Earlier this week, I got an email from Andy Lang over at Figure 53 with a great tweak to my normal sign-off. I’ll let him explain:

I’ve been using a modified version of your “Have an awesome day!” signoff, with Typinator’s handy insert day/insert tomorrow’s day functions, but finally had the spare time to sit down and put together an AppleScripted version of it that gets a lot fancier, which I thought I’d pass on. It works with Typinator and TextExpander, and should work with any other expander that can run AppleScript.

Basically, this script is called from an expansion snippet, and then returns “Don’t hesitate to reach out again if we can help with anything else, and have an awesome _____!”, and inserts a different value depending both on the day of the week and time of day (morning, evening, or night). It’s admittedly way overkill, but I’m a geek, and it was a challenge I wanted to crack to make things a little more custom.

From Tues-Thurs, it simply returns “Tuesday” up until the evening, “Tuesday night” during the evening, and “Wednesday” once it’s nearing bedtime.

On Friday, once we hit evening it simply says, “weekend”, which continues through Saturday, and then on Sunday it’s “Sunday” during the day, and “week” starting in the evening, until it’s time to switch to “Monday night”. (I figure that if somebody’s emailing support that late on a Friday, all hope for an awesome Friday night is pretty well gone at that point!)

Like I said, it’s probably more than a bit a bit over the top, but having done the hard work, I figured I’d share in case it’s of interest to anybody else  🙂

I’ve been using it with TextExpander and it’s working great. And if you like it, make sure to give Andy some thanks!

Update: Andy made a few more customizations and fixed a weekend bug with it. Here’s the most recent version to download.

I’m a huge college football fan. I love Auburn football (war eagle!) and watch every SEC game that I can. When I came across this today, I just knew I had to share it.

This is SO awesome. Everyone, every single member, got a personally-adressed note today from @CoachOUSC. THANK YOU! pic.twitter.com/qWDQETwLkG

— The Spirit of Troy (@USCTMB) November 14, 2013

In anticipation of the Trojan’s game this Saturday, USC interim head coach Ed Orgeron sent a personally-address noted to every single member of the USC marching band. What an impression from someone who may or may not be the permanent head coach.

Little things add up

There’s power in little touches of humanity like this. If I got a note from the head coach like that when I was in marching band, I’d have been ecstatic.

Imagine if a teammate received a note like this from you. Nothing fancy – just a card with your handwritten message in it. It’d be a powerful statement of your support of them as a member of your team.

What ways do you show support for others on your team?

First it was Buffer and now it’s another app I use – Sunrise. Sunrise was part of the MongoHQ security breach. Just my luck to get front row seats to security breaches this week.

Here’s the email they sent out letting me know about it:

Dear Sunrise User,

We have been informed that our database provider (MongoHQ) has experienced a security breach. In handling security incidents, our priorities are to make sure your data is safe, eliminate the control failures that allowed the breach to occur, and to report the incident accurately to our customers.

Here is what it means for you:

• Your Google, Facebook and Twitter data are safe. We’ve refreshed the identification key that allows our servers to communicate with your connected accounts, which means any data that could have been taken by a malicious party is useless before or after the incident.
• Your LinkedIn, Foursquare and Producteev data are safe. You’ll just have to reconnect those services to Sunrise, as they don’t offer the same security control as Google, Facebook or Twitter.
• If you chose the “Email” option to signup to Sunrise: your Sunrise email and password are also safe. We encrypt them in our database using the industry standard algorithm (bcrypt).
• If you connected an iCloud calendar to Sunrise, even though we don’t store any credentials, the security breach may have put some of your calendar data at risk. As a precautionary measure, we recommend that you change your iCloud password and reconnect it to Sunrise: simply click here and then click on “Reset your password” to do it.
• As one of the many precautional measures we are taking, we will be logging every Sunrise user out of the app. Simply log back in using the “I’m Already a Sunrise User” button and choosing one of the options that you had previously connected to your account.
• Just to be clear, none of the data affected by this incident has any access to your credit card or banking information.

If you run into any trouble or if you have any questions, please email us at support@sunrise.am. We are here to help.

We are incredibly sorry that this happened. Your security is very important to us, and once we were aware of the issue we took immediate steps to protect you and maintain your trust.

Just like with Buffer, let’s take a look at how well the Sunrise team did.

Speed

Sunrise didn’t quite match Buffer’s one hour email time. The MongoHQ breach happened on October 28th. Sunrise sent this email to me on November 2nd at 10:15pm Central Time.

I understand that it might have taken some time to confirm Sunrise was a victim in the MongoHQ breach. There’s a balance between a fast response and a helpful response. Just keep in mind that the quicker you can get information to your customers, the better.

Communication

Sunrise nails this with their email. I love the section detailing exactly what this breach means for me. Notice the constant reference back to your data being safe. That’s my main concern at this point. By addressing it head-on and putting it in bold, I easily see it with my first scan of the email and relax a little.

