Indian programmers, cookies from England and the Caucasus: tech support stories
When you have more than 4.5 million users, tech support should work like a clock. Today we will share stories from our experience: how to cope with difficult situations, how to respond to a mate and how to send branded mugs to London to the most devoted users.
Most often, of course, there are questions about the site and requests to solve the problem.
There are several categories of such requests:
A specific moment of our site is that we teach English. And we receive messages about a technical problem in English. Some users believe that this will be correct and logical. However, after reading the text (often Google translation is determined by the first two words), we respond in Russian so that you do not have to translate later.
Admiration, mate and gratitude - all this gets the support service in full. Sometimes they come on their own, and sometimes they precede a message about a problem. Perhaps some users are guided by the thought: “what if seasoned with a selected obscene language or a declaration of love for a resource, a call for help will be considered earlier or more thoroughly.” The truth is that we consider absolutely all appeals on equal terms. Although receiving declarations of love for the site, of course, is more pleasant.
Suggestions for cooperation, advertising, the question “What is the name of the guy from the YouTube video”, serious site research and multi-page proposals for improving his work. The latter, by the way, is often useful.
Sometimes we get all of the above in one letter, but without the correct return address in the form. The letter is returned or not sent at all. And the user repeats his question again and again, and the degree of his dissatisfaction gradually increases. They also write from the addresses vk.com, fb.com - you have to look for a user in these social networks and contact him there (answers do not reach these addresses). Usually after this, people prefer to continue communicating on the social network and even congratulate on the holidays.
One user, for example, suggested that we “write programmers out of India” to fix bugs in our application. Another asked to give him one course free of charge for “testing” to determine if our service suits him.
Another time, a girl wrote to us who could not complete the payment. For a long time we could not understand what the problem was, and only after some time she admitted that she had a special extension for the visually impaired. It turned out that most of the training she goes through with the help of a screen reader - and quite successfully, but with the payment failed. We figured it out, helped, the girl even offered her help as a tester, so that we could adapt the site for the visually impaired.
Our main audience is people 20-45 years old, but often we are written by elderly users 70-80 years old. It always delights and pleases that at their age people continue to be drawn to knowledge. Once, a woman who moved to the Caucasus to the village turned to support. And she wrote: for 30 km there are only mountains, to get to the civilization on crossroads. From the letters it was clear that the main problem is that she is not very well oriented in her computer. A tourist passing without a joke came to the rescue: she showed him our instructions, and he helped her understand how to work with the browser in general and with our site in particular.
A 75-year-old man from Belarus did not know how to pay with a card, but really wanted to buy a subscription. After all attempts to explain the mechanics of payment, we realized that the only possible option is a regular cash transfer through a bank. They accepted, enrolled manually, we still receive warm congratulations on the holidays from him on Skype.
There was still a very sweet case, which we will definitely remember for a very long time. One woman from London wrote to us in support that she had given herself an annual subscription for her 70th birthday, and for complete happiness, she “lacks only a mug with the logo of her favorite site”. Of course, we were moved and could not pass by this request. We now have mugs only for internal use and sometimes for contests on social networks, but we could single out one for a present. Sent by regular mail, after 2 weeks our subscriber already had a mug, which, as a thank you, sent us a box of cookies. To say that it was nice to say nothing.
But not everything is so rosy, of course. Some people write angry letters with selected mats, often the reason for such a letter can be solved quickly and without blood.
For example, once a week a user writes to us asking to remove our ads from Twitch. Each time he writes obscene words to the return address, of course, we can’t even figure out what kind of advertisement he sees, and generally contact him in any way.
It’s difficult to react calmly to the mat, so for such cases we have a template:
“We sincerely believe that mutual respect is an important component of user communication with support specialists, resolving problems and resolving disputes that you may encounter when using the application. We want to help you in this situation and ask you to refrain from using profanity in correspondence.
If you have questions about our site or application, write to me. ”
Support should be multifaceted, customer-oriented, basically we try to keep the distance of formal and polite communication, but in response to kindness we answer the same (congratulations on the holidays, we wish you success in learning the language). We are guided by the license agreement in controversial situations, we often meet customers - this increases loyalty and leaves a good impression about the service, and ultimately this is one of the main goals of the support staff.
