Mila

With all the debates going on at VPL, I just want to put in a few of my own opinions of the matter - and no, I will not call the debates "drama", for personal reasons. I will be in no ways bashing particular users or sites - and I will be looking at the problem (word used loosely here) from a third-person view.

1. Respect - deserving respect, and customer service.

While it's quite clear many of us knows that customer service is the key to a successful site or business, frankly, I'm not quite sure if we 'understand' customer service. Taken from Wikpedia -"From the point of view of an overall sales process engineering effort, customer service plays an important role in an organization's ability to generate income and revenue.[3] From that perspective, customer service should be included as part of an overall approach to systematic improvement. A customer service experience can change the entire perception a customer has of the organization."

This goes to the "don't like it, then don't play it." Receiving an answer just like that, would make a customer NOT want to play the game. What happens to the business? They lose a customer, who would have, should a different tactic have been used, perhaps remained on a site and spent real money. You would have gained a supporter; now, you have lost one. Granted, it is impossible to please everybody, but at the very least, provide an honest, good-intentioned feedback to your customer or user. I don't mean a simple "Contact our support system if you have any problems." The person already voiced their concerns - and should be dealt as quickly and efficiently as possible. Think about this: do you like staying on the line and listening to the waiting music for any "operator"? You would feel irritated, especially if the concern is urgent. I am not suggesting having a response "in a blink of an eye", but at least, reassure users and follow-up on their request.

This means NOT falling back to the old procedure, "please wait for a response up to 48 hours." By this time, you might have lost a customer.

Losing customers mean losing money. Losing money means losing the capital needed to improve the business, hence the site, which loses "innovative" features and such. There's only so much a business can run without a loyal user base.

If the core problem is the inability of staff to deal with many concerns, then some sort of better management system should be put in place. Perhaps delegate a few staff members for customer service -i.e., not moderators or user support, but for staff whose main purpose is to be "community or public relations"? It's possible to look into other options - in fact, once in a while, people should look back at their approach - and figure out what could be improved from them to generate

- more users
- more money
- more features
- more publicity

In my case, I've have to deal with a lot of these issues working with a school club that runs more along the lines of a business. Of course, we're much more lenient, but the fundamental aspects are still there. In one case, there was a member who promised to finish a whole section of our magazine on time. He missed the deadline by a day, but I knew he was a really good student, so I told the rest of my heads to give him a chance.

I didn't say "oh I know he can do it - he's one of our assistants, so we should give him an extra day."

No. No, no, no, no, no! That would be playing favorites and being baised. Users, members, customers, etc., should be regulated under the same procedure. No exceptions should be made to friends, fellow "department heads", or owners. The way to do make this work, is for a mature discussion:

- why you believe the student should get an extra day
- discuss what may have caused the delay - would it happen again?
- will granting him an extra day make other members do the same?
- does anyone have any other comments about the suggestion [extra day]? If so, what and why?
- more discussion.
- Come to a final vote - yes or no.

We said yes, to give him an extra day - because his reason was the counsellors. They didn't want to see anyone the week before, due to course changes. This is understandable. I went to talk to the student, and updated everyone on the changes. However, the following days, he failed to hand in his articles. That prompt another discussion:

- should the student be punished?
- should the student be removed from assistant?
- what are the student's reasons and are they valid?

The student had said that he had finals and exams, but which we also have them; he says he didn't have time; we had told him if he needed backup writers, there are other students who have volunteered. one of them also asked him if he needed help, at which he replied, "I'm fine, I can do it." We disagreed on letting him get away with his inability to meet the deadlines - it wasn't as if our deadlines were illogical; other students handed in work on time without complaints. However, I did not let my personal feelings get into the way of this discussion. I felt a bit "let down" considering I trusted the member to do his work and convinced my department team to do the same, but the student failed to meet the modified goals.

That sucked.
I was pretty pissed off the few days.
His reaction to "missing deadlines" were EXTREMELY immature.

So as the department heads, we came up with a response: "Due to your inability to meet our deadlines multiple times, we do not feel you are qualified to be an assistant to the club. We will be temporarily removing you from your duties until you feel - and show - you are able to manage your time wisely, and know exactly where your priorities lie. We believe all assistants to the club should act as rolemodels for the rest of the team, and as such, be able to rely on them. We understand you have other priorities such as exams and school work. There is a way however, to regain your credibility: show us, long - term, that you are dedicated to this club and meet our deadlines. We are more than happy to have you back on the team, but not until we feel you are qualified - the process which, will have to be discussed by all the department heads."

