Compassion in Customer Support: Navigating Challenging Interactions

I had one of those conversations with a customer yesterday -- they ran into a high-risk problem that they knew they caused, asked for detailed instructions for how to fix it, and then they were so stressed about it, they couldn't immediately take in the instructions I sent. Of course, at the time it didn't feel that way -- it felt like they didn't read the thing they asked for and was blaming me for the issue, and I must have rewritten my response to them 8 or 9 times before I did the thing I always knew I needed to do, which was default to compassion, knowing that it probably wasn't going to be a satisfying interaction. But then they surprised me by sending a sincere, thoughtful apology that also thanked me for my help. My experience in support tells me the apology is unusual (unfortunately), but the situation definitely isn't. I really do believe that most people are just trying to keep their heads above water, and will give us their best when they're capable of doing so. I'm sharing this to acknowledge that it's been a really, really hard few decades years months, and I know we're all feeling it. Hang in there, not just for your customers, but for each other. And feel free to use this thread to vent about interactions or job sitches that didn't turn out so rosy, or remember the ones that did. 💜