Question: If I use a free service, which offers support to it's users, what can I reasonably expect in terms of customer care? Am I entitled to the same levels of care as a customer of a "pay" service?
Case in point, Twitter. A well-known free service, which offers a support queue. A queue in which I've had two tickets for some time now. The first is dated 11/14/08. The second (which really is the same issue, just resubmitted) is dated 12/04/08. Neither ticket has been responded to by their support department. This lack of response is extremely irritating.
To me, the act of offering support to your customers, even if you are a free service, obligates you to providing a reasonable level of support. If you aren't able to do this, either staff up in that department or explicitly state that you do not offer support. Ostensibly offering it serves nothing but to make your users angry and generate negative online buzz.
Yeah, They Do Call Them Bagels
10 years ago
3 comments:
Jeremy -- I'm a marketing professor at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, and I'm writing a chapter for a new textbook. My chapter looks at the use of Social Media in "service recovery." Your Land Rover story is a good one, and I'd like to use it in the chapter. Is there a way I could contact you to make sure I have all of the facts correct? And, do you know if either Land Rover or the dealership has "gotten on board" in terms of either 1) becoming more responsive to customers' complaints, or 2) embracing social media? dlcowles@vcu.edu
Jeremy -- PS -- your Twitter story is also a good one. I'd like to talk with you. dlcowles@vcu.edu
Deborah - I'd love to talk to you about both of these stories and anything else social media!
I sent you an email with my contact information. Feel free to contact me via email/phone at your leisure.
Thanks for the comments!
Jeremy
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