YES is the answer, now what was the question: Customer Service

My Dad used to say: "YES! is the answer. Now, what was your question?" This was always in connection with customer service. I grew up with it, and it is a part of my very being. That phrase has helped shape who am I and why I will do whatever it takes to find a solution.

From the time of my very first job, I have always believed that "Customer Service" is the key, regardless of who the "customers" are.

Over the years, I have learned from my mistakes (like not asking the customer if their computer had a 3.5-inch floppy drive or a 5.25-inch drive, thus getting cussed at for selling the wrong media) and I have grown in my conviction that no matter what title I hold, I will do what I need to do.

I am slowly (albeit VERY slowly) coming to see that I can have assistance without appearing as though I can't accomplish something. Sometimes, I just have to stop and say, "I'm going to need your help getting this done for (insert customer)."

I refuse to accept "It can't be done" as the answer. It may not be done the way was originally intended, but a solution can be found for any situation.

I once read somewhere:

1. I can do it cheaply.2. I can do it well.3. I can do quickly.
Pick any two.

While I find that hilarious in my demented form of humor, I aim to hit all three whenever possible. That is part of my "Customer Service" mentality, I suppose. I hate knowing that someone I am trying to help can't succeed because of some stumbling block. In my mind, stumbling blocks and roadblocks are just things in the way that we have to figure out how to navigate around, over, or through.  Many times, I will not wait for someone else to come up with a solution - I'll come up with something, even if it is temporary, to reach the intended goal.

This doesn't make me "Superman" or mean that I walk on water. It means that I work my hardest to help everyone I am charged with helping, and stepping up to help those that aren't directly within the group of folks I usually support.

Sometimes, I fail miserably. But, after I get up from being knocked down and try to take away a lesson learned so that next time, I can try to avoid the same mistakes.

Why am I telling you all this?  Because I believe "Customer Service," and I mean REAL service to the customer, is a dying art. No matter what you do for a living, no matter if is a paid position or volunteer, know who your "customers" are and what they need. Learn who they are. Learn what they need. Take time to listen - not just hear, but listen. And, above all, take action as soon as you can to solve problems that arise.

Taking action can land you in some seriously hot water sometimes, too. Sometimes, you have to "tell it like is" or have a "come to Jesus" meeting about a situation. As long as you have the customer's best interest at heart, you really won't do wrong.  Taking action may mean a bit of research before implementing a solution. Fine. But, get the research done and get into action solving the problem. Make calls, order equipment, hit your knees in prayer if you have to - Whatever it takes.

The next time you're faced with someone who says, "I have a question..." or "Can we..." Before they ask, think to yourself (or heck, say it out loud like my Dad would), "YES is the answer. What's the question?"

Sharing: Of Phones and Codecs

I don't usually share the posts I create for my job journal.  I keep a blog specifically for my job because we have to journal what we do as a way to show our worth as technology coordinators in the state.  I do not see that as a bad thing, especially after attending a conference in which private sector folks showed the cost benefit of doing such a thing.  In fact, one of the presenters gave a copy of their "Billings" software to each participant.  The software allows the user to keep timelogs of how they spent their time. In the private sector, it is used to show billable hours.  I see the same thing for my job and I plan to start using it.  In the meantime, though, I post blog entries.  Now, I said all that to say this:

I recently had an experience with a Verizon rep regarding my boss' phone.  Rather than rehash it here, I will provide a link to it so you can feel free to read along:
http://keepingupwiththejob.blogspot.com/2011/05/may-20-2011-of-phones-and-codecs.html

I understand (well, no, I don't, but I pretend to) that service reps have a script they have to follow.  But, when a customer walks in and explains in DETAIL what they've done and what the results have been, why can't the reps simply skip ahead in their "step-by-step guide to troubleshooting" and just do what the customer wants?  Sure, if I had just walked in and said, "This doesn't work," then YES, walk through your steps.  But, come on! I explained everything I had done, and how I had REPEATEDLY come to the same end - failed update.  In retrospect, I should have just looked online for the "Fascinate Hard Reset" and done it myself.  But, that is what support is supposed to do.  Right?  Isn't that why they are there?  Instead, the rep screws up the phone and hands it to me.  Not even, "Sorry."  Just, "you'll have to contact your government account rep."  If I hadn't already handed Verizon the E-Rate contract for 2011-2012, I'd probably cancel them based on this one experience alone.

In any case, persistence is the key to defeating many tech issues, and this was no exception. I found the software I needed, and decided to go at myself - after all, the phone was not working so what's the worst I could do to it?  How about fix myself...

