Thank you Linden Labs

[Bethany Allardyce]

Today, a friend of mine told me that her account was compromised.  She also told me she received an email from Linden Labs that informed her that her account was locked by them because of 'suspicious activity'.  With Linden Labs' help she recovered her account.  I was surprised at the actions of Linden Labs for taking such care and concern for one of the residents in this beautiful realm called Second Life.  Thank yoy Linden Labs for being proactive in protecting my friend.  You are super!

THANK YOU!

[Zsigmond Alcott]

Over the years I have put in tickets for various things even things like missing parts on buildings in a info hub and they always took care of it. The Lindens get a bad rep sometimes but honestly they do the best they can and I never had an issue with them when I had a concern or problem.  

[Gator Peterman]

Been renting land from LL for 10 years now. Never had a problem with them. They always responded, always tried to solve it and always in a polite way.

May be I was just lucky, but I think it helps a lot how you approach them.

[Skell Dagger]

33 minutes ago, Gator Peterman said:

I think it helps a lot how you approach them.

This.

The approach you make when asking for help can be absolutely key to the help you receive. Even with a large organisation, where you would expect a certain level of service and support, the people giving that support are more likely to go the extra mile for you - over and above what's expected of them by their job - if your initial approach is pleasant, courteous, concise, and offers upfront all the information they need in order to help you.

The old adage about catching more flies with honey than with vinegar really does apply when it comes to support. Consider the OP's post, and how it could have been worded by two different people, and then consider that you're the person whose desk their issue has landed on:

Person 1:

Hi there. I think my account may have been compromised. I received an email from you on [date] informing me that [avatar name]'s account was locked for 'suspicious activity'. I'd like to get this fixed as soon as possible, so could you please let me know how to proceed with doing that?

Many thanks,

[Name]

Person 2:

WTF? Why is my account locked? Fix it! NOW!

Linden Lab most likely works on an 'as they come' basis for support requests, but I know whose request I would feel like prioritising.

Like many people, I've worked my fair share of crappy retail jobs in the past, and - while I always gave a good level of service - I would go above and beyond for people who didn't treat me like some kind of uneducated (ironic, since I was working to pay my way through university at the time) second-class citizen. I have always treated others with the same courtesy whenever I've needed support for something, and I've rarely received anything but excellent levels of support.

[Madelaine McMasters]

47 minutes ago, Gator Peterman said:

I think it helps a lot how you approach them.

 

7 minutes ago, Skell Dagger said:

The approach you make when asking for help can be absolutely key to the help you receive.

Absolutely. I often tell the story of how my old neighbor (and emergency backup mom) and I see the world so differently. She's always complaining about the poor service she gets from local retailers. If they don't please her, she lets them know. Problem is, she sees flaws in everything. I shop at the same stores and have great fun. I'm terrible with names, but I do my best to remember the regular employees at my favorite stores. If they're wearing a name tag, I always address them by name. I love to tease, and that sometimes results in a tiny chat at checkout. The next time I see them, I'll work in what I learned from our last little chat to tease them again. Sometimes it takes a while to warm up the shy ones, but I don't think I've had a failure yet. And the best, the absolute best, is when I walk into a place and someone starts to tease me.

Years ago I did a lot of business with a mail order electronics supply house. I was always placing my orders just minutes before the shipping cutoff. And I was always making a mistakes because I was rushing. So I'd have to call their 800 number, apologize and ask if they could make a change. One day, I placed an order and shortly after called in to make a change. The first words from the other end were not "Hello, this is Digi-Key, how may we help you?", they were "Ms. McMasters, we've been waiting for your call. What did you forget now?". My response was (mixed with laughter) "You've got my business forever, did you know that?" His response was "Sure, who else will put up with you?".

LL's folks are no different. We shouldn't treat them well for the purpose of getting better service, but simply because treating people well is the right thing to do. I will admit that cable companies skate darn close to the line, but even there I'm (usually) able to behave.

Life is short, make the best of it.

;-).

[Skell Dagger]

@Madelaine McMasters I guarantee that you're probably one of their favourite customers, too. You'd have been one of mine when I worked retail! Sadly, it seems to always be the abusive customers that one remembers at the end of a long working day. I've seen young checkout girls reduced to tears by some idiot who needed to verbally harangue someone just to feel macho for the day.

I've long advocated that there should be a mandatory Customer Service Draft (kind of like National Service in the UK, decades ago). If everyone had to stand or sit at a checkout for eight hours a day, or answer support calls for the same amount of time, and experience the levels of abuse that many retail and customer service workers receive, for - let's say - a minimum of six months, the world would slowly become a more pleasant place.

[Madelaine McMasters]

It's easy to think that people who work for corporations are as stupid as the corporations. That's rarely true. It usually takes the combined effort of many smart people to be that stupid. Once you drill through the hierarchy, you find gold.

And that gives me yet another chance to post this...

Edited May 18, 2017 by Madelaine McMasters

[LittleMe Jewell]

46 minutes ago, Madelaine McMasters said:

I will admit that cable companies skate darn close to the line, but even there I'm (usually) able to behave.

Dealing with the cable company and the phone company truly push my limits. I seldom ever have issues with other customer service.

[Madelaine McMasters]

10 minutes ago, LittleMe Jewell said:

Dealing with the cable company and the phone company truly push my limits. I seldom ever have issues with other customer service.

Yep. I do get peeved at their endless attempts to up-sell me or explain away a price increase. When I'm feeling particularly snarky, I might say something like "You've really done a lovely job putting lipstick on that pig, but I'm not buying it. I hope Time Warner gives you a nice pony to sell some day."

I think I've avoided offending people with that method.

I think.

 

Edited May 18, 2017 by Madelaine McMasters

[Deltango Vale]

There are two types of Lindens: those who live in an ivory tower and generally make people's lives miserable (the Board of Directors and senior management) and those on the ground who provide excellent customer service (a special thanks to Guy and Dee for many years of quality customer care). I've never been refused a restart of a mainland sim via Live Chat. Billing issues were sorted out quickly.

[arton Rotaru]

It's Linden Lab, without a trailing S. Sorry, but it had to be said. By Labs I think more of this.

 

[Madelaine McMasters]

2 minutes ago, arton Rotaru said:

It's Linden Lab, without a trailing S. Sorry, but it had to be said. By Labs I think more of this.

 

I need flammable water!!!

These are the Linden Labs I had in mind...

[arton Rotaru]

Awwww cuties.

[CheriColette]

On 2017-5-18 at 11:28 PM, Gator Peterman said:

Been renting land from LL for 10 years now.

I know where you live  

[Aislin Ceawlin]

It seems that no matter the business, this really does apply. Imagine that you're a nurse in a sub acute facility, (patients post hip replacement, other ills that aren't quite bad enough to remain hospitalized (according to the insurance companies), but still requiring skilled nursing services). Now imagine that you are in the middle of a 12-16 hour shift and they have once again staffed your unit abysmally, it's you (the ONE nurse to 30 or more patients) and one nurses aide. You have two patients requiring your assistance, Patient A "Omg, honey, I see you are terribly understaffed, and really stretched to your limit.I'm really sorry, but when you get a minute to breathe, could you please bring me ice water/pain pill/bed pan/extra pillow (whatever)" Patient B "YOU PEOPLE ARE JUST AWFUL, I'M REPORTING YOU FOR TAKING TOO LONG TO ANSWER MY CALL LIGHT (probably all of 5 minutes) I NEED MY (whatever) RIGHT NOW!!! (blah blah blah)" Which do you think we will go out of our way to do our best for? 

Edited May 20, 2017 by Aislin Ceawlin