Happy Hamster Portland Computer Repair Talks About Why Most Computer Repair Shops are so Unfriendly
Hey Everybody in Portland Computer Repair Land,
A few weeks ago I went out to do some secret shopping. While out, I had the “basic” experience I have pretty much every time I go secret shopping. An indifferent guy who did not acknowledge me when I walked in, stared at his computer the entire time we spoke, and offered short, unhelpful answers to my questions.
The primary explanation most people have for this sort of behavior goes something like this, “oh, you know, he is a computer nerd, and those people are anti-social and don’t know how to deal with people and just want to play with computers all day.” I disagree with this assertion. While it may be true that some people fall into this category, I think most are simply guilty of cramming for the test the night before the exam.
Allow me to explain. For me, I find that customers yelling at me ranks #1 on the list of least pleasant things about my job. Inevitably, when such yelling occurs, it comes at the end of a job when a customer comes to pick up their computer. Usually some expectation of the customers, stated or unstated, has not been met, (we missed the time line, we did not do something they wanted, it cost too much, we did not communicate the way they wanted us to, they do not understand us, etc) and they let us know, vocally. This occurs less than once a month, yet I dread its occurrence more than any other by dint of its sheer unpleasantness.
As this usually occurs at pickup, some naturally assume that the behaviors one engages in immediately prior to the pickup are to blame for the customer being upset at pickup. (If I put on green socks, and then walk out of my house to get by my a car, clearly green socks cause cars to hit me.) Not sound logic, but very human. The guy talking to me behind the bench, frantically working to finish a computer due that day, thinks like this, “this computer in front of me is due to a paying customer today, so I will ignore this potential new customer, because even if he drops off his computer, he won’t be a problem for a week or so.” This logic ignores the common sense factor that really, the entire relationship determines the final outcome. Everything from the way we say hello to the language we use in our phone conversations determines if we get yelled at. Proper communication means, even when everything goes completely purple sided, customers are often completely understanding. If you keep people fully updated along the way, they tolerate delays and problems much more readily.
This longer focus, on the whole relationship with the customer, starts from the first phone call and goes all the way until pickup. We do not cram for our final exams, rather we start studying the moment you walk in and we keep working at it until we hand in our final papers. Too many shops only focus on the final product – is it fixed? And ignore the larger consumer interaction.
I have more thoughts on this, but we’re already running log for one blog, so i’ll continue on in the next post by going over how we control the customer interaction from the first moment.
Thanks!
-Zac
Happy Hamster Computer Repair