You may have heard the saying, “When you assume something, you make an ass of you and me”.
How does this relate to the story? I’ll get to that in a minute. Let me set the stage first.
I’ve had a couple of very frustrating days trying to get some rather expensive software to work. So what’s new you ask? Isn’t technology supposed to be frustrating? 
Okay, I’ve been in the tech game for a long time, so know that things are often not quite what they seem. Something touted as being easy, very often turns out to be a nightmare.
I’m setting up a complete membership system for a business partner. The package runs on the web and handles everything from taking orders to recurring charges, to backend and up-sells etc. In all, one of the best of breed packages out there (and the price reflects it).
So I followed the instructions and set it all up. Took a couple of goes – but who’s counting?
I then set up a test product and lo and behold, it spat the dummy.
The company runs a 24×7x365 help desk. So I duly logged a ticket and the automatic reply said I should get a response within about 30 minutes or so.
Hours went by. A day went by. I did more testing, logged more information and still no response.
The company owner had stated in my welcome email (when I bought the package) that “support is my number one priority” and “I pay a fortune to have 24×7x365 support and if I felt I wasn’t being supported, send an email to him personally.”
So I did – no response.
2 days went by and by now my blood was boiling.
Customer service? What customer service?
Another email was fired off – and now the response was, “We thought you’d solved the problem as you’d installed it successfully on another server”.
Assumptions galore!!!
Yes, I’d tested it, but the package was destined to be used for a particular application on a host owned by my business partner. I’d made all this clear to the support guys.
Then a bit of finger pointing. The issue was probably with my hosting provider – not them.
So I worked with my host – and no, the issue still existed. (And my host genuinely does provide 24×7x365 support – and respond within 30 seconds – and I’ve used it – so if you’re looking for an excellent hosting provider, drop me a note.)
So finally 2.5 days later, the software vendor is looking at the issue. In the meantime, I’d wasted at least 5 hours working on it myself and am not a happy camper.
Sort of highlights the dangers of making assumptions, doesn’t it?
My question to you is “Could this be happening in your business?”
Could your clients be waiting on stuff from you – stuff you believe you’ve delivered? Could there be simmering resentments – resentments that mean that as soon as your client can take the business somewhere else they will?
One of the best pieces of advice ever given to me was to “manage your customer’s expectations”. People really get upset when they feel they’re being ignored, lied to, or given the run-a-round.
In my experience, and I’m sure you’ll agree, when someone keeps you informed, explains the situation in ways that you can understand and empathise with, you generally give them another chance and be more understanding.
Rashid Kotwal is an international speaker and author who specializes in on-line and off-line strategies for direct response marketing and sales optimization. He works with sales organizations want to get more business, faster and with less wasted effort. You can find more information at Sales & Marketing Consulting and Get Clients Online Fast.
Copyright Rashid Kotwal.
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