Afterwards, I did say, to lighten up the response, to the student: "I know you're a really strong academic student, and I do know you are hardworking and that shows up on your dedication to tests and exams. We just don't feel you're up to the task at the moment. You can still help us out as a regular member." Smile, light tone in voice, and it works!

What works?

- you get your message through
- student is not mad at you (hopefully, LOL, come to think of it)
- student knows that you understand them
- you give student a suggestion how to "get back" their credibility (don't leave them without "hope")
- you tell them that it's not only your decision, but the rest of the heads as well
- that you know that they have potential, just that they're not showing it right or doing it
- give them a second chance but having responsibilities removed

Final Tally: Both messages got across. Both parties know what to do and why.

Anyways back on track:

I'm digressing. Sorry! TL;DR - Listen to your customers and deal with drama, concerns, and problems professionally. In your responses you write, make sure to emphasize you understand what the customer/user's reasons are. A few words or sentences on this matter helps a LOT.

And the key point: KEEP YOUR PROMISE. (not in my case though, to let the student back on as assistant; instead, go through the process AGAIN of assigning assistants).

Next point!



2. Responsibility

Question: should the owner be responsible for ALL the users? Should they focus on their loyal customers or try and appeal to the immature users? (Immature is used very broadly here, for lack of better word).

The answer is YES, to a certain extent. There is no way an owner can appeal to the entire user base - but it is their responsibility to make things work for both the business and the users. There is however, a line where you have to draw between "appealing to the majority" or to several, individual trouble-makers.

Let's use my club as an example.

Same idea, same student.

I explained why we had to remove him from Assistant, but then he goes to rant on Facebook, PUBLICLY, and especially targeted ME. I took a step back and didn't comment on the post - I slept over it, and went back to the issue the next day with a clear un-baised mind. When I looked at the post, I find the majority of other members AND the other heads have solved the problem and told the student why we acted our way. They also agreed that if he felt his exams were more important he should not have claimed a section so huge he couldn't finish on his own. Yes, we agreed, that we run a club and therefore aren't for marks, but if you chose an article, you have to meet the deadlines.

My response:

"Thanks everyone for clearing up the discussion." - note that I didn't say "drama" here -

"I was going to reply yesterday, but I slept on the discussion and looked at the problem from both points of view. But it seems y'all cleared this up. All I want to say is that while I do want everyone to have a great, fun time with the club, we are here to deliver a product to the school, in the case our awesome Magazine we all worked hard on and won't be here without you all." -- (talk a bit more casual, in case people are offended & emphasize how much we need the members).

"Yes it's a club, but in the end, it's your responsibility to meet the deadlines. Seriously - if anyone has problems or are unable to meet the deadlines, please tell us. We would rather you tell us than leave it to last minute." -- (this basically says "we understand if you can't meet deadlines and we won't "hate" you if you can't.)

"Also, last thing: I, at least, would love to tailor the club to the needs of all members, but in the end, there's only so much we can manipulate. I know it's hard, and that we're an extra-curricular club, but in the end, we always have to look at the majority. Saying that, we welcome people to come talk to us if they have problems. In fact, we encourage you to do so." -- (add in the final "ultimatum")


Look at this blog whichever way you wish to - take whatever information you want from it.
P.S. I've never been a fan of the "We do not discuss bans." response - come on, I mean... When you get sent to jail, at least you know WHY you were banned, plus a court hearing. People going to jail - other people in the community also knows WHY and what they did. Any problem with that? No, or else the laws would have been revamped a long, long, time ago. At least discuss them with the people involved.

P.P.S.
About businesses and things like that, I DID talk to my business teacher.

Me: "How important are customers? Should businesses listen to them?"

Her: "Customers are what makes businesses successful - not money, product... none of those . Businesses NEED to listen to their customers."

Me: "What about percentages? How many percentage should businesses listen to customers? 50%? 60?%"

Her: "100%".

Me: "But what about complainers - those that aren't part of the loyal customer base?"

Her: "See, if people complain, there's always a reason. That's it, basically "


Food for Thought.