March 18, 2009
Answering to Customers
Answering feature and support requests consumes a significant portion of my time, but I've found that one simple rule of thumb has been priceless when crafting responses.Early on, I made the decision to answer every request or suggested with a personal response and a detailed justification of our decisions. That is, if someone asked for a feature, I wouldn’t just say yes, no, or we’ll think about it, but rather, I’d offer some insight into whether it had crossed our minds yet, how we’ve thought about approaching it, or why we decided against it.
I told myself that if I can’t justify our decisions or philosophy in writing such that a customer can understand or respect our thinking if not agree with it, then we owe it to that person to reconsider our position. On the surface, this seems simple enough, but it takes time to respond to people. Writing is difficult. Defending or communicating your thoughts in writing can be even more challenging, and that’s a good thing.
It’s easy to tell someone “No”, “Just because”, “We’ll think about it”, or “It’s complicated”, but that doesn’t do much for either party. Taking the time to explain yourself is as much an investment in your own understanding as it is in their understanding. More importantly, it turns the whole encounter into an open-minded two-way conversation. That’s much more valuable because now you’ve got an extra mind that might just be determined to help out. Then everybody wins.
Of course, not all companies could do this because it would mean that the support team would have to have a pretty intimate understanding of the vision and implementation details for a product, but it has worked wonders for me. It might not be sustainable as we grow because it does require so much time to write detailed responses, but I don’t plan on letting go of this practice without a fight.
Hi. I’m Garrett Dimon, a freelance designer/developer in Dallas, TX. This is my site about people, design, and technology. I designed and built a bug and issue tracking application called Sifter. Still have questions? Feel free to .
Comments
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That’s an interesting point of view, and one that I agree with for paid products.
I’ve recently been working on a couple of completely free products. The benefit of providing a product for free is as an individual, I don’t have to feel obligated to implement what they request.
I can have the freedom to simply say “Yes”, “No”, or “Just because” at any time. It’s my product, I can do what I want with it and you can use it as is for free. That drastically reduces the amount of time it requires for me to support users.
While I agree that what you’re doing is the best way to go for a paid product, I’m simply mentioning that there is more freedom with a free product.
-beau
That’s a great attitude - I hope the incoming comments and suggestions are equally positive. I know I’ve said it in person, but for anyone reading the comments, Sifter is awesome.
Love it. Also forces you to examine your decisions and philosophy with new insight from actual people who interact with the product. This examination leads to a better product, I’m sure.
Agreed 100%. We don’t use autoresponders or even MailTemplates for our responses, and while it takes longer the positive response from customers is worth it.
Very interesting advisement! I ´d never considered that at this point of view. And you are right, the customers and company wins so the quality of the project rise. It allways pays off think about somethink twice :)
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December 09, 2009 at 02:39 PM by Research PaperYou have a very positive point of view and I like it. You deserve to have a very nice feedback for this.
Thanks for posting your good article.
Great post
January 10, 2010 at 12:28 PM by Married DatingI would like to echo the above sentiments. This is an excellent article and a must-read to those who deal with customers on a frequent basis.
Good job :)
RE
January 10, 2010 at 05:17 PM by Web hostingVery interesting article. I am more of a skimmer when it comes to reading articles. But I read your whole article :) just being honest, great article.
Jenny Kolodjski
Thanks for great article!
I agree with his ideas, but in a world where you must be quick to take actions and even their routine activities with call waiting and accumulation of activities, it becomes very difficult to customize too much attention and give due attention to the customer. But again I say it takes more dedication to the customer, even for reasons to stay on the market. Thanks.
I realized that there are few companies that treat their clients customized way. In other words, it is necessary to listen and understand customer needs and not just treat them the same way forever. Great post!
I usually try to take time to explain everything to the customer, but sometimes it really takes a lot of worktime and makes everything expensiver for my customers.
Re:
January 26, 2010 at 04:18 AM by online universityI know I’ve said it in person, but for anyone reading the comments, Sifter is awesome.
It usually takes me sometime before I answer to my customers, as I want to be sure what I tell them. It is better to be on the save side.
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February 02, 2010 at 11:42 PM by Campervan Hire AustraliaWhat a refreshing attitude I hope you do well.
I loved the content of the post.
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It usually takes me sometime before I answer to my customers, as I want to be sure what I tell them
I loved the content of the post.
Thank you very much, despite this is a very contradictive topic. Waiting to hearing from you soon again!
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February 19, 2010 at 03:43 PM by Criação de SitesSensational info. I look forward to seeing more.
Thank you very much, Congratulation!!!!
Interessante!!!!
Muito bom. Parabéns!
Criativo né?
Obrigado pelo comentário!!!!
Congratulations for post man.
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February 20, 2010 at 11:53 PM by asigurari autoIt is a wise decision. The respect shown to consumers is vital in developing a business. I learned if you listen to the views of consumers.
Consumer opinion is all that matters in business. They are our masters. You have to guess the intentions. So learn from them what they want.
yes consumers opinion always take the different touch .
OMG what a good aps post eligible at votes
It forces you to examine your decisions and philosophy with new insight from actual people who interact with the product
That is some inspirational stuff. Never knew that opinions could be this varied. Thanks for all the enthusiasm to offer such helpful information here.
Lena
February 25, 2010 at 03:18 PM by research paperYou have a very positive point of view and I like it. You deserve to have a very nice feedback for this. Thanks for posting your good article!!!
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February 25, 2010 at 03:28 PM by research paperThat’s a great attitude - I hope the incoming comments and suggestions are equally positive. I know I’ve said it in person, but for anyone reading the comments, Sifter is awesome.
Good job!
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February 28, 2010 at 05:33 AM by moveisThis is a really good discussion! It is interesting that it has spanned over a few years and is still relevant. Thanks for the viewpoints – Happy 2010!
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February 28, 2010 at 05:35 AM by mobiliarioVery good
RE
March 01, 2010 at 02:10 AM by Link Building ServiceIt is a very big attitude - I hope the comments and suggestions sent to all positive. I know I said it in person, but for those who read the comments, sifter is awesome.
RE
March 01, 2010 at 02:13 AM by Thesis WritingGood job! THANKS! You guys do a great site, and have some great content. Keep up the good work. best regards
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March 01, 2010 at 02:13 AM by Dissertation Writinggreat share thanks for this
Repeated Questions
March 04, 2010 at 03:58 PM by van contract hireWould it be a good idea to catalogue the questions and form some kind of questions and answers for frequently asked questions, that way those that can be answered by pointing a customer to the faq will require less time and give more time for those that are more complex. It also helps to stop repeating the same thing over and over.
This is the really good and perfect discussion as well and no doubt this is the best approach.
I know I’ve said it in person, but for anyone reading the comments, Sifter is awesome.
In other words, it is necessary to listen and understand customer needs and not just treat them the same way forever. Great post!