Some days the traffic isn’t as great as others. Some days the problems seem impossible. And yet some days you may feel like you just can’t get it right. But your effort never goes unnoticed. MinuteFix, still in its adolescence, is consistently becoming a leader in customer service and it is because of technicians like you. Thank you for your hard work. Thank you for your dedication. And thank you for just bringing your magic to this team. Happy customer service week!

So, here’s the big question. Who helps the helpers when they need help?

You may have noticed a problem yesterday with our site, our forums, etc. The issue was not with our business but rather with our server. To read the exact issued statement from DreamHost, you can visit this webpage.

I am not writing today just to acknowledge a “water under the bridge” problem but rather to point out that even through the problem DreamHost displayed great customer service. Before we could even alert them to our problem the following email was in our inbox.

It would appear that a network file server (which is mounted by your web
server) had an issue with a bad backplane.
This was causing the file server to fail drastically and cause issues for
customers across your cluster.  Please accept my most humble aplogies for
this problem.  Keeping your sites up and running is rather important to us.
Our admin team is cleaning up a few straggling servers and all previously
affected sites and services (including mail) should be up again for the most
part.

I am also sorry that we had to use an impersonal canned message to respond
to this matter, but the scale of what happened and the amount of support it
generated called for it.  If you are still running into issues, please
contact support by replying to this message and one of our representatives
will be happy to help you get things resolved as quickly as possible.

Thanks!
Jason C.

In my opinion, that is a company that cares. Thank you DreamHost for helping us when we needed help!

This morning I got a call of desperation from a friend whose mother is in her 60s but is still very smitten with the Internet for multiple reasons. This morning while trying to log on she kept getting “Invalid Password” messages. Now this was news to her as she has had the same password for the entire two years she has had Netscape as her ISP. Now, I am a bit skeptical anyway of Netscape through Wal-Mart as an ISP…but I digress. The point is that my friend’s mom contacted Netscape and was immediately put through to a customer service agent who barely spoke English, mispronounced her name each time she said it, and offered no real help.

Netscape is, of course, owned by AOL who is infamous for their lack of customer support. Their are forums and chatboards loaded with complaints.

So in the process of this conversation my friends mother was asked for her account number. She was not sure what account and accidentally gave the operator her bank account number which her monthly payment is directly withdrawn from. The customer support agent looked frantically for the account but could find nothing. She never once asked for any other information that might help locate the account in an effort to get the password issue taken care of. So, after about nine minutes of “conversation” the tech support person ended the call……..WITHOUT SAYING GOODBYE.

My friend’s mother was left emotionally upset and feeling guilty that she had done something wrong and her account had been cancelled. My friend suggested calling me and we made a 3-way call to get the issue solved. I was appalled at the customer support I heard on the other end of the phone and I asked to speak to management. No better. So, you ask, why does it matter? It matters because these are real people we work with with real feelings and real issues.

This all makes me so much more proud of MinuteFix. We have an awesome team of really solid customer support technicians. Thank you.

This post is shamelessly stolen from “Make It Great! with Phil Gerbyshak.
September 13 was Happy Positive Thinking Day and in observance, Phil wrote up a blog post on 5 ways we can all make a more positive attitude. I really liked his suggestions and though I would, therefore, pass them off to you. Remember, all the words, anecdotes, and suggestions are his. They were quite relevant and compelling though so I have not altered a word. Enjoy!

• Reframe the situation. No matter how dire the situation is, unless you’re dead, it could always be worse. Trust me. This year, I’ve hit bottom in a lot of my life. Over half my team turned over. I’ve worked REALLY long hours. My best friend moved away. My bank account has been near zero. I gained 20 more pounds.

I’ve had to reframe most of my life.

I have new ideas from all my new people.

I learned a lot during the long hours.

I still talk to my best friend.

My bank account is slowly growing.

I’m doing a duathalon tomorrow to jump start my exercise program.

All depends on how I look at it.

It all depends on how YOU look at it.

• Count your blessings. I have a lot to be thankful for. You probably do too. Write the blessings down. Understand your abundance and be thankful for it.

• Give thanks to those who’ve helped you. Few people are self-made anymore, but few know how big of an impact they’ve had on your life. Give them a call, and say thanks. Or send a hand-written thank you note. Nobody does that anymore.

• Read or listen to something that makes you smile. Re-read a favorite book or article. Listen to some fun music. Maybe it’s the sound of a baby, or the sound of your brother. Call someone who’ll make you smile.

