B. In the B2B case, when the issue is IT related get their IT department involved.
Lots of people like to complain about the business model. This should cost less, or be free. That's OK, they're not your customers. (Free users are not customers, just users, and your question specified customers, so I'll ignore Free users for now.)
If the issue is your fault, admit it, don't deflect. Work to fix it. Let the customer know it's been fixed.
Above all understand that customer support is your job. Your job is not programming. Your job is not writing code. Your job is making customers happy. A day spent doing good support is a good day.
(Writing code is just how we get customers. Incidentally subscription models better align with better support which in turn means a better product, which is why it generally applies for most successful businesses. )
Show replies
helph67 ·27 days ago
#1 Ensure that all staff dealing with clients know and accept Pareto... The Pareto principle (also known as the 80/20 rule, the law of the vital few and the principle of factor sparsity[1][2]) states that for many outcomes, roughly 80% of consequences come from 20% of causes (the "vital few"). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle
#2 Listen to (and record) your clients' concerns, they may reveal opportunities for improvements/additions providing a better product.
brudgers ·27 days ago
In my experience when people get more by paying more they tend towards positive behaviors because the relationship is clear and one they deliberately chose. And customers who will pay more to get more are the best kind of customers on average. Good luck.