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Yeah, it's jsut something I'll have to work on. I tend to get irritated if people fluff to much when they are talking to me. I just want them to get to the point. I just have to keep in mind, that I have to carefully think over my emails to them because they want something different than I do.
If it moves, compile it
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Unfortunately, the world works like this. Sugar coating things up when dealing with customers is needed, and we are not the best ones to do it. I'd suggest you not to worry too much about it, and let the boss handle things like this.
"Real men drive manual transmission" - Rajesh.
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loctrice wrote: Me:
"That is correct, not everything has been updated yet. I'm still working on the one's I got the information for this morning"
"If the unit can't connect to the server, feature X will go away until it regains connection. Once it can connects, it should come back"
"We don't currently have a way to change that from there"
Yes, sorry but we have had a problem with the upgrade, and some pieces did not get through. We are working on it right now and hope to have it fixed as soon as possible.
We are pretty sure that feature X will be OK once your unit can connect to the server again, but can you let us know the result next time you try it?
As to the Y setting, we cannot change it from here unfortunately. But thanks for bringing it to our attention, I'll talk to the boss and see if we cannot do something about that for the future.
I'll let you know as soon as we have everything back on line, but if there's anything else I can help with in the meantime, please give me a call.
As my boss used to say "Tell the customer he/she is the most important person in your life right at this moment".
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Agreed - and if you say "I'll let you know" by preference give a time limit, but definitely do it as soon as you can. Never, ever promise to get back to a customer and don't do it - even if it's a quick call to say "it's taking longer than we thought, can I get back to you tomorrow?"
If you get an email telling you that you can catch Swine Flu from tinned pork then just delete it. It's Spam.
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Spot on - also a great piece of advice given to me some years ago.
tell the customer you will contact them in (say) 35 minutes (or tomorrow morning at 10:15).
Be specific with that time and make sure you absolutely stick with it, even if there is not a snowball's chance of getting whatever fixed by then.
When you contact them, give them an update, even if that is that it is still being worked on, and you will contact them again in (again a specific time).
The customer is happy even if you have don NOTHING on their problem at all.
The point is that, by being specific with the time (i.e. not 'later this afternoon' but 'At 3:25 pm' the time will stick in the customer's head, and they won't be pacing up and down waiting for the call. And when it comes in on time, their perception of you is of someone who is honest.
It may sound cynical - but if you are genuinely working on their issue and can call them at 3:25 pm and tell them that it is fixed, all the better.
The other side of the coin is to try NOT to contact them early if the problem is fixed. If you say you will contact them at 3:25 and call them at 2pm to tell them all is well, while they are happy this time, it can lead to them calling up BEFORE the time you promise in future, in the hope that this issue will be fixed early too.
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Was the customer actually upset about your reply or did your boss just assume so?
Soren Madsen
"When you don't know what you're doing it's best to do it quickly" - Jase #DuckDynasty
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As far as I know they were not actually upset.
If it moves, compile it
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loctrice wrote: so I'll have to work on this.
Why?
Are you going to keep this job for the rest of your life? Do you want to move into full time customer support or professional services? Do you want to be a business analyst?
If no then you might consider focusing on your technical skills rather than your interpersonal ones with the presumption that you will find a job at a company where they hire people as developers and hire other different people for roles that require interactions with customers.
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jschell wrote: Why?
Are you going to keep this job for the rest of your life?
I plan on keeping it for a while at least.
If it moves, compile it
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Sales people tend to criticize us for being blunt, but rarely realize that 'sales-mode' isn't always the appropriate response either. Once you reeled them in, you have to be professional; which means not wasting each others time.
When a customer sends a mail with a few simple questions, he expects you to return simple answers. He doesn't need to hear anymore how much we care about security and how carefully we check the quality of our work before we deploy it. He expects these things to be evident now.
Reading through an entire paragraph of fluff, only to find out that you're not sure when exactly you're going to be finished is a lot more annoying than just telling him that directly in once sentence.
And if the customer isn't a professional, you, as a developer, shouldn't be dealing with him directly in the first place because that's too much of a distraction from your actual work. Your boss should then hire someone who can assist you with these matters.
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0bx wrote: When a customer sends a mail with a few simple questions, he expects you to return simple answers. He doesn't need to hear anymore how much we care about security and how carefully we check the quality of our work before we deploy it. He expects these things to be evident now.
That may be true if you deal with only one or two individuals, but that isn't guaranteed, and each individual needs to be cared for and nurtured.
0bx wrote: Reading through an entire paragraph of fluff, only to find out that you're not sure when exactly you're going to be finished is a lot more annoying than just telling him that directly in once sentence.
It may be so for you, but it is a fact that differently worded replies giving exactly the same news can have drastically different effects on the recipient.
"Mrs. Jones? Your cat is dead."
vs
"Mrs. Jones? I'm awfully sorry to call with bad news, but despite the vet working late into the night, we failed to save poor Pudsy".