Often you have to stand in the place of the user in order to understand what is happening with him. Patience, miscalculation a few steps in advance: if you are asked to delete a profile, then check if the subscription is active, otherwise the money will be lost; if we change the mail, we immediately change the password so that there are no problems with entering the profile, and so on. The fewer letters from the user - the better: he should not have any questions.
We have a specific assistance algorithm in which we can ask you to follow standard tips (cleaning history, updating the browser, reinstalling the application, etc.), since they help in 80% of cases. Someone is offended by receiving a template answer, but we must be sure that the problem is stable and requires the intervention of specialists.
The button “Write to us” should not loom before your eyes, but at the same time there should be a clear place that the user will definitely find and be able to report the problem quickly and unhindered. The contact form is also as simple as possible - a text input field and the ability to attach a screen or other file. No other information should be requested at this stage, otherwise it may discourage the desire to communicate something.
Another point - the Contact Us button goes through the FAQ, it’s like a filter on which if not 50%, then 30-40% of users settle down, where they find answers to their questions. It is very nice to see what users write from the FAQ pages, which means they honestly searched and did not find it. About 10 people are recruited with the same type of questions - there is reason to start a new article.
Technical support work is difficult: you need to respond quickly, just as quickly understand the problem and keep calm, which can be difficult when communicating with emotional users. But in the end, the main thing is that the problems are resolved, and the user is satisfied.
Write stories from your experience in the comments!
We give the readers of the blog a coupon of 500 rubles for buying a subscription, which includes 8 types of training and weekly newsletters about English grammar and vocabulary - Vitamins and Buns.
And for unlimited and eternal access to all the features of the site there is an “All Inclusive” tariff (the discount is not valid).
What kind of appeals do we receive
Technical
Most often, of course, there are questions about the site and requests to solve the problem.
There are several categories of such requests:
- ask a normal question, get a normal answer;
- they ask a question, but they don’t know how to use a computer or gadget so much that you have to start by deciphering the word “browser” or write “a circle on your screen with the inscription Chrome”;
- We are sure that they are very advanced users, and we receive a message like "posona, tell developers what the right layout is in the footer and I don’t need to tell me to restart the gadget, I know better than yours." Anyway, we will start with a reboot advice ... and it will work in 80% of cases.
A specific moment of our site is that we teach English. And we receive messages about a technical problem in English. Some users believe that this will be correct and logical. However, after reading the text (often Google translation is determined by the first two words), we respond in Russian so that you do not have to translate later.
Emotional
Admiration, mate and gratitude - all this gets the support service in full. Sometimes they come on their own, and sometimes they precede a message about a problem. Perhaps some users are guided by the thought: “what if seasoned with a selected obscene language or a declaration of love for a resource, a call for help will be considered earlier or more thoroughly.” The truth is that we consider absolutely all appeals on equal terms. Although receiving declarations of love for the site, of course, is more pleasant.
Constructive
Suggestions for cooperation, advertising, the question “What is the name of the guy from the YouTube video”, serious site research and multi-page proposals for improving his work. The latter, by the way, is often useful.
Sometimes we get all of the above in one letter, but without the correct return address in the form. The letter is returned or not sent at all. And the user repeats his question again and again, and the degree of his dissatisfaction gradually increases. They also write from the addresses vk.com, fb.com - you have to look for a user in these social networks and contact him there (answers do not reach these addresses). Usually after this, people prefer to continue communicating on the social network and even congratulate on the holidays.
What users write
One user, for example, suggested that we “write programmers out of India” to fix bugs in our application. Another asked to give him one course free of charge for “testing” to determine if our service suits him.
Another time, a girl wrote to us who could not complete the payment. For a long time we could not understand what the problem was, and only after some time she admitted that she had a special extension for the visually impaired. It turned out that most of the training she goes through with the help of a screen reader - and quite successfully, but with the payment failed. We figured it out, helped, the girl even offered her help as a tester, so that we could adapt the site for the visually impaired.
