I clicked the support button on my health insurer’s website. It replied with a list of six or seven possible reasons for my call, none of which matched the actual reason. I typed “human” in the input field, and it repeated the same list. Does this sound familiar? That wasn’t an AI problem. In fact, […]
AI vs. Humans in Customer Service? You’re Asking the Wrong Question Read More »
This Post in a Nutshell Make fast judgments about situations.Be slow to make permanent judgments about people. I had an electrical problem that I couldn’t solve on my own, so I searched YouTube for the solution. Among the search results was a video that looked promising, but I didn’t like the picture of the guy
Non-Judgmentalism: Appearances Can Be Deceiving (But Not Always) Read More »
Robert was a network administrator. He was competent on server software including Windows, Linux, and UNIX. He held Cisco certifications. His networks were fast and reliable. His people skills, however, were lacking. For example, if you asked Robert a question that he thought was stupid, he’d squint at you, cock his head like a dog,
The Three Most Important Rules for Giving Feedback to Technical People Read More »
What do end-users actually want from IT support? Consider this. Jan was the administrative assistant to the general manager. When I answered her call, it was clear that she was frustrated. Her computer had bluescreened right in the middle of a big project for her boss. Actually, she was more than frustrated, frantic would be
What End Users Actually Want From IT Support (It May Not Be What You Think) Read More »
One of the most common complaints people have about customer service and technical support is that they want the support person to be a better listener. It’s not that hard, but it does require awareness and intentionality. You must be aware of the need to be a better listener, and you must also be intentional
5 Ways to Be a Better Listener Read More »
Here’s the truth most organizations don’t want to admit: we don’t promote people into leadership because they’re ready to lead. New managers and supervisors get promoted because they were good at their last job. That’s exactly what happened to me. I was promoted to a leadership position, not because I was qualified as a leader,
You Just Got Promoted to IT Manager, Now What? A Survival Guide for Your First 90 Days Read More »
I needed to add my wife to one of our online banking profiles. You’d think it would be a simple and straightforward process. Here’s the reality we encountered: It started with a request to a banker to create a new account for my wife’s business. That turned into a week-long process, but even when it
Welcome to The Competence/Charisma Model. I created it to describe the two broad skill families that are required for success in IT careers. For the purpose of this model, competence is your technical skills. It’s your ability to perform the tasks of your job. If you’re a server administrator, for example, it’s your ability to
The Competence/Charisma Model Read More »
Click here to go directly to the complete article. TLDR: Setting Boundaries in Technical Support What Happens When You’re Not Setting Boundaries When I was first supporting end users, I ran into the same situation over and over again. Maybe this will sound familiar to you. I would head out on a site visit that
Setting Boundaries: Managing Chatty Users Without Losing Your Humanity Read More »
Click to skip directly to the story. TLDR: Leadership Blind Spots Read the whole article below the video. A 17-Year-Old, a Bus Stop, and a Leadership Lesson That Lasted for Years I was seventeen, standing alone at a bus stop in Denver late at night. Streetlights buzzed overhead. The city had gone quiet in that
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