Don’t Put Off For 31 Days What You Can Do In 30

Eying the date of my last post, there’s no denying that if there’s one thing that I’m good at, it’s procrastination. So let’s have a chat about one of my very favorite marketing deals – the 30 day trial.

Do what the little yellow post-it says.

There are a couple of ways this can work, so your first order of business is to be aware. The first, and probably more common, way is the automatic billing. This means you provide a credit card up front and you’re automatically billed on the 31st day.

Now, I’m going to gloss over those of you who cried “SCAM!” after getting billed after one of these trials (to recap, 1)Keep reading after you see the word free, 2)If you didn’t do step 1, the credit card entry should have tipped you off) and go straight to the literally hundreds of you who groused to me every day about how we should wait until you called us to charge you.

On the surface, I can see what you’re getting at. The idea is we, the company, should do whatever is in our power to make it easy and convenient for you, the customer. This is exactly why you’re charged automatically after the 30 days. After all, the reason I had so many of you grumbling on the other end of my phone is that you had forgotten to cancel on time. It’s reasonable to think, then, that if you had wanted to keep the service you would have been even MORE likely to forget to call and let us know that. So, since we can’t have it both ways, which way do you suppose a company is more likely to lean – making it convenient for the customers that want to give us money, partake in our fine services, or those who aren’t interested?

Give yourself enough time for the cancellation to go through long before a charge even thinks about hitting your credit card. I know I put a lot of culpability on you, the customer’s, shoulders, but that’s because you’re the only one you can actually control. Of course, companies are not perfect. It’s quite possible the company you work with hasn’t ironed out the kinks in their cancellation process, or perhaps they have a sluggish billing team. Just keep in mind that your idea of proficiency is different from Joe Blow down the street so one of you is going to end up disappointed. Keeping track of the 30 day trial and when it ends is no one’s responsibility but yours, and honestly, in most cases the only one who’s going to get a headache over your hooting and hollering about your charge is – you. If a company has been around for any decent amount of time, it’s safe to say that there are more people happy with their service, their trials and the way they do business than are not.

I know you’re a busy person. Pardon me, but we ALL are. No one wants to spend a precious few minutes of our life on the phone. Remember you do have other options. A lot of companies are just as effective, if not more-so, by E-mail, and e-mail has the added benefit of being a hard copy of your request – never a bad thing. In the end, you can usually get a lot of value, absolutely free, out of a 30 day trial. Just be conscious of the date!

The 4-1-1

Do you ever feel like you and your customer service rep are speaking a different language? It sounds like English, but it just doesn’t make sense, and problems aren’t being solved.

Believe me, we feel the same way.

In general, customers have two styles with which they bring a problem to our attention. The first is a monologue with what they think the problem is, what might have caused it, things they’ve already done, the breakfast they ate this morning and the last representative they spoke to a year ago who just wasn’t that friendly. By the time they’re done talking, my eyes are typically glazed over and my only question is, “okay, so exactly what is the problem?”

Take a lesson from Brad Pitt’s Rusty in Ocean’s Eleven, “Don’t use seven words when four will do.” In most cases, there’s no reason to tell your CSR that your great aunt sally had the same problem with her cell phone 2 years go and this is what they did. Instead, identify the problem in one quick sentence and take the call as it flows from there. Of course, with troubleshooting you’re probably going to have to provide more information eventually, but the issue should be introduced in as simple a statement as possible. Here are some examples: “I can’t get my phone off vibrate.” “My bill hasn’t come.” “There seems to be a mysterious charge of $79.95 on my statement from your company.”

This starting point gives you two immediate advantages. First, it allows your CSR to grasp the basics of what the problem is. Think of it this way. When you were in school was it easier to interpret the meaning of one sentence or Shakesphere’s “Hamlet”? Believe me, sometimes I thought interpreting “Hamlet” was easier.

Secondly, there is always the chance that the problem you’re having is global, or at least affecting a wide range of customers, and so your CSR already knows about it. You save yourself a lot of time by identifying the problem up front and then letting your CSR tell you what they already know. Either way, you’re saving yourself a great deal of frustration and time you might have to spend clarifying.

