7 ms·

Learning from Wakemate - Smart announcements

90 points by aditya 17y ago

ulf 17y ago
Awesome post, this should be a must-read for everyone who ever has to give some kind of bad news to his oder her customers. Well done
ajju 17y ago
Well written. Just one more point, the form link seems to have been redacted. Asking customers to fill yet another form is painful. But then topping it off with "The next message we'll be sending out will include when you are getting your WakeMate and a link to finalize your purchase. To stay on our list be sure to fill out and submit the above form!" is just awful. That sounds like if I don't fill this form, I may not even get my order!
patio11 17y ago
I'm a twenty-seven year old computer programmer. I mention this so that you don't think I'm biased when I say: twenty-something male techies are some of the worst customers on the face of the earth. I don't know why we spend so much time trying to sell to ourselves. It is not my intention to criticize any person as an individual here, but let's review: pre-orderers of this product have five dollars on the line. That will not even buy you a value meal at McDonalds these days, but people appear to have gone ballistic that the company they married (i.e. gave five dollars to) might -- wait for it, massive betrayal approaching -- charge money for products they had not previously announced. The people who cause me the most amount of difficulty are poorer customers (I get a few, mostly older folks on fixed incomes), because a) they assume everyone is out to cheat them and b) any difficulty they have with a $25 transaction represents a Catastrophic Life Event to them whereas people with a bit more in the bank account just put it on the checklist of minor things to address today. Twenty something techies are a curious bunch, with the purchasing power of employed professionals and the money sensibility of peasants in the middle of a famine. It is madness: we spend our days talking about XYZ got a $N million round of funding and investment advice for the $20,000 made last month and, wait, WAIT, PAY MONTHLY?! I DON'T PAY MONTHLY! Except for my $600 iPhone ($100 a month), Internet access ($60 a month), $15 a month for WoW, $15 a month for Netflix, etc etc but you want me to PAY MONTHLY WTF BBQ.
- mschy 17y ago
  People were confused and annoyed. They expressed that to help wakemate. That said, your rant about money is absurd and misses the point. It's not about money; it's about expectations.
- gizmo 17y ago
  It's not about the 5 bucks. It's about not being up front with your (future) customers. By paying the 5 bucks we commit to WakeMate, as silly as that may be. We no longer have the choice to get a fitbit because we already promised to buy a WakeMate.
  - ryanwaggoner 17y ago
    We no longer have the choice to get a fitbit because we already promised to buy a WakeMate. I don't understand the comparison at all; they're completely different devices that serve different purposes. Additionally, you don't have to buy the WakeMate; I'm sure they'll refund you the $5. Even if they didn't, if that $5 is the clincher, then you're only proving Patrick's point.
- megamark16 17y ago
  I am also a 27 year old computer programmer, and I resemble that remark (sans the $100 Iphone). I am super cheap, and I can't imagine trying to sell something to myself. I deffinitely appreciated your comments.
- mattrepl 17y ago
  The slipped schedule and monthly charge for additional features were not the main source of the uproar. The announcement implied that the online reporting advertised as included with the purchase price was now only available at additional cost. The letter was interpreted as, "Hey, we're running late, sorry. Oh yeah, we're also charging for the sleep report separately now; so, we'll make up for the delay by throwing in some free months that you already were planning on getting and then charging you for the latter months you also thought would be free. You're welcome!" People felt duped, it's not about the dollar amount it's about trust. WakeMate have since clarified that basic reporting will remain free.
emmett 17y ago
I'm not sure why everyone is so up in arms about this. I was actually very pleased when I got the email. Yay, they haven't folded! Yay, I'm going to get my WakeMate! Yay, they're giving me a free month of their premium analytics (which implies that there's a standard analytics that's free, just as previously advertised). This seems like a tempest in a teapot to me.
- Frazzydee 17y ago
  Yeah, I really don't think there's a problem with the actual content. Their announcement was just very poorly worded. You'd think that, being a Y Combinator company, they would have access to resources that would help avoid such customer relations blunders. Actually if you read the site, I don't think they ever advertise that any of the analytics will be free: "After a night's data is collected, it is automatically uploaded to our servers, analyzed, and made available on the WakeMate Analytics platform." So although the data is analyzed, but that sentence only says that the data itself is made available. However, the picture below those words shows your "sleep score" and a graph, which I presume is part of the basic analysis package. See: http://www.wakemate.com/tour/ http://www.wakemate.com/tour/
andrewljohnson 17y ago
Maybe there wouldn't be so big a shipping delay if WakeMate focused on shipping the product they promised, instead of cooking up premium features while everyone is waiting. That's why people are mad... not the premium features, not the delay, but rather the implication that people pre-ordered a product and they have to wait for something they don't want (and didn't know was being built), while what they were promised is delayed as a result.
donaldc 17y ago
I haven't pre-ordered, but was planning to buy one once they actually started shipping. I don't care at all about any advanced features -- just basic reporting and whether it will be able to wake me up at an opportune moment each morning. It isn't entirely clear to me at this point whether I'll be able to do that without paying a monthly fee. It sounds likely that this may be possible, but I'd prefer to be sure before I buy. Hopefully their website will clarify what is free and what is not before they begin shipping devices.
lace05 17y ago
pls iwanna learn to be a hacker any hacker seeing this message and wannab help should kindly mail me on delovingguy2000@yahoo.com.peace bros

