You Can Reach Out Any Time

Email Me

Email is the easiest way for me to keep track of your support cases. It’s also how I follow up on our coaching sessions. When you email me at coach@sustainablecomputing.net, your message enters my Salesforce CRM as a new case that I can easily notice and act on.

When emailing, I encourage you to write a subject that captures some important keywords related to your message, just like you would if you were sending anyone else an email.

Perhaps you can imagine how unhelpful it is when clients reach out about “question” or “issue” or “Yikes!” This is not a widespread issue but a healthy reminder of the value of a little information.

A subject of 3–8 words is best to keep it easily readable, so maybe not your whole question. Longer subject lines will get cut off in my normal view of cases.

Finally, you’re certainly entitled to compose the body of your email first and then add the subject based on what you wrote. (Because, after all, life is one big entitlement program.)

Call Me

If I’m not otherwise engaged, I’ll answer the phone. If you don’t reach me, leave a voicemail. I’m more likely to call you back if you do.

I schedule Do Not Disturb from 11 pm to 7 am, so your calls won’t disturb me. Hence the name of the feature. Also, I keep my phone in Airplane Mode when I’m asleep, so you really can’t interrupt.

Text Me

Text messages are cool, too, and I can offer quick troubleshooting tips to help you out of a jam. If you’re slow to type text messages on your iPhone, would you consider typing them on your Mac?

I can help you get your Mac connected to your messages or enable you to use your Mac’s keyboard to type on your iPhone using 1Keyboard.

Texts are more difficult to keep track of, though, especially after I’ve read them. They can also get overwhelming and may lead to a phone call for the sake of efficiency.

[Update: More recently, I’ve found 1Keyboard or the connection between my iPhone and Mac inconsistent and unreliable. Also, as of iOS 16, text messages can be made unread again.

Logistics

Some folks prefer to accumulate a bunch of little issues until a bigger challenge arises, triggering them to schedule a substantial coaching session to cover it all. You might assume this session has to be at least an hour, but in Zoomland, shorter sessions are perfectly fine. We can only stare at each other through a screen for so long.

Others recognize the value of having their questions answered right away. This could be because you know there’s an easier approach to something but can’t remember how it works, or you want to avoid spending hours on the phone with any other company’s tech support and you think I might have a quicker solution, or you perceive some other emergency in your workflow.

Many clients have benefited from my holistic approach (i.e., broad scope of experience across multiple brands and platforms), which often leads to faster answers. Additionally, I’m really good at searching online for the right keywords, reviewing search results for others who have reported the same problem, and sharing a possible resolution in instructions you can easily follow.

Finally, there’s a concern about cost. For now, depending on the length of engagement, I may charge a flat incident fee or your normal hourly rate. I do math, though, so I’m unlikely to charge for an hour if we only talk for half. Also, I’m willing to run a tab and invoice you periodically. Or, if you reach out regularly, I may suggest a monthly subscription.