Tiny E and the Art of Customer Service

I am a developer.
I write specs.
I build applications.

Occasionaly, I also provide technical support.

In a small business, one must wear many hats. Those of us who work on Roundtable, must all pitch in and help with technical support for our product. We generally do not get phone calls (only email) and the volume is relatively low.

I had the most annoying (and mildy interesting) email exchange with a customer the other day. He was trying to install Roundtable and was getting an error that is not possible to get unless you have performed the installation incorrectly. No biggie. I handle these types of situations all the time. I ask the customer to send me a couple of log files so I can see where he went wrong (I already had a good idea, but I wanted to verify it before I gave him the solution).

Over the course of several emails, the customer refused to send me the files. All he would say was that he just wanted to install the software. At one point he told me that he did not care what went wrong, just tell him how to fix it.

Allow me to relate with someone calling the shop on the phone because their car was failing to start:

"Good morning, Cooter's garage.."
"Hi. My car won't start. Do you know what's wrong?"
"I can help you with that.. what's happening with it?"
"I turn the key and it does not crank."
"Does the car sound like it is trying to start when you turn the key, or is it just dead?"
"Look, I just want to start my car."
"And I want to help you start your car. I thought you could tell me what sound it was making so I could determine if it was the battery or the starter."
"I don't want to help you figure out what is wrong with my car, I just want you to tell me how to start it! Can you not do that?!"

I'm not kidding. That's how it went.

If you ever call customer service or technical support, please give them the information they are requesting. In most cases, they are asking for a reason even though it may not immediately make sense to you. Everyone will be happier and you won't bring unnecessary stress upon the person who is just trying to help you.