0bx wrote: And if the customer isn't a professional, you, as a developer, shouldn't be dealing with him directly in the first place because that's too much of a distraction from your actual work. Your boss should then hire someone who can assist you with these matters.
If only the world was as black and white as you paint it. Without knowing the OP's company, or profession, exactly, they may well be the single technical resource required to do support and development and coffee making. Saying a company should employ someone to deal with 'these matters' is just naive in extremis.
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_Maxxx_ wrote: Saying a company should employ someone to deal with 'these matters' is just naive in extremis.
Off course, it's my opinion of how it 'should' be; how it is in reality is a different matter.
However, this article is based on fairly serious research and tries to give you an estimate how much money is lost by overloading developers with additional responsibilities: http://blog.ninlabs.com/2013/01/programmer-interrupted/[^].
Turns out that it's also pretty naive to expect from a programmer that he can do both programming and play customer support at the same time. You might actually save money if you hire an extra project manager / consultant who doesn't do any coding, but focuses on attending to the customers so everybody else can focus on the programming.
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this is pretty much how I think/feel about it.
If it moves, compile it
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loctrice wrote: putting them off so you can do something else.
Isn't that exactly what you're supposed to do? Answer the question and then get back to coding. If the boss believes in sugarcoating communication with clients, he should place a buffer between the developer and the client, i.e. you give your boss the short answer and then get back to coding while he figures out how to sugarcoat.
Also, I find that I (and I suspect this is true for many programmers) take significantly longer than most people to write an email if it needs to contain any sort of fluff. This makes it doubly bad to let the developer directly answer the client: you waste development time on an answer that your boss and the client is unhappy about anyway.
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I can agree there. It takes me a good deal of time to write an email to a client just because I"m careful about the phrasing of things.
If it moves, compile it
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loctrice wrote: I'll reply on your behalf in case he is still stewing about your email
There is possibly another side to this, and there's a lot that we don't know here, so this could well be way off the mark, but when I read the boss part here, it sounds to me like the client has been on to him and complained. Looking at this from the clients point of view, they could be reading the second paragraph as - "oh, it'll fix itself in its own time".
It's not necessarily that you did anything wrong, and you shouldn't take it that way, but with a lot of these situations, there are egos at the other end who need handling in certain ways. Quite often, a bit of soft soap and flannel is all they need to feel as though they are the most important thing in your world.
One way to word this could have been (off the top of my head):
"You are absolutely right that feature X has disappeared. Unfortunately, this is an unavoidable side effect when we lose the connection to the server; we are looking at ways to prevent this from happening, and will schedule this into our roadmap as we appreciate that this presents a less than ideal experience for yourself."
If I were a particulary fragile ego, the first paragraph could be read as an implied criticism as well (mind you, I'd have to be really fragile to construe it that way). The reason they could misconstrue it is because there's almost a silent "well duh! we can't deliver the upgraded parts that we're still working on."
As always, communications with a client have to really be viewed and reviewed before you send them. In a lot of cases, there's a personal connection between a manager and the client that gives them an insight into how best to talk to them.
One thing I will ask - is there a reason that you didn't phone the client first? I always find that the personal touch helps to make a client feel that they are really valued. This is why I keep notes on all my clients of trivia like their favourite sports, teams, wife and kids names, etc. A minute or so of personal interaction makes it look like you really care.
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You make good points, and well said.
Pete O'Hanlon wrote: is there a reason that you didn't phone the client first?
I've only ever phoned a client when their server was down and I sent them an email with what I needed to get it up and going. After a while with no reply, because it was a service issue (and the boss told me to since there was no reply), I called.
I usually don't even talk to the clients in email. Most of the time the boss does that himself.
If it moves, compile it
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Pete O'Hanlon wrote: This is why I keep notes on all my clients of trivia like their favourite sports, teams, wife and kids names,
My BIL (real estate) used to do that as well. He stopped it when one of his customer accused him of having records about everyone, just after my BIL wished him a happy birthday.
~RaGE();
I think words like 'destiny' are a way of trying to find order where none exists. - Christian Graus
Do not feed the troll ! - Common proverb
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There's an art to it definitely, and you have to keep it subtle. So, saying something like "How's Anne doing? Last time we spoke you said she was worried about an upcoming operation." makes a big difference.
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Good approach. I would buy something from you. Several times.
--
Harvey
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...I've been down with Kung Flu
Why can't I be applicable like John? - Me, April 2011
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Beidh ceol, caint agus craic againn - Seán Bán Breathnach
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Da mihi sis crustum Etruscum cum omnibus in eo!
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Just because a thing is new don’t mean that it’s better - Will Rogers, September 4, 1932
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Glad you didn't get kicked out 
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I was going to make a joke about sluts...
...but it was whoreable.
