How Would You Navigate an Interaction With a Customer When You Do Not Know the Answer

I've learned a lot of things in my fourth dimension at Diminutive Object, most of them falling into 2 categories: how to write great software, and how to be a consultant.

One of the almost of import skills I've learned in the latter category is how to always accept an answer for a client.

Consulting is expensive, and one of its chief purposes is to answer customer questions. These two things together hateful that a simple "I don't know" is rarely an acceptable reply.

So what practise you do and so when you really don't know the answer? Here are a few techniques I've learned to give satisfactory answers to questions I don't know, forth with some guidelines to consider when using them.

1. Make an Educated Guess

Guessing the answer to a question tin can be dangerous, just ofttimes when the stakes are depression and the toll of finding the existent answer is high, this tin exist the correct solution. In the software world, I oft use this when working with client developers who want an opinion on how to lawmaking something. Researching the perfect answer isn't generally worth it, and if my proposition is bad, information technology unremarkably merely impacts a single story or requires a refactor down the road.

Things to consider

• Use this technique with circumspection. Only judge if at that place is a depression negative cost for y'all beingness wrong.
• Always be explicit well-nigh the fact you are guessing. Never present a gauge as fact.
• Tell your customer why you are guessing, and offer to invest time in finding a concrete answer if they feel it is of import. Be prepared with an estimate of how long information technology will have to find a concrete answer.

2. Direct Them to Someone Who Does Know

This is a elementary redirection. If y'all know of someone probable able to respond a question that has yous stumped, information technology should exist your get to technique.

Make certain you don't just brush your client off with an, "I don't know go enquire so-and-so," or something like. Doing so can communicate to the client that y'all don't care to take the time to answer them or that you lot don't know and don't care to know what the answer is.

I commonly tell the customer that the other person would exist amend able to answer the question, so inquire them myself either by walking over to their desk with the customer or sending the other person an electronic mail and copying the client on it. This has several advantages:

• By asking the question yourself, you communicate to the customer that you care about the question and answer too.
• You have an opportunity to expand your ain knowledge by hearing what the answer to the question is.
• It puts you in a good position to continue helping your client find an reply if the other person doesn't know either.

Things to consider

• Be prepared for the eventuality that the person you redirect to doesn't know the respond. If that is the instance, you may have to either direct your client to some other person, or utilize some other of the techniques below to find an answer.
• Be respectful of others' time when involving more people in answering the question. If it seems like the other person will be able to respond in a matter of minutes, go for it. Depending on the urgency and gravity of the question, if it is taking a long fourth dimension to become answers and several people are involved, it may make more sense to back off and try a unlike technique.

3. Offer to Pair on Finding a Solution

This is a solid technique for problems that crave a "how-to" type answer, eastward.g. how do I make our framework do 10. The big win is that both you and the person asking the question gain cognition of not only the answer, but the path to get there.

Things to consider

• Be conscious of time. Don't spend a large amount of fourth dimension pairing on a small trouble.
• Know your audition. Some people are willing to get downwards in the dirt with y'all and find an answer, and others wait you to do it yourself.

4. Offer to Inquiry an Answer

This is a adept technique for questions that can't exist finer answered by any of the other techniques. Verbally committing to exercise research is generally enough to set your client's listen at ease.

While it may seem like a small difference "I don't know" and "I don't know, but I volition find out" are very different answers, and the latter will exist much better received by most clients.

Things to consider

• Give a concrete time commitment. Instead of just saying, "I volition await into it," say, "I will expect into later on today when I finish my current task."
• Give an estimate on how long you recollect research will have. If the number is too big, your client may decide other things are higher priority than getting an answer.

five. Identify Data Source(s) that May Provide the Respond

This is often a good preliminary step before jumping into technique iv. Instead of committing a big amount of time to researching an answer, place what data you would demand to obtain said answer, and communicate that to your customer. This quickly gives the client the option of either gathering that data immediately, or delaying if the price of gathering said data is too high right now.

In the software globe, a good case of this is complicated UI decisions. A client may want an stance on how to structure their UI, but often it tin can be beneficial to accept them delay until they have data from things like usability exam to make a conclusion.

Things to consider

• Be prepared for your client to push into technique 4 if they determine they actually do need an reply right now.
• Attempt and take an idea of not simply what data you need, simply how to obtain said information.

Closing Thoughts

In that location will always be questions you lot don't know the respond to, but just brushing them off with an "I don't know" is bad client service. Hopefully these techniques can help you lot ever requite your client a practiced solid answer or the ways to go 1.

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Source: https://spin.atomicobject.com/2014/11/06/answering-client-questions/

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