Question Of The Week
Question: "I've noticed more and more websites offer live "chat." Additionally, I'm a Remote Technical Support customer and I often type back and forth with you when I log in. Are there any "rules" for chat I should know?" Answer: If you've ever used software on your computer where you and another person communicated by typing back and forth in real time, the process you used is called "chat." If, like the customer who asked this question, you are a Remote Technical Support customer, whenever you log into Remote a chat window appears. You can type to us and we can type back. This is true with many websites which now offer a chat option. (By the way, not all website chat is live; on some sites, you can actually "chat" with a computer!) Our own technical support webpages have a chat option.
If you're not real familiar with chat, you should know that there are some "rules." This is especially true if you are chatting with a technician. Here is a list of the top 7 rules which we suggest you follow:
1) Don't worry about spelling! As an English major in college, this goes against my grain. However, a chat session is really designed to save time - your time and the time of the person with whom you're chatting. Because of the fast nature of chat, spelling errors often occur. Don't waste time by going back and fixing obvious spelling errors. (If you typed "I can't seem t get to my emil" the technician on the other end will know you meant to type "I can't seem to get to my email.") If you go back to fix spelling errors, you're only going to transform something that should have taken a couple of minutes into a long, drawn out affair! Plus, if it's a technician on the other end of the chat, you're going to frustrate the heck out of him or her!
2) Don't type in all caps! TYPING IN ALL CAPS IS CONSIDERED SHOUTING! Use caps sparingly, simply as a means of emphasizing a particular word or phrase.
3) If you've asked a question, don't start typing another question until the person on the other end has responded! Speaking as a technician who chats all the time, I can promise you that there are few things more frustrating in chat than when someone starts typing a second question while I'm still answering the first one!
4) Don't change subjects! Let's say you're chatting with a technician and you have two or three problems with your computer or with the product/service you purchased from the website. While it's okay to list the three problems at the beginning of your chat, don't switch back and forth, stick with one problem (i.e., subject) until that one is resolved and then move on to the next.
5) Don't do other things on your computer while you're chatting! Don't make the person on the other end of your chat wait for you because you stopped chatting and started reading email, etc.
6) If your chat is technical in nature, explain your problem in broad terms! "Internet Explorer tells me it can't display the website." is a description in broad terms; "Internet Explorer tells me it can't display the website and I should troubleshoot the problem by 1) checking my Internet connection; 2) clicking on 'Troubleshoot;" 3) etc., etc., etc." You are probably not the first person to have the problem you're having and the technician on the other end of your chat probably knows the "can't display" message word for word without even looking at it. Again, since the idea of chat is to save time, describe your problem broadly and let the person helping you ask more specific questions, if he or she needs more information.
7) Be pleasant to the person in chat, even if you're upset! Most likely, the person trying to help you is not the person who caused your pain. Remember, too, one of the disadvantages of live chat is you can't hear each other so something typed might be misunderstood. Here's an example from one of the best motivators in the business - Zig Ziglar. Read the following sentence: "I did not say he beat his wife." A simple eight word sentence which can have eight different meanings depending on which word(s) you emphasize. (Try it right now. Speak the sentence aloud several times, emphasizing one word or the other. You'll see how the meaning completely changes.)
In conclusion Chat on websites is a great time-saver. You can often get an immediate response to your question and/or problem. Follow these seven rules and your chat experience will be even better!
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