How Not to Email Customer Service
No one likes to wait on hold to speak to customer support, but for some reason, waiting for an email response can be even more frustrating. Pressing the “reply” button angrily before you get a response may sound good to you at the moment, but it actually reduces your chances of getting a timely decision .
Most companies using ticket-based support manage their queue using a FIFO strategy. In other words, as every woman sending you automated phone messages tells you, tickets are processed in the order in which they are received. However, unlike the telephone queue, email support allows you to update your ticket with a reply before someone replies to you, and your last reply time usually determines your place in the queue.
This is why intrusive replies to yourself while waiting for a response from the help desk agent are so counterproductive: each unanswered response updates the timestamp, sending your message back to the end of the queue. Creating new tickets in the hope of getting noticed is just as bad a strategy. This forces the support staff to bundle all of your angry emails into one cluttered, hard-to-understand ticket, and since they all have minimal metrics to tap into, support agents are highly motivated to avoid train crashes in favor of simple tickets that won’t refuel their numbers. during the day.
With that said, not all companies use a direct FIFO system to manage ticket queues, and most of the support software allows users to categorize incoming tickets as they see fit. However, regardless of other criteria, spamming the support system with endless replies – or duplicate tickets – is never in your best interest. Not only will this make you wait longer, but it will also make life harder for people trying to help you. Generally, the fewer messages it takes to explain your problem, the easier it will be for someone else to follow along and find a solution.
Of course, there are legitimate reasons for proactively updating the ticket: you may have forgotten key information or figured out how to fix a problem yourself. Just remember that there is a living, breathing, probably overworked person on the other end of the wire . As Abby Armada, a seven-year veteran of startup tech support (and a personal friend of mine), says, “Helpdesk spam doesn’t make your plight more attractive to people who need to help you.” Remember this and everyone will be better.