VI - Stop Referring to Them as Users
We all want to leave our mark on society. I sure do, which is the impetus for posting all this content here on the Relational Tech Mindset. Even if my shared perspectives and actions fail to impact others in spreading global awareness to the broken state of tech support, I am striving to make one change happen…
I want Tech Support Professionals (TSPs) to stop calling those whom they serve “users.”
Some years ago, I heard a pithy maxim:
There are only two areas where people are referred to as users: Those who use computers and those who are drug addicts.
Once I heard this, I immediately stopped referring to my customers as users or end users. I find it to be an undignified way to refer to people whom I’m paid to support. It blurs their identity, as evidenced in the image I selected for this post.
Since then, I have found success with referring to my customers as “clients.” When I call them my client during our support consultation, I witness their posture straighten slightly. I observe tension in their facial expression melt into a calmer, more relaxed state. I might even notice a slight smile, as if they feel acknowledged for being known as a person. When I picture a client in my mind, I see someone in a bespoke suit carrying a briefcase handcuffed to their wrist, hiring an expert to accomplish their mission. Sort of like “The Hire,” a series of short vignettes from BMW Films released back in 2001. Whether my client is on a remote Zoom call with me wearing Hello Kitty pajamas working from home or they are wearing formal attire when I meet with them in person in their office, I treat my clients all the same. They matter, they are seen, they are worthy of my best support.
We must consider the labels we apply to those we serve and those we interact with on a frequent or infrequent basis. When choosing another term like client, customer, or even partner, it changes the support landscape. It elevates the normal transaction of service to a more prestigious status. And wouldn’t we all like to be involved in a higher-level interaction when something goes wrong with our computer?