Once more unto the breach …

… a well trained “customer service representative” (CSR) – when dealing with a “customer” – will never use the phrase “I’m busy” or “I don’t have time”

first of all the customer doesn’t REALLY care – they are contacting “customer service” because they had a problem, the fact that the occasional individual CSR is new (and learning) or is just incompetent becomes another hurdle to overcome in getting “problem fixed”

the “good customers” will politely wait (because yelling at the CSR ain’t gonna make things happen faster) – but the chances of that customer leaving/switching/never coming back will increase if the “customer service experience” is bad enough

NOW if the “cost of switching” is zero (0) and customer service is “bad” then that means that “customer loyalty” will be non-existent

Business plans

if the “business” in question operates on high volume and low profit margins – then the amount of “customer service” is guaranteed to be “low”

this is by design – think “big box store” – they have low prices, but getting “help” will be a challenge. Which isn’t necessarily a problem – as long as “customer expectations” are still met – i.e. I don’t EXPECT a high level of service when I go to “big box store”

still – CSR’s should be trained to actually be helpful and polite – “helpful and polite” goes a long way (and yes, sometimes the customer IS the problem – still “helpful and polite” is the best option)

BUT the other end of the business plan spectrum is “low volume and high profit margins” — think “luxury brands” – e.g. someone can buy a watch/jewelry at Walmart or Tiffany’s but the “customer expectations” will be totally different

of course at “luxury brand” the CSR to customer ratio might be close to 1:1 – the customer is paying a lot more, so they expect a lot more

Personal Brand Building

THEN somewhere in the middle are folks trying to build an “influencer”/”artist” brand of some kind. Again the terms “I’m busy” or “I don’t have time” aren’t going to be in the competent influencer’s vocabulary.

Well, if the influencer wants to minimize the effort and lower the value of their “personal brand” – then of course tell everyone how busy you are, and that you don’t have time to interact with lowly peons like “fans.” (yes, that is sarcasm)

WHY? well – assuming the customer isn’t a sociopath they will understand the the influencer/artist is “busy” and has time constraints – responding with “I’m busy” gets interpreted as “your concern/request is not important and/or valued” – and “I don’t have time” just comes across as “go away, you’re bothering me”

umm , and if the customer IS a sociopath – well, that is why the modern world is kinda scary sometimes. Be polite, but also be careful …

again, this is from a “business” non-intimate interpersonal communication point of view — if someone you have known for years tells you they are “busy” and can’t do “whatever” it PROBABLY means they respect you enough to be honest – i.e. they ARE busy, and offers to help might be appreciated but aren’t practical

oh, and the “signal to noise” ratio for that hypothetical influencer/artist should heavily favor the “signal” side – i.e. “useful information/entertainment” should heavily outweigh requests to join their various paid subscription options.

STILL “helpful and polite” go a long way.

Yes, there are countless real (and AI generated) artists out there trying to build a personal brand. Well managed “automatic responses” can be extremely useful – but they shouldn’t become a replacement for REAL “customer engagement”

the various “comic cons” become great case studies for real world brand management and “fan engagement” – “fans” are not only willing to stand in line to meet “celebrity” they pay for the privilege of a brief interaction.

The classic example of “fan engagement” is still athletes signing “whatever” for fans – again, folks willing to wait in line for a brief interaction.

BUT in both “comic con” and “athlete autographs” the “brand” has been built by the actor/athletes performances.

If the “brand” is a tree – then “fans” are the fruit of the tree – and “fan engagement” becomes an exercise in meeting expectations.

Oh, and “come see me in person” has been a good business plan since Mark Twain’s time.

Did I have a point?

well, no.

The joke about “agents” is that when they say “trust me” what they mean is “f*** you” – and when “customer management” says “I don’t have time” or “I’m busy” what they mean is “you should go somewhere else where they value your time and business”

’nuff said