While I know you’re just chomping at the bit to read the next segment of my elk hunting story, I just had to slip this one in.
Last week I discovered my Dad’s website hosting plan had expired and since I manage it for him, I hurried to have them reinstate it. This particular company does not welcome phone calls and prefers to communicate with customers using Instant Messages or email.
(By the way, am I the only person these days who makes a buying decision based not so much on price, but also based on the type of service I think I’m going to get? A dead giveaway for me is when they discourage phone calls from customers.)
Anyway, I went through the hoops and submitted my email based trouble ticket to the help desk folks. Then, because I was in such an all-fired hurry, I logged onto their Instant Message Help Desk also. No kidding, I bet it took “them” over 10 minutes to answer my “what’s happening here and how can I fix it?” message and then left me hanging for another 10 by saying, “I’ll be just a moment….” After 5 minutes I sent another message, “Are U still there?” The response came back, “…yes…”
That was enough for me, so I hopped on over to another website host I’ve used in the past. The other company was obviously not too anxious to reclaim my business, so I figured I’d give BlueHost a try. (I get no compensation to refer them, by the way, but hope they get tons of new business after this plug.)
Here’s what I love about these folks:
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THEY give out their phone number
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They let you know when you’re on hold how many other callers are ahead of you, so you can judge your own time commitment
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In between the status updates, you get music and a perky, friendly voice that’s easy on the ear giving you tips on how to better use their service
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One particular message asks, “Did you know you can access our online help tutorial at….” then stresses, “…but don’t worry, we still want to talk to you!” Most companies will just about slap you with a fine if you haven’t gone to their FAQ or Help Page first. (Whatever you do, never admit you skipped that part!)
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But here’s the ONE THING I’VE NEVER HEARD ON ANY OTHER HOLD MESSAGE and which endeared them to me immediately: “Thank you for waiting. One of our highly trained technicians, WORKING IN THE USA, will be right with you. You are now caller #___.”
That did it for me folks. Not only do they want to hear from their customers, but they’ve hit a nerve that has become the laughingstock of the customer service industry. NOTE to businesses: We consumers want to talk to a customer service, sales or technical help desk person we can understand. And if we can’t understand them, we’ll either hang up and call back later hoping to get someone different OR, if given the choice, we’ll vow to do business with another company in the future. We’ve had enough of your cost saving efforts costing US time, money and frustration.
Oh, and another thing that wowed me? Within 10 minutes of plunking down my credit card and setting up my Dad’s website on their server, they called me! Yup, THEY called ME! Why? To make sure my website transfer was going smoothly and to answer any of my questions.
Now do you see why I just HAD to post on this experience?
If you’ve got any interesting, informative “hold messages” you’d like to share, please submit a comment. (As always, spammers and “closet spammers” please do not waste your time.)
Writing from Colorado at 6711 ft. above sea level,
Laura
