When we first started the customer support department at Plaxo, it was offered by a handful of engineers with very little (or zero!) experience in support. It was a good learning experience for all of us as we were able to get instant feedback from our members. It was also a time when we only had 10,000 members.

Fast forward several years and a few more members (just add 10 million) and things got a bit complicated. Though engineers still answer questions, we have a customer care team that handles the bulk of our support emails (this has been expanded to include voice and chat). So how does an organization get better? There are many sources of good information detailing ways to improve. The basics are common sense, simply following what you would expect yourself.

I'm not alone when I tell a story of calling some company's customer support that didn't know any of these common sense rules. The call spirals out of control, where the support agent becomes abrasive, defensive and less than enthusiastic about resolving the problem. And no matter the proof our conversation showed, assumed I had no understanding of technology. Being in the business, I should be a fairly easy call to handle.

In general, customer support has a bad rap. It also doesn't help that companies have 15 levels of paid support typically in your favorite colors: silver, gold, fuschia, titanium, plutonium, whatever. In the end, customer satisfaction dwindles while companies simply try to find ways to mask the weak points in their support offering. But we're not all bad. And as the head of Plaxo's customer care, I'm actively looking for ways to set a new standard in care.

I'm always curious what makes someone feel good about their support experience. In reading through discussion lists, forums and blogs, I came across one, 37 signals, that captures the summary of what any support agent hopes for in every email, chat or phone call they receive. As much as support agents are taught "treat your customers the way you would expect to be treated," this is a nice twist addressing the fact that many customers come into a tech support experience with a bias. They're already on the defense or attack because they assume they're about to be mistreated.

So in the sake of making the world a nice place, here are some tips from that blog, combined with tips I've added from our experience. Remember that communication is the important ingredient.

1. Treat each interaction as unique. It's not right to take your anger out on one particular tech support representative, even if you are really busy or have never received good support. In turn, tech support should always assume the customer has a basic understanding of the product or service. Let the customer lead you to whatever level of technical detail they're able to talk at.

2. Remember there’s a human on the other end. It doesn’t matter that you’ll never "meet" again. You're still talking with an actual person. Treat them with dignity and respect. It is simple human nature that the nicer you are, the nicer the response you're likely to get.

3. Be patient. Sending the same email ten times to ten different support channel emails will only slow things down. The support agent is forced to read each of your emails before responding. And for the agents, when you've asked the customer for a specific piece of information, don't lose your focus, or begin helping another customer when the customer is getting you what you need.

4. Provide useful, descriptive, relevant information. This can be tough since people don’t always know what’s relevant. If you are having trouble logging in, don’t just say "I can’t login. Any ideas?" Instead say "Whenever I try to login, the login screen just reloads without an error message. I know my username and password is correct. Any ideas? Thanks." That extra bit of information will help considerably and will reduce the number of back-and-forth emails between you and the support person.

5. But don't get overly detailed and wordy. If your email is too long (I’ve seen simple requests balloon into two printed pages), customer support has to sift through the entire thing to find what’s meaningful. This means more time spent figuring out exactly what’s wrong. You want to make it as easy as possible for them to help you. Be clear and concise.

6. Starting a conversation with a threat is not a good idea. "Do this immediately or else" or "If you don’t respond within 4 hours you’ll be hearing from my lawyer," are not uncommon first lines in the first email from people. I don’t know if folks assume you are out to get them or they’ve been burned before, but starting with a threat never helps. Given the choice to help two people, the customer service person is naturally going to help who appears easiest, first. Plus, back to point #2, people will do more for others who are kind to them than they will for someone sounding bitter and dismissive right from the start.

7. Screenshots, screenshots, screenshots. These are a support agent's best friend. If you have the ability to visually show your problem, it can be diagnosed quicker and, hopefully, resolved faster. Screenshots are a first step, but remote assistance (a support service we offer to our Premium users) almost guarantees resolution within minutes.

8. Escalate. If you feel that you're not getting the proper support, ask for a different agent to help you. Or ask for a supervisor or an escalation technician to assist in the matter. Every support agent should know that your time is valuable. And it's very important for you to know that their time is also valuable - their success is based on finding resolution to your problem quickly and efficiently without giving up any of the above customer support rules.

9. Provide feedback. Good support organizations ask their customers for feedback. Great organizations listen very carefully and carry out those suggestions, especially on feedbacks or surveys. It's an opportunity for you to let them know if and how they need to change. Take that quick 30 second survey. It only helps the organization, and the agent, become better the next time around.

Have any tales of good support experience or additional useful tips?

