Customer Service Sucks - Dealing with the Pricks we mix
I wrote this whole big thing for that other thread, but by the time I hit Post, there were chickens loose on scales extreme danger!
So, my day job for the last way too long has been customer service of one sort or another. From coaxing timid Packers fans into a dimly lit courtyard off Bourbon street to a cell phone company who was #3 in customer service polls and dumped a whole lot of koney into making me #1. I'm not claiming to be an authority, or that its any kind of glamorous career, but I am pretty good at what I do, and it covers my expenses.
For those of us who just record ourselves for our own amusement, customer service and communications skills don't really come into it that often. Sometimes I do talk to myself, but...
If you're actually doing stuff for other people - even if there's no money involved or they're friends or family - then communication is very important. In a very real way, these are your customers and unless you can hire someone like me as a go-between to keep you from ever actually interacting with the clients (I'm open to offers
) then you will from time to time be providing customer service. Call it client relations if you want to be snooty. It's all the same shit.
So here's some of the basic fundamental stuff they pounded into my head with powerpoints and role playing activities and checklists. It was written in the context of what to do when clients ask for things using language that is difficult to understand, but I think it applies in a more general sense to all of your interactions with your customers. It would be as important in a pre-production meeting as a mix revision request.
This is the customer service aspect of the job that way too many of us overlook. We spend hours studying and practicing all of these advanced techniques on the recording/mixing side, and never a thought to improving our communication skills. Ultimately I think it does come down to
your communication skills. You need to be able to handle these conversations in such a way that overcomes their bumblefucking.
The first step is to take and hold the position that you really want to help them. You have to actually want these guys to get the best result possible given whatever constraints. When you lose track of that - start feeling like you're just meeting their demands - it goes downhill fast. You also have to believe that you can help. You are supposedly a professional. You have the tools, you have the skills and knowledge, and even if you don't know for sure how you're going to help, you have to believe that you can and will find a way. This might sound kind of general and vague, not directly to the OP question, but if you have the proper attitude, it means that you are going to get the through the conversation and come to a solution whatever it takes, which is the ultimate goal, right?
But how do you get through that conversation?
1) Listen carefully to what the customer is actually saying. A lot of people seem to only hear like the beginning and end of a sentence, and kind of just fill in the middle with their own bullshit. Sometimes, too, if we hear things that don't make sense - words or phrases we've never heard, references to things outside our experience or comfort zone - we often close down a bit and sometimes even substitute something we do understand into the conversation, so that we're not hearing what the customer is saying, but almost like what we would say. Make sure you've actually heard what the dude said.
2) Restate the issue. That doesn't mean parroting back to them. Paraphrase, interpret, explain to them your understanding of their stated concern. If it's not right, they'll let you know quick.
3) Ask probing questions. "What the fuck are you talking about?" does not qualify. With some clients you might be able to throw that in as a joke, but it'll be more effective if you identify the points that you're not getting and ask them to clarify those. "What do you mean by pointy?" This might lead to such things as pulling up some reference material. Anyway, if after restating, the customer doesn't agree that you know what they're talking about, ask some questions and then go back to number 1 above.
I think that covers the OP. It sounds simple and common sense, but - especially in really difficult situations - it takes discipline to pull it off. The rest of the story goes:
4) Offer an assurance statement. Now, you're not going to bust out with "I'd be happy to help with that", but you want to tell them you can do something for them. "I can do that" is fine, but what if you don't think you can? Well, remember what we talked about before? You can help somehow. You want to help somehow. You will help somehow.
5) Offer an action statement. It's great if this is a solid statement of "Here's what I can do about that" with exact details, but it can also a be maybe a list of options. Especially if they're asking for something you really can't do, you offer them options that might be close or even better. It's also perfectly acceptable to say that you're going to look into it. Yes, it's a way of way of saying "I don't have a fucking clue", but you can sell the idea that you know there's a solution and you know you can find it.
Try always to use real positive language. No, that doesn't mean talk like a new age mom on Xanax. Try night to say "might" or "should" or "I think" (when it comes to facts, you can say "I think that sounds awesome!", but not "I think I can help"). Use positive language like "can", "will", and "I know".
Or do what I do and tell them "This is my mix. I know what you're shooting for. You hired me to get it there. You've done your part, now I'll do mine." Which is to say that on the very rare occasions that I record other people I don't let them stand over my shoulder or second guess my decisions. Here's your mix, take it or don't.
