Kill Them With Kindness

“Thank you so much, Leah! You’re the BEST. Keep up the good work.”

“Leah is always here when I need her. She’s so kind and helpful. Thanks, Leah. You’re wonderful. Keep up the good work.”

“I’m a patient guy. And you look so kind and nice, I could wait for ages!”

Yes, I’ve only been working in Customer Success for two weeks. Yes, these are a couple of things app users have sent to me…. But don’t be fooled. It’s not all butterflies and roses. 

I’ve conversed with frustrated users as well. People who blame me for the bug they are dealing with or the inconvenience they are experiencing. When it comes to every user I talk to, my goal is to always “Kill them with kindness”. That saying is often used when you are being treated wrongly. You “kill them with kindness” when you are overly kind to people who aren’t kind to you. 

In Customer Success, you need to be over-the-top kind. 

• Apologize for the inconvenience or confusion this issue might have caused. 
• Be friendly at every turn. A smiley face can go a long way in connecting with a customer. Showing them they are talking to a real person. 
• Be real with them. You can be open about the situation at hand. You can tell them why the bug they are dealing with hasn’t been solved yet. If a customer understands the circumstance, they are less likely to be frustrated.
• Set the mood. If you are setting an “I’m truly here to help” mood, that can help a customer feel at ease. Make sure they know that no matter what, you will take care of them. 

(P.S. These principles don’t just apply to customer success. If you are kind to your co-workers, boss, business partners, it can drastically change those relationships for the better.)

Not all customers will react the way you think they should. They won’t always be friendly or patient in return. I had a customer who acted like I was the one who made an error. I didn’t take it personally, because the person didn’t know me. They don’t know the people I work with. We are humans dealing with complicated tech and trying to create a successful business. 

Here is where I “killed with kindness”. I apologized for the confusion. I refunded him. I was honest and told him we are humans that make mistakes. If an issue ever comes up, we do what we can to make it right. The user didn’t show me kindness. I treated the user with the same kindness I’d treat someone who was sending me kissy face emojis. (Yes, I do get those.)

If you are consistently kind, it should provide no reason for the customer to be mad at you personally. You can be the middle ground. You can support, encourage, and assure them that the issue is being addressed. You want the issue to be solved just as badly as they do.

The Power Of Action

Actions speak louder than words. I believe we all live by this phrase. It’s one thing to say something. Acting on it is what really makes the difference. This applies to all aspects of life. 

This past week, I learned how important it is to act. When you say you will do something, do it. It’s amazing how much that says about your reliability and personality. Not only that, but action also applies in the perspective of learning something by doing it. My training this week has been mostly showing me what to do, then guiding me while I’m doing it. Actions speak louder than words can be processed in two different lights. I have learned that both are true this week. 

In my first week of work, I have been trained in the Customer Success side of my job. I have asked my team member questions and answered user’s questions. My team member was sick for a while, so I doubled down. I tried to cover as many bases as I could and ask straight forward questions. I have focused on organizing my day and creating a strict schedule. I am working on how to communicate and to whom. 

I attended Randy Hill’s Praxis Monday and it was about her career journey. I enjoyed her honesty about how, even with so much experience, she is still “figuring it out” and doesn’t know what she wants to do when she grows up. It’s so easy to think that once you get your goal, it will all work out. Life keeps going and it will never become easy or straight forward. It gives me more confidence that where I’m at right now, is a great place to be. I shouldn’t compare myself to anyone just because I think their life is easier. 

Week 4 – Documentation

This post is part of my month-long project. Check out my first week update here, my second week here, and my third week here! The project I am building is a digital brain for a quilt shop called The Quilted Windmill. I am creating a digital space where they can store information, procedures, and systems. My goal for this project is to:

• Help the owner to manage her business and customers
• Help current and new employees get information and maintain consistency

This month I am going to be:

• Gathering and organizing information
• Creating an easy to manage system
• Managing a large project
• Building a system that can be added to overtime
• Documenting my work 

What Have I Done This Week?

