Support Driven Highlights: How to help your teams with emotional burnout?
Hey, Support Driven Community. 👋🏻
We’re starting to highlight some questions and answers you’ve all shared via Slack on our blog. We want to showcase your unique perspectives beyond just Slack.
If you’re not familiar with our Slack community, it’s full of 8,000+ members who care about customer support. We ask for advice, share our expertise, and have fun virtually connecting.
Let's get into this week's highlights.
Got a philosophical question for you. Should the first customer success hire in a startup also be very familiar with the industry the startup’s customers are in?
"So, probably biased as being the first CS hire at a startup. I think it depends on the sector. Overall I lean towards no, as most customers in niche sectors are pretty open to explaining how their sector specifically works and in general, anyone can learn sector specific information. That being said, it definitely helps in more technically complex sectors where CS takes on more of a consulting role."
- Natalie Petruch-Trent, Technical Account Manager at Pandium
"I would strongly recommend “yes” being in a very industry specific software UNLESS you have the resources to provide internal enablement and training to get them up to speed on the industry to the point of being expert.
Customers expect you to speak their language and deliver best practices for their workflow. If you don’t know the language and their workflow, how can you help them use the software to achieve great results for them?"
- Mo McKibbin, Head of Customer Success at Moxion
"I’d say it depends what the expectations are in the beginning. This person will need time to get to know the customers and how they use the product. Will you be able to allow them 30=60 days to aggressively pursue that? If not, I’d say it helps to have that familiarity."
- Coleen Bachi, Director of Customer Support at Hotjar
Hi! Random question but curious to know - Which is your favorite company when it comes to delivering a great customer experience? and why?
"Patagonia has delighted and gone above and beyond in the customer experience realm. Catbird NYC also is holding it down! Patagonia has taken back a down jacket a 3-year old had taken scissors to and repaired flawlessly for free (shipping included), no questions asked! They also have been vocal about giving employees time off to vote, and encouraging customers to engage in that civic duty in a kind and caring way. CatbirdNYC delights with every shipment: with thoughtful extras, hand-signed packing slips, and making gifts special, even with the smallest ticket item in their shop."
-Lauren Eimers, Support Lead at Big Cartel
"Chewy has been awesome. I often have foster kittens, and occasionally I'll order something that has an issue (like, a torn bag of cat litter, or a cat food that the kittens won't eat). Chewy will refund where necessary, and tell me to keep the unwanted product or donate it to a local shelter."
- Reba Mitchell, Senior Support at LevelUp
"While I never used it, the whole Zappos.com "Customer Service for Anything" thing they did last year was great. I thought it was an awesome idea and went well with their history of good service. https://www.simplemost.com/zappos-launched-anything-customer-service-hotline-coronavirus/"
- Community Member
Does anyone have any suggestions for how to help your teams with emotional burnout? There was recently a lot of vitriol in our community of users, and I'm working to find ways to provide relief for my agents. We do have a monthly therapy benefit, but looking for additional offerings as well!
"This was obviously easier when you could be in person, but would an hour or two of a group activity that's fun be feasible for you? We did a virtual escape the room recently, for example. Just thinking that in addition to direct coping mechanisms maybe a bit of breathing room and a break?
If people wouldn't be embarrassed to do yoga and/or meditation live together on camera, that could be nice, but depends a lot on the team."
- Heather Merrick, Director of Customer Support at Airtime
"Podcast suggestions to share:
Gratitude for the little things How to make time for happiness Be better at supporting friends who are depressed Why do neuroscientists love running?"
- Community Member
See you next week with another roundup of Q&A highlights! If you’re not already part of the Support Driven Slack community, join here.
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