[HN Gopher] How to keep a support contract: Make the user think ...
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       How to keep a support contract: Make the user think they solved the
       problem
        
       Author : sohkamyung
       Score  : 62 points
       Date   : 2021-10-22 08:33 UTC (2 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.theregister.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.theregister.com)
        
       | aviditas wrote:
       | That story reminds me of working in business support and getting
       | a call from the on-site tech who was ordering a new modem for the
       | customer. The equipment closet was on the outside of the building
       | and the very sweet business owner was concerned about the modem
       | getting too cold with the winter weather and had wrapped it in a
       | blanket. The technician explained to her that the modem needed to
       | be cold and she was very apologetic for overheating it. If my
       | memory serves me right, the manager that day was so amused by the
       | situation that he comped the visit and equipment replacement
       | since the biz owner was educated on the issue. It was a good
       | thing all around as the story was used as a way to explain to
       | techs that a bit of kindness and education goes a long way to
       | keep customers happy and their service healthy.
        
         | samhw wrote:
         | > the very sweet business owner was concerned about the modem
         | getting too cold with the winter weather and had wrapped it in
         | a blanket
         | 
         | That's adorable. Thanks for sharing it :)
        
       | Baeocystin wrote:
       | Eh... My experience disagrees with title, but not the actual
       | content. What really happened was that the tech made the customer
       | feel like part of the problem-solving team, and that they both
       | worked together to solve the issue.
       | 
       | This is an important distinction. Make the client feel like they
       | alone solved it, and you will wind up talking yourself out of a
       | job.
        
         | geofft wrote:
         | Yeah, I think what specifically happened here is that they made
         | the user realize (correctly) that they were breaking it through
         | their own fault, and therefore culpability was not on the
         | vendor. Which is a great trick if you can do it, but with most
         | complex systems, it's very hard.
        
       | axus wrote:
       | In my case the customer actually is coming up with good ideas
       | about the cause of the problem, a significant number of times. It
       | balances out the times I figure out the issue in other companies
       | products.
        
       | soared wrote:
       | This only works if the user is invested. I work in a a technical
       | support role (not IT) where the customer is my coworkers. Most of
       | them simply want task x completed, and have no interest in
       | anything else. Even fixing the core issue doesn't matter, as many
       | people just glide on autopilot through the workday.
       | 
       | I've found it's maybe 1 in 10 people who would even be willing to
       | think about the cause of the issue and be willing to move any
       | distance past "just fix it".
        
         | savant_penguin wrote:
         | I would certainly not want to be 'invested' into fixing
         | something in the car when you pay for a mechanic.
         | 
         | I'd much rather have the mechanic fix it and move on.
         | 
         | People don't want to deal with things that they don't care
         | learning about, they just want it done
        
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       (page generated 2021-10-24 23:00 UTC)