This week I focused on my documentation. I created a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for my project and a landing page. 

My outline for the SOP consists of a:

• Project intro
• How to this digital brain is a solution to the company’s problems
• How to use the system and all its pages
• General Notion functions

I also created a landing page for this month-long project. It consists of every weekly update and an in-depth overview of my project. Click the link at the bottom of this page if you’d like to see that.

What Did I Do Well?

• I organized each task clearly. I laid out outlines of tasks and what I needed to write. This helped me to avoid writer’s block.
• I was detailed with my SOP and covered everything an employee would need to know to run the system. 
• I did well on staying motivated. I pushed to make creativity strike and be able to write with energy.

What Could Be Improved?

One of my main goals in the project was to be ahead of schedule. I wanted to finish this project with a clear understanding of what worked for me and what didn’t. I accomplished this. I never truly felt ahead but I learned what doesn’t work. For example, I tend to bog myself down and not take breaks. I’ve worked to implement breaks into my everyday and it’s greatly improved my workflow. I hope to implement what I have learned throughout the course of this project in the future. 

Now what?

Would you like to see my project overview and closing thoughts?

Check out my landing page here!

Week 3 – Adding System Pages

Week three of my month-long project. Check out my first week update here and my second week here! The project I am building is a digital brain for a quilt shop called The Quilted Windmill. I am creating a digital space where they can store information, procedures, and systems. My goal for this project is to:

• Help the owner to manage her business and customers
• Help current and new employees get information and maintain consistency

This month I am going to be:

• Gathering and organizing information
• Creating an easy to manage system
• Managing a large project
• Building a system that can be added to overtime
• Documenting my work 

What Have I Done This Week?

This week I worked on the other pages of my project. I created an: 

• Product Requests Page
• Block Of The Month Spreadsheet Page
• Employee Hours page

First, I built a Product Requests page. The Quilted Windmill gets new products in all the time. They get customers who want a specific product to be held for them when it comes in and specific product requests. 

I made a table with the information necessary to store these requests. The Quilted Windmill currently has these requests in a folder. This information on a digital brain would be easier to manage and use. An employee can:

• Quickly type in the information for a customer
• Lookup a keyword or name when a product comes in. This will make finding a product request easier and faster.

The next page I created is the Employee Hours page. The current system is pieces of paper that the employees write their hours down on. I created a table where the employees can easily type in their hours and the owner can mark what is paid or not. The hours can be kept or discarded after they are paid. These pages are flexible and easy to adjust to whatever the owner needs. 

The final page I build is the Block Of The Month (BOM) page. The BOM is an event where a customer signs up to receive a block of a quilt every month for a year. At the end of the year, the quilt is completed. The current system is on paper and is not easy to adjust. I created this page so that the customer information can be easily stored and maintained. This also allows for sections to be added or removed. 

What Did I Do Well?

• I focused on making the system easy to use. I did this by making the tables clear in their uses. Notion makes the columns easy to change and sort. 
• I thought of and executed the different pages. I chose systems that would operate better in a digital brain and applied them to this project. 
• I organized my thoughts for these systems and laid out my plan.

What Could Be Improved?

The time management battle continues to wage. I miscalculated my productivity. Next week, I’m going to use the Pomodoro method. The Pomodoro method is focusing for twenty-five minutes and then taking a five minute break. I am going to do this to help me stay on top of my focus time and not split it up into small sections. I am also going to do the most intimidating task first. 

What I’ll Be Doing Next Week 

Next week I’ll be focusing on:

• Putting the finishing touches on my project
• Documenting my progress
• Posting my progress to my advisors
• Updating and finishing the SOP
• Updating and finishing my landing page
• Week 4 update post!

Check out my full project here!

