Yesterday, I remembered an old blog entry that helps to emphasise the importance of communication in Technical Support.

Sometimes you're on the phone with somebody and you suspect that the problem is something as simple as forgetting to plug it in, or that the cable was plugged into the wrong port. This is easy to do with those PS/2 connectors that fit both a keyboard and a mouse plug, or with network cables that can fit both into the upstream and downstream ports on a router.

Here's the trick: Don't ask "Are you sure it's plugged in correctly?"

If you do this, they will get all insulted and say indignantly, "Of course it is! Do I look like an idiot?" without actually checking.

Instead, say "Okay, sometimes the connection gets a little dusty and the connection gets weak. Could you unplug the connector, blow into it to get the dust out, then plug it back in?"

It is simple really, but you really have to be quite smart to recognize these opportunities and be quick enough to react so that your response still seems natural. Excellent communication can turn that ranting miserable old git of a customer into your best friend and makes the customer happier and your job fair more enjoyable.

The full blog entry can be found at Raymond Chens "Blow the dust out of the connector" entry on The Old New Thing blog.