How to Get Better Results From Tech Support

I get dozens of questions weekly about "how to" do this or that on a computer or online, and I love it when I get compliments on my communication skills by people who express frustration with the other tech support people they contact for help. I thank them for the compliment and often say, "Well, I'm a geek with social skills."  It's meant to be humorous and to ease their frustration a bit and also acknowledge that trying to communicate with tech support can be very challenging.  It seems like they speak a different language, and in reality they do. Their world has a different vocabulary and concepts than ours.

Being a support person myself, I've been on both ends of the conundrum. You may not understand what tech support is telling you, and they often don't understand you either.

Here are some tips to that will help you smooth out the tech support communication process:

• Be prepared before calling.
  Write it down. When did the issue begin? What were you doing? Has it happened before? Did anything else happen at the same time?
  What have you done so far to try and fix it?
  Know your computer operating system version and software versions: "I'm on a Mac running Mavericks."  "I'm on a PC with Windows 8 and Word 2011." "I'm using a current version of Safari to view your website..."
• Try Google to find answers and/or clarify your thoughts.
  Surprisingly, I often find great answers from a Google search. Even if you don't find an answer, it will help you clarify the issue and get a better result if do call tech support.
• Speak clearly and slowly.
  Please remember that you’re speaking with a skilled individual (not a five year old).
• Give specifics.
  They can’t read your mind. Saying, “That thing on my screen is broken” won’t help them understand what you mean. Dig deeper and use complete sentences with specific references: “When I click the icon to start Word, I get an error message that says ‘File not found.’”
• Use THEIR terminology, not yours.
  That means figuring out what the darned thing is really called. It’s not “a picture of a W,” it’s an “icon to start Word.” Again, Google can help you here. Do some searching and you'll probably find the terminology you need to describe what you're talking about. 
• Repeat back/summarize what they tell you to make sure you understand.
  “So, you are telling me that…”
• Be nice. Don’t yell.
  It’s not their fault, they are trying to help you, and if you’re frustrated take some responsibility and communicate better. Very often when you do better, they will too.
• Ask for a senior tech or supervisor if you're just not getting anywhere.
  First line tech support people often have general knowledge of common issues, but their knowledge only goes so far. Sometimes, despite their best efforts, the person you are speaking with simply won't be able help you or can't communicate clearly enough for you to understand. It's OK to ask to speak to a senior tech or supervisor.
• Document the conversation.
  Write down the person’s name. Is there a support ticket number? If you're doing an online chat, keep a copy (copy/paste) so you have their information for later use.
• Thank them for trying to help you.
  Most tech support people really do care and want to help. They are doing their best. Acknowledge their efforts and thank them for their time.

Use these tips for a better result when you ask support for help. For example, I recently spent many days communicating with support for a website company. Their online system was having issues, and in the end it caused me days of extra work. I helped them by providing detailed documentation of the issues, which made their job of trying to fix it a lot easier. Then, several of their employees offered to help me with my extra work on their days off!  :-DI'm just sayin'.

The Best Thing I Ever Learned (from Jonathan Ive of Apple)

"For us it's all about refining and refining utill it seems like there's nothing between the user and the content they are interacting with." ~ Jonathan Ive of Apple (designer of the iMac, iPhone and iPad)

Doyou ever read something and have one of those "Ah ha!" moments?  I did when I read those words. I just about jumped out of my chair.  "That's IT, that's IT!!!" I said out loud.  And I knew that I just had to tell you about it.

I mean, I can go on for days about all the wonderful services we provide, but from a marketing perspecitve that doesn't help you really truly "get" what we're all about here at Sagara Development and most importantly,  how you benefit from that. Because if you don't see the benefits of working with us, why would you? And I certainly spend enough time saying to clients, "Swell, that's a nice FEATURES list you got there on your website but what's in it for your customer? How do THEY benefit?"  So...I'm taking my own advice and writing you about it.

Anyway, what Jonathan Ive said, that's really what we aim to do for you. That's how we create that "time and space" I talk about. I want your business to be sooooo smooth and refined that your clients and customers feel no resistance when they interact with you, your website, your marketing, your products and services. I want your clients and customers to feel so damn good when they visit your website, read your brochure, email you, whatever, that they can't hardly stand to be without you.

