Yes you are probably a good judge of peoples body language and attitudes when working around them and you hit the nail on the head about having multiple opportunities to solve problems face to face. I find it hard to solve any issues with government services, banking and business account online and over the phone, because it is a marathon of time that you don't have to text all the little details of what you are trying to solve with a rep. Then when you are totally exhausted and frustrated they will send a tech personal to your location and they confirm its broken and 2 days from now they will be back with a new modem or new hardware. great! When that happens to me that is why I am off line for a couple days. So being a newbee at this I am happy I found an ally to consort with.
Being an aged person I was a young mechanic in an automotive Transmissions repair shop I was taught how to diagnose, and quote an estimate to customers face to face and using a few simple testing tools and test operating the vehicle my mentor taught me how not only to talk to people on a respectful level, we were always accurate or slightly lower with the estimates. The only complaint we had is from the hot rodders that they wanted the transmission to shift more solid so they could lay rubber every time the automatic shifted a gear, It took a 5 minute adjustment and small penlight screwdriver, and also a courtesy warning that we could set back when they were tired of buy new rear tires or drive train part and some came back and admitted that they should have listened before they damaged everything behind our repaired or rebuilt transmission.
All in all those were the days when we learned some integrity, honesty and pride in our everyday living. These days I have to get online and start a chat with a rep. my cell phone is my tool box. Don't get me wrong there is a lot of good people in these rep chat center I just have to pick up my texting and typing skills to keep up with the world. I still like to meet people face to face I just feel better when I see a smile on there face. Thank you for listening to an old die hard, try and have a wonderful day and reply with little tips for me please just keep them simple. they are appreciated