Response Time: Vol. 1
You satisfy your customers, but can you satisfy our curiosity?
With Erin Narvaez, Senior Manager, Customer Support, at Frame.io.
Please tell us a little bit about your company and what you do there.
I am the Senior Manager of Customer Support at Frame.io. Frame.io is a video review and collaboration platform that lets you share media, track feedback, and streamline your workflow so your team can work closely together from anywhere in the world.
Which celebrity would be really great at your job, and why?
Probably Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson because he’s so kind, funny, and charismatic. But also, look at him – he knows how to get stuff done! He has my vote, haha.
What’s the most valuable thing that working in customer service has taught you?
Perspective is everything. The way you look at something may not be how someone else views it, and that’s okay. Their perspective isn’t invalid simply because it isn’t yours. For you, it may be the 90th time you’re seeing something in the queue, but for that customer, it’s the first time they’re experiencing something that’s impacting them – you have to meet people where they’re at.
“Getting things checked off your list shouldn’t be a soul suck – it should energize you”
What’s your greatest productivity hack?
Make it fun. Getting things checked off your list shouldn’t be a soul suck – it should energize you. Try your best to take the work you’re given and inject a bit of you into it, even if it’s hard in the moment! I love putting my own twists on presentations or dashboards that would otherwise be less appealing to work on by ensuring I’m proud of what I’m presenting because I’m invested.
What’s the worst customer service you’ve ever experienced?
I recently got engaged and a friend of mine sent me a gift, but there was no gift message attached to it (accidentally). I reached out to the company to ask if they could maybe tell me who sent it so that I could thank them, but the company told me that due to security reasons, they weren’t able to – which was completely fine and I was appreciative that they were considering my friend’s personal information, however, their tone was super unpleasant.
“Tonality is everything, and making your customers or users feel like they’re doing something wrong by reaching out is the opposite experience you should want them to have”
They told me (direct quote), “Unfortunately, you’re going to need to guess the name of the sender yourself because we can’t help with that,” and it just made me feel like I was doing something wrong. A huge lesson that tonality is everything, and making your customers or users feel like they’re doing something wrong by reaching out is the opposite experience you should want them to have with your company.
Is a burger a sandwich?
No.
What’s the strangest thing a customer has asked you?
When I lived in NYC, a customer noticed that I had a theater reference in my Intercom bio and asked if we could go see a show together. It was kind, but also… no. Unless it was front row for “Hamilton” 😊
What can you do that a bot will never be able to replicate?
Connect and empathize with my users on a human level.
What do you doodle when you’re on video calls?
Flowers or my niece’s name over and over. I’m “that” aunt!
“Customer service can feel like a thankless job, but you should be incredibly proud that you get to be the person people connect with at your company and beyond. It’s a very special role”
What’s the one piece of advice you would give to your peers in the customer service industry?
Know who you are and let it fill up the room. You deserve to be in every meeting and included in every decision about your customers and whatever impacts them. Customer service can feel like a thankless job, but you should be incredibly proud that you get to be the person people connect with at your company and beyond. It’s a very special role.
What book are you reading at the moment?
Atomic Habits by James Clear. We’re reading it as a Support team!
Where do you get your support leadership news?
Support Driven, LinkedIn, and friends who are also in the industry.
What words make your skin crawl?
“Please advise.”
How would you explain your job to an alien?
I help lead a team of geniuses who help people who are confused.
What’s your most used emoji in customer chats?
“🤩” because we’ve adopted it as our team’s mascot.
Do you identify more with the title “customer support,” customer service,” “customer success,” or “customer experience,” and why?
Customer support, because we are supporting the users who run into technical issues with our product.
What was your “15 minutes of fame” moment?
I got silver in a powerlifting competition last year. That was more like five minutes of fame though! Haha!
“We love doing what we do and genuinely want you to have an incredible experience”
What do you wish people knew about working in customer service?
That we want to help you! We love doing what we do and genuinely want you to have an incredible experience. A lot of times, users or customers can come in hot and think we are their enemy, but we absolutely aren’t. We’re customer advocates and we’ll do everything we can to help you, so it’s always best to lead with kindness.
Conversation closed… for now 😏
