For week 2 of the support driven writing challenge, we’re supposed to write about the tools we use to keep on track.  Since I don’t use many I’m going to write about our second LA Meetup at Pitfire Pizza in Venice instead!

We almost doubled in size for this meeting!

Which really means we had 2 new faces.  It was great to see our little group grow.  Fingers crossed it continues to do so.

Personally, it was great reconnecting with Matt and Josef.  They remembered how I was having a tough time at my last job and were excited to hear about my new job.  I really appreciated going back to a group that cared enough to remember that I started a new job and were excited to hear about how it was going.

After ordering our pizzas and without skipping a beat Keenan and Daniel joined in the conversation and we quickly got to know each other and what we all did.  After the quick intros the conversation flowed very naturally and easily.

Full disclosure: I have a habit of running late and was the last one to join the group…so I may have missed the first round of intros.

We were able to discuss things like:

• Helpdesks – Most of use Zendesk
• Live Chat – I’m the only one on a team that uses it.  For the others, it’s something for the future because it’s hard to ensure a great experience.
• Chargebacks – Why or why not it was worth it for the company
• Retention – We’re mostly Saas, but all have various term lengths and payment models
• Voice and Tone – How support, marketing, and sales can work together for branding
• Taking initiative- How having an idea and executing really helps make you a valuable member of the team
• Planning our next meetup – Look for something mid week in January!

And those are just the few things I remember off the top of my head!

It was great to chat with a group of people that “get” what you do.  We all share a common background in support, but our companies are all very different.  Our discussion felt so well rounded because we all brought different perspectives to the table.

I’m really thankful to have this in person version of the support driven slack and excited to see it grow.