Fruit growing season is already over!

As a company who offer a high level of customer service and support to our clients we are frequently faced with problems that have been caused by the clients themselves.

Of course it’s important to resolve problems but it is equally important to provide guidance and even leadership where IT matters are concerned. This may seem obvious but it is quite surprising how many support staff feel uncomfortable about offering strategic advice.

I am sure a lot of this boils down to bad experiences that clients have had in the past with computers and the software that runs on them. People not unnaturally want to use their computers to do what they want to do, when they want to do it, otherwise they argue what’s the point in having them. Reliability is key as is familiarity and a firm grasp of how it all works.

Unfortunately, understanding how your system works is not something that is a priority in business life. So what happens is that you get situations where a customer will order a new PC and insist that Windows 98 is installed, because they believe it to be secure and reliable, or a customer will purchase a popular brand of PDA, whose image is great but whose software and setup leave a lot to be desired.

Oh and I haven’t mentioned those people, like my sister who change their e-mail settings, so that they have an e-mail address they like and wonder why they never receive any mail. Or another time, when she deleted files without knowing what the files were. Hmm, think I’ll delete this NTOSKRNL.EXE file - it’s making my c drive look untidy.

Challenging user incorrect beliefs and perceptions needs to be done gently but firmly. Remember you’re the one that has to support the installed solution so make sure it’s reliable, easy to use and support and up to date. It is important to train your clients too. Make sure they understand the basics of their system and you’ll find your support burden diminishes and their customer satisfaction increases. A true win-win situation.

The juicy, rich fruit that tastes good and meets industry standards is always better than the slim, attractive one with no taste or content.