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Customer Support When the Power’s Out

July 1, 2013 By Chase Clemons 4 Comments

You’ve got your cup of coffee and just settled in to answer some support cases. You knock out a few and then it happens – the power at your office goes out.

It’s happened to me more times than I can count. I even had it happen during a live online class that I was giving with another customer support pro on our team. So how do you get through it?

You’ll need two things – a laptop and a Mi-Fi hotspot.

You’ve probably already have a laptop that you do your work on. The Mi-Fi can be picked up at any electronics store. I got my hotspot through AT&T with a plan that covers 5GB a month. That’s plenty of data for the few times I’m not on a Wi-Fi network.

Once you have those two things, just make sure to keep the batteries at a good level. I try to never let mine dip below an hour’s worth of energy. That gives me a good buffer should I find myself without any juice running to them. If my battery on both are fully topped off, I can go the entire day without having to worry about recharging.

As soon as the power goes out, flip on your Mi-Fi and connect to that network. It’s really that simple. You’ll be able to keep answering those support cases while you wait for the power to come back on.

Do you carry a Mi-Fi device around with you? 

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Comments

  1. drpottex says

    July 2, 2013 at 7:12 pm

    I just tether to my phone, no separate device/mobile plan needed. I work remotely, so having a back up plan tends to be pretty essential. I have a UPS, just in case, and a battery charger to keep the phone fully charged.

    Reply
    • Chase Clemons says

      July 3, 2013 at 2:48 pm

      Good call on the UPS! I need to get one of those.

      Reply
  2. Ruth Saunders says

    July 17, 2013 at 10:21 am

    I usually just head to the local cafe or coffee place and sip on a lovely cup of coffee whilst answering customer emails!

    Reply
    • Chase Clemons says

      July 23, 2013 at 7:51 pm

      It really is a great excuse to head to the coffee house. 🙂

      Reply

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