I learned something recently- something very important to reduce the stress in my life as well as others. I feel kinda stupid never having realized it before.

Ready? Here it is…

Put Your Name On It!

Sounds so easy…

Specifically, I’m talking about on the “Contact Customer Support” page of a website I manage. Take a look: http://bniconnection.com/index.php?region_id=3&content=help/support_form

Previously, my thinking was just the same as every other support form out there- put up a form and let people contact me. The problem was, people don’t usually contact support unless they can’t find/do it themselves. Then, of course, they’re frustrated and they fire off an email with strong language. (Rarely with explitaves, but strong nonetheless.) Then, it comes to me (a.k.a. the Support Department) and I have to take a deep breath and figure out how to be nice and not take it personally. That’s usually not too hard, but it’s still unpleasant! I mean, who likes being yelled at? Not me.

So, the first thing I did was add my name to the signature. This worked in calming people down after they received a reply from me. It still gave me the initial heartburn.

Then, my stroke of genius (coupled with a conversation with Rei-Quan, which usually gets my genius flowing rather well) realized that I needed to add a face to the Support Department. Guess what the result was?

• People starting their message off “Dear Jay,” instead of “I hate you”
• Friendlier communications- even if they were frustrated!!!!

Omigoodnessgracious! (Add Eureka too.)

Here’s the reason why: Computers and The Internet Experience is generally transactional, cold, (painful), and faceless. It’s funny, because we seem to enjoy being reclusive, but then we also seem to be starved for real, human interaction. I added a face and people are happier.

As a parting note, even if my support department grows to 30 people, I think they’re all going to be named “Jay” and have the same face.   This’ll just simplify life for both of us.