As a marketing person my technical skills are far below being deemed an operating system guru or a hardware genious. Recently while working out of my home office, my laptop decided not to boot up. After several frustrating attempts to revive it I decided it was time to call the manufacturer. I got on the manufacturer's website and started a chat session. A chat session should be a a convenient support channel for both sides of the support call.
This particular support call was a painful experience. I waited more than 15 minutes before someone from the manufacturer acknowledged me. Than each response to a question I gave took 10 minutes for the manufacturer to respond. It felt like this tech person had ten chat sessions going on at one time. The worst part was that on several occasions by the time she came around to me she asked me the same question I had answered 10 minutes ago. You might be able to get by that but…when when she started confirming each response I made to her that was more than I could handle. After one hour and fifteen minutes later I was tired, frustrated and had the same problem.
So what should we ”reasonably” expect from a support chat session?
- A customer should not wait for more than 10 minutes
- Once a support session is established, the session should be a dedicated conversation focused on the customer's issue
- Minimize delays in responses. If the technician must do research keep the customer informed of what the tech is doing
- Confirm the customer's understanding without being overly redundant
- If follow up action is required convey an action plan
The message here is very simple “Deliver to your customers what you promise and then some”. At Ubiquia, technicians monitor support requests, answer them immediately, and close them quickly. Technicians are dedicated to resolving manners efficiently. We truly feel out support is unparalleled. We put as much focus on customer retention as we do gaining new customers. I will probably think twice before purchasing a computer from the above computer manufacturer.