“Your ticket has closed,” reads the message subject. This is really just another way of saying “Go away, go find a competing product, we don’t care.” The support ticket was just opened two days ago. I haven’t had time to respond. Now, I probably won’t.
This is a systems design issue. A support ticket system which kills connection based on a short timer is a poorly designed system. It puts the timer’s needs well ahead of the customer’s, when it ought to be the other way around.
Businesses spend thousands (or millions) to open up connection, to forge dialog with customers. When a customer contacts you with a need, that’s an opportunity to connect. How you handle the connection determines if we will know each other for a day, a month, or years. It determines whether or not you get more money. If the goal is quick closure, why bother?
Kelly Hobkirk - teaching marketers how to harness strategy, goals, reality, and purpose to connect and do better work.
Kelly Hobkirk has been helping companies succeed in creative ways for nearly 25 years. His work has been featured in Time Magazine, and books by Rockport and Rotovision. Get exclusive articles when you sign up for his monthly newsletter.