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The no-questions-asked 90-day money back guarantee was one of the best decisions we ever made at Fog Creek. Try this: use Fog Creek Copilot for a full 24 hours,

The no-questions-asked 90-day money back guarantee was one of the best decisions we ever made at Fog Creek. Try this: use Fog Creek Copilot for a full 24 hours, call up three months later and say, “hey guys, I need $5 for a cup of coffee. Give me back my money from that Copilot day pass,” and we’ll give it back to you. Try calling on the 91st or 92nd or 203rd day. You’ll still get it back. We really don’t want your money if you’re not satisfied. I’m pretty sure we’re running the only job listing service around that will refund your money just because your ad didn’t work. This is unheard of, but it means we get a lot more ad listings, because there’s nothing to lose. Over the last six years or so, letting people return software has cost us 2%. - Joel Spolsky (https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2007/02/19/seven-steps-to-remarkable-customer-service/ https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2007/02/19/seven-steps-to-rem...)

Casseres 8y ago
I think you posted in the wrong thread. Did you mean to post in Ask HN: Did offering a money-back guarantee help your business? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19085526 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19085526
- gknoy 8y ago
  While that is a good fit for this comment, it _does_ fit in this thread as well. Others are talking about how common terrible support is, where getting money back for a terrible product requires invoking the court, etc. The GP posted an example of _excellent_ service, the kind that most vendors should aspire to -- and included notes that doing so doesn't seem to have a big impact on the bottom line. The counterpoint is, if your product genuinely is terrible, the cost of such a guarantee would be too high to bear.
- yingw787 8y ago
  I did see that thread, but I wanted to post this here too. If you are worried about incumbents while starting a company, just remember your customers are used to being treated like how Jabra treats its customers, and if you treat your customers like Joel does, you shouldn't need to worry too much about customer retention and growth (other aspects nonwithstanding).

Casseres 8y ago

I think you posted in the wrong thread. Did you mean to post in Ask HN: Did offering a money-back guarantee help your business? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19085526 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19085526

gknoy 8y ago
While that is a good fit for this comment, it _does_ fit in this thread as well. Others are talking about how common terrible support is, where getting money back for a terrible product requires invoking the court, etc. The GP posted an example of _excellent_ service, the kind that most vendors should aspire to -- and included notes that doing so doesn't seem to have a big impact on the bottom line. The counterpoint is, if your product genuinely is terrible, the cost of such a guarantee would be too high to bear.
yingw787 8y ago
I did see that thread, but I wanted to post this here too. If you are worried about incumbents while starting a company, just remember your customers are used to being treated like how Jabra treats its customers, and if you treat your customers like Joel does, you shouldn't need to worry too much about customer retention and growth (other aspects nonwithstanding).