When one of you has a problem with a technical device, he tells the manufacturer the system specifications right away. Hell, some of my customers have even included a full list of all files in RAM into their bug/CS requests. However, asking customers for system specs can go very wrong…feast your eyes on the true story below (anonymized to protect the guilty):

I work as an IT guy for an upscale Austrian ***** company. So far, all has went well – until yesterday. Our CEO called the customer support hotline of a major software manufacturer, described her problem and suddenly started screaming at the support rep as if he/she had been gravely insulted.

After interrogating her to see what the problem was, I found out the following mind.boggling truth:

The CS guy asked her: “what computer do you have”?

Our CEO didn’t understand that this information was needed to actually find and fix the bug. Instead, she thought that the manufacturer was trying to blame her holy (Apple) device – and became pissed as sh*t.

For me, this story once again proves my basic assumption: what is clear to us, isn’t clear to others. Tell customers WHY you ask them for data – it might cost you a bit of extra voice, but will pay out in the long run…

Feel like telling us your worst-ever CS experience?

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