How to do customer service, as demonstrated by a Backblaze employee

Me:

Trying to use the Backblaze downloader. After username and password, it wants me to Enter code , but I don’t have, and can’t find a code for the restore. Checked the email telling me the restore is ready, checked the Restores website, checked the Googles.

Redditor: Pretty sure its asking for your 2FA code

Me:

Of course! The answer is alway obvious after someone tells you what it is :slight_smile:

BB:

brianwski
From Backblaze13 points·20 hours ago
Disclaimer: I work at Backblaze on the bzdownloader software.

The answer is always obvious after someone tells you

But it’s best if it is so obvious that you DON’T have to ask. I’ll file a bug to make sure this is clearer in the interface.
To expound just a little, when customers are preparing a restore, they are universally not having a “good day”. People have crashed or stolen laptops, out thousands of dollars, and are staring at possible catastrophic data loss of all their photos of their children, or possibly their entire business might be destroyed if the data does not come back from the backups. ANYTHING we can do to make that smoother is really profoundly important for everybody’s mental health. If the smallest hiccup occurs in the restore process (like a forgotten password because you haven’t signed into Backblaze’s website in 2 years), customers often contact Backblaze support in an (understandably) highly agitated state. Our support staff talk people off of ledges for a living. It is way, WAY better for everybody involved if the restore goes as smooth as silk and is not unnecessarily unclear.

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Turns out he cut his teeth at Apple, “back in the day.”