In order to get some extra 'funding' for my PhD, I decided to take up a part-time job. By God's grace, I found one in a sports technology company that manufactures sensors for tracking athletes. Well in fact I interviewed with them once previously but the position required more electronics experience which is beyond me. Anyway, this time they needed someone in a customer support role, preferably someone who had experience using their sensors and study/work in the field of sports science and engineering; and they wanted someone doing it part-time. I fitted all their basic requirements, the job fitted my 'fundings' requirement, plus I was really keen to get some experience in a sports technology company, it was a win-win. So yes, I took the job.
It actually has been over a month since I started this customer support role and it has been quite an interesting experience so far. There are some technical aspects to the job - it requires some basic understanding of how inertial sensors work, a logical troubleshooting mind and mainly how to use the proprietary program to get the relevant data out of the sensors. But knowing the technical stuff is only a minor part of the customer support role. The more important part is connecting with the customer that I am supporting. This means understanding what the customer needs and providing a solution or explanation to their problem. It also goes to the extent of ensuring that the customer is satisfied. This means that even if the customer is wrong, I shouldn't point it out too blatantly, instead I should tactfully highlight that he could be wrong and suggest possible alternative methods to work out his issue.
Unfortunately, I learned that from experiencing it myself. I told a customer the truth, the reality, and that did not sit well with him and his own agenda. To give an analogy of what happened: A customer bought a bicycle and wanted to attach the bicycle to his lawnmower so that he can cycle and mow his lawn. Somehow he got someone to modify his lawnmower and made it to work, but after a while the bicycle stuffed up and he got a replacement from the manufacturer since it was under warranty. He then realised that the replacement bike has some new enhancements because it is a newer model and now it can't work with his lawnmower anymore. He gets annoyed and he calls the bicycle manufacturer demanding that they change the design of the new bicycle so that it can fit onto his lawnmower! Obviously it doesn't make sense for the manufacturer to go back to an older less effective design; moreover the bicycle was designed to be a bicycle and not for fitting onto a lawnmower. If he really wanted to, he should design his own bicycle lawnmower that could look something like this:
But how should the customer support person respond? Well what I learned is that not everyone can handle the truth, and as the customer support person, I should empathise with the customer. Instead of telling him the truth, I should explain in a nice way that the new bicycle design makes it more ergonomic for riding. But if he really wants it to work with the lawnmower I could find him one of the older design bikes in the dumps, oops I mean in the store. Or I could point him to someone who could modify his lawnmower again to fit the new bike design. In essence, the goal of customer support is to please the customer. If customers are unhappy, customer support has to appease them, sugar-coat the truth if necessary so that its easier for them to swallow; although at the end of the day they still may not accept the truth.
Fortunately, there is one truth in this world that I do not have to sugar-coat to tell others. That is: Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6). People may or may not like to hear it but it is the truth, and the goal of telling it is not to please the listener but to please God.
It actually has been over a month since I started this customer support role and it has been quite an interesting experience so far. There are some technical aspects to the job - it requires some basic understanding of how inertial sensors work, a logical troubleshooting mind and mainly how to use the proprietary program to get the relevant data out of the sensors. But knowing the technical stuff is only a minor part of the customer support role. The more important part is connecting with the customer that I am supporting. This means understanding what the customer needs and providing a solution or explanation to their problem. It also goes to the extent of ensuring that the customer is satisfied. This means that even if the customer is wrong, I shouldn't point it out too blatantly, instead I should tactfully highlight that he could be wrong and suggest possible alternative methods to work out his issue.
Unfortunately, I learned that from experiencing it myself. I told a customer the truth, the reality, and that did not sit well with him and his own agenda. To give an analogy of what happened: A customer bought a bicycle and wanted to attach the bicycle to his lawnmower so that he can cycle and mow his lawn. Somehow he got someone to modify his lawnmower and made it to work, but after a while the bicycle stuffed up and he got a replacement from the manufacturer since it was under warranty. He then realised that the replacement bike has some new enhancements because it is a newer model and now it can't work with his lawnmower anymore. He gets annoyed and he calls the bicycle manufacturer demanding that they change the design of the new bicycle so that it can fit onto his lawnmower! Obviously it doesn't make sense for the manufacturer to go back to an older less effective design; moreover the bicycle was designed to be a bicycle and not for fitting onto a lawnmower. If he really wanted to, he should design his own bicycle lawnmower that could look something like this:
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| http://www.totallyabsurd.com/tricyclelawnmower.htm |
But how should the customer support person respond? Well what I learned is that not everyone can handle the truth, and as the customer support person, I should empathise with the customer. Instead of telling him the truth, I should explain in a nice way that the new bicycle design makes it more ergonomic for riding. But if he really wants it to work with the lawnmower I could find him one of the older design bikes in the dumps, oops I mean in the store. Or I could point him to someone who could modify his lawnmower again to fit the new bike design. In essence, the goal of customer support is to please the customer. If customers are unhappy, customer support has to appease them, sugar-coat the truth if necessary so that its easier for them to swallow; although at the end of the day they still may not accept the truth.
Fortunately, there is one truth in this world that I do not have to sugar-coat to tell others. That is: Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6). People may or may not like to hear it but it is the truth, and the goal of telling it is not to please the listener but to please God.
