Customer Service
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You suck Steve, you too shushy, david and your pool.. um sucky, even in the deep end, paul especially sucks, ian sucks, bledu you have no idea how much you suck, mark sucks worst than a chuck norris round house kick, this site sucks, internet explorer sucks, jedi council sucks, the cornflower blue of the forums suck, intranext sucks, the guy who sent the email and his dog all suck, (Company Removed) sucks, crayon sucks, I suck, my stupid hat sucks, GWB sucks, UBL sucks, GPF sucks, crayons sucks, 42 sucks.
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Just an opinion...
While Aaron's e-mail and the attitude exhibited within are unacceptable; I believe you lowered yourself to his level to some degree with your response.
I think a more appropriate response would have been merely to address the issues in a professional, business-like manner (both his attitude and the technical one) by asking for whatever information you might need to try to make his experience better.
As it now stands, there is little chance that you guys will ever view each other or each other's organizations positively...no one wins in that scenario.
Some things are worth conflict and confrontation...I don't know that this was.
Bob McEuen
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It's amazing how rude and demanding people can be, even on a free web site.
We all have moments. If you must spout venom, and once in a while we all want to, the most useful tool in email is 'save draft'. If you force yourself to use it and then come back much later to send the e-mail, but re-read it first, then my experience is you usually just delete it and wonder who the monster was that wrote it.
That said, I personally am fed up with the 'politically correct' movement that would keep us from saying what we really think when we are atually wronged. Politely, hopefully, we can tell those who are being rude, or delivering poor service, or whatever in the perhaps vain hope they will behave differently.
My doctor's office staff recently asked me to come early for an appointment then kept me waiting for 3/4 of an hour while they sorted out forms they were unfamiliar with. When I complained, politely, their response was that they were unfamiliar with the forms. My response was that in any business striving to maintain a high level of customer service, they would have done their paperwork in advance, knowing that my appointment was coming up and that the forms would be required. They will now probably not keep me from waiting, again, but I am not sure they get it. Someone else will probably be kept waiting so that I will not.
Is there not any training, anywhere, on good customer service anymore?
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I keep thinking that there has to be a lower limit on intelligence, because the person is obviously still breathing, but I keep finding myself proved wrong.
You rock Steve. Every once in a while you need to answer venom with a polite, dismissive flame. Some folks think that throwing temper tantrums gets them ahead in life. I've known customers like that, and usually ask them to leave. We didn't want this waste of oxygen in our forums anyway.
Student of SQL and Golf, Master of Neither -
If you get a chance, check out a site that I just stumbled across earlier this week. It exposes email punctuation substitution techniques that I believe you would find amusing, Steve...
BTW: Marginal language is used but it's work safe if you use headphones. Enjoy.
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Thanks for the notes and support, but I tend to agree with Bob McEuen. After I sent it, I felt bad about that last line. Actually would have preferred to leave it out of the editorial
, but that wouldn't be fair. I think it was a mistake, but I accept I made it.Customer Service is important, especially these days where prices are so close and so many products have become a commodity, no real differentiator. The service people I used (plumbers, electricians, etc), retail stores, computer equipment, car, they are all so close in features and price that having good customer service makes a huge difference.
BTW, GPF2^192, did you sit on the keyboard for that typo
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"We all have moments"...how true is that ?!?! And it is infinitely easier in the email world to keep your cool...
I react to rude emails by first venting off some steam (venting methods being classified info..
) - and then typing an extremely freezingly polite response where I go all high and mighty and throw in as many polysyllabic unpronounceable near-incomprehensible words that I can think of...language is a very powerful tool and one can cleverly couch an insult or more behind highhanded and disdainful words - I derive a lot of pleasure in "crafting" these emails and it also helps get rid of some of that pentup anger - and it's amazing how quickly the other person evens out his/her tone and attitude...However these tactics cannot be carried out with equal aplomb in a face-to-face confrontation..
**ASCII stupid question, get a stupid ANSI !!!** -
Good on you Steve,
Yes the last line may not have been the best but it certainly wasn't as rude as the mail you received.
Your post was quite apt and made me smile because I've been working from home today and I got this call from my mobile phone provider offering to upgrade my phone. After politely listening to this guy go through his sales talk, I asked a question of him to re-iterate a point for further info, to which he very off-handed refused to accept he had said that. Then he became even ruder stating this was a take it or leave it offer (bear in mind he phoned me up, trying to sell me something).
As he had now become rude I stated 'thank you but I'm not interested' (I was up until that point), to which he shouted 'FINE !' and immediately cut me off. I was gobsmacked.
I've gone on to their website to lodge a complaint but unsurprisingly when you get to the Contact Us page for Customer Services - it doesn't work! A phone no. is an expensive premium rate line and starts with a long introductory taped message - so long in fact I had to hang up.
So don't worry Steve - you're not the only one that gets uncalled for abuse !
BTW they're DialAPhone and they do really suck !
Paul R Williams.
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Bravo Steve. I would have done the same thing. I believe he was experiencing the ID10T error.
Cliff
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I support Steve's email even the last line. Sometimes you don't want customers who will never be happy. If the guy does register and ends up being a thorn in your side is it really worth having him as a customer? Best Buy went about this approach of "firing" the least desirable customers (i.e. the one's who will buy and item get the rebate paid and return the item or the one's who buy it open it, return it and rebuy it at open box special) and it has not hurt them. For Aaron if you don't like the site go somewhere else for the answer - it is a community to share ideas and communities are the reflection of it's members actions.
But what I would really love to know is - what it will be like when Aaron gets to work and some of his colleagues have read this post. Anybody out there please share.
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Your email is best "daily" I have ever found. I also enjoy your daily editorial and wanted to say Thank You.
-John
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Regarding the editorial 02/03/2006: A wonderful reply to an issue that's becoming pervasive in the electronic age. Many think that their emails are anonymous. They're not. If you wouldn't say it to someone's face with your mother listening in then you have no right to sent it in an email.
Keep up the good work.
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Steve,
I enjoy sqlservercentral, especially your column. I think you probably were right with your response. He could have just asked for help.....
Mark
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I'm with you 100%. There is a Latin term that fits many of these types of individuals and me as well from time to time.
It's called hubris. AN
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That cracked me up. Being a Recruiter I get ill responses now and then from Companies, Consultants, etc.
I think some people need to take a step back and realize, this is a job/career it's not always easy, and if it was......YOU WOULDN'T BE GETTING PAID FOR IT!
That being said I have a number of Consultants that due to the way they handle themselves will never receive another call from my firm, but others have politely said "thank you but I'm happy at the moment, keep me in mind in the future". You should never yell at the person that is trying to help you because then they might stop. I have been able to meet a number of excellent people on this site, and the content has helped me to learn more about the tools and technologies that I talk about all day. Keep up the good work and if Mr.Nextsys doesn't like, he doesn't need to come back.
- Amanda
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