Customer Languange - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: generic_username
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 02, 2018, 09:54:00 am
content: Hello,It's a trival matter but I'd like to know how other people do this.When meeting with a customer and speaking about an upcoming project, or a started projectI tend to use the word problem when there are difficulties to achieve desired functionality, etc.And I get told all the time I shouldn't use for instance the word "problem" when discussing things with the customer, which I personally really dislike.Can be because I like to be frank when speaking with people.Are you cautions when speaking with a customer and try to avoid special words, and use "softer" langauge to describe stuff or simply not telling the whole truth (like: what interest does the customer have in the issues I ran into, ether I solve them or not)I guess this could be handeld diffrently in other cultures.cheers.

author: jpanhalt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 02, 2018, 10:07:29 am
content: Consider just the word, "problem."PC has several substitutes, e.g., challenge, concern, issue and others.Each of those substitutes, which may not necessarily be a synonym, may be softer or stronger, but none of them mean exactly the same thing to a native speaker. There are nuances in meaning and some of those are even regional. I say, use the work that is most accurate and if there is a misunderstanding clarify that.Now, if you are aware of a nuance, say ordering a steak in Kansas City, KS, don't call it a NY Strip.

author: engineer_in_shorts
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 02, 2018, 10:19:18 am
content: It would be helpful to know where you are from before discussing other cultures (assuming we are talking about culture of a nation, and not culture of a company or industry).The problem with "there is a problem with x" is that it has a connotation of being an issuewithouta solution. Many issues do actually have a solution but you have dismissed them because of factors which may seem obvious to you but you need to communicate that.So i would say that 99% of the uses of "the problem with x..", it is better to demonstrate your analytical skills by saying "a solution to the issue of x i have disregarded because of y.... " (where y is usually money/budget 😊 ). After all I assume the customer is coming to you for your solution skills and not just so you can point out problems with dead-ends.

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 02, 2018, 10:27:39 am
content: This encapsulates the reason for people's dislike of the word:Quote from: engineer_in_shorts on November 02, 2018, 10:19:18 amThere are many other words you could use - and I suggest you get familiar with a few of them. It will serve you well, especially when dealing with people unfamiliar with the actual development process.Depending on the difficulty and the audience, some words/phrases I have used are:- issue- challenge- will require special focusAlso avoid the word "difficult" as that also infers a road block.

author: generic_username
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 02, 2018, 11:02:15 am
content: thx for respones, I thought I set the location - done nowI'm aware of the substitues I sometimes just forget to use themAlso most of the time when there's a problem we have a solution at hand when speaking with the customer, but maybe try to put more focus on that in the future.Personally I tend to be more frank when the customer I'm speaking to has a technical background.

author: AndyC_772
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 02, 2018, 11:07:58 am
content: When someone who is providing expertise talks of a "problem", there is an implication that the thing being discussed is a bad idea.Consider this..."The problem with using an analogue signal here is it's a noisy environment, and it'll pick up interference"vs"The challenge here is to protect the analogue signal from picking up interference"To someone familiar with the technology, both of these say effectively the same thing, but to a customer who (don't forget!) is hiring you for your expertise, they don't. One suggests that the interference *will* stop the system working properly, while the other suggests that there are things which can be done about it.

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 02, 2018, 12:05:46 pm
content: There IS a valid use of the word "problem".It almost exclusively comes in the form: "No problem!" and is most frequently used in responding to customer inquiry.

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 02, 2018, 12:08:46 pm
content: Quote from: AndyC_772 on November 02, 2018, 11:07:58 amI see no problem with the first statement."The problem with using an analogue signal here is it's a noisy environment, and it'll pick up interference"A solution might be to digitise the analogue signal.There's nothing wrong with telling the customer there's a problem, as long as there's a solution.

