Something I Learned in Tech Support

"Man, that lady sounded mad about it."
"Yeah, well she wouldn't be calling if she didn't have a problem."

There it is. I learned something in that interaction with one of my coworkers. Much of my customer service experience comes from Restaurant Land and it's given me a tremendous amount of experience with people who are mad about something or another. The big difference is that people generally don't go to a restaurant because there's a problem. They go to a restaurant to eat, drink, and be merry. When someone's calling tech support it's because there's a problem. They're not calling to have a good time. That's not to say that most people who call are really mad. Most people are cool and just want a solution to their problem. Nevertheless, underlying even the kindest person's call is something negative that needs to be resolved. They'd rather not ever talk to you.

Yeah, you could say that hunger is a problem that a restaurant is looking to solve but most people aren't frustratingly hungry and mad about it. Yes, again, you can argue against that, too, but I'm speaking in generalities. Most people who go to a restaurant are there for positive reasons. Most people who call tech support are there for negative reasons.

Either way, the duty of the employee is to ameliorate the customer's woes and make sure they leave happy and satisfied. As a server or a retail clerk or a help desk technician or a car salesman, your duty is the same: make sure the customer leaves happy.

Pensacola Junior College has horrendous customer service

Way back when I first attended Penn State, I was warned by more than a few people that in such a large university I'd be nothing more than a number. Well, I never felt that way. I never had a problem reaching a faculty or staff member who could provide answers and help. My instructors and professors knew who I was. I have my issues with academia but when it came to good ol' customer service, Penn State never let me down. Whether it was questions about what courses to take or financial aid, answers were quick and easy to come by.

About a year and a half ago I began taking courses at Pensacola Junior College, and I've had nothing but headaches from the financial aid department. 3+ hour waits, phone calls transfered back and forth from office to office...heck, I can't even get a human on the phone right now. I mean, I can but she transfers me to uselessness. WTF!? Yesterday I drove to campus, waited in line for a mere 20 minutes and then was told they couldn't help me. "You didn't hear my announcement," the lady at the financial aid "triage" desk informed me. Pardon my language, but, NO FUCKING SHIT! If they knew they were out of short term loan funds, just put up a sign and save a lot of people from wasting time standing in a useless line. I can't just call and get an answer so I have to drive across town only to find out something that'd take 2 seconds to announce or even post on their freakin' web site.

I never had trouble with my funds at Penn State. I always just registered for classes and things were taken care of. No trouble with my Stafford loands. At PJC, though, I have to wait weeks for my funds to be dispersed so I have to take out a loan to tide me over until I get my Stafford loan. Fees are due at PJC over a week before classes start. That seems back-asswards to me.

People laugh when I make comparisons between Penn State and PJC and I feel a little ridiculous about it, too. There's no reason, though, that PJC can't do a better job serving the people who pay for its existence. Train the people who answer the phones. Train them better. Make it possible to talk on the phone (or IM) with a person who can answer questions about financial aid. PROVIDE MORE TIMELY INFORMATION in a variety of formats. It's easy to do.

And to the financial aid triage lady, some words of advice: people waiting in line tend to be edgy/grumpy; think about what you say before you say it. I wait tables for a living so I deal with hungry, impatient, grumpy people all the time. If someone waited half an hour for a table and then ordered the dinner special, which we ran out of an hour ago, I wouldn't say, "Oh, you missed the announcement." I'd simply say, "I'm sorry, we're out of the dinner special." In the first instance, I blamed the guest. In the second I simply provided information.