Products and physical services can be challenging to handle from a customer service standpoint, but tech support has all of the usual challenges, along with some extra ones. As difficult as it can be to sort out all of the chargebacks your high-risk payment gateway for tech support can handle, the challenges can get even more bizarre when you really stop to think about them.
Sorting through the trials of providing a tech service can be a rough road. But then, there are ways to get through it more easily than if you try to just do it alone. It’s crucial that you remember you’re not the first to provide these kinds of services, and that solutions to almost every problem already exist in some form.
Over the phone
It can be difficult to explain something to a person when they have no clue what any of the components of their device actually do. You may even feel like the air traffic controller in the classic Garfield cartoon who had to relate every part of an airplane’s cockpit to different kinds of food to help the pudgy cat to land the plane safely. If you have that level of creativity, you may have missed your calling.
The hardest part is to remain cool and helpful, even when the person is taking out all of their frustrations on you. It sometimes helps to think about why they may be so upset, including causes that may have nothing to do with their hardware or software problems. A little empathy can go a long way, and can turn a screaming match into a productive and pleasant conversation.
In-person problems
When it comes to handling physical problems with a device, the hardest decision you’ll have to make is about whether your clients need to come to you, or you need to go to them. In some cases, going to their location will be harder for your tech from a logistics standpoint. However, it scores you a lot of points from a customer service standpoint. While they may have fewer tools with them than if they were working at the shop, if you can save the client a trip, you can forge some loyalty.
The biggest problem with going into a client’s workplace or home is that you may have to deal with environmental issues. If the client eats over their device or smokes, your tech is going to need considerable restraint to avoid gagging or recoiling when the case comes open. Even people who are otherwise very tough individuals can become downright skittish when cockroaches come charging out of a device, or when there’s a thick and gooey coating on all of the internal components.
Perhaps the worst part of servicing a device in person is when multiple trips are needed. Sometimes, you don’t have the right parts on the truck. It can be very challenging to try and select a polite way of asking the client to clean up the area around the device slightly, when the cords seem to be embroiled in a constant wrestling match with one another.