MinuteFix support is based on chat correspondence. Many of us (if not all of us) use chat services all day long. But if you are anything like me you have created your own sort of language in which your friends and contacts are able to understand you with as little typing as possible. NP, right? Y waste wrds if u don’t have 2? Unfortunately, in that regard, many of our customers will need full sentences with proper grammatical structure. It is a function of our job and will ultimately define who MinuteFix is. To that end I offer some tips on communicating with other people and establishing relationships through chat sessions.

My day is spent alone in an office (of sorts) with nothing more than a cup of coffee and my iTunes to keep me company. Yes, I talk to my keyboard and even to my computer. However, there are times when I must chat with a professional colleague or even talk on the phone to a business associate or a MinuteFix technician. In those cases I have to be sure that my communication is more than if I were just by myself. My communication is key. For those who don’t know I am also a degreed teacher and have been in front of a classroom of 8th graders vocationally. My ability to make world history compelling or at least a bit more than boring had much to do with the way I talked about it. Likewise when engaged in a chat session with a potential investor or a customer my ability to type cohesively and thoroughly has meant the difference between success and failure. The bottom line really is that no matter what form of communication we use to get our job done…it is the key to success.

Communication, in our case, isn’t just typing though. It is about chatting directly to the customer with empathy, compassion and, above all, interest.

The other key I want to address today is about establishing relationships. When we use the word relationship, we are often describing a relationship of personal nature. But in the case of MinuteFix we are referring to a connection made between ourselves and our customers in order to accomplish a specific task. When I was teaching I had a relationship with my students that gave them incentive to hear me out in the first place. When we each get on a chat session with a customer we must first approach them relationally so that they are immediately engaged in our assistance.

Communication and establishing relationships will be the essence of our job and will ultimately mean success or failure.

I would say the world is familiar with basically two types of blogs: personal and corporate. The first is one of those collections of mommy/daddy stories or musings about a favorite sports team or just random Haiku poems. They are live pages that provide a much needed or wanted outlet for anyone willing to put in the writing time.

The second is that new fangled branding device that Scoble always talked about. It is a blog with a purpose and it helps to add identity to an otherwise faceless entity; the corporation.

I like to think there is a third kind of blog though. It is the community blog. Based on the idea that it takes a village, the community blog allows each member to speak when he/she has something to say. So it is with great delight that we offer each of you the chance to speak (or write in this case) on the blog. My space is your space and I would love to hear from each of you. If you have an idea of what you might want to post or you just have a question feel free to send me a quick email and I will respond to you almost immediately.

UPDATE: The first Certified MinuteFix Technician has stepped up and taken the challenge. Douglas Wong from Canada weighed in with a bit about wireless security. Read more here.

Listening is something that most of relate to the conversation only. Someone speaks and we listen. How does it translate to chat conversation though?I have been thinking about this for a few weeks now and I think I have come to the conclusion that there is no translation necessary. The same basic tenants should remain in place. When a customer is chatting to us about their complications we listen to them (or read, rather). But we still owe them our full attention. So to remind myself of what it means to listen I have compiled a collection of a few basic reminders that will enable me to be the best Certified MinuteFix Technician I can be.

• Attention, acknowledgment, appreciation, affirmation.
  The four A’s of effective listening!
• Say what you see.
  There is nothing wrong with saying, “I see that you are quite frustrated with this problem. I can certainly understand…..”
• Don’t react; respond.
  Emotional reaction is good but can often hinder the listening process.
• Problem or predicament?
  Problems have solutions; predicaments have options.
• Visualize your own frustrations.
  Think about times when you have been frustrated. Empathize.

There will be times when customers will be upset. The MinuteFix Certified Technician community is highly trained, and from our conversations we are delighted to see the enthusiasm and professionalism coming from the community, I know we all have a love for technology and helping people, a requirement for providing great fixes for everything we can possibly fix. There will be times when customers will be frustrated by the technology problems they are facing, making them less productive.

As you know, great Customer Service is almost as (if not more) important than technology knowledge. MinuteFix will change the tech support market by not only providing on-demand support for any problem but also by bringing together the best, sincerest and happiest people together to provide its service. We must talk to our customers like they are our best friends, and keep in mind that they are coming to us when there is a problem, not when times are splendid. Being kind and understanding will make us big.
All MinuteFix Certified Technicians are provided with the MinuteFix Session Manual which talks extensively about providing great customer service. There, you will learn that there are ways to talk to a customer to help them feel better.

I was reminded of the importance of customer service only a few days ago. I recently flew to Europe with Air France. When I arrived I found that my suitcase had been broken in transit rendering it unusable. AirFrance was prompt to offer to pay for the damage but that wasn’t what stuck with me. I’m not writing this blog post to talk about an exchange of cash, but rather to talk about something more important: my feelings and how AirFrance cared about them. And it was as easy as a few words.

