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All Roads Do Lead To Rome

Never give up! It’s a rather simple philosophy to consider and follow. If you have a goal you want to reach you simply must keep trying to reach it. Now, obviously, this does not mean you will reach it because it’s your goal only that you must focus on getting to it.

Sometimes goals are really easy and sometimes goals are near impossible although no matter the case it is still a goal and something to focus on.

Do you want to help people? Make the effort to learn what they need help with and share that knowledge to provide the assistance they need.

Do you want to write something? A book? A play? A piece of software? Put pen to paper, as they say, and start writing.

One of the biggest challenges of achieving one’s goals is not so much in setting ones that can be met (it’s often time better to set goals just beyond that point), it’s the whole point of getting started! If you never take that first step you will never finish the trip.

The greatest journey’s in life all begin with its first step … and sometimes that first step might not be the right direction although that’s OK, there’s nothing to say you cannot change directions mid-course. Just focus on the goals you have set and keep looking forward to achieving them. Follow the paths that will lead you to there and don’t worry if those paths are not the one everyone else has taken.

We are all individuals and each in their own right has to follow the best path for themselves.

… and just like customers are all individuals, sometimes you may have to lead them down a different path for them to see the same answers others have found already.

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Walk Through Open Doors

Life opens up opportunities to you, and you either take them or you stay afraid of taking them.

Jim Carrey

There may be times when a door appears to have closed in front of you and perhaps that opportunity has passed you by? Have you ever considered that the door is only closed, it’s not locked.

Opportunity may have knocked on your door and you did not answer although there is nothing to say you cannot walk up to opportunity’s door and knock on it yourself.

If you are not willing to take that chance, be bold, step up, then you may be missing those opportunities in your life that will change it forever.

Sometimes you may have to make those opportunities for yourself and other times they will be just there for you to seize upon but no matter the case you still have to not be afraid of taking that chance and adventuring out into the unknown.

Find that opportunity to grow, to share, to learn!

Also keep in mind, when looking or finding these opportunities, do you want to look back and ask yourself… what if?

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Support Needs Support

Service and support should not just be for front-facing interactions with customers it must also be for those that provide this front-facing communication.

It is vitally important to take the time and spend the energy to care for your own team’s needs and requirements which in turn will allow them to continue and improve in how they provide the service and support your customer deserves and needs.

On-boarding and training are not just some catchwords to bandy about the office space. The company must focus on actually providing an on-boarding process and ensuring training is at least at a minimum standard for the support team member to understand what they do not know.

Knowing what you don’t know is a great starting point to improvement and although you will never truly know what you don’t know it will become less over time as you continue to provide and receive the appropriate training to do the job well.

This is not necessarily something only in the purview of customer care teams it can happen in any role although some of the most common places to find this are in support focused roles.

Also to note, most providers of customer care and support need to know that it is OK not to have the answer immediately. They also need to know where best to look for the answer as the case may be.

On-boarding is often one of the best cornerstones when it comes to providing a basis to finding answers and it often leads to pointing out potential gaps in a company’s internal support systems as well as external support services.

Ongoing training will fill these gaps and in so doing so can only improve the company, its support team, its product offering … and ultimately its customer’s approval rating.

Support is a lynchpin to greatness in moving a company forward. The team that provides it should be recognized and offered any and all assistance to continually improve and strive for more.

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Gone Fishing

Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.

ancient proverb

When a person finds a solution themselves (with help from support) they will often times feel more empowered to use the product and promote its usefulness.

Leading a person from point A to point B may accomplish the short-term goal of getting them a resolution although it does nothing at all to really provide a takeaway that is going to be beneficial in the long-term.

Making the efforts to help a person understand the concern they are having, in a language they can relate to and understand, will more likely give them a better viewpoint on possible future similar issues they may come across and allow them to help themselves more easily.

Obviously, from the aspect of providing customer support, you should still let the person know you are there to help them no matter the case although ultimately they will be helping themselves all the same.

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Open Your Own Doors

If someone offers you an amazing opportunity and you’re not sure you can do it, say yes – then learn how to do it later.

Richard Branson

Always be learning and you will always be growing. Be ready to reach for the stars and take your imagination to new heights. What wonders will you see if you just open your eyes to their opportunities?

The excitement of a new journey is not so much in the destination as it is learning how to get there and seeing what comes along the way while traveling its path. Every opportunity leads to a possibility of adventure – you just have to say yes.

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Carpe Deum

There are no such things as mistakes just happy accidents.

Bob Ross

Every mistake will always have the potential to be a learning experience. It may be an opportunity to try something new or see something from a different perspective.

The chance to learn a new direction or take a different path moving forward and benefit from the “mistake” should be seized much the same as an obvious golden opportunity. Every mistake can be a key to a new solution, perhaps one that no one knew was needed to begin with.

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Kindness Counts

Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.

unknown

Always remember you may not know the circumstances another person is dealing with. An act of kindness, even the smallest and simplest ones, will go much further to improve any situation than almost anything else you can offer.

When dealing with a distraught person, and remember a customer is a person first and foremost, always remember to be at least considerate and that small act of kindness may be the key to resolving the issue at hand … and even if it doesn’t solve the issue you will see that it will have made it much easier to deal with. Give it a try!

Always be kind.

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Aspirations

Those at the top of the mountain didn’t fall there.

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Having a goal is as important as what the goal actually is although you must still work towards achieving that goal as it is not going to just happen because you want it to.

Much like Mallory said when he looked at Mount Everest, sometimes a goal is just because it’s there and often times not something you get done on your own. Always remember those who helped you climb the mountains of your goals as they deserve the recognition as much as you deserve to enjoy your achievement.

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Even Angry Customers Offer Benefits

The eyes of a vengeful man miss few details he can turn to advantage.

“Robinton” in the novel Dragonquest by Anne McCaffery

Angry and disgruntled customers are often times the most observant and critical. Ideally, you can take what they are saying and make use of their feedback to recognize and fix issues they are reporting. Aside from correcting problems and concerns these updates may also turn the tide in the customer’s view of your product offering.

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Smile

Wearing a smile is telling everyone you are here to help.

No matter the issue or question you are addressing and no matter how you are addressing it always smile. Smile in your heart and put a smile on your face, too!

When you communicate with a smile it comes through to the person you are having a conversation with and it will help keep things moving more smoothly and with less stress and frustration.

It’s much easier to work with people when you smile as you have a natural feeling of goodwill and empathy towards others built into every smile you share.

A smile is a great stress reliever and allows you to relax that much easier. Approaching the customer in a relaxed low-stress manner will also help difuse difficult situations.