• Smile or make a silly face for no reason. Start small, and just smile. It won’t hurt anything. Just smile big and wide!

I had a really cool call tonight. It was about 9:15pm EST and I was in ‘Q’ when David from Burbank, California logged in with a Windows 2000 problem. Windows alone freaks me out because I have been on Mac for about six years now. But Win 2000? I thought that was a computer joke, not a real operating system. Hmmmmmm. Anyway. David was having problems getting his desktop icons to respond and kept getting “Access Denied” messages. As David and I went through some basic questions and tests he began telling me how much his computer meant to him. You see, David is a professional storm chaser and specializes in tornadoes. His computer is his primary weapon and companion. It was so fascinating to hear him talk about the role of technology in modern meteorology.

After we had solved his problem (issue with admin permissions) he told me what an awesome company MinuteFix was and how he was dually impressed with my willingness to help and to give him my phone number should he have problems while on the road chasing. He promised he would pass on our information to all the other chasers he works with. Before we hung up he said he appreciated my speed and reminded me that in life, like in storms, every second counts!

Photo courtesy of www.extremeinstability.com

Hey there MinuteFix technicians! It’s your old buddy and MinuteFix Customer Experience Officer Phil Gerbyshak, back from the nearly dead, here to share an article with you about GREAT service and how YOU can provide this for our clients! If you’re one of our new techs who doesn’t yet know me, or if you’re one of our senior technicians who thought I was never coming back, I am super excited to be here with you, and apologize I haven’t been around as much as I will be soon.

On with the article…

Bill Taylor recently shared the Geek Squad’s guide to great service, which seems very similar to what our fantastic technician’s here at MinuteFix live every day:

1. Never violate the trust of my clients or disrespect their property.
2. Never say, “I don’t know.” Instead, say, “I’ll find out.”
3. Always understand that my clients’ time is more valuable than my own.
4. Assume every problem is my fault, unless proven otherwise.
5. Consider my job done only when my client is completely overwhelmed with joy. And instead of assuming they’re happy, I’ll ask them.
6. Keep every promise I make. Including this one.

I think these are great rules for MinuteFix techs to live by. Here are 2 more to help us not only deliver great service, but also help each other help the next person who gets the problem.

7. If I learn something new, I will share it with the rest of the technicians. Douglas Wong and many others do this amazingly well at our Certified Technician Community.

8. I will not take it personally when clients get frustrated with their computers. After 15 years in tech support, I’ve talked to thousands of VERY upset people, and only once or twice has it debased into a personal attack. If a client is using our services, chances are they are not as technically savvy as you are. Unfortunately it also means they are not a happy camper with their computer and may be using us as an absolute last resort. It’s NOT your fault, just help them and don’t take it personally.

What are some other great rules to live by so we can create great customer experiences for all of the MinuteFix clients?

Flickr photo credit to pyrator

Much has been made over Windows Vista and the impending discontinuation of XP. What is a consumer left to do when they can’t figure out their own operating system? In a desperate effort to be the proverbial Windex to their customer base, Microsoft has announced that they are offering unlimited toll-free tech support calls for compatibility and installation issues with Windows Vista (Service Pack 1) through March 2009, in nearly any country. To take advantage of the service though you will need to have your Product ID handy (right-click on My Computer > Properties), but it’s a nice last resort for you or anyone you don’t have time to troubleshoot for.

Since beginning our partnership with Skype we have heard some great reviews and observations on just how powerful of a tool Skype really is. Today I received a letter from Michael Barrow, one of our Certified MinuteFix Techs. He writes:

I have recently taken more time to explore the Skype community as we eagerly await the next major build and product launch from them. Being pleasantly surprised at the variety, depth, and spirit of content in this great community I got to thinking, “how familiar am I really with the entire Skype universe?” So I started casually clicking through all the menus until I got bored and found the Tools > Do More menu. I then found all the latest utility software we call “Skype Extras” for users. Now I’m expecting these all will provide a multitude opportunities for MinuteFixers to support them in the future. In all I counted several dozen to play with including my own troublesome issue with the Cryptochat4skype extra. (Only after being politely teased for having an annoying message appear in our Technicians Chat Room.) The message simply says that all chat entries to this user will be scanned for malware and viruses. I Googled it and discovered the only way to get rid of it was to do a fresh install of Skype including searching for and deleting all Skype related folders. This was a great experience seeing as I now have the fix the caller who wants to remove the Crypto4chat extra but doesn’t know how. All in all I learned also I will have no reasons for idol time in the coming weeks since there are so many other “extras” for us as technicians to break and play with.

