I was very fortunate growing up. My family all had businesses of their own. My father and grandfather were both general contractors, My other grandfather was a pharmacist who had his own drug store. My mother owned two different clothing shops, as well as a motel. My step-father is a CPA. I grew up in family owned businesses. This could be a hindrance, as sometimes my mother would find out about trouble we got in before we even got home, because a customer would see us, and call my grandmother, who would call my mother; you know the rest of the story…
Anyway, the reason I say I was “fortunate” is because I learned very valuable skills for dealing with people. It didn’t matter if they were customers or not. I grew up in a predominately Italian neighbor-hood, where family and friends and neighbors were very important. We were always taught to respect everyone! It didn’t matter if they were the President of the Chamber of Commerce, or the lawn person for the family down the street. We never knew who was a customer, or who was a future customer, or the mother of a customer, etc.
This carried over into my own business ethics when I eventually went to work for others. Some of these included outsourcing for NEC, HP, along with Sprint Telephone and Ford Motor Company. Working in Tech Support for many years, it was essential to treat the customer with respect, with empathy, “The Customer Is Always Right” was the golden rule we lived by.
Today, true Customer Service has gone out the window. Customers call Tech Support upset, frustrated, they might not know much about computers, but they know when they call…they’re in for a rough time. This has become the norm rather than the exception for Technical Support, as well as any other Customer Service type of call. We as “Tech Support” feel that most people are going to be rude, nasty, short and we expect it. It’s a vicious cycle.. see where I’m going with this?
When customers call Tech Support, they want to be treated with respect, sympathy, empathy (yes, they are two different things). When we get those calls, we want them to be nice, sweet, happy to be calling us! Ok, this isn’t usually the case, but we at MinuteFix are aiming to change that!
I don’t mean to offend anyone with this, so I’ll say it as delicately as possible. It has been my experience, as well as the observations of others I’ve talked to, that “older” people tend to have better Customer Service skills. (When I say “older” I’m generally referring to people over the age of 45 or so). The younger ones, while they have the computer skills, and are fantastic people, often lack the customer service skills.. the “People Skills”, if you will. This isn’t a total loss, as it can be taught. But there are some things that are ingrained in our brains, part of our personality, and that makes it easier.
This is not always the case, I would like to make that very clear. But it does happen frequently.
My very dear friend Patricia is a good example of this. She is older than I am, and is a Customer Service Representative. She has a heart of gold, and wants to help everyone. She is fantastic with customers, can empathize with them, and truly wants to help them to “make it right”. She was raised very similar to how I was, and we often talk about Customer Service and People Skills. Her computer skills aren’t fantastic, but she gives it her all and then some! Her customers love her! The problem? Her supervisor is always on her about “numbers, talk time, average handle time”, etc. Her supervisor actually told her a few days back, “The customers are NOT your friends!” How sad is that?? That is an excellent example of what I am talking about!
The Customer is the one who pays our bills. The Customer is the one who will tell others about our service, both the good and bad. The Customer is what will make or break us. The Customer better be our friend!
We have a wonderful opportunity with MinuteFix! MinuteFix wants to revolutionize the Technical Support industry. We want to change people’s idea of Customer Service, and show the rest of the industry how it’s done. We treat every customer like they’re they most important person in our world at the moment, because they are! Without our Customers, we’re nothing. If they call once and don’t come back, that won’t work. We’re nothing without our Customers, and there would be no MinuteFix!
At MinuteFix the Customer is #1, and we’re aiming to revolutionize the Customer Service Industry and make it a pleasant experience! We’re going to show everyone else how it is done! Just watch us do it…!
As parents, we’re all concerned with our children’s safety online (as well as everyone else’s children!) We have all see the news stories, and read about children who are preyed upon by online predators, sometimes with tragic consequences. It can be a frightening thought for parents, knowing what could possibly happen.
