5 ms·

We (Olark) specifically decided not to implement the "read-ahead" or "sneak-peak" feature because we thought it was creepy and broke customer expectations. Whe

by bcx 8y ago

We (Olark) specifically decided not to implement the "read-ahead" or "sneak-peak" feature because we thought it was creepy and broke customer expectations. When you are typing a message to customer service as a customer you should have a chance to compose your thoughts, and should have an expectation of privacy in whatever you are writing before hitting enter.

Alupis 8y ago
I like that a lot. It is creepy, imho. There's been more than a few times where I was up late, on a chat support, and quite upset about something or other... and decided to re-write my message before hitting the "Send" button. Composing your thoughts is valuable...
- viraptor 8y ago
  Also when you talk to tech support and copy some data from your system. I would normally paste the original line and replace the sensitive information before sending. I know it's possible to send all updates, but actually doing it is breaking lots of expectations.
- laumars 8y ago
  I'm actually ok with this. It's a good way of getting more reliable subtext about a persons emotion. You'd gather that from someone stumbling their way through a real time voice conversation on the phone or in person - as well as the nuances in vocal tones and body language - but all that is lost in a text only interface. So this at least gives you an idea. eg are they ranting then delete it for a more composed message? That might signal that the person is really pissed off but actually open to working with the agent for a mutual resolution. The point another poster made about secrets is a valid one but I'd argue that the kind of secrets you're likely to be pasting are the same ones the support operator would have access to anyway (payment details, address, order details, etc). But if you're really worried, other HN posters said it best when they commented about typing in a desktop text editor then paste your text into the chat window.
  - lolc 8y ago
    It's ok if both parties know what's going on. If visitors are left with the expectation that a message becomes visible on the other end when they send it then it is not ok at all.
    - geoid 8y ago
      Agree. Both parties should be able to see the other typing, or neither should. I feel deceived and foolish that I never knew about this. It's creepy like a one-way mirror.
    - laumars 8y ago
      People give off all kinds of messages they don’t realise; from facial expressions and other forms of body language to the tone and volume of their speech. We are forever communicating far more information then we ever intend to and people who deal with customers are trained how to read those tells so they can better handle customers temperament as well as their spoken requirements. You lose so much with typed text which makes good customer services a lot harder. Thus as long as any pre-posted text isn’t stored anywhere (I fully expect posted chat logs would) then I don’t see an issue with support operators using real time text as a glimpse into the customers mood. [edit] To the people who voted me down: I get that you disagree with me but I have been on courses regarding just this (which is weird because I couldn't be in a less customer facing job....) so what I'm talking about here isn't just some random junk I've invented off the cuff. It's what I was taught how customer services (the good ones anyway) work.
      - lolc 8y ago
        You don't sneakily access other people's draft thoughts without very explicitly asking for permission. The eavesdroppers are not reciprocating and sharing their typing either. They're not only creating an asymmetry: they're actively hiding it!
        laumars 8y ago
        It's not the sort of environment you want asymmetry. You want the customer services to be infallible - and by "you" I don't just mean company execs but also us customers who want to feel like we've been treated appropriately. Anyone who's ever done a stint on 1st line tech support will understand just how much of a thankless job it is. If this helps them to serve me better then I welcome it. I think the real complaint being made is that you didn't realise they were using these visual clues. But that's why I keep coming back to how other forms of customer services are trained to read vocal tones and body language. Would you also feel cheated if you learned your favourite high street store's customer services team had training on reading body language while you hadn't so they have an advantage in gauging your temperament but they didn't let on they had that training? Don't get me wrong, I do see and understand your point. I'm very privacy minded so this is the kind of thing I'd normally get annoyed by as well. But at least this time the anti-privacy tools are genuinely being used to improve customer experience rather than just to monetise them (yes I know good customer experience can lead to repeat custom - but more often than privacy is sold to the detriment of customer experience)
dwyerm 8y ago
I greatly appreciate that. I'm disappointed that I probably can't incentivize other companies to follow your lead. There's little visibility or choice to the end-user as to which chat system they want to use, and I suspect most of your customers don't care that much either way, so it isn't a differentiating factor. But I appreciate it. Thank you.
bscanlan 8y ago
I work for Intercom, and we also did not implement these features for the same reasons.
chrischen 8y ago
Just to add a counterpoint, I handle a lot of customer service and the service provider I use happens to have this feature by default, and it drastically helps me to respond faster to customers. To date I haven't had anyone consider this an issue (even when I've accidentally sent a response before they even sent their message! - they just end up deleting their text and saying "thank you")

by bcx 8y ago

Alupis 8y ago

I like that a lot. It is creepy, imho. There's been more than a few times where I was up late, on a chat support, and quite upset about something or other... and decided to re-write my message before hitting the "Send" button. Composing your thoughts is valuable...