Week 2 – Creating A Digital Brain

This is the second week I am working on this month-long project. If you are new, check out my first week update here! The project I am building is a second brain for a quilt shop called The Quilted Windmill. I am creating a digital space where they can store information, procedures, and systems. My goal for this project is to:

• Help the owner to manage her business and customers
• Help current and new employees get information and maintain consistency

This month I am going to be:

• Gathering and organizing information
• Creating an easy to manage system
• Managing a large project
• Building a system that can be added to overtime
• Documenting my work 

What Have I Done This Week?

This week I focused on the main page of my project. 

The Steps/Info Board’s purpose is for:

• Step by step procedures on various tasks
• Answers to the common employee or customer questions
• Tips on how to solve situations that might arise
• Information an employee might need including other employee contact info

I brainstormed on what aspects of the business I could add as sub-pages. I listed all the categories and began to add information that I knew. I understand this business’s system and know how to add inventory so I created a step-by-step list for how to add inventory. 

The beauty of this project is that I don’t have to know everything. It can be added to overtime. New questions, procedures, and information can be added, and grow with the company. 

Along with this sub-page, I added Toggle to the other sub-pages with questions that could come up and procedures that could be listed. 

I made a walkthrough video explaining how I managed this project.

What Did I Do Well?

• I was sure to be specific with the categories I thought to add. 
• I pushed to cover various bases to demonstrate what this digital brain can do for the owner. 
• I was specific with the due dates in my project management system. 
• I kept on top of my time management with my Trello project management. 

What Could Be Improved?

I had a lot of other things going on this past week. It took more of my work time than I anticipated. Next week, I am going to give track practice, meals, and events more time in my schedule. I’ve underestimated how long those tasks take to complete. If I block more time for those, I can accurately plan my work week. 

What I’ll Be Doing Next Week 

Next week I’ll be focusing on:

• Creating pages for current processes that are kept on paper
• Customizing the templates to fit the process
• Documenting my progress
• Posting my progress
• Updating the SOP for the system I’m building
• Updating my landing page
• Week 3 update post!

Check out my full project here!

Week 1 – Project Planning

This month, I am going to be tackling an Operations project for a quilt shop called The Quilted Windmill. This is my week one update of this month-long project. 

In this small business, like most small businesses, everything is institutional knowledge. The owner and employees have all the procedures and systems in their brains. New employees have to be trained to do the same. When an employee leaves, they take information with them. 

This is a difficult truth when a new system is added. Consistency is lost because employees have to rely on themselves to remember. They also have systems on paper that would be easier to manage online. They need somewhere to keep information, systems, and procedures. A place to keep things consistent no matter the employee’s knowledge. That’s what I am going to build. 

This month I am going to be:

• Gathering and organizing information
• Creating an easy to manage system
• Managing a large project
• Building a system that can be added to overtime
• Documenting my work 

What Have I Done This Week?

This week I laid out my plan for my project. I planned what I needed to do each week of this month. I chose Trello as my project management system. I’ll be doing a walkthrough video on that next week. 

I talked to the owner of the quilt shop. I wanted to see if this management system is something that would really solve problems and add value to the business. She agreed that it would be beneficial. I created a landing page for this project and started documenting my progress!

What Did I Do Well?

I was very thorough with the steps I need to complete each week. Using Trello, I added checklists within the tasks to clearly pave the way for this project. I talked to the owner of The Quilted Windmill. I stated what problems I wanted to solve and what system I wanted to use to solve them. It was beneficial to see what elements I thought were needed and which ones weren’t. I can now make adjustments accordingly. 

What Could Be Improved?

The due dates on my project management are vague. This next week, I am going to be more specific with when I want tasks completed. 

What I’ll Be Doing Next Week 

Next week I’ll be focusing on:

• Brainstorming any new sub-pages
• Adding steps and answers to those sub-pages
• Documenting my progress
• Making a Trello project management walkthrough video
• Posting my progress
• Updating the SOP for the system I’m building
• Updating my landing page
• Week 2 update post!

Want to see my full project? Check out my landing page here!