Recent encounters with market-leading help desks exposed deep flaws in customer support models and a growing gap between knowledgeable geeks and the rest of us. It's time to ask if our technologies are self-service or self-serving.
The other day, a tech support specialist advised me to take my MacBook Pro to a nearby store where a faulty USB chip could be diagnosed and repaired. When I called Apple Support, I learned there was nothing wrong with my hardware: following a 2-minute reboot and setting change, I was good to go. I gave the technician an all-star rating, adding, "wish I had called you first."
Another hour I'll never get back involved reboots, unplugging, re-plugging and counting to 30, leaving me worse off than before. The matter was quickly resolved when I called back in and spoke to a different tech.
Here's what I learned:
Master the basics: Self-service is big and getting bigger. User guides, while boring, are our principal ambassadors to the digital world and its fundamental interfaces. Today I can toggle between Apple and Android devices without skipping a beat as nuances between competitive operating systems become increasingly negligible.
Speak geek: Be ready with account number, service ticket number, and identity credentials when you open a chat or begin a call. These are preferred currencies in the Help Desk trade.
Escalate when necessary: Don't overplay the "Let-me-speak-with-your-supervisor" card. Save it for times when you're about to be charged for unnecessary services or when a language barrier impedes communication. The same principle applies to surveys and social media – try to refrain from airing frustration until you've exhausted all other channels, because innocent people, such as struggling entrepreneurs, middle managers and marketing professionals, can get caught in the crossfire of a negative survey or online review.
Starts with us
Finally, payments industry service providers need to have an honest dialogue with merchants in our space and help them appropriately provision their various layers of support. A functionary who is trained to respond with "yes, no or let me place you on a brief hold," is out of place when advanced troubleshooting is needed.
Let's help merchants boost conversion rates and reduce chargebacks, charge-offs and shopping cart abandonment. We can start by creating better user guides and videos that clearly demonstrate how to deploy and support our digital self-service technologies.