Entrepreneurs Wear the All The Hats

Apple Care Issues

Entrepreneurs often wear all the hats. From bookkeeping, admin tasks, team development, planning, project management, sales and marketing, to being their own IT department, every day can be different knowing you might have to switch hats mid-task to handle a more immediate issue. That’s me. That was this week…

When I started Propel, I made the choice to move from PC to Mac products based on security, functionality, and the work I knew I needed to accomplish. In the last 8 years or so, I’ve been called an Apple ‘super-user’ by a few of the Apple Care techs I’ve spoken with by phone or at the Genius bar.

But every time they make a big update, I cringe. I’m not an early adopter, but any means. In fact, I’d like them to work out the bugs before I migrate to a new iOS. And I should have.

Monday I set aside the afternoon to call Apple due to a video viewing issue I’ve had since I updated to Big Sur – and sure enough, they don’t have a fix. We found a lengthy work around, but that goes against my Maximizer strength which calls me to be efficient. I’m in pain.

But, I have to wear this hat. I have to be the one at the helm of my technology because I cannot suffer through downtime. So, while every call with Apple is tedious and painful, at least they have great service and I know I can advance myself to a senior consultant when needed.

This week, 2 of the 3 consultants I spoke with during my 4-hour call told me I had a good attitude considering the issues. My answer is always, “well, there’s really nothing I can do about it but be patient and let you help, right?”

At the end of my call I happened to learn that the senior advisor was based in Tigard, OR, and I felt like I was talking to a neighbor. At least that’s something to smile about.

What silver linings can you find next time you’re forced to handle a frustrating situation you really didn’t have time to deal with?

How do you treat people? (hint: It can make the difference in the service you receive in return.)

Can you impact their day in a positive way? (hint: when you are positive, it lifts your mood, too!)

Challenging you to make a difference and be the difference when you’re forced to wear all the hats!

UPDATE 3/19/21: The senior adivisor I was on with called back yesterday to provide an update and scheduled a call for this morning (Friday) to help setup the workaround to be a more efficient and permanent thing. She was amazing! My customer service heart is swelling this morning!

Jamie Teasdale

Jamie Teasdale founded Propel Businessworks, a small business development company, in 2009. Since then, she has been lending insight and creativity to businesses all over the U.S., giving them the tools they need to plan, promote, and prosper.

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