But, I shouldn't have HAD to fix it myself.  And, that is where my frustration lies.  Oh well, at least she is back up and running (or was when I left things for the weekend)!

Excellent customer service

It is not hard, really, to deliver excellent customer service.  When a customer has a problem, just try your best to satisfy that person.  In my case, I have two instances recently where my concerns were handled swiftly and very well. 

The first is with Global Gov Ed.  We had ordered six 32-inch tvs and after they arrived, we realized that two would not fit our furniture situation at the office.  The sales rep worked hard to not only get return info, but also found us very suitable replacements!

The second was personal.  My account at the bank had a debit that was not supposed to be there.  I worked with the rep and we determined the source and got the situation handled quickly and accurately.  She even waived the associated fees for my trouble!

I worked in customer servive for several years (and in a way, still do).  I learned a long time ago, and in a very hard way, that the best solutions are those where the rep finds out *exactly* what the problem is and finds out *exactly* what the customer would like to resolve the issue.  Sometimes, there has to be a meeting  in the middle.  Mostly, though, it is not hard to resolve a customer's complaints.

Sharing and Taking Turns

(The following article is one in a series that I wrote for a distance learning-related blog I used to run circa 2008. For posterity's sake, I am reposting it -and others- here) 

Have you ever stopped to consider what your life would be like had you ended up in a different job (or career)? Have you ever stopped to think about the circle of influence you have, and conversely, the circle that influences you? It is really a combination of the two that guides today's musings.

I happen to be in one of those positions where the world of education meets the world of technology. This can lead to some very eye-opening revelations regarding the differences often seen between them. One that enters my mind foremost is that of sharing and taking turns. Generally speaking, in the corporate world, people do not share very often. If I were a peon at Wal-Mart or Axiom or Dell or Microsoft (or name any other large corporation), I might not share ideas I have because I might not be "allowed" to share. That is, my input would not be wanted and/or accepted, no matter how "right" I might be about the idea. Or, I may not share (or be allowed to share) because of fears of helping the competition get a leg up on my own company.

In contrast, I feel pretty confident that there is more willingness to share information in my position. Arkansas has 15 Education Service Centers, plus the Tri-District area of Little Rock. Each service center has its own personality, focus, and direction. In a way, each is its own company. Each of these facilities employs a Distance Learning Coordinator. While each center may have its own distance learning programs and initiatives in place, we DL Coordinators are open to sharing what we are doing with the other DL Coordinators. Why? It ultimately helps each of us. If I have an idea for providing interactive virtual field trips and another service center is already doing that, then I feel comfortable calling up the other site and asking for help in setting up my own program. Because we generally work well together, we often try to complement what the other sites may be doing, rather than compete with them. So, if one site is doing K-4^th grade trips, then maybe I'd concentrate on 5th-8th or 9th-12th grade programs. It's a different atmosphere. I have become the de facto administrator of the K-12 distance learning curriculum portal. Does that mean "it's mine! All mine!" No. I am open to any of the other DL Coordinators helping out, offering advice and guidance. If one of the 300+ Dl Facilitators in the state had a suggestion, comment, gripe, or complaint, I would take that under serious consideration. Why? Because we are open to sharing, to learning, to taking what is in place and building on it in order to make it better.

I could easily sit on my "portal throne" and pretend that it is the greatest thing since the microchip, but what does that get me? A better question is: what does that get our customers? "Customers," you ask? Yes, we have customers – students, teachers, facilitators, DL Coordinators, superintendents, principals, legislators, parents, the communities at large… Without an open-ended means of communication and sharing of information and ideas, our programs can become stagnant, or worse, head off in directions no one really wants to go but heads that way anyway because no one speaks up about it. I welcome questions, comments, challenges to what I am doing. In a word, SHARING.

So, what about taking turns? Rarely have I seen corporations take turns. That is, can you picture Microsoft letting Google have its day in the sun without trying to find a way to bring in the clouds? I don't think so (please refer to Microsoft's latest foray into the online advertising business). I know I pick on Microsoft a lot. So, let's see… Say Target is offering higher-end trinkets than Wal-Mart. Does Wal-Mart let target do its thing? No. Wal-Mart starts buying higher-end trinkets in order to steal the customers (please refer to Wal-Mart's latest foray into more upper scale merchandise). In the corporate world, it is all about the bottom line, NOT what is best for the customers or their industry in general (sorry, but I cannot help but say "Vista" right here).