90 points by aditya 17y ago

ulf 17y ago

Awesome post, this should be a must-read for everyone who ever has to give some kind of bad news to his oder her customers. Well done

ajju 17y ago

Well written. Just one more point, the form link seems to have been redacted. Asking customers to fill yet another form is painful. But then topping it off with "The next message we'll be sending out will include when you are getting your WakeMate and a link to finalize your purchase. To stay on our list be sure to fill out and submit the above form!" is just awful. That sounds like if I don't fill this form, I may not even get my order!

patio11 17y ago

I'm a twenty-seven year old computer programmer. I mention this so that you don't think I'm biased when I say: twenty-something male techies are some of the worst customers on the face of the earth. I don't know why we spend so much time trying to sell to ourselves. It is not my intention to criticize any person as an individual here, but let's review: pre-orderers of this product have five dollars on the line. That will not even buy you a value meal at McDonalds these days, but people appear to have gone ballistic that the company they married (i.e. gave five dollars to) might -- wait for it, massive betrayal approaching -- charge money for products they had not previously announced. The people who cause me the most amount of difficulty are poorer customers (I get a few, mostly older folks on fixed incomes), because a) they assume everyone is out to cheat them and b) any difficulty they have with a $25 transaction represents a Catastrophic Life Event to them whereas people with a bit more in the bank account just put it on the checklist of minor things to address today. Twenty something techies are a curious bunch, with the purchasing power of employed professionals and the money sensibility of peasants in the middle of a famine. It is madness: we spend our days talking about XYZ got a $N million round of funding and investment advice for the $20,000 made last month and, wait, WAIT, PAY MONTHLY?! I DON'T PAY MONTHLY! Except for my $600 iPhone ($100 a month), Internet access ($60 a month), $15 a month for WoW, $15 a month for Netflix, etc etc but you want me to PAY MONTHLY WTF BBQ.

mschy 17y ago
People were confused and annoyed. They expressed that to help wakemate. That said, your rant about money is absurd and misses the point. It's not about money; it's about expectations.
gizmo 17y ago
It's not about the 5 bucks. It's about not being up front with your (future) customers. By paying the 5 bucks we commit to WakeMate, as silly as that may be. We no longer have the choice to get a fitbit because we already promised to buy a WakeMate.
- ryanwaggoner 17y ago
  We no longer have the choice to get a fitbit because we already promised to buy a WakeMate. I don't understand the comparison at all; they're completely different devices that serve different purposes. Additionally, you don't have to buy the WakeMate; I'm sure they'll refund you the $5. Even if they didn't, if that $5 is the clincher, then you're only proving Patrick's point.
megamark16 17y ago
I am also a 27 year old computer programmer, and I resemble that remark (sans the $100 Iphone). I am super cheap, and I can't imagine trying to sell something to myself. I deffinitely appreciated your comments.
mattrepl 17y ago
The slipped schedule and monthly charge for additional features were not the main source of the uproar. The announcement implied that the online reporting advertised as included with the purchase price was now only available at additional cost. The letter was interpreted as, "Hey, we're running late, sorry. Oh yeah, we're also charging for the sleep report separately now; so, we'll make up for the delay by throwing in some free months that you already were planning on getting and then charging you for the latter months you also thought would be free. You're welcome!" People felt duped, it's not about the dollar amount it's about trust. WakeMate have since clarified that basic reporting will remain free.

emmett 17y ago

I'm not sure why everyone is so up in arms about this. I was actually very pleased when I got the email. Yay, they haven't folded! Yay, I'm going to get my WakeMate! Yay, they're giving me a free month of their premium analytics (which implies that there's a standard analytics that's free, just as previously advertised). This seems like a tempest in a teapot to me.

Frazzydee 17y ago
Yeah, I really don't think there's a problem with the actual content. Their announcement was just very poorly worded. You'd think that, being a Y Combinator company, they would have access to resources that would help avoid such customer relations blunders. Actually if you read the site, I don't think they ever advertise that any of the analytics will be free: "After a night's data is collected, it is automatically uploaded to our servers, analyzed, and made available on the WakeMate Analytics platform." So although the data is analyzed, but that sentence only says that the data itself is made available. However, the picture below those words shows your "sleep score" and a graph, which I presume is part of the basic analysis package. See: http://www.wakemate.com/tour/ http://www.wakemate.com/tour/

andrewljohnson 17y ago

Maybe there wouldn't be so big a shipping delay if WakeMate focused on shipping the product they promised, instead of cooking up premium features while everyone is waiting. That's why people are mad... not the premium features, not the delay, but rather the implication that people pre-ordered a product and they have to wait for something they don't want (and didn't know was being built), while what they were promised is delayed as a result.

donaldc 17y ago

I haven't pre-ordered, but was planning to buy one once they actually started shipping. I don't care at all about any advanced features -- just basic reporting and whether it will be able to wake me up at an opportune moment each morning. It isn't entirely clear to me at this point whether I'll be able to do that without paying a monthly fee. It sounds likely that this may be possible, but I'd prefer to be sure before I buy. Hopefully their website will clarify what is free and what is not before they begin shipping devices.

lace05 17y ago

pls iwanna learn to be a hacker any hacker seeing this message and wannab help should kindly mail me on delovingguy2000@yahoo.com.peace bros