Response Time: Vol. 42

You satisfy your customers, but can you satisfy our curiosity?

With Harry Spence, Director of Customer Support at ScreenCloud.

Please tell us a little bit about your company and what you do there.
I’m the Director of Customer Support at ScreenCloud, a leading digital signage provider with over 10,000 customers worldwide.

What word or phrase in customer service jargon should be retired?
“That’s not our process.”

Which celebrity would be really great at your job, and why?
Henry Cavill because he’s down to earth and smart.

What’s the most valuable thing that working in customer service has taught you?
Working in support has given me a wider appreciation for people and their struggles, and shown me how we need to take as much stress as possible out of their lives through the CX we offer.

Describe the essence of great customer service using only three words.
Empathetic, proactive, preemptive.

Which movie robot would you choose as your AI sidekick, and why?
Optimus Prime because he’s a great leader (and intimidating.)

What can you do that a bot will never be able to replicate?
Provide real life human experience and emotions.

What’s the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever said/done to a customer?
I sent an email saying “incontinence” instead of “inconvenience.”

Do you identify more with the title “customer support,” “customer service,” “customer success,” or “customer experience,” and why?
“Customer support” or “customer experience” depending on what role you’re in. Both give you the ability to be involved and make a difference to the whole customer journey, instead of just reacting to issues.

What’s the one piece of advice you would give to your peers in the customer service industry?
Design your processes, principles, and strategy based on what is best for your customers, not what’s easier for you or internal staff. Don’t implement something just for the sake of it. Do your research and due diligence to help you make the right decisions.

What’s your greatest productivity hack?
Delegation.

What book are you reading at the moment?
Game of Thrones.

If customer service was an Olympic sport, what would be the main event?
The ultimate competition would be seeing who customers would shop with just for the customer service, regardless of price or other factors.

What’s the best thing a customer has ever said to you?
“You should be promoted.”

What gif best describes your mental state right now?

Where do you get your support leadership news?
LinkedIn.

What do you wish people knew about working in customer service?
It’s rewarding if you have the right mentality. You get out what you put in.

If you wrote a book about your experiences in customer service, what would the title be?
“There’s Always Light at the End of the Tunnel.”

What’s the strangest thing a customer has asked you?
“How did you get that scar on your face?”

What’s your most used emoji in customer chats?
😄

Conversation closed… for now 😏