A company's relationship with customers defines its future. A customer's interaction with a company forever taints how they perceive that company. To put it lightly, Customer Support is a big deal.

For 1.5 years, I worked for Cadoo (an app where you bet on your ability to reach your fitness goals) in Customer Support/Operations. I was placed to manage Customer Support on my own, so my co-worker could focus more on Operations. We regularly helped each other when needed. Start-ups go through a lot of growing pains and Cadoo was no different. Over and over again I found myself dealing with annoyed users. I quickly learned how to read each conversation and understand the proper response to defuse the situation. I found out how to deal with the pressure of high ticket numbers and app malfunctions. I found out how to connect with each user individually. I created close relationships with users.

The Bible repeatedly calls us to be kind to one another. I've always found that a great rule to live by. In Customer Support, reaching out with kindness and valuing their current situation has been my mission. It can be difficult to continuously uphold but is always worth the effort.

I remember one user reaching out to me about a feature request. I was able to push my team to take action on this feature. After a couple weeks, I messaged that user to let them know progress was being made. When the feature was launched, I messaged them again. This user expressed their appreciation for my follow-ups. I only remembered this user because I made a note in Intercom and snoozed it every week to help me remember to follow up with the engineers. The engineers also did a great job taking action on my follow-ups regarding the feature. I went above and beyond what this user expected by valuing their request. Valuing that specific user and kindly messaging them regarding their message, transitioned that user to a lifelong commitment to the app.

The more practical lesson I learned was to keep my inbox organized. I created an Intercom SOP to remind myself how to deal with different situations. Intercom has quite a few features that can be utilized in the organization of an inbox. I commonly used Notes and Snoozing to ensure that a ticket was properly resolved. Tags are great for keeping track of a widespread issue. Keeping my inbox organized, allowed me to relax and focus on each ticket.

Another lesson I will note is how to handle stress. Cadoo commonly had bugs and issues that the engineers had to work through. After a big launch, we went from Inbox zero to 100 tickets in Unassigned overnight. I buckled down and tackled them. I gathered information and shared it with the engineers. I kept my tickets organized and didn't lose my mind in the process.

Customer Support quality can make or break a company. Not only do you want to maintain good customer relations, but you want to upsell the product. Customer Support is the bridge between the company and the customers.