Let me show you what I mean. I received this letter in the mail yesterday from Marjorie Bucknor, Customer Relations Representative at AirFrance (I have highlighted any direct references to feelings):

Notice how Marjorie uses empathy to help ease the pain:

“I know this must have been extremely frustrating and disappointing for you.”

In the second paragraph, she uses empathy again:

“”…we realize how distressing such occurrences can be.”

In the last paragraph, she admits that they have broken our trust and their promise of providing me with a great travel experience, and she makes it clear that they are aware of it:

“”We value your business and look forward to future opportunities to server you and win back your confidence.”

Remember that delivering great customer service is about communicating well. It’s about treating the customer like you would a great friend, for being able to say “I’m sorry” even though you didn’t cause the problem. MinuteFix is building the next greatest tech support community and it will be treating our customers well, and it will be through words how we will make a difference.

We are here to help you deliver the world’s best customer service. We want to hear from you and are always available to talk. We’re very serious about customer service, and because of that, we are always available. By email, by chat and by phone.

The first question we should all ask ourselves is,

There are actually two types of customers. There are internal and there are external.

External Customers - People we deal with on live chat sessions or through remote desktop assistance. They are customers in the traditional sense of the word. Without them there would be no revenue.

Internal Customers - That category is a bit more tricky in that it includes co-workers, colleagues and others inside the company. You are internal and I am internal. We rely on each other for services, products and information in order to get our job done more efficiently.

Ultimately the relationship between the external customer and the internal customer is what forms the customer chain. Perhaps if you just sit at home behind your keyboard, answering questions and helping people with their problems but rarely see the light of day or hear from us directly it is easy to feel like your work has no impact on MinuteFix as a company. But if you look at the bigger picture you will see that without you we would not have a product to market or distribute and therefore would have no customers which, in turn, would mean we would have no revenue. In some form or another we all provide something for everyone else. Each interaction between us (whether in a blog post or on the forum or on the Wiki) is an important link in a chain of events that will eventually end up at the external customers’ feet.

I am putting out a personal call for anyone that can customize a Myspace page. Yes, MinuteFix is going social, so to speak, and we want to have a totally unique look. If you are someone that either spends way too much time on myspace or just knows how to do a total overlay on a site please send me an email and we can get this party started right! Unfortunately, there are no prizes involved but I will think you are the most amazing person I have interacted with today! Thank you so much.

Well, MinuteFix has joined the social networking system. We are now on Facebook. That’s right! For all you Facebook addicts (of which I, of course, am one), you can become a friend of MinuteFix. What better way to show off and show your love for our team? It’s also a great way for us to score a date with another hott company or send a round of drinks to all the hardworking technicians! Don’t be surprised when you get a slightly pixelated cup of S’bucks from me!

You can find us here.

I’m concerned. Well, let me rephrase that. I am not losing sleep. However, if you are anything like me you may not be so sure that that two week stint back in college working at the GAP was quite enough to prepare you for being a customer service agent. It is only through my role with other companies that I have observed some awesome customer service techniques and added them to my presentation. To that end, I am pleased to say we are welcoming to our team a top notch customer service specialist, Phil Gerbyshak. Because MinuteFix is as much about customer service as it is about fixing computer problems he will be a great tool in helping us all strengthen our customer service skills. We not only want to offer quality customer service but revolutionize it. And with a powerhouse team like we are assembling? Well, I don’t think the goal is far fetched at all.

Diego met Phil last year at SOBCon, a yearly business blogging conference held in Chicago. According to Diego, Phil was the type of person that could really mold the customer service details of MinuteFix with his energetic, sincere, youthful and enthusiastic demeanor.

Known in the blogosphere as the “Relationship Geek,” his mission is simple: To help people unleash the greatness inside them. He connects people to these ideas to take them to the next level. But not only does Phil understand the importance of building relationships in business, but he has a passion and background for the essence of what is MinuteFix.

Phil has been working in the Help Desk and Customer Service arena for quite a few years and has been involved with HDI (Help Desk Institute) for the past few in the local chapter office in Milwaukee. He currently manages an IT Help Desk at a financial services company where his team of 7 technicians support over 2,000 desktop computers around the world. In addition Phil authored the book 10 Ways to Make It Great!, and has been recognized around the country as a professional speaker.

So please help me welcome Phil as consultant and advisor. He is going to help us build our community. In then near future he will be offering training and strategic planning while helping us relate to and service our global presence. Phil brings to the table a wealth of experience, knowledge and connections to the help desk industry, and sees us as an ideal project where he can blend his passion for forming great relationships and delivering what he knows best–delivering great technology support.