October 12, 2020

October 12, 2020 | Jessica Eagan | Senior Marketing Operations Specialist

Someone recently reminded me that way back in 2014, I published a fun post called “Solving Customer Issues from Unusual Places.” I highlighted the commitment of our Account Support Leads (ASLs), who are the first-line responders for our customers’ support requests. At that time, I learned how dedicated our ASLs are to customer satisfaction. So much so that rather than deferring to backup resources, they handle tickets from a wedding, mud race, or softball tournament.  The stories were inspiring! 

Flash Forward to 2020 

What I never expected was that six years later, “unusual places” would become more – not less – normal. As the pandemic continues, and our locations are temporarily closed or capped at half capacity, the ASLs are now solving issues from literally every place other than the office

Of course, my original points remain true: 

  1. Each highly-skilled ASL engages with customers quickly, securing answers and resources for nearly every support issue
  1. ASLs assist our customers regardless of circumstance or time of day. We truly run a 24/7/365, ”follow-the-sun” business
  1. Our modern tools and technology allow our entire team to work when our customers need them wherever they happen to be, especially in unprecedented times like 2020. 

If anything, this year has amplified our message. Unlike our largest competitors and software publishers, we’re not a cube farm or a self-service portal. That means our ASLs are empowered to serve their dedicated customers – wherever and whenever it’s needed. 

The Year of the “Wherever, Whenever Office” 

No matter which time zone you’re in or what time of day you reach out, we always responded within minutes to customer tickets and inquiries. Fast SLAs are built into our contracts.  

Most times, customer requests come during regular hours, but because we cover ALL hours, our ASLs are always on alert for the urgent calls. Our ASLs respond to a ticket rather than deferring to backup resources because they know you personally and care about your software issues. Here are a few 2020 examples of our “Wherever, Whenever Office”: 

  • “Most recently, I took a call from my home in Oregon while it was under a Level 2 evacuation from wildfires within miles of my home. I finally asked my coworker if we were at a place I could drop off to finish getting prepared to leave! In the subsequent days, I helped resolve the issue from an RV parked on a city street.” 
  • “I was the primary on-call person, and it was a Saturday afternoon. My husband and I were out boating and floating on the lake with our close friends. One of my customers logged an urgent issue, and my phone alarm sounded. I stayed in the water and floated with my noodle, phone propped up on our boat’s back platform until I could secure a resource to assist the customer. As soon as the resource was allocated, within seconds, my phone crashed due to over-heating!” 
  • “I covered a weekend Disaster Recovery (DR) test for a client while lying in the back of a rental car as my wife drove us home from Maryland to Minnesota. The DR test took half of West Virginia and all of Kentucky. I took over driving in Indianapolis, IN.” 
  • “A P1 case came in from a client who was desperately needing assistance to get their dates in sync between payroll and GL files. I called our senior software developer as he was driving into work. He pulled over, dialed in via his laptop, and helped the client resolve the issue. He happened to pull into a church parking lot, so he told me his prayers were answered when they quickly resolved the issue.” 

Spinnaker Support’s Deep Focus on Customer Service 

Those stories are just a handful of the ones I’ve collected this week. While our ASLs are protective of their personal time, they also believe in providing outstanding service. That’s why, every year, our customer satisfaction survey ratings are always close to 100%.  

The “Wherever, Whenever Office” of our third-party software support is a real advantage for our customers. Within minutes of reporting an issue, our customers, receive live assistance from dedicated, senior support professionals who know your systems and how to resolve issues. 

We’ve designed our systems to immediately route and deliver requests to the right individuals and verify that our ISO-certified processes help provide a consistently fast resolution. Our team is always here to help, even if that means taking a call during a little league playoff game, at the start of a World Cup playoff, or in the hospital waiting on the birth of a grandchild.  

Proof positive that we continue to deliver “Support that is actually supportive.” And if you’re looking for examples of how we work to resolve actual tickets, check out the paper “In the Trenches with Third-Party Support.”