Another benefit of working in the capacity which I serve is that we get to pat each other on the back. We also will sit back, away from limelight, while another service center achieves great success in a new program or in growing an existing one. We generally take turns. This year, several service centers have started different projects (elementary virtual field trips, credit recovery programs, and others). The group, as a whole, applauds the efforts without immediately grabbing the idea and stealing the thunder of the center that initiated it. Each year, different DL programs come to the forefront while others remain out of the limelight, then the next year, different programs come forward. By holding regular meetings, communicating pretty freely, and sharing ideas, we all TAKE TURNS developing projects and achieving goals.

So, does this rosy picture have a dark side? Of course it does. There are bumps in the road. There are times when we may hold back on the sharing until a program or presentation is fully underway. There are times when communication breaks down, or a meeting gets heated. That is human nature. And, even if I am the only one who feels this way, I believe that at the end of the day, each of the DL Coordinators and their programs are better for it. We grow, learn, monitor and adjust following discussion and/or confrontation. The key to success and to moving forward, however, is that in the end, we are still SHARING and TAKING TURNS.

Why PR Matters

(The following article is one in a series that I wrote for a distance learning-related blog I used to run circa 2008. For posterity's sake, I am reposting it -and others- here)

In my line of work, keeping the Superintendents informed serves multiple purposes, of which Distance Learning Coordinators benefit as much as, if not more than, the Superintendents do.

• Meeting with Superintendents keeps your face, your name, and your person, in their minds throughout the year. It is very easy for us (DL Coordinators) to get bogged down in the daily routine of troubleshooting calls, working on systems, scheduling events, and all the other things that go along with the position. By meeting with your Superintendents (either one-on-one or in a group setting), you break out of the routine, and because most of those everyday things happen "behind the scenes," the occasion to visit with the Superintendents does not always readily or easily present itself. By meeting with them specifically, you build the rapport and relationships you need in order to ensure success – not only for you, but for their DL program as well.
  
  For me, it also helps put names with faces, as I am not very good at doing that. So, I benefit by keeping THEIR names, faces, and persons in the forefront of my own mind!
  
• Meetings provide the opportunity to share new ideas and new programs. Many DL Coordinators may find they deal more directly with principals, teachers, and facilitators than with Superintendents. While this may generally help move things along, Superintendents WANT to know what's happening in their districts.
  
  I made the mistake of NOT telling one school administrator that I was doing an interactive lesson with the National baseball Hall of Fame. When he found out afterward, he expressed his disappointment in that he would have liked to witness at least a portion of the program. Frankly, it was a "cool" thing he missed out on. It is a mistake I will not make again!
  
  When it comes to presenting new ideas, the DL Coordinator may find resistance at the Principal level (for whatever reason). By talking about the program with the Superintendents, a program may catch on from the top down. Additionally, they have a different perspective of how ideas and programs may affect their teachers and students, so that may offer input in ways the DL Coordinator (and/or teachers and principals) may not have thought of previously.
  
• Presenting in front of the Superintendents helps develop and enrich the DL Coordinator's skills. By forcing oneself to speak in front of a group of influential people can help the more introverted DL Coordinator overcome fears, shyness, or other negative feelings. It may seem strange that a person with "presentation" issues would accept a position of DL Coordinator. In my case, I knew the position would require such face-to-face encounters, but I saw things more from the technical side (I am a techie/geek, after all). I also believed that taking this job would help force breaking the barriers that I often hide behind. It is not an easy process, and for me, it has more to do with the things that travel among the synapses of my brain than anything else. That is, getting beyond my public-speaking issues involves replacing the negative things I tell myself more than any external influence.
  
• Finally (for the purposes of this post anyway), meeting with the Superintendents provides a sense of accountability and responsibility. No matter how "trivial" the information contained in the presentation, the fact that the DL Coordinator thought enough about those individuals (by keeping them informed) shows that the DL Coordinator takes responsibility in his or her position. It also demonstrates accountability. The DL Coordinator is effectively telling the leaders of the school districts: "I am in charge of this program, and I will do whatever I can to help make it successful for your district. I am also accountable, and accept that accountability, when things go wrong."

Earlier, I presented the following topics to the Superintendents in our area:

• A brief overview of upcoming CIV events relevant to them
• Introduction/overview of a couple new ideas for CIV events
• Maintenance on Video Equipment

Even though only one of the items pertained directly to the group, each item led to further discussion as to how the item(s) affected their districts, encouraged participation, and/or led to additional programs or ideas for events.