They also give a direct email address back to their support team. It’s easy to find just in case I need some questions answered.

It would’ve been nice to have the link back over to their blog post in the email. That would give me an easy place to check for updates rather than constantly watching for another email update or such.

Overall, the Sunrise team did great

It’s been a tough time for anyone caught in the MongoHQ situation. Security breaches are never fun but like with Buffer, openness and transparency keeps customers loyal to you. That’s why I’m still sticking with Sunrise. They told me what happened and how I was impacted. Openness and transparency wins every time.

Have you seen any other companies handling security breaches like this really well?

Buffer was hacked. How did I find out? Not a corporate blog post the next day. Not a news article reporting on it. Instead, Joel sent me an email an hour after it started.

Hi there,

I wanted to get in touch to apologize for the awful experience we’ve caused many of you on your weekend. Buffer was hacked around 1 hour ago, and many of you may have experienced spam posts sent from you via Buffer. I can only understand how angry and disappointed you must be right now.

Not everyone who has signed up for Buffer has been affected, but you may want to check on your accounts. We’re working hard to fix this problem right now and we’re expecting to have everything back to normal shortly.

We’re posting continual updates on the Buffer Facebook page and the Buffer Twitter page to keep you in the loop on everything.

The best steps for you to take right now and important information for you:

Remove any postings from your Facebook page or Twitter page that look like spam Keep an eye on Buffer’s Twitter page and Facebook page Your Buffer passwords are not affected No billing or payment information was affected or exposed All Facebook posts sent via Buffer have been temporarily hidden and will reappear once we’ve resolved this situation I am incredibly sorry this has happened and affected you and your company. We’re working around the clock right now to get this resolved and we’ll continue to post updates on Facebook and Twitter.

If you have any questions at all, please respond to this email. Understandably, a lot of people have emailed us, so we might take a short while to get back to everyone, but we will respond to every single email.

– Joel and the Buffer team

Yes, I know Joel didn’t personally send it to me. It’s a mass email to every Buffer user. But that’s okay since he’s dealing with bigger issues when he sent it.

 We’re getting a fantastic lesson in the power of transparency surrounding horrible situations like this.

The entire team was called in to help fix the problem and reply to customers. I can only imagine how many Tweets, comments, emails, etc. the Buffer support team is answering right now. But they’ve been on top of every single one and promised to answer every single one no matter how long it takes.

They’ve also got a central place to give out updates on the hack. Go check out the comments there. Tons of love and praise for how Buffer is handling everything. Lots of Buffer fans who will remain loyal Buffer fans.

That’s the power of openness. 

Keep an eye on that Buffer update post as well as their Twitter stream. Take notes. You and I are going to learn a lot on how to handle this situation if it ever happens to us.

Let’s face it – getting the right info from customers can sometimes be a challenge. Some customers give you a three page email about what went wrong while others give you a single line. Especially with email support, you want to limit the number of back-and-forth emails, which only add to a customer’s wait time.

But how do you help customers help you? Let’s look at a few ways.

Tell them what you need

Most customers don’t really know what you need to help them. That’s why they either overload you with information you don’t need or make it so short you have to ask for more info. You need to tell them what you need.

I tell customers to think of it as those old stories where you focus on the five w’s – who, what, when, where, and why. Who’s this happening to? What’s happening? Where and when did it happen? That way you can figure out the why behind what’s going on.

When customers know what you’re looking for, they’ll give it to you in the first email.

[Read more…]

If you’re a regular reader of this site, you already know that solid customer support is worth every penny a company spends on it. But what if your boss doesn’t believe you? I’ve worked with quite a few teams that ran into this same challenge with their company’s leadership. The executive team just didn’t place the same priority on customer support as they did on the product, marketing, etc.

Let’s arm you with some facts (awesomely provided by Help Scout) so you can show them how important providing that great support experience really is.

Bad support costs money

• 86% of customers quit using a service because of a bad customer experience with the company.
• 51% said they would try only once to contact support. After that one try, they give up on buy the product entirely.

You only get one shot with most customers. It’s kind of like first impressions. If you leave a bad first impression, customers will leave and go somewhere else.

I’ve been a customer in this situation before. My wife and I were headed to St. Lucia earlier this year. We used American Airlines, an airline we typically don’t fly since Southwest is our go-to choice. The flight to from Nashville to Miami went fine. But when we arrived at the gate for the last leg to St. Lucia, we found out that the “tickets” we were holding actually didn’t guarantee a seat on the plan. And oh by the way, the flight was oversold by a dozen or so seats.

The entire time at the gate was spent with the American team ignoring customers and repeating the same “It’s standard practice to oversell some flights. We’ll work to get you on this flight or the first one in the morning”. My wife and I were helpless to do anything the entire time. We only barely got on the flight at the expense of another couple who didn’t have valid passports.