So, yeah, we do lots of websites and website updates. We manage shopping carts and databases. We create marketing materials, write e-newsletters and deploy them, and all kinds of groovy things that help your business run better and free up time for you to focus on what you really want. But all that is really FEATURES, lists of things we do and offer.  WHY we offer all that, and the reason we're here is that we really want to do is help you be so fricken successful that you jump for joy and experience the benefits I talk about on the website:

• Experience less stress, more time, and a huge sense of relief.
• Shape your life for your happiness and get what you most want.
• Be more energetic and productive.
• Be more profitable.
• Experience lots of JOY!

If you are already a client, how can we help you more and better so you're jumping for joy?  If you're not yet a client, how can we make it so that you are?

Easily Distracted by Bright Shiny Objects

A friend of my daughter said this about her, and it's true. When something sparkly catches her eye, you might as well put a leash on the girl so she doesn't walk into the side of a building and hurt herself.

I was never like that myself (she said smugly). Until, I met my husband and got engaged. We went ring shopping and the "sparkle gene" kicked in. I've been walking into the side of buildings (and parked cars, and people) ever since.

It's also called "Shiny Object Syndrome - SOS" and the "BSO Effect." When it happens, your IQ runs out your left ear, you fixate on the desired object and proclaim, "Ohhhh! That's so incredible. Must have, must have!"

So, anyway, I called my daughter to ask permission to quote her in this article and she reminded me that I've always been distracted by bright shiny objects, the technological kind. "Mom! Have you ever seen yourself in a computer store??? Hmmmmm???" Which is a good point, and true, and brings me to MY point here:

Lately I've noticed that many of our clients are suffering from it as well, and it goes like this: "I'm gonna get a blog, and do that Twitter thing, join LinkedIn, and have a Facebook account with ALL my photos and images, and I heard how it's great marketing and . . ."

Gotta love those bright shiny objects.

But before you end up walking into the side of buildings, stop and spend some time doing a bit of thinking, and research. Do you really NEED it? Can it really do everything you think it can? Are you ready for the time and $$ commitment to really make it effective? Is it right for you and your business? And is it going to take you away (for more than a short time each week) from more productive marketing and business activities?

"Oh, but it doesn't cost anything!" you say. Think again.

Your time is worth a lot, and online social networking and online marketing can eat up a ton of time without being particularly effective (at increasing your income, although you may make a lot of new friends). An example: One of our clients has become heavily involved in one of the online social networking sites. She spends hours (and hours) of her time "working" by posting comments, talking about her work, she adds pictures of her family, recipes, and replies to other people's comments about her comments in reply to their comments about, er, someone's comment. Has it helped her business? No. In fact, it's kept her away from other more productive marketing activities and away from doing what she does for a living. That's a pretty steep opportunity cost. So unless you blog for a living (and if so I bow in reverence to your skill), think about it please.

Yes, online marketing and social networking can be very effective and good marketing tools IF you do them right. That means being selective and finding the right ones for you, learning what it takes to make it effective, budgeting in time to work on it, and keeping at it long enough. Otherwise, make it a hobby and acknowledge it for what it is: a bright shiny object that's fun (and that's okay) but not something that's going to help your business (at least not much).

Oh, and my 24-year-old-online-maven of a daughter (who has 23 years of computer experience, I'm not exaggerating) made a very good point and wants you to think about something she had to learn the hard way and doesn't want you to suffer the same:

If you put yourself out there, people WILL find ALL the online bits of you and judge you by it. So if you've got other personal online social networking accounts with less-than-flattering personal information and/or embarrassing photos and you think you can keep it separate or secret, well, chances are you won't be able to. What with search engines and all that groovy software that helps us find stuff on the web, it will find all of your stuff as well.

Okay, enough, you get the point. Gotta fly. I saw this FAB necklace the other day, so sparkly! Can't stop thinking about it. Ouch! Who put that wall there?

Stay shiny!