Not Just Tech Support
I dig helping people.
That may sound really weird to a lot of folks, but it’s truly what I like to spend my time doing.
I dig finding creative solutions.
I dig troubleshooting.
I dig being resourceful.
I dig solving problems.
I dig being a sounding board.
I dig offering advice based on my many years in this industry.
But more than anything else, I just dig helping people in any way I can.
When I first began with VineSpring many moons ago (5 years ago to be precise), I joined Chris and Jamison as their very first, shiny, new employee. I had known for some time that I wanted to work for VineSpring. You know how sometimes you just know stuff? Through my research and brief interactions with Chris, I just knew that it would be great fit and set my sights on landing a position with the company. I relentlessly stalked and religiously checked in every few months to see if they were hiring. Finally, after a year of my bugging them, I got the call. And I’ve never looked back.
Five years later and I still wake up in the morning ready to take on whatever our clients throw our way. I can speak for all of us on the Support Team (Kelli, Shannon and me) when I say that we thrive on the trust that our clients place in us, along with the relationships we have forged through the years.
Not just “tech support”.
We love the fact that we are not just “tech support” to our clients. We are not some nameless voice on the other end of the phone or chat window. It’s no exaggeration that we consider ourselves an integral part of each winery’s team.
Many of the calls we receive are about ordinary things like crediting transactions or sending orders to fulfillment. We pride ourselves on being able to answer quickly and efficiently so that the busy admins, tasting room managers and winemakers can get back to the task of running their winery or brewery.
But, we also relish the challenge of discussing innovative ideas for wine clubs, debating allocation theory and being a sounding board for unique ideas around promotions and discounts. Our clients look to us for advice and guidance gleaned from our many years of helping hundreds of wineries. We see what works. And likewise, we have been witness to what decidedly does not work. We are more than happy to share this knowledge – and we do – many, many times a day – and we love it.
We Like You. Think about that.
What other service provider can sincerely say that? Does your cable company or cell phone provider actually take an interest in your brand’s story? Your business model? Your client base? Do they look at the landscape of similarly positioned brands and offer innovative and honest advice and solutions? We operate in a very collaborative atmosphere. Both within our team and with our clients, we enjoy the challenge of finding the best possible solution for the best possible outcome.
There is also the very human aspect of what we do (and this is probably my favorite part of the job). I cannot begin to tell you how many times per week, Kelli, Shannon or I share a story of a client that we’ve been working with. “Mary FINALLY had her baby!” or “Did you see Winery abc’s amazing Parker score? I’m so happy for them!” or “Man, I really like our new client, Winery 123 – what NICE people they are!”
At the heart of it, we are PEOPLE people. We sincerely like people and we sincerely like helping. In my experience, this is not something that can be cultivated in Support team members. You either have ‘it’ or you don’t. You either have an inherent willingness and drive to help, or you don’t. It’s not something that can be faked. It definitely takes a specific, special personality to do what we do – and to excel at it. We are extraordinarily fortunate at VineSpring that our Customer Success team has that elusive ‘it’. Each of us truly takes joy in the everyday interaction with our clients. As a team, we often express how incredibly lucky we are to work with such interesting, innovative and kind clients.
Hit us up.
When you click that chat button, send an email or pick up the phone, know that we dig helping people. We dig coming up with solutions. And we dig hearing about what’s going on in your lives, both personally and professionally. We want you to see you succeed. We love what we do and we hope that it shows!
Want more tips from author and customer support guru, Britney? Check out Go Old School to Create an Extraordinary Customer Experience.
