September 2015  Articles

How to Deliver Great Customer Service: What’s Your Customer Empathy Quotient?

By Don Crawley  |  September 5, 2012 10:39 am

How’s your empathy quotient? Your ability to empathize may be your most important ability as a member of the I.T. support staff. Empathy means providing caring and personal service. Dictionary.com defines empathy as “the intellectual identification with … the feelings, thoughts or attitudes of another.” Empathy is your ability to truly put yourself in your user’s position so you can understand his/her frustration. Once we truly understand our user’s frustration, fears, and aggravations, we can start the process of delivering a meaningful solution for them. Sometimes it only takes a moment to really understand where our user is coming from. Sometimes it takes several minutes of listening combined with empathetic statements such as “I understand why you feel that way.” or “I’d feel that way, too, if I were in your situation.” Regardless, until you can empathize with your user, you’re not ready to start the technical aspects of the support session. Remember, it may be your technical expertise that solves the problem, but it’s your skill in dealing with people that produces satisfied end-users.

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There’s a new Compassionate Geek coming soon, very soon

By Don Crawley  |  September 17, 2013 5:20 pm

I’m very excited to announce the upcoming release of a major update to The Compassionate Geek. I’ve added a lot of new material, including reflection and discussion exercises at the end of chapter and more human stories about overcoming difficulty through perspective, tenacity, and strength of will. It’s scheduled for release on November 1 and …

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Hobnob with the Elite Geeks of Seattle

By Don Crawley  |  September 19, 2013 11:11 pm

I’m really excited! The book release party for the new edition of The Compassionate Geek is going to be at Lucid Lounge in the University District. This is the same Lucid Lounge that is host to Nerd Nites and frequent author readings (and they have fabulous cocktails, too). I can’t think of a better place …

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Is Arrogance Killing Your Career?

By Don Crawley  |  September 10, 2014 9:49 am

Some people in the IT industry have a reputation for being arrogant and difficult to work with. Arrogance is the belief that you’re better than other people and it leads to cynicism and condescending behavior. Arrogance can undermine relationships and even lead to job loss. I was leading a customer service seminar at a large …

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The IT Competency and Charisma IT Career Success Model

By Don Crawley  |  September 17, 2014 8:06 am

For success in a career in IT, as we’ve discussed in other blog posts, podcasts, and videos, two separate and distinct skill sets are required. Obviously, you must have outstanding technical skills, especially related to the product(s) you support. For the purpose of this discussion, we’ll refer to that as your competence. Additionally, you must …

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How to Say “No” Without Alienating the Customer

By Don Crawley  |  September 24, 2014 6:30 am

At one point in a past business relationship, I had to say no to my customer. I had committed to the customer to present a training seminar without realizing the true nature of the training the customer wanted. When I realized what they really wanted, I realized that it was beyond my competency, so I …

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