By AJ Hall

YNOT EUROPE – Running a software company that provides technical support has taught me more about customer service than I ever wanted to know. When it comes to getting good service, the way customers approach things often can make all the difference.

Here are five simple tips you can use to get better service. You might even find other people actually seem to want to help you!

Tip 1: Be calm
Put your feelings aside. It’s much easier for service reps and support techs to solve problems when the person they’re helping is calm. The best thing you can do is calmly, briefly explain your problem and ask for help.

Tip 2: If you can’t be calm, apologize
It may sound crazy, but if you can’t be calm, apologize to the other person before explaining your problem. Try saying “I’m sorry I’m taking things out on you. I’m just extremely frustrated.” Then politely ask for their help with whatever you need. This approach works wonders.

Tip 3: Be friendly and polite
Elevated X handles product support tickets daily from our adult CMS customers, and while most customers are pleasant, few people approach us in a friendly manner. Those that do always stand out.

Support people deal with negativity all day. They might hear just one compliment for every 100 complaints.

A friendly customer always stands out in contrast to the other 99 percent. Saying “please” or adding “have a good weekend” at the end of an email goes a long way to soften your complaint and make you stand out in a good way.

Tip 4: Help them help you
Provide information when a tech or support site form asks for it. It’s tempting to enter “N/A” or “you have it on file,” but it takes only a few seconds to enter your info. Providing information means you’ll get help that much faster.

Ask for help as soon as you realize you need it instead of overloading support staff with a bunch of issues at once. If you wait until you’ve compiled a long list of problems and then dump the list on someone, don’t expect them to respond with unbridled joy. The easier you make it for support staff to help you, the more likely you are to get good service.

Tip 5: Show your appreciation
It’s natural to want to help people we like. Whether you’re receiving free or paid support, remember to show some appreciation. Simply saying “Thanks for all your help” or telling the technician when he or she is doing a good job goes a long way. Out of the last 100 calls or emails a support tech handled, yours might be the only to voice any appreciation. And you’ll be remembered for it.

AJ Hall is a 12-year adult industry veteran and the co-founder and chief executive officer of Elevated X Inc., a provider of popular adult CMS software for the online adult entertainment industry. Hall has spoken at industry trade shows and is a contributing writer for several trade publications. Elevated X powers more than 2,000 leading adult sites, has been nominated for industry awards six times and won the 2012 XBIZ Award for Software Company of the Year.