On the other side of the coin, you also don’t want to be too vague. I can’t tell you how many times my, “How can I help you today?” was met with, “My e-mail isn’t working.” Okay. It’s not as if e-mail is a one function program. “I keep getting an error when I try to send an e-mail” , “My buddy’s e-mails to me are being bounced” or “My spam blocker isn’t catching all those erectile dysfunction e-mails!” are all infinitely better descriptions to an e-mail problem.

Before you call, take a moment to figure out the root of your issue. State your case and let the CSR tell you what he or she needs from there.

Basic Call Etiquette – 4 Rules Miss Manners Won’t Teach You

Even in today’s more casual society, rules and etiquette are far from forgotten. Though we’re long past the days when you were even expected to slurp soup a certain way, a little politeness can go a long way in making your support phone call a little smoother.

 1. We can hear EVERYTHING – Okay, I admit that this one benefits the CSR’s whose ears you are innocently assaulting, but with the things I’ve heard over the years I can’t help but think that people just don’t realize how much comes in through our headsets. You might be surprised how many phone calls are accompanied by the beautiful background music that only the bathroom can offer. Try explaining the technicalities of a cell phone bill with someone crunching potato chips in your ear. Have you ever wondered why you got a slightly colder tone from your rep when you got back to the phone? It’s because we could hear you beating the snot out of your kid.

 2. There are such things as stupid questions - When it comes to getting service, there are such things as stupid questions. These are questions that serve no purpose other than to hinder the speed and thoroughness of your answer. One obvious example is, “Are you new?” This has been aimed at many a CSR who either a) Gave the customer an answer he didn’t want to hear and so he assumed that the person must be incorrect or b) the rep IS new and therefore sounds a little uncertain. In either case this question serves no purpose other than to be rude to a person who you’ve called to help you. If you’re not sure an answer is correct, ask instead for more information, a little proof. Asking an old hand if they’re new usually puts that person on the defensive, making communication between you difficult. Ripping apart a newbie only serves to make them more nervous and less likely to remember all the information they need to help you. In either case, the situation typically ends with you having to start all over again with a different rep wasting your time when you could have just asked a more productive question.

3. Don’t Stereotype - Personally, I think this one should be a life tip, but I digress. Communication between a customer and a CSR is roughly like an American tourist asking directions in France.  Both sides speak English, but one of us isn’t willing to admit it. Stereotyping your rep based on gender or ethnicity only serves to add another hurdle that needs to be jumped before your situation can be resolved. The last two years I worked as a technical support rep for a company that hosts websites. How many times a day did I hear “Can you transfer me to technical support?” when I answered the phone. The implication here is that these people thought I was a receptionist. Immediately, before I’ve even gotten your name, I’m on the defensive and you’re uncertain that I’m qualified to be giving you technical support.

One of my former managers is named Sabiha. She was in New Accounts, a team that assists customers through the initial start up process. As part of her job, she had to talk to her customers at least once to walk them through the basics of their website. She had a customer once that would not respond to e-mails trying to set up an appointment. Finally, the customer e-mailed in saying that she didn’t believe she and Sabiha would be able to understand each other and could she have an American rep. Sabiha is American and has a perfect command of the English language with absolutely no accent. This customer wasted 2 weeks of her time and her 30 day trial because of an assumption.

4. Remember we’re professionals - There are certain rules that society has when it comes to interacting with men and women, young and old. These rules should not prevent you from viewing your CSR as a professional. I had a customer once immediately request to speak to a male representative when he heard my voice on the phone. Besides making me angry, this lead to about five minutes of me attempting to explain that I was just as qualified to help him as every male in the department. As it turned out, the customer hadn’t wanted to show me this website whose design he wanted to emulate because it had a picture of a woman showing off her scantly clad derrière.

One of my friends once forbade his girlfriend from going to her chosen OB-GYN because he was a male.  He said that obviously, this man must be a pervert. Now, in normal society you probably would object to another man putting your girl’s legs up in stirrups. But a doctor is a trained professional looking out for the health and wellbeing of your significant  other. Most people would agree that in this case, the rules can be bent. The same should be said of any professional. Remember that we don’t live in a world of black and white, and let your representative help you. It’s what they’re paid to do.