Every week on the Freshdesk blog, we attempt to find out what makes our favourite customer service reps tick, in the Secret Sauce series. We try to find out what a typical day is like for these support rockstars, their personal work-philosophy, support process, and what inspires them to go above and beyond the call of duty to make their customers happy. Since September 2014, we've learnt loads from these interviews. Here are the best insights from the agents we've talked to. To read the full interviews, go to: http://bit.ly/2kW7CWq

1. THE SECRET SAUCE TO
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
BEST OF 2014

2. Every week on the Freshdesk blog, we attempt to find out what makes
our favourite customer service reps tick, in the Secret Sauce series. We try
to find out what a typical day is like for these support rockstars, their
personal work-philosophy, support process, and what inspires them to
go above and beyond the call of duty to make their customers happy.
Since September 2014, we've learnt loads from these interviews. Here are
the best insights from the agents we've talked to.

3. It’s all about finding the best fit for the
customer. If it’s with us, that’s great. If it’s with
another product, that’s great too.
CHASE CLEMONS, BASECAMP

4. Actually, studying the world’s religions gave
me a knack for exploring and expressing
empathy.
NICK SAYERS, MOZ

5. I deal with all kinds of feature requests in
the same way – with honesty.
BRIAN CERVINO, TRELLO

6. The happiness and personal progress of our
Customer Champions come even before
our customers in my mind.
JEFF VINCENT, WISTIA

7. Requests from our users are usually good,
which makes it harder to tell them when we
don’t have any plans to build them.
KRISTINN HRÓBJARTSSON, QUIZUP

8. Underpromise and overdeliver.
BRAD PATTERSON, EVERCONTACT

9. I think of every support request as a challenge
to my troubleshooting skills, my product
knowledge and my interpretation skills.
ALESSIO FATTORINI, NETHESIS

10. Customers will ease up if you shoulder some
of the blame. Yes, even if it’s not your fault.
LO MARINO, BOOMERANG

11. We look for super empathetic people who
truly crave that warm fuzzy feeling that
comes from helping customers.
CAROLYN KOPPRASCH, BUFFER

12. I don’t want a team that provides okay support.
I want them to provide the kind of support that
our customers will tell their friends about.
RYAN ENGLEY, UNBOUNCE

13. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand
words. Extra credit is given to reps that
know to include screenshots.
SCOTT MARKOVITS, INVISION APP

14. I can anticipate customer questions and
understand where they’re running into trouble.
CAROLYN BREIT, SPROUT SOCIAL

15. We have seen that unhappy customers will
often make sure we are aware but will also be
hesitant to reach out to support in the future.
MEGHA DERCHAK, KISSMETRICS

16. If your support reps are aiming for a metric,
then something is probably going wrong.
MATHEW PATTERSON, CAMPAIGN MONITOR

17. By genuinely apologizing and acknowledging
mistakes when they happen, you can often
make greater fans of your product than if you
hadn’t screwed up at all.
MICAH BENNETT, ZAPIER

18. Having lived in several countries, I can relate to
people from different backgrounds more than
if I had stayed my whole life in one place.
PATRICIA WROBLEWSKI, MENTION

19. Like to read more? Check out blog.freshdesk.com for more
interviews and tips on how to rock at customer support.
If you'd like someone to be featured in the series, shoot us
an email: love@freshdesk.com with your suggestions.