I sent American an email detailing our experience so other customers wouldn’t go through the same thing. Their team never responded and I’ll never fly American again. That one bad customer experience cost them a customer who flies quite a few times a year.

86% of your customers will leave just like I did with American. You can’t run a business churning that many customers.

[Read more…]

Amazon unveiled their latest Kindle Fire HDX tablets this week. Typically I wouldn’t really care since I’m not in the market for one. But Jeff Bezos did show off a new feature that caught my eye.

Called “Mayday”, it’s a little button in the main system tray right next to the home button. Push it and less than 15 seconds later you’ll be in a live video chat with an Amazon tech support person. You can see them and talk to them. They can hear you but they won’t see a video of you. The Kindle expert can even take control of your tablet to show you how to do something.

I’ve been thinking more through this over the past few days and wanted to share some that.

Customers will love this.

Especially the non-techy people like your aunts, uncles, moms, etc. You can give them a Kindle Fire and not be bombarded with calls and emails on how to do something. It’s a Kindle expert at their fingertips whenever they have a question.

The video feed actually showing the expert is genius. It makes each interaction more personal. You get a name and a face to go with it. You get to actually see that they’re enthusiastically there to help you. While they’re drawing on your tablet or showing you a feature, you’ll see them every step of the way.

But the real genius with the video is that they can only hear you. It’s all voice to them. They can’t see what you’re wearing (or not wearing I guess). It’s total piece of mind on the customer’s part. A customer doesn’t have to make sure they look good before reaching out for help.

When all this goes right, it’ll be a great support experience for the customer.

[Read more…]

Anyone that writes as many emails as the typical customer support pro should have a few advanced TextExpander tricks up their sleeve. If you haven’t read my intro article about text snippets, make sure to read over it first. For this one, we’re going to look at a few advanced snippets to help you be even faster and more efficient with your email replies.

Use snippets as much as you can.

Whenever I see someone starting with text snippets, the biggest mistake they make is to not use it enough. They’ll use it for longer paragraphs or such but rarely do they see the power in very short or simple phrases. For me, I use snippets for any phrase that I continually repeat.

For instance, when I don’t have a customer’s name, I use the snippet “`ht” to trigger “Hey there!”. I use snippets even down to days of the week and months. Instead of typing out September, just put that as a snippet with “xm9”. Every few seconds you save adds up.

Grabbing from the clipboard.

I use my copy tool a ton to move info from one program to another or even from one place on the page to another. For instance, you probably have the customer’s name on their incoming ticket. Here’s why the TextExpander clipboard snippet comes in handy.

[Read more…]

I’ve never quite understood companies that ignore their customers when they complain online. If a customer is standing physically in front of you and complaining, you’re basically required to at least talk with them. But when it comes to customers complaining about you via Facebook, Twitter, and other online channels., lots of companies just ignore them. In 2011, 79 percent of customers who shared complaints about poor customer experience online were ignored. And why? Because the squeaky wheel gets ignored since it’s easy to do so, especially online.

You can’t ignore customers and get away with it.

The 2011 Customer Experience Impact Report gives us two huge reasons to not ignore customers:

• 89 percent of consumers began doing business with a competitor following a poor customer experience.
• 50 percent of consumers give a brand only one week to respond to a question before they stop doing business with them.

You get one week to respond. After that, your customers will leave and find someone who will listen to them.

There’s power of responding.

One of the great things about customer is they just want to be heard. You probably won’t be able to fix every single problem they have. And they’re okay with that! They just want a response. From the same study:

• When customers received a response to their complaint, 46% were pleased.
• 22% actually posted a positive comment about the company or brand afterwards.

A customer makes a complaint, the company contacts them, and almost half are happy just from getting a response.

Keep one eye everywhere.

One of the things I recommend in Support Kit is watching different channels even if you don’t actively participate there. It’s okay to only focus on a few distinct channels to talk with customers. But you need to be paying attention and managing expectations in channels that your customers are trying to talk to you in.

 A brand not responding on Twitter is like hanging up the phone on customers. With millions watching.” – Dave Kerpen

Anywhere your customers are, you need to be watching and listening. Even if you don’t provide full support via Twitter, you need to watch for customers that reach out to you there. It’s fine to redirect them by saying, “Hey, can you email us with that question?” It’s not fine to totally ignore them when they’re asking for help or complaining.

But how do keep one eye everywhere? It’s not like you’ve got a magical piece of technology that can filter for keywords and…. hey – that could work.

1. Set up a Google Alert. It’s a quick way to watch for mentions on the web about your company name, product name, and other keywords.
2. Watch Twitter searches. You’ll often find customers talking to you through their Tweets as well as linking to other sites where you’re mentioned.
3. Buy a monitoring tool. Something like Mention gives you real-time alerts for your keywords on the web, Twitter, Facebook, etc.

What other ways do you keep up with people talking about your company online?