3 ms·

As someone who has trained customer support agents, I can attest to the fact that most agents have to be taught every scenario. If it slightly deviates from the

As someone who has trained customer support agents, I can attest to the fact that most agents have to be taught every scenario. If it slightly deviates from the one they have been trained on, they are clueless. Not saying all customer support people are like this. However, majority of people are. They rely on pre-written scripts. When a question is asked, they search for the template question with the answer.

representative 11y ago
You're absolutely right about the majority. If someone is capable enough to understand customer needs and resolve issues outside of predefined scripts they are capable enough to be working beyond customer support. Customer support representatives are largely people who exist as an interface between a customer who doesn't understand a system and a system that doesn't understand the customer needs. Most companies would do well to invest in "Customer Support Engineer" type roles, putting people who understand systems and are informed problem solvers on the front lines, people who can identify technical solutions to customer problems. Customer Support Representatives problem solving seems to begin and end with what they've learned from the latest ZenDesk Webinar. Most companies seem to believe that fast and friendly messages are what customers want, through twitter and Facebook, when the reality is they want their problem solved and the business most benefits when the cause is identified and solved for all customers, not the symptoms for one customer. Most companies could slice their customer support costs in half and increase their customer satisfaction substantially if they invested in building out roles for problem solvers instead of ticket solvers. 1 ticket solved is 1 ticket solved. A problem solved can be hundreds or thousands of future tickets prevented and an improved customer experience. (This comment isn't a slight against customer service representatives, they serve an important purpose at many companies and often provide great value. This comment is a slight against the companies that choose to hire a dozen more customer support representatives instead of addressing the core issues that are driving people to their support.)
- richardwhiuk 11y ago
  I think you substantially over-estimate the number of tickets which can actually be 'solved' like this, and dramatically under-estimate the cost it would take to solve the problem. I'd have a hard time believing that the large number of companies who all operate this model are getting the cost-benefit analysis wrong by such a large margin as you seem to suggest.

representative 11y ago

You're absolutely right about the majority. If someone is capable enough to understand customer needs and resolve issues outside of predefined scripts they are capable enough to be working beyond customer support. Customer support representatives are largely people who exist as an interface between a customer who doesn't understand a system and a system that doesn't understand the customer needs. Most companies would do well to invest in "Customer Support Engineer" type roles, putting people who understand systems and are informed problem solvers on the front lines, people who can identify technical solutions to customer problems. Customer Support Representatives problem solving seems to begin and end with what they've learned from the latest ZenDesk Webinar. Most companies seem to believe that fast and friendly messages are what customers want, through twitter and Facebook, when the reality is they want their problem solved and the business most benefits when the cause is identified and solved for all customers, not the symptoms for one customer. Most companies could slice their customer support costs in half and increase their customer satisfaction substantially if they invested in building out roles for problem solvers instead of ticket solvers. 1 ticket solved is 1 ticket solved. A problem solved can be hundreds or thousands of future tickets prevented and an improved customer experience. (This comment isn't a slight against customer service representatives, they serve an important purpose at many companies and often provide great value. This comment is a slight against the companies that choose to hire a dozen more customer support representatives instead of addressing the core issues that are driving people to their support.)

richardwhiuk 11y ago
I think you substantially over-estimate the number of tickets which can actually be 'solved' like this, and dramatically under-estimate the cost it would take to solve the problem. I'd have a hard time believing that the large number of companies who all operate this model are getting the cost-benefit analysis wrong by such a large margin as you seem to suggest.