I worked at a nonprofit organization that specialized in short public service announcements to inform people of endangered species. If there was one thing I learned from that experience, it was this:
“It’s almost never about the issue itself. It’s about how we make people feel about the issue.”
Like any great ad-man, my CEO was brilliant at pulling on emotional heartstrings. It’s almost impossible to satisfy everyone’s needs. It is possible to change how someone “feels” about an issue, even if it is only for a few monumental seconds.
Brilliant customer support beats in a similar cadence. Periods of interaction with any given customer come in short bursts. We have a limited amount of time to not only resolve issues, but to also leave lasting impressions and emotions. If you make an effort to make customers happy, with short bursts of joy, even if we are not able to help them 100% of the time, they will remember you for those experiences.
The truth is, customers won’t remember what problems you’ve resolved for them. They will remember the way you made them feel. Focus on creating positive emotions and on yanking on those heartstrings!