Client Support – How should it be done?

I have been waiting to find a topic worth writing about, since this Blog is a) about promoting my client support and b) my personal comment/advice on best practice, this issue effects more about how I support clients than what the client support is trying to achieve. So a side topic if you like, but none the less incredibly valuable user experience.

I have a client Lee Pomeranc, no worries there we are doing a series of comprehensive SEO work on this site, using an out fit called Fyneworks for the implementation of some new ideas. All fine.

Problem was we had to upgrade 1and1 hosting to Windows Servers to allow ASP to work, (.Net was also enabled), this had the usual cost implication to the client, but all went well, but Fyneworks later had a problem with Error Page handling, their solution was to email [email protected] and that is where the trouble began.

The question is should companies offer email client support or telephone client support into days modern age. From the company point of view the benefits of email are massive, controlled data flow, problem filtering, effective use of employee time, costs saving, optimisation of service, and reporting on issues and common problems, tie in the website help forums, desks and whatever else and there is no need to ever talk to a customer again.

Or is there? From the customer point of view this is all so wrong. Customers have been lead to believe (by marketing departments) that everything is now, now , now, everything is free, included, part of the service, geared around them and that is the problem.

I myself am a complete victim of this culture, on the subject of website hosting I will also opt for a telephone call. If there is a problem it needs sorting, not waiting, that website is down. I have prided myself on ‘being there’ for clients.

Fyneworks and 1and1 have now been discussing the same old issue now for a week, endlessly emailing back and forth between [email protected] and Fyneworks, big issue the problem started as a no-brainer, now there is just bad feeling on both sides. Exasperation, time wasting and resignation are the result of this encounter.

The solution – call them.

Trackbacks, this item is related to this article please do read on…