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 02, 2018, 12:14:58 pm
content: Quote from: Hero999 on November 02, 2018, 12:08:46 pmThere is one very real impact, I'm afraid. As soon as you mention the word "problem" the very next words you should utter are "which can be overcome by ...". What is even better would be to say "We will do xxx which will overcome the problem of yyy".Letting the word "problem" sit in the minds of a customer for more than half a second will create a speed hump in their appreciation of what you are doing. Sure you can get over it - but customers can be a difficult beast at the best of times, so avoiding any and all negativity ... yes, even to the point of absurdity ... is a much better path to take.

author: NivagSwerdna
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 02, 2018, 12:31:50 pm
content: Quote from: generic_username on November 02, 2018, 09:54:00 amBy whom? Time for self-employment."problem" might be seen as hard whereas "issue" or "challenge" might not... but this is all BS since problem and issue are synonyms.I have worked in environments where the word "no" would produce a career limiting outcome so people just said "yes" all the time.Once you have built up a rapport you can introduce your own terms like "problem", "no chance", "not before christmas", ....

author: Cyberdragon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 02, 2018, 03:15:02 pm
content: Quote from: NivagSwerdna on November 02, 2018, 12:31:50 pmhttps://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/yes_man

author: schmitt trigger
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 02, 2018, 03:51:23 pm
content: My two yen:I also see a problem with the word: problem.Like, "Houston, we have a problem".Effective business communication is an art, that must be carefully honed. More so if the business is technical.In our company, we are actually fighting a very expensive recall that a customer has initiated, because the person(s) in our company which explained a couple of field failures, used the incorrect wording to describe the failure mechanism. Cannot go into further details because of pending litigation.I am not advocating sirupy, jargon filled language or headache-producing legal language, no. But being effective to communicate the details clearly, specially if the details are technically dense, is a career building skill that you must learn and practice.

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 02, 2018, 05:36:13 pm
content: If all else fails, I think the marketing alternative was 'opportunity'... although, as I remember, that may only apply to discussions between Marketing and Engineering, rather than customer discussions.

author: Wilksey
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 02, 2018, 06:12:24 pm
content: Engineers see problems, sales people see opportunities.Engineers will ask questions and suggest things, and say no if needs be, sales people will say yes.If someone said - for example - "see that big metal box, I want to add a remote data logger sending information back about temperature to a website"Mr sales man would say "yep sure, no problem" and have no idea what he/she has agreed to or how to present a solution to Mr customer, Mr Engineer would say "The best solution is to use a 3G module to send information back, the problem with that is the antenna for the module will not work inside a big metal box, but we can mount an antenna on the outside of the metal box, do you have any objections to drilling a hole in the side or the top of the box", Mr customer is fine with this, Mr engineer goes away knowing what to do.I prefer the engineers approach.

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 03, 2018, 01:25:14 am
content: Quote from: generic_username on November 02, 2018, 09:54:00 amYes, this is very basic sales speech. You avoid expressing negative ideas at all costs, unless this is to elicit a very negative emotion that you offer an immediate solution to, which is also a common sales strategy. So if you're going to talk about any "problem", you better have a solution to offer immediately after that, or your sale is screwed.Considering this, if you're talking to a customer about a "problem" that you currently have no solution to, obviously this is honest talk. But not sales talk. The customer is going to get angry even if they like honesty.Quote from: generic_username on November 02, 2018, 09:54:00 amThat's a very, very common difference between engineers/tech people and sales people.At least you know you're absolutely not alone!

author: CatalinaWOW
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 03, 2018, 02:12:43 am
content: In my experience the word problem in discussions with customers connotes a deviation from plan, which causes worry.In the sales phase of a job, difficulty is related to expense. Problem is less problematical here, but since you are negotiating both sides need to be cautious in insuring that they understand each other.Once you are under contract problem is the wrong word to describe the difficult tasks you agreed to perform at a specified cost and schedule.

author: tpowell1830
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 03, 2018, 02:28:51 am
content: When I worked for a company where I was the project manager of small specialty, and often custom machines, I mostly dealt with engineers. I had very little issues in communicating problems with them, but I used my own colloquial expressions, such 'hiccup' as in "We ran into a slight hiccup when trying to mount the table on the platform, but we have a solution and we are working that now.". We had customers from all over, including Europe, Australia and Taiwan, so I would try to adjust my language, depending on how well the engineer I was working with understood english. I, unfortunately, am only an english speaker (with a Texas accent), so I did not have the luxury of speaking in the customer's language.Essentially, since I mostly dealt with engineers, I put myself in their shoes and gaged their reaction to what I had to tell them based on how I would react. This worked well the four years that I had this job. I always was able to tell the truth without upsetting the customer (I had one lady British engineer kiss me at the end because she was grateful about my honesty).

author: Lord of nothing
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 04, 2018, 10:23:28 am
content: Dont worry I speak only Austrian and English.Maybe some People with an Migration Backround speak Multiple Languages. The problem with that is the dont speak Austrian that good.