The best find of all was in the skype.com site. How many technicians do we know have that ugly caller story? I mean the caller that would not seem satisfied regardless of how good our service was? Yes, that one caller we all remember and probably may never forget. The next question that comes to mind is. What can we do after the call is over? Sure we can journal the call sequence and reflect what we could of done otherwise or reposed on things we could have said or presented differently to the caller. Most importantly, this page I found in the halls of skype.com reminded me what we really need as support technicians. And that is resolution on every case we take, regardless of the final outcome. Not only did I find this downright fun watch but therapeutic for every computer user including the seasoned technician and for the green eared newbie. Enjoy Minute Peeps. Until my next post….

Michael Barrow
Certified Minutefix Techinician

It is so tempting as a customer service agent in any industry not to become passive or complacent when a particular call lasts too long or you are just exhausted or there seems to be no real answer to the problem. However, that is when the cream rises to the top and true legends are made. I think we may have seen our first legend last night/this morning.

From the dark computer dens of Russia to the fast paced city of New York comes a young man with confidence abounding and skill to match. He is quick to comment on his ego and his inability to accept the word “no” or to be beaten by a problem. He is a friendly PC tech support person with the determination of a frenzied hacker. This morning he took a call starting at 2 am. Each time the customer rebooted Windows, his Quick Launch bar disappeared. it was indeed a dilemna. At 4 am our fearless tech, Maxim Doumkine, was still at it but the solution was not far off. Maxim chatted Diego (time stamp in US Pacific Time):

[1:30:34 AM] Maxim Doumkine says: I had an idea
[1:30:39 AM] Maxim Doumkine says: he just restarted
[1:30:46 AM] Maxim Doumkine says: I am waiting for him to get back to me about it
[1:30:53 AM] Diego Orjuela says: What did you do?
[1:31:24 AM] Maxim Doumkine says: I created a new folder, named it quicklaunchnew and placed it in c:\ and copied over all his quicklaunch shortcuts
[1:31:40 AM] Maxim Doumkine says: and created a new toolbar instead of the old quicklaunch
[1:31:58 AM] Maxim Doumkine says: so… lets see
[1:32:27 AM] Maxim Doumkine says: well he isn’t paying, but I definitely will get a heck of a good review
[1:32:30 AM] Maxim Doumkine says: 4:32 am for me
[1:36:17 AM] Maxim Doumkine says: I FIXED IT!!!
[1:36:19 AM] Maxim Doumkine says: HA HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
[1:36:21 AM] Maxim Doumkine says: YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
[1:36:22 AM] Diego Orjuela says: hahahahaha
[1:36:25 AM] Diego Orjuela says: Whooooohoooooo!
[1:37:24 AM] Maxim Doumkine says: That was an invention fix, nowhere to be found online =).

He had done it. Without pay. Without anyone else even online to congratulate him Maxim had done it. The customer was astounded and so grateful. A legend had been born.

And I think that is why we all do it. It isn’t because we do or we don’t make money. It isn’t so we can take a look at other peoples computers. It is because there is that natural high that comes when helping another human being. There is that rush of sharing your knowledge with another and seeing a new world open up before them. Each one of you is such an important part of this team and tonight Maxim showed the skill, professionalism and determination embodied by each technician who carries the MinuteFix certification. Thank you Maxim. Job well done!

I just want to take a second to outline a chat transcript between MinuteFix Certified Technician Mark and a customer. It is full of quality responses, suggestions and tools. It satisfies our basic requirements of Customer Service and Tech Support and is just a good, strong read.

Visitor: harry
Operator: Mark
Started: 27 May 2008 18:24:27
Finished: 27 May 2008 19:28:13

* Your chat request has been answered by Mark.

