In the Pocket

When we think of pockets, we think of three things:

The first is dentition. Perhaps you’ve been to the dentist for an oral exam. And perhaps in the course of the exam, the hygienist has asked another person to come into the room. That other person is carrying a scorecard and a pen. As the other person tracks your score, the hygienist pokes your gums with some kind of probe and reads off number as she does, “1. 1. 2. 3. 2. 2. 3. 1. 2. And so on.”

When she lets you up for a rinse, you ask, is this like golf? Low score wins?”

The answer is yes. The numbers the hygienist is citing are the depths of the pockets around your teeth in millimeters:

• 0-3mm without bleeding means you’re good for another 10,000 miles and can continue to eat peanut brittle at will.
• 1-3mm with bleeding indicates you should probably stand closer to your toothbrush and floss more than once a season.
• 3-5mm without bleeding means you may have gum disease and may require more frequent dental visits and remedial care.
• 5-7mm with bleeding means you may have some tissue damage, some bone loss, and may be in need of some care that likely won’t be pretty or painless.
• 7-10mm … well … we really don’t want to talk about it.

The second is music. If a drummer is relaxed and laying down a seemingly effortless backbeat, he’s said to be playing in the pocket. Likewise, when musicians are responding to the music they’re performing sympathetically — leaving room for each other’s contribution and letting the music breathe — they’re said to be playing in the pocket.

Yeah. But We’re a Software Company

Right. But we score our support team and the way we handle support tickets like golf and the same way dentists handle gum-pocket depths: low score wins. We also take into consideration the numbers of tickets submitted (low score wins) and the amount of time it takes to resolve each one (low score wins). When our team is working in synch — when the members are collaborating smoothly, when tickets are getting resolved quickly, and when our customers are consistently happy — we say the support team is playing in the pocket.

High scores count in football, basketball, baseball, hockey, and IQ tests. We’re not in a hurry to flaunt our IQs. But we’re happy and proud to keep our ticket-resolution scores low.

And we’ll always aim to play in the pocket.