error – Stopped by the Train

Be nice

Received a reminder from the universe this morning . . . that a little goodwill goes a long ways to diffusing short tempers. I went on Flickr, and saw this error message screen. Delivering bad news with a bit of a smile goes a long ways towards good customer service. I wrote about this about 18 months ago, following the receipt of a similar message from Blogger. It bears repeating — when we have something to say (whether it’s on the circ desk or online) that has the potential to be disappointing, do it with good humor. And promise (as Flickr does) that “we’re looking into the problem right now.”

Flickr error screen 26 March 2008, Hold your clicks a moment please. Flickr has the hiccips. We’re looking into the problem right now.

Let ’em down with a smile

“It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it” — a really good thing to remember when we’re thinking about customer service. I pulled up Bloglines earlier this evening to find out what’s buzzing in the blogosphere, and though not successful (at least for a while), I couldn’t help but smile at the resulting screen below. Although we try really hard not to say no, sometimes it’s unavoidable. Finding a way to say it good-naturedly and leaving them smiling is certainly a good goal to reach for.