Recently, a service incident reminded me of just how important the initial call information is to the timely solution of end users\u2019 problems.<\/p>\n
I\u00a0took my malfunctioning DVD player back to the local retailer from whom I purchased it. I headed to the customer service desk and patiently explained the exact nature of the problem.\u00a0 With an understanding of analytical troubleshooting for finding root cause, I told him in minute detail exactly what the problem was, when the problem first occurred, how many times and when it re-occurred\u2014even explained what seemed to be working okay versus what was not. After listening to my lengthy explanation of the problem, the customer service rep smiled, noted on the trouble ticket, \u201cDVD player not working,\u201d and promised that a repair technician would take a look at it and get back to me in a couple of days.<\/p>\n
As I left there I was struck by the handicap under which the repair technician would be operating.\u00a0 With only the information that the DVD player was \u201cnot working,\u201d he would begin his diagnostic work without any information about the timing, operating conditions\u2014in general, the very nature of the problem.\u00a0 Valuable time would have to be spent doing a top-to-bottom technical diagnosis on the unit until the problem was isolated.\u00a0 Only then could he go about fixing the problem\u2014ultimately taking much more time on the repair than required.\u00a0 All this because specific data provided by the customer had been lost, in large part\u00a0because the service rep had no framework for finding root cause even though I had provided him with most of the necessary data.<\/p>\n
So how does this scenario translate in companies for whom the customer support experience can differentiate them from their competition?\u00a0\u00a0 In order to deliver on speedy issue resolution it is more important than ever that technical experts are working with as much information as possible when they begin their investigation, and as the problem is escalated within a support organization, details from the information source must travel along.<\/p>\n
As consumers, we have all experienced the customer service call that, when transferred, required repeating the details of the problem each and every time you were transferred. Nothing is more frustrating! By building a framework in your customer support function that includes a logical sequence of questions and the ability to pass the data along if the problem changes hands, organizations can make the customer support function their competitive advantage.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Recently, a service incident reminded me of just how important the initial call information is to the timely solution of end users\u2019 problems. I\u00a0took my malfunctioning DVD player back to the local retailer from whom I purchased it. I headed to the customer service desk and patiently explained the exact nature of the problem.\u00a0 With […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[163],"class_list":["post-24348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-other"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n