After the meeting, the group expressed their appreciation for my coming to them with this information. In short, they WANTED to hear about happenings in distance learning without being overloaded with extraneous (useless or overly technical) information. By presenting to the Superintendents, not only did they benefit by receiving the information, but I benefited from the experience of presenting as well. Hopefully, if you are a distance learning coordinator (or someone in the position of heading up a distance learning program for schools), you will reap the benefits of making such presentations as well.

When acronyms and jargon rule, users may lose

(The following article is one in a series that I wrote for a distance learning-related blog I used to run. For posterity's sake, I am reposting it -and others- here)

Paraphrasing a recent conversation, "The mapping issue related to your CIV CODEC seems to be related to the new PVC and is directly related to the new VPI/VCI, so until that's resolved, your VC is DOA, but I'll work on it ASAP."

Some of my more tech-knowledgeable readers may understand the previous statement without any need for interpretation whatsoever. I, on the other hand, felt like I had been sent through the alphabet wringer. I do know enough about DL to get the gist of what the tech on the other end of the phone was talking about (and, by the way, I'm sure most of my co-workers can pinpoint the tell-tale signs with whom I was having said conversation).

But, one thing I have learned just recently is that one should never assume the person you are addressing understands all the acronyms being bandied about. If I were to take that same conversation and relay it verbatim to my affected end users, they would respond by either hanging up the phone or providing me with enough dead air time to fill a commercial break on your local radio station. This dead air would be followed by, "Okaaayyy, what does that mean?"

Think of it as going to the doctor, or even better the auto mechanic. When the doc steps in and begins to send a barrage of highly technical jargon related to your illness, do you feel more secure or less secure when you do not understand what the doc is talking about? At the shop, the mechanic starts rattling off terms for things you've never heard of. Your first thought (often)? "This guy is trying to rip me off or he has no idea what he is talking about." Exactly what your users may think, too.

My job, as I see it, is to take those acronyms and other industry jargon and convert it into "English" for my end-users. In this case, I told the district affected that the problem was not on their site, that it was related to the new line(s) dropped in recently, and that the Dept of Info Services would be working on it. I also let them know that I would be following up on both ends of this problem.

CIV, VC, DIS, PVC, VPI, VCI, CODEC, H.323, H.264, you name it. Every industry has their own acronyms, sure, but if you cannot break the technical terms into something your users can understand, you lose out on professional communication and collaboration, and may find that those users seek their troubleshooting from another source – one they can actually understand.

Teach users to fish without making them feel stupid

(The following article is one in a series that I wrote for a distance learning-related blog I used to run. For posterity's sake, I am reposting it -and others- here)

The old adage goes something like: "Bring a man a fish, and you feed him for a meal. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime." As true as this is, there should be an addendum: "Teach a man to fish (without making him feel stupid)…"

Anyone who works in IT can tell you humorous stories about "simple" issues that were caused by the user, either directly or indirectly. Or, the IT professional can relay stories of users who are/were technologically challenged. How we handle those situations, and more importantly how we handle the users, can mean the difference between securing repeat business or getting a bad reputation as a customer service professional. And, the reality of life is that any IT professional is really a service professional.

Before I get to my main point, let me give an example. Several years ago, I had a user call me to let me know her CD drive was not working. The conversation went something similar to this:

Me: "When you say 'it is not working, what do you mean?'"
Her: "Well, I can put CD's in, but the computer doesn't do anything."
Me: "Okay. Just to be sure we're on the same page, are you putting the CD's in with the label side facing upward so you can read it?"
Her: "Yes. And, after they go in, I cannot get them to come back out again."
Me: "How many CD's have you put into your drive?"
Her: "Well, I have about three in there now, but it won't let me put any more in."

About now, I am thinking that she has a 5.25" drive in her computer and she has been jamming CD's into it. Turns out that was not the case, as you will see.

Me: "Hmm… I'll be right over as soon as I can to look at it."
(I hop in my car and drive to the school)

Me: "Hey there! Let's see if we can figure out what's going on."
(She gets out of her chair so I can sit at her desk)

I push the button on the CD drive, and it is empty. Now, I am thinking her drive is actually 'eating' the discs… This thought is interrupted by:

Her: "Hey! What is that!?" (Pointing to the now-open and visible CD tray)
Me: "The CD tray where you put your discs, right?" (I ask, expecting her to say yes)
Her: "Oh, no, that's not where I'm putting them." (Her computer does not have a 5.25" drive)
Me: "Oh. Okay, can you show me where you've been putting them?"

