Comments on: You Never Get a Second Chance at a First Impression http://profy.com/2008/04/02/the-importance-of-customer-service/ Internet news and commentary Mon, 01 Dec 2008 18:43:37 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Stand-out Service « The Guidewire http://profy.com/2008/04/02/the-importance-of-customer-service/#comment-468481 Stand-out Service « The Guidewire Fri, 11 Apr 2008 17:21:48 +0000 http://profy.com/2008/04/02/the-importance-of-customer-service/#comment-468481 [...] The concept is gaining more traction in blog circles lately, as companies attempt to leverage Web 2.0 technologies to better serve their customers. Sarah Perez recently focused on Twitter as a customer service tool on ReadWriteWeb and Cyndi Aleo-Carreira posted about some personal experiences, good and bad, with several companies. I myself have noticed a couple of new Twitter followers immediately following sign-ups in new betas recently. One amusing incident involved me tweeting “What the hell is Mergelab and what am I supposed to do with it?” only to receive a direct reply from the CEO 10 minutes later. Lesson: excising profanity will usually result in nicer-sounding tweets. [...] [...] The concept is gaining more traction in blog circles lately, as companies attempt to leverage Web 2.0 technologies to better serve their customers. Sarah Perez recently focused on Twitter as a customer service tool on ReadWriteWeb and Cyndi Aleo-Carreira posted about some personal experiences, good and bad, with several companies. I myself have noticed a couple of new Twitter followers immediately following sign-ups in new betas recently. One amusing incident involved me tweeting “What the hell is Mergelab and what am I supposed to do with it?” only to receive a direct reply from the CEO 10 minutes later. Lesson: excising profanity will usually result in nicer-sounding tweets. [...]

]]> By: Cyndy Aleo-Carreira http://profy.com/2008/04/02/the-importance-of-customer-service/#comment-433271 Cyndy Aleo-Carreira Thu, 03 Apr 2008 17:15:33 +0000 http://profy.com/2008/04/02/the-importance-of-customer-service/#comment-433271 Caleb, I understand that you have been working on the issues I've experienced and I appreciate that when you find a resolution, you let me know as soon as I can try again! That's the type of response that I think goes much further in fostering happy customers. Shai, I'll be blunt; I think it's about priorities. We both know that of those 5000 applications b5 gets, the majority of them are people who can't write their way out of a paper bag, but hear there's great money in blogging and anyone can do it. That being said, I do think that there are probably people who are applying who are great writers that get overlooked. It's the way of the world that you often miss amazing candidates simply because of how application processes work. But when those applicants get ignored along with the chaff, their experience is colored, and many probably won't apply again. At some point, the quality of candidates on the whole will suffer. As I said, I only applied when it was a topic I really felt passionate about, as I personally have not had positive experiences with working for blog networks on the whole, but I have been impressed with some of the b5 bloggers I subscribe to, like Kristina Chew. In the overall scheme of making an impression, it's a huge piece of the puzzle. A user (or applicant) feels devalued, forms an opinion of the company or service, and that colors every reaction they have to that company/service in the future. So much of whether a company succeeds or fails in the Web 2.0 world is dependent on that word of mouth buzz that I think no company can afford to screw up when it comes to making that great first impression. Caleb, I understand that you have been working on the issues I’ve experienced and I appreciate that when you find a resolution, you let me know as soon as I can try again! That’s the type of response that I think goes much further in fostering happy customers.

Shai, I’ll be blunt; I think it’s about priorities. We both know that of those 5000 applications b5 gets, the majority of them are people who can’t write their way out of a paper bag, but hear there’s great money in blogging and anyone can do it. That being said, I do think that there are probably people who are applying who are great writers that get overlooked. It’s the way of the world that you often miss amazing candidates simply because of how application processes work. But when those applicants get ignored along with the chaff, their experience is colored, and many probably won’t apply again. At some point, the quality of candidates on the whole will suffer. As I said, I only applied when it was a topic I really felt passionate about, as I personally have not had positive experiences with working for blog networks on the whole, but I have been impressed with some of the b5 bloggers I subscribe to, like Kristina Chew.

In the overall scheme of making an impression, it’s a huge piece of the puzzle. A user (or applicant) feels devalued, forms an opinion of the company or service, and that colors every reaction they have to that company/service in the future. So much of whether a company succeeds or fails in the Web 2.0 world is dependent on that word of mouth buzz that I think no company can afford to screw up when it comes to making that great first impression.

]]> By: Shai Coggins http://profy.com/2008/04/02/the-importance-of-customer-service/#comment-430491 Shai Coggins Thu, 03 Apr 2008 00:35:43 +0000 http://profy.com/2008/04/02/the-importance-of-customer-service/#comment-430491 Cyndi, You're absolutely right. Once a person makes up their mind about a company/product/service, it's more difficult to persuade them to think otherwise. Unfortunately, your first few experiences with b5 hasn't been all that positive. Can't really blame you for that giant eye roll. I might feel the same way if I were in your shoes. And, as I've mentioned in your other post, the number of applications, etc. we receive isn't necessarily an excuse. It is an issue that we have been discussing and working on. The solution may seem easy, but actual implementation of ideas isn't always as simple. If it were, we would have way more features on b5 by now! ;-) The thing is, while these type of issues do occur, I think they're more exceptions rather than the norm. Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to hire enough bloggers who stay on with us if we simply ignore emails/applications. Again, if you do wish to follow-up/get someone's attention from b5, you're definitely more than welcome to contact us. Not just through email, but by other means too (Twitter, etc). We may never make it up to you, but it doesn't mean we'll stop caring. Cyndi,

You’re absolutely right. Once a person makes up their mind about a company/product/service, it’s more difficult to persuade them to think otherwise.

Unfortunately, your first few experiences with b5 hasn’t been all that positive. Can’t really blame you for that giant eye roll. I might feel the same way if I were in your shoes. And, as I’ve mentioned in your other post, the number of applications, etc. we receive isn’t necessarily an excuse. It is an issue that we have been discussing and working on. The solution may seem easy, but actual implementation of ideas isn’t always as simple. If it were, we would have way more features on b5 by now! ;-)

The thing is, while these type of issues do occur, I think they’re more exceptions rather than the norm. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to hire enough bloggers who stay on with us if we simply ignore emails/applications.

Again, if you do wish to follow-up/get someone’s attention from b5, you’re definitely more than welcome to contact us. Not just through email, but by other means too (Twitter, etc).

We may never make it up to you, but it doesn’t mean we’ll stop caring.

]]> By: Caleb Elston http://profy.com/2008/04/02/the-importance-of-customer-service/#comment-429361 Caleb Elston Wed, 02 Apr 2008 17:49:31 +0000 http://profy.com/2008/04/02/the-importance-of-customer-service/#comment-429361 Hi Cyndy, I do my best to respond to the issues people are having with Toluu as quickly as I can, I am totally blown away with the amazing response we have been getting, so I feel it is the least I can do. I agree that FriendFeed and Socialthing! are also doing things right. Cheers, Caleb Hi Cyndy,

I do my best to respond to the issues people are having with Toluu as quickly as I can, I am totally blown away with the amazing response we have been getting, so I feel it is the least I can do. I agree that FriendFeed and Socialthing! are also doing things right.

Cheers,
Caleb

]]>