Our main audience is people 20-45 years old, but often we are written by elderly users 70-80 years old. It always delights and pleases that at their age people continue to be drawn to knowledge. Once, a woman who moved to the Caucasus to the village turned to support. And she wrote: for 30 km there are only mountains, to get to the civilization on crossroads. From the letters it was clear that the main problem is that she is not very well oriented in her computer. A tourist passing without a joke came to the rescue: she showed him our instructions, and he helped her understand how to work with the browser in general and with our site in particular.
A 75-year-old man from Belarus did not know how to pay with a card, but really wanted to buy a subscription. After all attempts to explain the mechanics of payment, we realized that the only possible option is a regular cash transfer through a bank. They accepted, enrolled manually, we still receive warm congratulations on the holidays from him on Skype.
There was still a very sweet case, which we will definitely remember for a very long time. One woman from London wrote to us in support that she had given herself an annual subscription for her 70th birthday, and for complete happiness, she “lacks only a mug with the logo of her favorite site”. Of course, we were moved and could not pass by this request. We now have mugs only for internal use and sometimes for contests on social networks, but we could single out one for a present. Sent by regular mail, after 2 weeks our subscriber already had a mug, which, as a thank you, sent us a box of cookies. To say that it was nice to say nothing.
But not everything is so rosy, of course. Some people write angry letters with selected mats, often the reason for such a letter can be solved quickly and without blood.
For example, once a week a user writes to us asking to remove our ads from Twitch. Each time he writes obscene words to the return address, of course, we can’t even figure out what kind of advertisement he sees, and generally contact him in any way.
It’s difficult to react calmly to the mat, so for such cases we have a template:
“We sincerely believe that mutual respect is an important component of user communication with support specialists, resolving problems and resolving disputes that you may encounter when using the application. We want to help you in this situation and ask you to refrain from using profanity in correspondence.
If you have questions about our site or application, write to me. ”
General principles
Support should be multifaceted, customer-oriented, basically we try to keep the distance of formal and polite communication, but in response to kindness we answer the same (congratulations on the holidays, we wish you success in learning the language). We are guided by the license agreement in controversial situations, we often meet customers - this increases loyalty and leaves a good impression about the service, and ultimately this is one of the main goals of the support staff.
Often you have to stand in the place of the user in order to understand what is happening with him. Patience, miscalculation a few steps in advance: if you are asked to delete a profile, then check if the subscription is active, otherwise the money will be lost; if we change the mail, we immediately change the password so that there are no problems with entering the profile, and so on. The fewer letters from the user - the better: he should not have any questions.
We have a specific assistance algorithm in which we can ask you to follow standard tips (cleaning history, updating the browser, reinstalling the application, etc.), since they help in 80% of cases. Someone is offended by receiving a template answer, but we must be sure that the problem is stable and requires the intervention of specialists.
Where should the support button be
The button “Write to us” should not loom before your eyes, but at the same time there should be a clear place that the user will definitely find and be able to report the problem quickly and unhindered. The contact form is also as simple as possible - a text input field and the ability to attach a screen or other file. No other information should be requested at this stage, otherwise it may discourage the desire to communicate something.
Another point - the Contact Us button goes through the FAQ, it’s like a filter on which if not 50%, then 30-40% of users settle down, where they find answers to their questions. It is very nice to see what users write from the FAQ pages, which means they honestly searched and did not find it. About 10 people are recruited with the same type of questions - there is reason to start a new article.
Conclusion
Technical support work is difficult: you need to respond quickly, just as quickly understand the problem and keep calm, which can be difficult when communicating with emotional users. But in the end, the main thing is that the problems are resolved, and the user is satisfied.
Write stories from your experience in the comments!
For those who want to pump English
We give the readers of the blog a coupon of 500 rubles for buying a subscription, which includes 8 types of training and weekly newsletters about English grammar and vocabulary - Vitamins and Buns.
And for unlimited and eternal access to all the features of the site there is an “All Inclusive” tariff (the discount is not valid).