She takes a CD and attempts to insert it between the top of the drive and the computer case.

Her: "See? I used to be able to put them in here."
Me: "Oh, okay. Well, I'll see if I can get the other CD's out, but instead of trying to put them there, you can push this little button (I show her the button next to the tray) and put the CD in there."
Her: "Oh, my gosh! I feel so stupid! I can't believe I didn't know where to put the CD!"
Me: "Don't feel bad. You just didn't know. Now, you do. (I smile)"

I remove the side panel from her case and find the CDs resting on top of her CD drive. There are four of them, and they are scratched beyond use from being squeezed through such a tight slot.

Me: "Well, here are your CD's, but I'm afraid they won't work anymore. They're pretty scratched up."
Her: "(Looking embarrassed still) Oh, that's okay. I'm just glad you figured it out without making me feel like an idiot."

The situation was diffused without turning the user into an angry or bawling mess. I also showed her (and that district) that I could be trusted to get the job done without belittling the user for simply not knowing what to do (which brings me to a discussion on assuming things about our users, but I will save that for another day).

How does this tie in to today's post? Please consider the following email exchange (names have been removed) that took place the other day:

From User:
Hi David,
I tried to log in and it won't let me.
I used: thepassword
Password: theuserid
Am I doing something wrong?
Please let me know. THANKS!

My Response:
You have the right username and password, but you have them flipped… your username is theuserid, and the password is thepassword. Also, we just got done re-booting the server, so it could be possible that it was still coming back up, if you just tried it a few minutes ago. Trying again now should let you in. If not, let me know and I'll shoot, er, troubleshoot it.
--David

(I received a "Thank You" and then the following email)

From User:
I tried again (with them in the correct order) to no avail. Please shoot the computer…oh yeah, I meant troubleshoot

My Response:
Hmm.. I tried it and was able to log in as you. See if you can get in by copying and pasting your username and password from our previous email. If that doesn't work, I'll try something else on this end. If that DOES work, then it usually just means there was something mistyped – usually it is a capitalization issue.
Keep me posted!
--David

(A few minutes later, I received the following email)

From User:
Got it! It seems that my computer had an operator error.
Thanks!

My Response:
No worries! Mine has the same problem more often than I care to admit!
Glad you got in!
--David

Do you see what happened there? First, I helped the user get the correct order of things for logging in. This was done without making the user feel stupid. I also added a bit of information that may or may not have been related to her problem. This lets the user know that she is not being "blamed" for the inability to log in (that is, it might be related to a server rebooting – which was true based on the time of the reboot and the time of her email). Third, I encouraged the user to try again, and threw in a bit of 'dumb tech humor' to alleviate any negative feelings the user may be having (possible due to her realization that she had switched her username and password).

When she responded that it still did not work, I logged in with her credentials so that I could see if something had gone wrong with her account. I was able to log in. I let her know that I could get in, and offered a non-combative suggestion (copy/paste). I also explained what to do whether my suggestion worked or not. I also offered an explanation that helped (I hope) her see that she was not the only one this happens to and something (capitalization) she may have overlooked as she typed her password.
Her response lets me know that she was able to get in, and she used "tech humor" back at me, which let me know she was taking things pretty light-heartedly. I followed her response up with some of my own self-deprecating humor, letting her know that I make the same kinds of mistakes, too.

I give you this "play-by-play" in order to demonstrate and explain the process (or at least one possible one) through which IT professionals can help users solve problems without making them feel stupid or inadequate. I could have responded with a simple, "You have your username and password backwards, and make sure you check the punctuation and capitalization of your username and password." Perhaps some users would appreciate such a direct, terse response. But, in my experience, taking the direct blame away from the user keeps whatever "us vs. them" issues out of the conversation. In fact, she threw in her OWN "operator error" comment about herself.

If you want to keep your customers coming back to you, treat them with respect and TEACH them what they need to know. One of the things I will often ask a customer when I am trying to help them solve a problem is, "Would you like me to teach you to fish, or would you rather I fish for you?" Usually, the first time I work with a user, they tell me to fish for them (that is, get the problem fixed and get out of the way), but the next time, they will ask me to teach them to fish (that is, show them how to fix it themselves). But, even when I am doing the fishing, I am always trying to at least do a little teaching at the same time. Feed your users/customers for a lifetime without making them feel stupid for not knowing how (or for tangling the line, breaking the hook, etc) in the first place.