Mark: Hi Harry, how can I help you today? (Solid intro. here)
harry: i guess i cant really ask you any sollutions here
harry: but the problem is the computer has just gone completely screwed
Mark: Are you having a specific technology problem?
harry: yea, in a very big way
harry: basically…
harry: all .exe file types are trying to run through utorrent… which is a downloading programme and like, the literal ‘E-data security’ like BIG programme that runs all of the important software now doesnt run
Mark: Ok, we’d be happy to help you. (Invitational Language)
harry: the computer no longer recognises anything to do with windows
Mark: Ok, is this another machine you are typing from? (Recognition of hardware)
harry: error boxes keep popping up and you litterally cant click ANYTHING to do with
harry: …hang on
harry: no we were able to make firefox work somehow
harry: through a short cut
Mark: Do you have an antivirus program installed?
harry: the big problem is ALLOT, if not ALL of the really important programmes can no longer run
harry: nothing is actually running because the computer cant recognise the file type its supposed to run the programmes with
harry: we have norton
harry: but its not working, like everything else
Mark: A couple of questions:
harry: ok
Mark: How is the problem being initiating. Does it run on its own (meaning virus) or does it happen when you click on something?
Mark: What operating system are you using? (SO IMPORTANT)
Mark: Do you have a phone?
harry: neither… whats happened is, ALL the .exe files on the computer (basically meaning ALL programmes - the whole software basis) was innitially changed to run through a programme called ‘u-torrent’. and as that programme isnt designed to run as that part of the computer no programmes could then run, an error box kept popping up saying ‘u torrent doesnt support this file type’
harry: thats when you clicked a programme anywhere on the computer, all it does is open u torrent with that error message
Mark: Windows XP?
Mark: Can you unistall utorrent?
harry: we then moved u-torrent to the recycle bin (not deleted incase that messes it up even more), now the computer brings up that box saying ‘which programme do you want to use to run this programme’
harry: when you click anything… so its forgotten how to run all programmes
harry: or something like that
harry: we’re on vista
harry: as you can see its a wierd problem
Mark: Can you uninstall utorrent?
harry: no we dont have a phone line
Mark: ok
harry: would u sujjest we do that?, i mean, we’ve effectively done that already, now programmes still wont work because when you click anything it asks what programme we would like to use to run it
harry: meaning nothing is set to what they are supposed to be set to to run normally
harry: *we’ve moved u-torrent to the recycle bin
Mark: Ok, we actually need to unistall utorrent (Initial Diagnosis)
Mark: Not move it to the recycle bin.
harry: and we dont have a resore point , as thats not even working, its giving us the same error message
harry: ok i’ll uninstall u’torrent now hang on
Mark: Ok.
harry: ok, id actually uninstalled it when i moved it to the recycle bin, it said it has already been uninstalled
harry: but all file types are still u-torrent
Mark: Putting it in the recycle bin is not really unistalling it
Mark: Did you go to the control panel?
harry: yea
Mark: To uninstall?
harry: should i empty recycle bin too?
harry: yea, its been uninstalled
Mark: The recycle bin doesn’t work.
Mark: Doesn’t do anything
Mark: The recycle bin is only for files not programs.
harry: but its done nothing… the problem is, allot of important programmes that boot on start up havn’t since it happened…
Mark: yes, we’re looking into it
harry: whats happened is the file types for all programmes have been wiped, so the computer doesnt know how to run any programme
harry: some work, some dont which is wierd
Mark: Can you open a windows explorer window by typing the windows key and the “W”
Mark: Sorry, Windows + E
Mark: That should open a window
harry: anything to do with vista hasnt loaded atall, the whole security center, norton hasnt loaded… basically ALL essential programmes are not running as the computer hasnt got a file type to read on any of the programmes because….
harry: yep
harry: takes me to the main computer pannel with the c: drive e.t.c.
Mark: ok, that’s great, please stay there for a moment.
harry: thank you so much for this
Mark: go to the Tools option on the upper menu of the windows
Mark: Select Folder Options
harry: ok
Mark: you should see a tab named “File Types”
Mark: Click on the “New” button
harry: got general view and search
Mark: Ok, one moment
harry: we’re using vista home premium
Mark: Do you not have the option Tools > Folder Options?
harry: yea
harry: the tabs at the top of the folder options box are: general, view and search
Mark: Ok, one moment, thanks
harry: thankyou
Mark: Ok, we’re going to help you, onemoment.
harry: i cant thank you enough Mark: No worries.
Mark: We’re still here
harry: lol
harry: us too
Mark: Ok Harry, are you still with me?
harry: yup
Mark: I’ve been doing a little research
harry: ok
harry: thanks
