Intro
Buckle up for a whopper of an intro full of stories, humour, and fun. Well, at least one of those.
In this episode Kevin not-so-humble brags about visiting Iceland. Apparently he’s going with a company called Adventures with Geeks, which will be mentioned again in the recommendation section. Rob sounds like he’d really like to go; look for his GoFundMe page coming soon.
Rob takes a deep dive into the world of Live Action RolePlay, LARP. Apparently he desperately wants to “scare some nerds,” which makes him sound like an extra from a DirecTV sequel to Revenge of the Nerds.
What drove James to become a vigilante? What terrible, unspeakable horror formed his specific hatred of LARPing? Stay tuned true believer, for this episode reveals his dark origins. (Soon to be a major motion picture written by Rob Alderman and Kevin Stover. I hear Guillermo del Toro is interested in directing)
‘Nuff said!
BTW, Jeremy’s still mia.
The Show
Welcome to AIB Theatre. Today’s show, Why Won’t it Blend or Appliance Un-plugged, is brought to you by Ninja Blender. It features a harrowing tale of customer support gone awry. Will Charles, played by Kevin, be able to get support for his problems? Zach, played by James, does his best to assist. Let’s just say that it’s a good thing James and Kevin already have jobs, because the reviews aren’t kind.
This begs, or at least passive-aggressively mutters, the question, “How do you handle trouble clients?” James, Rob, and Kevin dive into this topic in today’s episode.
Rob suggests staying humble with clients and being willing to apologize for the situation, even if you aren’t taking responsibility. Often, clients just want to be reassured that you hear them, and they are usually willing to talk about why they are upset. If they aren’t willing to talk about it, then maybe they aren’t your client.
According to Kevin, setting expectations is also super-important. Whether you run a product or services business, letting customers know what to expect up front can avoid a lot of confusion and pain later. That’s why I write these show notes as honestly as I possibly can; I want the reader to know what they can expect from this podcast.
The hosts also discuss the idea of intervening on behalf of employees when a client becomes abusive or aggressive. Rob suggests that the customer isn’t always right, but they should always be treated with respect. I don’t even have a joke about that. That’s just a good policy.
In the end, James proclaims that it all comes down to communication. So, there you go. You don’t have to listen to this episode now. With clients, with your friends, with your spouse, just communicate better.
Our Recommendations
Rob recommends an article from NPR way back in 2010 that explores how a mother’s pitch and tone soothe babies and how that same science can apply to adults. He likes to use his voice to hug clients when he’s not allowed to hug clients, which doesn’t sound creepy at all. I’m not sure how good the science in the article is, but Rob’s voice definitely puts me to sleep.
Kevin shills for Adventures with Geeks, a company that organizes retreats for those who work in or around the tech industry. One of their upcoming events is an adult summer camp, and judging by the description, I would say that the people behind it got to attend “regular” summer camp instead of “Christian” summer camp. I think Christian summer camp ended more teenage relationships than…whatever teens are into these days. I may be a bit out of touch with teen culture.
James decides to completely subvert the point of recommendations by recommending something that you literally cannot yet consume. He hawks his yet-to-be-named podcast about parenting, specifically dads reviewing children’s books. At the time of this writing, the podcast has still yet to be named, much less recorded. I will say this though, it will be refreshing to finally hear a middle-class, middle-aged white man telling people how to parent.
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