Learnings from the support line:
To be honest, I’ve been an AI doomer. Until recently I felt like AI innovation sermons were castles in the sky. It’s felt speculative for what feels like a really long time, but the latest improvements are remarkable.
As we see vibe coding replace traditional GTM app generation and prompting replace search, many of the existing jobs we know today will become a thing of the past. While I don’t anticipate that jobs like mine will be impacted in the short term, I wonder how the support and service functions will evolve as traditional roles are cut from the budget line.
Especially as a member of Gen Z, the fact that AI will mostly cut junior job opportunities makes me feel like I’m pulling the ladder up behind me.
In the spirit of not being an AI doomer no more, I’m redirecting my focus to all the jobs that will result from this evolution. That the market with always correct itself. As I pivot from doomer, to opportunist, I wanted to pay a final homage to my previous role on support. I don’t anticipate our support function to be cut any time soon, though I’m sure one day it will look entirely different or be reallocated altogether.
I worked on the support for two years, and despite its lack luster reputation I loved the work. I loved the opportunity to take someone from their most stressed moment to a positive outcome. I loved the camaraderie. Here are my takeaways:
The best way to handle an escalation is to focus on facts and path to resolution. Offer empathy, but don’t dwell or feed the emotional juggernaut.
While knowledge has become a commodity, being ready to confidently answer a question is everything. Don’t confuse access with expert.
Blame helps no one. Customers will blame you and it can feel like a personal attack. Let it go. Take accountability where you can and redirect to resolution.
Overwhelm is your perception, you can choose otherwise. When you do, it’s almost always not as bad as you think.
Failing to make someone feel like you are understanding them is the quickest way to lose customer trust.
Asking for help is just transferring the responsibility from you to someone else. Be responsible and exhaust all resources before placing the onus on someone else to solve your problem. We grateful for the help you do receive
Panicking clouds your judgement and degrades your ability to resolve a problem
Treat people the way you would want to be treated. I feel like this really forgotten in business. We all ask for help sometimes, we all stumble. Give help every chance you can, because you will need to ask for it too.
Take ownership over things that come across your desk, you will build allies this way