Mark: and you’re re not the only one with this problem (Building customer confidence)
harry: ooo
harry: i’de hopes as much
harry: hoped*
Mark: I’d like to refer you to this page -
http://blog.jtbworld.com/2007/03/have-you-lost-your-exe-file-extension.html
harry: ok
Mark: It’s rather self explanatory
Mark: There are four registry fixes which you can download. Each one is progressively more complete.
harry: sweet
harry: and that should fix the problem?
Mark: Try downloading the first to your desktop and then double clicking it. Vista will ask you to allow it. Go ahead and do so. I’ve studied the registry entries in each option and I’ve seen no risk in each.
Mark: That’s the idea!
harry: erm, ok, i’ll do that now
harry: will i have to go through each programme individually and re-open it through the registry fixer?
Mark: After you run the 1st one then try running a couple of .exe’s that you have installed. If you see the problem persists then try the 2nd option.
harry: because that may be difficult as some of the programmes are built to start on bootup
harry: hang on though i’ll d-load it
Mark: Not at all, these are system-wide fixes. In a nutshell you somehow ended up with uTorrent associated to deal with the .exe extension. An association is how operating systems know what to do with a file. It’s why if you rename a PDF to .doc Word won’t be able to display it. The info is still there, it just doesn’t know how to handle it.
harry: yea haha thats EXACTLY what happened… in a nutshell
Mark: So what we’re doing with this fix is going into Vista at the lowest level and telling it that anything with a .exe extension needs to be treated as a Vista application and the operating system itself should handle it, rather than one of the applications you installed later. (Solid explanation)
harry: ok sweet! so basically its reset the file extention alteration
Mark: And to answer your earlier question: You do not need to do this for each application. This is a fix with system-wide reach because it’s really just one problem affecting your machine even though all your .exe’s are affected.
Mark: Not basically, you explained like it a pro!
harry: and the things that should start on bootup, like the desktop widgets e.t.c., and more important ACER! lol, should start on bootup now
Mark: Couldn’t have said it more concisely myself.
harry: haha, thanks
Mark: Well as I said, it’s important to test a few .exe. *Do Not Reboot* until you see them working.
Mark: Have you tried the first fix yet?
harry: well, you’ll be happy to hear, things are loading up now their clicked, on a side note though, the icons are still u-torrent (the look like
u-torrent icons) will that change after a reset?
harry: yea, it seems to have worked so far
Mark: Not as happy as you evidently
harry: dude… i owe you a drink! lol
Mark: Icons should reset to the original icons packaged with each application by its manufacturer barring any additional unforeseen problems.
Mark: Do you run an antivirus?
harry: yea, all .exe file types are now showing a ‘blank sheet thing’… but i guess it doesnt matter, its just an icon image
harry: yea
harry: nortons back up and running, first thing i checked!
Mark: I’d recommend you run a full system scan and then reboot. If you know how to run a boot-time scan then I would do that. If not, check the help file that came with Norton and search for “boot time scan (or check)” and follow those instructions.
harry: what would that do?, oh yea, viruses
harry: true
Mark: I personally run XP so I’m somewhat baffled as to how this problem occurred. And while it seems that it’s a generic and widespread Vista issue it’s always safe to do a full check just to rule out any sort of virus or trojan.
harry: i’ll deff do that.
Mark: A boot time scan, in simplest terms analyzes your hard drive before Windows boots. This way it doesn’t encounter any issues with locked files, especially those infected ones. It kills them before they can execute.
harry: ok, that sounds like a good idea for sure
harry: and its a simple case of instructing norton to do that, i guess by an option in the norton interface right?
Mark: I’m glad that it’s working now. Go ahead and run your antivirus now, and then the boot time scan. Should be good as new.
harry: i’ll get to it in a minute
harry: sweet man
Mark: I don’t have Norton installed on my machine so I can’t be certain. But their docs should have it front and center. It’s one of the main
features of any AV.
harry: well i must thank you from the bottom of my heart, i was way over my head there and you really helped
Mark: Is there anything else I can help you with? (Giving the customer more opportunity to work with a Tech)
Mark: It was my pleasure
harry: no man, you’v done more than enough, and i’ll be recommending this site to everyone! lol
harry: mine too
Mark: Well we appreciate that very much. Thanks for counting on MinuteFix and be sure to visit us any time you need a hand. (Building reputation and customer base)
harry: its being bookmarked! lol, for sure man. have a really good day… and week… and yea! lol
Mark: It was my pleasure.
Mark: Have a good evening.
harry: you too

