With the Ambassador Program open for applications, and as a current Alumni from the Ambassador program (Year 1, here!) I was curious about what the Wayfarer community at large expects going forward from the current soon to retire, the overlapping cohort, and the new cohort set to start at the conclusion of this application process.
What in the past have you liked that you want to continue, or didnât like that should stop? What would you like to see more or less of? What are some of your questions for current or Alumni of the program? Keep in mind this should be a reflection of the program and how it can continue forward.
Please also keep in mind that there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes and many things you may ask for are or were already in the works or known to not be possible at this time. We arenât always able to share back with the community as we would like, but remember that we bring a lot of passion.
Soooooo⌠with the Alumniâs, what happens to them? Will we be shipping them off to the Wayfarer Ambassadorâs Retirement homes? Will they be able to become Ambassadorâs again in the future? Will they act as backup for when there is a shortage of active Ambassadorâs? Will we have organised online parties and quiz nights? I have sooooooo many questions!
Allow me to answer a few of those from the perspective of getting to experience being an Alumni Ambassador.
Per Tintino, we were kept at a certain S2 cell size distance. This is in order to let each year experience new direction and empower them to take on more opportunities without the old loudheads yelling at clouds and holding them back. We are available to them but there are (appropriately) barriers to keep Alumni from running the show.
Unfortunately, there is no pension plan, no retirement care package.
We are allowed (and encouraged!) to continue engaging with our communities and host events as we see fit.
Clear and concise responses. Some respond with answers that are too short and do not fully answer what has been asked, and then follow-ups have to be asked or another user fills in the blanks. Donât just say, âthatâs not how that works,â and leave it at that (for example); explain as to why thatâs not how it works.
Also, some customer service skills, because ambos are representing Wayfarer and answering questions from users, aka the customers. As someone who has past online customer service jobs, I sometimes feel that there could be some skills taught to ambos in this respect. Some do a good job, but others could learn.
The ambassadors are not customer service representatives for Niantic. That needs to be clear to everyone. They are fellow explorers devoting more of their free time to Wayfarer than most of us do. They and staff have done a wonderful job not allowing this new forum to slide into toxicity.
Different communication styles work better for different people. A short âno, it doesnât work that wayâ can be the best and least confusing answer. I know I have overwhelmed new explorers with too much information.
I try my best not to pile on to a question when it has already been answered. I donât appreciate someone continuing to explain something to me when I already get it. And I ask another question if I still have a question. So there are many different styles of communication that all have value.
They arenât? Hmm, ambos do represent for someone or something. UN abmos represent for their countries.
There are ambos I feel do not represent Wayfarer very well, and have had discussions about them with staff.
When a question is asked and the answer doesnât fully explain, it can make others confused, even irate. In customer service, we are taught to âread between the lines,â as what has been asked may need more info than what was asked.
While Ambassadors do dedicate much of their time to helping and talking to people in the forums, I think that is only a partial aspect of their role. And I think the big take away is that their communication from the forums is bi-directional. They listen and take back so much from us on the forums to reflect back to Niantic about the gaps, pain points, and desires of the community.
I think thatâs why itâs important to have a variety of Ambassadors. No one of them may be able to achieve everything for everyone, but hopefully together they are a complete team.
Not trying to take away from any single personâs preferences on communication style. I think that ultimately we need a variety.
Even in customer service, there are a variety of ways to communicate. However, there are some that lack basic customer service skills, again something I have discussed with staff.
As @cyndiepooh has already explained, Ambassadors are not Niantic customer service representatives. They are volunteers who dedicate their time to helping the community grow, as @Gendgi highlighted earlier.
This claim appears questionable. If you have any official information or proof to support it, please consider sharing it via private message to ensure accuracy and avoid potential misinformation.
It almost sounds like youâre suggesting that regular users, such as yourself, should also strive to have good customer service skills when interacting with others onlineâwhich honestly seems like a great idea if it were that simple!
BTW, hereâs what the dictonary has for what an ambassador is:
2
a : an authorized representative or messenger
b : an unofficial representative
They represent Wayfarer, and we all should strive to have proper customer service skills. Itâs just that some ambos donât, and they do represent Wayfarer, whether you agree with the definition or not.
Besides, @Gendgi asked us what we expect for ambos. I donât know why my suggestions are being received so negatively. Theyâre my suggestions, what I would like to see. Do I think all will be followed? No, I donât. I can still suggest though.
It looks like youâve answered your own questionâtheyâre not Niantic customer support representatives. Ambassadors are volunteers who contribute to the Wayfarer Community, but they are not obligated to go above and beyond to satisfy every user, especially when that user has, for example, repeatedly shared misinformation without acknowledging or correcting it, nor thanking those whoâve provided clarification.
That said, letâs avoid derailing this thread with this discussion. Please feel free to continue this conversation via private message, along with the information I previously requested.
Yes, this is what was noted in the original post. However, it seems that some suggestions are perceived wrongly or invoke somewhat hurtful disagreements.
I also think we can agree to disagree, as ambos do provide a service to the community, and many of what is looked for in an ambo (knowledge, humility, empathy) are basic customer service skills.
It just doesnât feel nice when others have overly strong disagreements.
I would love to see a semi regular post âFrom the Ambosâ to let us know what issues yâall are working on when NDA rules allow it. But donât want to give yâall even more to do.
AAA =) But I feel like the entire forum already is a place where we can ask ambos anything. I think they peruse the posts here frequently, and donât allow wrong answers to remain without being challenged.
I am thinking more of a report back about what is actively priority right now. We were just saying that there is a lot of stuff that has existed for so long I donât even think of it as an issue anymore, just simply the way things are.