Bringing Humanity Into the World of Technology
Award-Winning IT Customer Service Speaker and Author
Don addresses 600 IT professionals about IT Customer Service at the 2019 Church IT Network conference in Kansas City.
Author of 8 books for IT pros, including...
The Compassionate Geek: How Engineers, IT Pros, and Other Tech Specialists Can Master Human Relations Skills to Deliver Outstanding Customer Service
The 5 Principles of IT Customer Service Success
Cisco ASA for Accidental Administrators: An Illustrated Step-by-Step Cisco ASA Learning and Configuration Guide
The Accidental Administrator: Cisco Router Step-by-Step Configuration Guide (Understanding the Basics of Cisco Routers)
The Accidental Administrator: Linux Server Step-by-Step Configuration Guide (for IT Professionals and Accidental Administrators)
Recent Blog Posts
Thanksgiving Devotions: Mister Rogers and Gratitude (Includes Video)
This is Thanksgiving week in the U.S. Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday, because it’s always been the least commercialized of our major holidays. I love the time with family and friends, the great food, and the opportunity to reflect on the blessings of my life.
Empathy Examples in Customer Service (Includes Video)
I recently flew from Houston to Seattle on Alaska Airlines. I experienced three examples of good customer service from, gasp, an airline. Yes, I know it may seem hard to believe. There are lessons here for those of us who support end-users. Two examples were with Alaska Airlines and one was with Delta. Here they are.
How to Deliver Great Customer Service: What’s Your Customer Empathy Quotient?
How’s your empathy quotient? Your ability to empathize may be your most important ability as a member of the I.T. support staff. Empathy means providing caring and personal service. Dictionary.com defines empathy as “the intellectual identification with … the feelings, thoughts or attitudes of another.” Empathy is your ability to truly put yourself in your user’s position so you can understand his/her frustration. Once we truly understand our user’s frustration, fears, and aggravations, we can start the process of delivering a meaningful solution for them. Sometimes it only takes a moment to really understand where our user is coming from. Sometimes it takes several minutes of listening combined with empathetic statements such as “I understand why you feel that way.” or “I’d feel that way, too, if I were in your situation.” Regardless, until you can empathize with your user, you’re not ready to start the technical aspects of the support session. Remember, it may be your technical expertise that solves the problem, but it’s your skill in dealing with people that produces satisfied end-users.
Don Crawley, Author of The Compassionate Geek
For more than 40 years, Don Crawley has worked with technology, from broadcasting to automation systems to data networks. A former IT trainer and consultant, he is an award-winning conference keynote speaker and the author of eight books for IT professionals including The Compassionate Geek. He’s especially good at helping IT teams work together so they can get things done for customers and your team.