In my life I have always found that I learn best from the mistakes of others as well as mistakes I personally have made. To this day when I find customer service to be deplorable or lacking in some way I google the experiences of others to see what their potential issues were. From that I find out all sorts of things that annoy mankind about customer service. But why do I bring this up?

Lately I have been having a lot of trouble with IKEA in regards to a sofa I purchased for my new place. I purchased the couch right at a month ago and issued my first complaint two days later. And so now on week four I am left with a couch that is still unfinished and two separate case numbers still being “processed” with IKEA. This whole situation has me googling all over to hear if I am alone in this situation. Apparently NOT.

You can see by this blog that others feel as passionate about IKEA as I. (warning: NSFW language on the post). I would love to hear your experiences with companies or what you have learned or how you deal with the frustration.

It is our great privilege to have been invited by Liz Strauss, one of America’s most popular bloggers, to participate in an Open Comment Night on her blog, Successful and Outstanding Blog(gers) this coming Sunday night. For those of you who have never read any of Liz’s posts or seen her at her wildly popular brainchild SOBcon, I encourage you to check it out and join us in a few days. Each MinuteFix Certified Technician is invited to be part of this virtual panel and answer a host of tech questions from her listening and viewing public. But first, a bit more about Liz.

Liz believes “Relationships are everyone’s business, and every business is relationships.”

According to EatonWeb, “Liz Strauss is perhaps the most influential relational blogger on the Internet.” Her blog –Liz Strauss at Successful Blog — has been called both a destination and an event. Open Comment Nights, a Blog-to-Blog Conversation, a Blogger’s Cafe, single questions, and on-the-blog strategy sessions keep readers returning to conversations that often last for days. Her blog has tens of thousands of comments.

Liz understands and can translate how people perceive a blog, a product, and an experience — how the head and heart engage to make a fiercely loyal customer.

Having worked over 20 years in print, software, and online publishing, and strategized with publishers in Europe, Australia, the UK, and Ireland, Liz has worked with entrepreneurs, small businesses, companies in crisis, and corporate giants.

But How Does It Work
Open comment night is like any rambling conversation. We shouldn’t try to read it all. As Technicians our job is to represent MinuteFix and support Diego and Phil, the on-air voices of the evening. If you can’t make it right at 7pm CST just show up when you can. There will be plenty to comment on. Just go to the end and start talking. EVERYONE is WELCOME. Liz’s rules are simple — be nice. (Why is everyone staring at me now?)

I have read the transcripts of a couple of these night and there seems to always be first timers and new things to talk about. It rather strikes me as something between a live video game, live TV and a bunch of kids with a BIG imagination. The nights usually draw around 300 comments. The record is over 450. Our goal is 500!

I hope to see each of you there and in full form. Take a look at her blog the next couple of days and be prepared to build relationships with potential customers and each other. I think it is a going to be a very successful and outstanding night!

Yesterday was a remarkable day for both MinuteFix and Technician Tim Lally. Calling St. Louis, MO home, Tim is a great Tech certified in A+, MCP, MCDST as well as his MinuteFix certifications. Aside from that though Tim is now our first technician to handle a phone support customer. And handle it he did. In fact, after nearly two hours of phone support on his personal cell phone Tim was able to help Betsy (coincidentally our first phone support customer) with some iTunes issues including duplicate songs and songs that just wouldn’t play.

I think what is most incredible about this particular session is that Tim also enlisted the help of his “staff”. In other words, Tim asked his wife, the resident iTunes expert in the Lally household, and together they solved Besty’s issues. Unbelievable!

Thank you Tim for your dedication and your expert support. You are an inspiration to us all.

I have a very strong belief that customer service is founded in relationships. Customer service is truly about serving. It is about giving of ones own time and resources in order to benefit another. It is also about understanding how to relate to people; empathize with them and support them. Perhaps the most unrecognized form form of this relationship building is done in the home. It is shown on a regular basis in how we relate to our families. In my family today is a holiday in which my family comes together and sets aside all other agendas in an effort to relate to each other. Without prompting we serve each other, we relate to each other, we listen to each other and in many cases offers solutions to each other.

As I sat at the dinner table today - away from my computer - I thought about the community of Techs that I am privileged to work with and how they show me on a daily basis how to serve and relate to each other. I found myself bragging on the MinuteFix community today and how I felt we were well on our way to revolutionizing customer service and tech support. It was a great feeling and as the day winds down I thank you on behalf of MinuteFix and myself for allowing me to be your community manager and the opportunity to serve with such outstanding people.

Certified MinuteFix Technician Doug Wong has a strong idea. He would like to see us, the tech community, build up a bit of a “Best Practices” or small FAQ for our customers that we can either refer them to for downloads and such or that we can allow them to view and then (we hope) decided, “I can’t do that. That is too hard. I should get a tech to do it.”. It really is a good idea and one that we can develop as a community.

Therefore I have started a topic under Tech Conversation on the forum where we can begin that dialogue. The most conversation and input we have, the better. What may be a weakness of one is sure to be a strength of another!