Bringing the Laughs to Customer Support
Technical Support Specialist Ashlei Holtson shares how she’s using humor in her Support role
Customer Support can be a challenging job, as you’re often tasked with solving problems and serving as the intermediary. As facilitators of corporate trainings and virtual comedy shows, we’re on a mission to prove that a little bit of humor can be valuable in any profession. This week, we talked to Technical Support Specialist Ashlei Holtson about how she utilizes humor in her customer-facing work at Splash.
Check out what Ashlei had to say about the role laughter plays in her day-to-day interactions with clients:
You're frequently interacting with customers, both on the phone and over email. Would you say that having a sense of humor is valuable in this role?
I think that most Support Specialists (and most other roles, as well) tend to shy away from using humor in our professional lives. In the Support realm, there's a fine line between lighthearted humor and a potentially offensive comment, so it's understandable why that hesitation exists!
Do you think humor can be helpful when dealing with escalated support issues in particular?
I find it extremely important to bring levity into the situation. This is to remind me (and the person I'm supporting) that we're all human - and though they're not reaching out just say hi or have a laugh - that the problem they're experiencing with the platform or knowledge hurdle, may not necessarily be the end of the world...Humor, when used properly, can also be a great tool to express empathy and de-escalate a tough situation.
Can you think of a time where you've made a customer laugh in a support interaction?
One example comes to mind, that happened quite recently. It was a Friday afternoon, just a couple of hours away from the end of the day for our team, and a new customer was experiencing the worst mix imaginable for an event marketer: a tight deadline, a high-visibility event, and uh-oh... a broken feature.
This call was a rough one, lemme tell ya - I'm talking full-on-hyperventilation-panic-mode from myself and the customer. However, after some uncomfortable silence, I cracked a joke to help us reset the conversation. The joke wasn't that funny, I'll admit, but it seemed to help her breathe and reassess the situation.
Following our call, we kept in touch to ensure her event and communications went off without a hitch - even resulting in some inside jokes (if she happens to read this, "Houston, we have lift off! "). The whole interaction reminded me that that is why I do what I do - to solve problems, instill confidence in customers, and bring that human element to each interaction.
The tl;dr of it is simply this: when you can, and where it's appropriate, a little laughter can help provide a stellar customer experience.
Want to get a sales professional’s take on the power of humor in their industry? Check out Bringing the Laughs to Sales!
Interested in bringing more laughter to your team? We offer corporate comedy shows and improv workshops designed to get your workplace laughing. Contact our team here!