Why can't I be applicable like John? - Me, April 2011
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Beidh ceol, caint agus craic againn - Seán Bán Breathnach
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Da mihi sis crustum Etruscum cum omnibus in eo!
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Just because a thing is new don’t mean that it’s better - Will Rogers, September 4, 1932
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That's a whorendous joke.
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I'll get my coat... 
Why can't I be applicable like John? - Me, April 2011
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Beidh ceol, caint agus craic againn - Seán Bán Breathnach
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Da mihi sis crustum Etruscum cum omnibus in eo!
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Just because a thing is new don’t mean that it’s better - Will Rogers, September 4, 1932
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Let me ho you the door...
If you get an email telling you that you can catch Swine Flu from tinned pork then just delete it. It's Spam.
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Aw, Slut up! 
Why can't I be applicable like John? - Me, April 2011
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Beidh ceol, caint agus craic againn - Seán Bán Breathnach
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Da mihi sis crustum Etruscum cum omnibus in eo!
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Just because a thing is new don’t mean that it’s better - Will Rogers, September 4, 1932
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Every night I see the same people down at the casino. I'm beginning to think they have a gambling problem! 
------------------------------
Author of Primary ROleplaying SysTem
How do I take my coffee? Black as midnight on a moonless night.
War doesn't determine who's right. War determines who's left.
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For how much?
Why can't I be applicable like John? - Me, April 2011
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Beidh ceol, caint agus craic againn - Seán Bán Breathnach
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Da mihi sis crustum Etruscum cum omnibus in eo!
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Just because a thing is new don’t mean that it’s better - Will Rogers, September 4, 1932
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Nah, don't want that - sound too much like work...
Why can't I be applicable like John? - Me, April 2011
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Beidh ceol, caint agus craic againn - Seán Bán Breathnach
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Da mihi sis crustum Etruscum cum omnibus in eo!
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Just because a thing is new don’t mean that it’s better - Will Rogers, September 4, 1932
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Bet you didn't see that one coming !
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I punted on that answer coming from you 
------------------------------
Author of Primary ROleplaying SysTem
How do I take my coffee? Black as midnight on a moonless night.
War doesn't determine who's right. War determines who's left.
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Just "called" it, so "hit" me.
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Sounds like you've got a chip on your shoulder.
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alea iacta est ... @ the crap table 
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We are fast approaching tumultuous times. With the financial collapse coming get ready for civil unrest.
The Department of Homeland Security is watering at the mouth to round of millions of hardworking innocent Americans struggling to survive.
The brain-dead trendies and zombies will be in a homosexual frenzy of sh*t throwing and name calling. They of course will be permitted to remain in government housing in the ghettos.
Advocates of the Bill of Rights and Constitution will be brutally slaughtered and their children will be sold off the homosexuals.
White males that live in the city will be viciously re-educated. You will serve your black masters. You will cower and buckle at the knees! You will allow them full access to your wife and daughters.
Obamacare will make sure any resisters will be sent to psychiatric facilities for processing. You will be labeled sick with Oppositional Defiance Disorder. Vaccine avoidance will be persecuted with police action.
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All make sense (in your troubled mind). 
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Yup. That is the plot to the unfunniest episode of Family Guy. The only funny bit was when they had to put Brian down because of rabies and it turned out that he was really Peter's clever twin brother.
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BWARCK! BWARCK! BWARCK!
Run, run! The sky is falling in!
Panic, Chaos, Destruction. My work here is done.
Drink. Get drunk. Fall over - P O'H
OK, I will win to day or my name isn't Ethel Crudacre! - DD Ethel Crudacre
I cannot live by bread alone. Bacon and ketchup are needed as well. - Trollslayer
Have a bit more patience with newbies. Of course some of them act dumb - they're often *students*, for heaven's sake - Terry Pratchett
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Here's a new handle suggestion. Broken Record. 'Cause you've been repeating this over and over for too many years to recall.
Chris Meech
I am Canadian. [heard in a local bar]
In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is. [Yogi Berra]
posting about Crystal Reports here is like discussing gay marriage on a catholic church’s website.[Nishant Sivakumar]
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Chris Meech wrote: Here's a new handle suggestion. Broken Record. 'Cause you've been repeating this over and over for too many years to recall.
I was a mainline republican back in the day. Just about everything I talked about is now recognized as fact even by the liberal trendies.
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Henize wrote: I was a mainline republican back in the day
As opposed to now. You just mainline.
Chris Meech
I am Canadian. [heard in a local bar]
In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is. [Yogi Berra]
posting about Crystal Reports here is like discussing gay marriage on a catholic church’s website.[Nishant Sivakumar]
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Luckily I have shares in a company that makes barbed wire and cattle prods - they've just received a major order from FEMA
It's well known that if all the cat videos and porn disappeared from the internet there would be only one site left and it would be called whereareallthecatvideosandporn.com
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Hard to make sense of that garbled mess.
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