When we first started the customer support department at Plaxo, it was offered by a handful of engineers with very little (or zero!) experience in support. It was a good learning experience for all of us as we were able to get instant feedback from our members. It was also a time when we only had 10,000 members. Fast forward several years and a few more members (just add 10 million) and things got a bit complicated. Though engineers still answer questions, we have a customer care team that handles the bulk of our support emails (this has been expanded to include voice and chat). So how does an organization get better? There are many sources of good information detailing ways to improve. The basics are common sense, simply following what you would expect yourself. I'm not alone when I tell a story of calling some company's customer support that didn't know any of these common sense rules. The call spirals out of control, where the support agent becomes abrasive, defensive and less than enthusiastic about resolving the problem. And no matter the proof our conversation showed, assumed I had no understanding of technology. Being in the business, I should be a fairly easy call to handle. In general, customer support has a bad rap. It also doesn't help that companies have 15 levels of paid support typically in your favorite colors: silver, gold, fuschia, titanium, plutonium, whatever. In the end, customer satisfaction dwindles while companies simply try to find ways to mask the weak points in their support offering. But we're not all bad. And as the head of Plaxo's customer care, I'm actively looking for ways to set a new standard in care. I'm always curious what makes someone feel good about their support experience. In reading through discussion lists, forums and blogs, I came across one, 37 signals, that captures the summary of what any support agent hopes for in every email, chat or phone call they receive. As much as support agents are taught "treat your customers the way you would expect to be treated," this is a nice twist addressing the fact that many customers come into a tech support experience with a bias. They're already on the defense or attack because they assume they're about to be mistreated. So in the sake of making the world a nice place, here are some tips from that blog, combined with tips I've added from our experience. Remember that communication is the important ingredient. 1. Treat each interaction as unique. It's not right to take your anger out on one particular tech support representative, even if you are really busy or have never received good support. In turn, tech support should always assume the customer has a basic understanding of the product or service. Let the customer lead you to whatever level of technical detail they're able to talk at. 2. Remember there’s a human on the other end. It doesn’t matter that you’ll never "meet" again. You're still talking with an actual person. Treat them with dignity and respect. It is simple human nature that the nicer you are, the nicer the response you're likely to get. 3. Be patient. Sending the same email ten times to ten different support channel emails will only slow things down. The support agent is forced to read each of your emails before responding. And for the agents, when you've asked the customer for a specific piece of information, don't lose your focus, or begin helping another customer when the customer is getting you what you need. 4. Provide useful, descriptive, relevant information. This can be tough since people don’t always know what’s relevant. If you are having trouble logging in, don’t just say "I can’t login. Any ideas?" Instead say "Whenever I try to login, the login screen just reloads without an error message. I know my username and password is correct. Any ideas? Thanks." That extra bit of information will help considerably and will reduce the number of back-and-forth emails between you and the support person. 5. But don't get overly detailed and wordy. If your email is too long (I’ve seen simple requests balloon into two printed pages), customer support has to sift through the entire thing to find what’s meaningful. This means more time spent figuring out exactly what’s wrong. You want to make it as easy as possible for them to help you. Be clear and concise. 6. Starting a conversation with a threat is not a good idea. "Do this immediately or else" or "If you don’t respond within 4 hours you’ll be hearing from my lawyer," are not uncommon first lines in the first email from people. I don’t know if folks assume you are out to get them or they’ve been burned before, but starting with a threat never helps. Given the choice to help two people, the customer service person is naturally going to help who appears easiest, first. Plus, back to point #2, people will do more for others who are kind to them than they will for someone sounding bitter and dismissive right from the start. 7. Screenshots, screenshots, screenshots. These are a support agent's best friend. If you have the ability to visually show your problem, it can be diagnosed quicker and, hopefully, resolved faster. Screenshots are a first step, but remote assistance (a support service we offer to our Premium users) almost guarantees resolution within minutes. 8. Escalate. If you feel that you're not getting the proper support, ask for a different agent to help you. Or ask for a supervisor or an escalation technician to assist in the matter. Every support agent should know that your time is valuable. And it's very important for you to know that their time is also valuable - their success is based on finding resolution to your problem quickly and efficiently without giving up any of the above customer support rules. 9. Provide feedback. Good support organizations ask their customers for feedback. Great organizations listen very carefully and carry out those suggestions, especially on feedbacks or surveys. It's an opportunity for you to let them know if and how they need to change. Take that quick 30 second survey. It only helps the organization, and the agent, become better the next time around. Have any tales of good support experience or additional useful tips?