viraptor 8y ago
Also when you talk to tech support and copy some data from your system. I would normally paste the original line and replace the sensitive information before sending. I know it's possible to send all updates, but actually doing it is breaking lots of expectations.
laumars 8y ago
I'm actually ok with this. It's a good way of getting more reliable subtext about a persons emotion. You'd gather that from someone stumbling their way through a real time voice conversation on the phone or in person - as well as the nuances in vocal tones and body language - but all that is lost in a text only interface. So this at least gives you an idea. eg are they ranting then delete it for a more composed message? That might signal that the person is really pissed off but actually open to working with the agent for a mutual resolution. The point another poster made about secrets is a valid one but I'd argue that the kind of secrets you're likely to be pasting are the same ones the support operator would have access to anyway (payment details, address, order details, etc). But if you're really worried, other HN posters said it best when they commented about typing in a desktop text editor then paste your text into the chat window.
- lolc 8y ago
  It's ok if both parties know what's going on. If visitors are left with the expectation that a message becomes visible on the other end when they send it then it is not ok at all.
  - geoid 8y ago
    Agree. Both parties should be able to see the other typing, or neither should. I feel deceived and foolish that I never knew about this. It's creepy like a one-way mirror.
  - laumars 8y ago
    People give off all kinds of messages they don’t realise; from facial expressions and other forms of body language to the tone and volume of their speech. We are forever communicating far more information then we ever intend to and people who deal with customers are trained how to read those tells so they can better handle customers temperament as well as their spoken requirements. You lose so much with typed text which makes good customer services a lot harder. Thus as long as any pre-posted text isn’t stored anywhere (I fully expect posted chat logs would) then I don’t see an issue with support operators using real time text as a glimpse into the customers mood. [edit] To the people who voted me down: I get that you disagree with me but I have been on courses regarding just this (which is weird because I couldn't be in a less customer facing job....) so what I'm talking about here isn't just some random junk I've invented off the cuff. It's what I was taught how customer services (the good ones anyway) work.
    - lolc 8y ago
      You don't sneakily access other people's draft thoughts without very explicitly asking for permission. The eavesdroppers are not reciprocating and sharing their typing either. They're not only creating an asymmetry: they're actively hiding it!
      - laumars 8y ago
        It's not the sort of environment you want asymmetry. You want the customer services to be infallible - and by "you" I don't just mean company execs but also us customers who want to feel like we've been treated appropriately. Anyone who's ever done a stint on 1st line tech support will understand just how much of a thankless job it is. If this helps them to serve me better then I welcome it. I think the real complaint being made is that you didn't realise they were using these visual clues. But that's why I keep coming back to how other forms of customer services are trained to read vocal tones and body language. Would you also feel cheated if you learned your favourite high street store's customer services team had training on reading body language while you hadn't so they have an advantage in gauging your temperament but they didn't let on they had that training? Don't get me wrong, I do see and understand your point. I'm very privacy minded so this is the kind of thing I'd normally get annoyed by as well. But at least this time the anti-privacy tools are genuinely being used to improve customer experience rather than just to monetise them (yes I know good customer experience can lead to repeat custom - but more often than privacy is sold to the detriment of customer experience)

dwyerm 8y ago

I greatly appreciate that. I'm disappointed that I probably can't incentivize other companies to follow your lead. There's little visibility or choice to the end-user as to which chat system they want to use, and I suspect most of your customers don't care that much either way, so it isn't a differentiating factor. But I appreciate it. Thank you.

bscanlan 8y ago

I work for Intercom, and we also did not implement these features for the same reasons.

chrischen 8y ago

Just to add a counterpoint, I handle a lot of customer service and the service provider I use happens to have this feature by default, and it drastically helps me to respond faster to customers. To date I haven't had anyone consider this an issue (even when I've accidentally sent a response before they even sent their message! - they just end up deleting their text and saying "thank you")