Communication between clients and technicians January 2007, Alex Righolt

Overview Technicians and clients miss-communicate often. We cannot change the clients’ way of communicating, so, A&A technicians will have to communicate better. Technicians miss-communicate because of: – Lacking communication skills – Cultural reasons

Situation 1 Client: what time will my PC be ready? Tech: after one hour One hour later… Client: is my PC ready? Admin: Sorry, not yet Client: but the technician said... Admin: he went to see a client. Result: client is angry, and thinks A&A is unreliable

Analysis of situation 1 The technician agreed to one hour because he wanted to please the client. But… when eventually we can't make it happen, we let the client down. The client suffers: he is angry, and does not get the expected service. A&A Computers suffers because the client thinks badly about our reliability and service level.

Analysis of situation 1 You know that there is a good chance that you cannot deliver the service you promised. You should recognize then that a desire to please often prevents us from saying ‘no’, or ‘I don’t know’. But this ‘pleasure’ of agreeing is only short- term: it results in disappointment and sometimes anger.

Handling situation 1 properly. Write down in what ways the technician could have avoided disappointment and anger. Time: 5 minutes

Handling situation 1 properly. Technicians should make sure they understand exactly what is being asked of them before responding: perhaps the task is more time consuming than expected. Technicians may say: “It should take an hour, but sometimes much longer. Can we call you when it is ready?”

Handling situation 1 properly. Technicians should also refer the client to the office administrator, she may know if there are other urgent tasks waiting When refusing to give a hard promise, just say it in a way that expresses respect and courtesy. This leaves the door open for good relations.

Situation - 2 Client: what time will my PC be ready? Tech: if all goes well, it should take an hour, but it could be longer. Client: I must have it after an hour, I’m in a hurry! Tech: OK, it’ll be ready after an hour for sure! One hour later…. Etc.

Analysis of situation 2 The technician now indicated that the job can take longer. But… he was an easy push-over for the client. He again pleased the client when pushed to it. This may result again in frustration and anger!

Handling situation 2 properly. Write down in what ways the technician could have avoided disappointment and anger. Time: 5 minutes

Handling situation 2 properly. Agree that you will do your best to have it ready, and add to say that you just cannot promise it. When someone persists, repeat your position, perhaps in a slightly different way. ("As I already said, I just cannot guarantee you that this job will be ready. Computers are complex machines.")

Situation - 3 A technician fixes a network problem on-site. He’s ready to leave. Client: I need somebody to help me with the QuickBooks Chart of Accounts. Technician: I’ll make sure somebody will come to assist with that. The technician forgets all about it, and never reports this to the company.

Analysis of situation 3 The technician feels good he could please the client with his promise. The client is angry, because she feels she agreed with A&A Computers to have her QB issue fixed, but A&A lets her down. A&A lacks a business opportunity. The client may even look for somebody else who can assist her with QB, so A&A looses a client!

Handling situation 3 properly. Write down in what ways the technician could have avoided anger and loss of business. Time: 5 minutes

Handling situation 3 properly. The technician should either: – Write the request in the Call-out report, under “uncompleted tasks”. – Request the client to contact the administrator to make an appointment. The technician should not think “I’ll remember to tell the administrator” – because most often he will not remember.

Conclusion In all three situations, technicians seek to please clients by agreeing to all of their requests. This pleasure is short-term for all parties: client, technician, and company. Technicians should never promise when a job will be ready.

Conclusion Technicians should be able to say no or I don’t know in a polite and professional manner. Technicians should use the Call-out report to note down any requests from the client. Technicians should not make appointments with clients. They should refer the client to the administrator.

Conclusion By giving the client immediately a true picture of the situation, clients will trust A&A Computers. Clients appreciate (although not always like!) to be told the truth. Use Google to look up techniques for saying No: “how to say no”

Communication between clients and technicians The end