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> I run a service where you pay once for a lifetime upgrade, and it doesn't make much money so I don't care very much about dissatisfying bad customers. I don'

> I run a service where you pay once for a lifetime upgrade, and it doesn't make much money so I don't care very much about dissatisfying bad customers. I don't like this attitude.

StavrosK 6y ago
Would you prefer I cared deeply about bad customers?
- panpanna 6y ago
  Customers should not suffer because of your business miscalculations.
  - StavrosK 6y ago
    They suffer because of their own rudeness and inability to extend basic courtesy; the fact that they can't hold future payments over my head as an excuse for their bad manners is just a bonus.
    - iagovar 6y ago
      I'm with you. It doesn't matter it's a business, if you can't have even the most basic level of courtesy they don't deserve much. I guess most people here in HN never worked in customer support, or as cashier and such. Treat people with respect. Customer support already mentally tax people, much more that you would expect if you never worked in it.
      - StavrosK 6y ago
        That's my point of view exactly, and I'm really surprised it's this controversial. I would have expected it to be the norm.
        seamyb88 6y ago
        I think you were quite reserved. If you were responsible for fixing something in a company and a colleague spoke to you like that, you'd have them in arbitration faster than they could apologise.
        iagovar 6y ago
        I think it's a combination of never having contact with customer support or public-facing jobs and this american thing of expecting employees to be on top of customers. It's also a culture thing. Since you are Greek I guess you have a similar understanding to mine on how customer support should work.
        kungtotte 6y ago
        Reading the replies you're getting here makes me understand why there's so many rude people contacting customer service... I have a customer facing job and I work closely with the customer service department so I'm exposed to a lot of this (I meet customers face to face as well), and it's shocking how rude and abusive some people can get to another human being. I tell people all the time to stuff their attitude up their holes and start over if they want any help from me. I'm a human being; I will not accept people talking like that to me. Those customers sure wouldn't accept it if I acted like that to them, why should the reverse be okay?
- MaxBarraclough 6y ago
  From your account of the incident, you declined to take the customer's problem seriously at all. I don't see that it's reasonable to disregard the issues of a paying customer on account of their poor netiquette. They aren't a professional tester filing a bug-report, they're a paying customer with poor communication skills. I don't see that refusing to help them, and even mocking them, is an acceptable response. At the very least you're holding yourself to a low standard.
  - StavrosK 6y ago
    I disagree, but I wouldn't email anyone with "it doesn't work! FIX IT!!!" with no further detail and expect to get help, paying or not. I'm frankly surprised that you think that a person this rude is entitled to support. Paying gets you support, it doesn't get you the right to be rude to the person you're asking for help. What would you have done?
    - technothrasher 6y ago
      Considering they did come back with a polite follow up, I agree with the above poster that it was likely a case of poor communication skills rather than intentioned rudeness. Your quick follow up to their inappropriate message with your own overt rudeness is clearly what is setting posters off here. I would have given them a bit more of the benefit of a doubt before I went off on them.
      - StavrosK 6y ago
        How is it rude to tell someone they're being rude? My takeaway from the reactions in this thread is that businesses are culturally expected to let the customer walk all over them, and anything other than "thank you for your abuse, now please let me help you" is considered rude.
      - ecpottinger 6y ago
        Garbage! Telling someone they are rude is not rude, it is cutting off the rude behavior.
onion2k 6y ago
Very often people say they don't like something because they can easily imagine being in the same position. If that's what prompted you to state you don't like the response, just be sure you never post such a rude support request and you should be fine.

> I run a service where you pay once for a lifetime upgrade, and it doesn't make much money so I don't care very much about dissatisfying bad customers. I don't like this attitude.

StavrosK 6y ago

Would you prefer I cared deeply about bad customers?

panpanna 6y ago
Customers should not suffer because of your business miscalculations.
- StavrosK 6y ago
  They suffer because of their own rudeness and inability to extend basic courtesy; the fact that they can't hold future payments over my head as an excuse for their bad manners is just a bonus.
  - iagovar 6y ago
    I'm with you. It doesn't matter it's a business, if you can't have even the most basic level of courtesy they don't deserve much. I guess most people here in HN never worked in customer support, or as cashier and such. Treat people with respect. Customer support already mentally tax people, much more that you would expect if you never worked in it.
    - StavrosK 6y ago
      That's my point of view exactly, and I'm really surprised it's this controversial. I would have expected it to be the norm.
      - seamyb88 6y ago
        I think you were quite reserved. If you were responsible for fixing something in a company and a colleague spoke to you like that, you'd have them in arbitration faster than they could apologise.
      - iagovar 6y ago
        I think it's a combination of never having contact with customer support or public-facing jobs and this american thing of expecting employees to be on top of customers. It's also a culture thing. Since you are Greek I guess you have a similar understanding to mine on how customer support should work.
      - kungtotte 6y ago
        Reading the replies you're getting here makes me understand why there's so many rude people contacting customer service... I have a customer facing job and I work closely with the customer service department so I'm exposed to a lot of this (I meet customers face to face as well), and it's shocking how rude and abusive some people can get to another human being. I tell people all the time to stuff their attitude up their holes and start over if they want any help from me. I'm a human being; I will not accept people talking like that to me. Those customers sure wouldn't accept it if I acted like that to them, why should the reverse be okay?
MaxBarraclough 6y ago
From your account of the incident, you declined to take the customer's problem seriously at all. I don't see that it's reasonable to disregard the issues of a paying customer on account of their poor netiquette. They aren't a professional tester filing a bug-report, they're a paying customer with poor communication skills. I don't see that refusing to help them, and even mocking them, is an acceptable response. At the very least you're holding yourself to a low standard.
- StavrosK 6y ago
  I disagree, but I wouldn't email anyone with "it doesn't work! FIX IT!!!" with no further detail and expect to get help, paying or not. I'm frankly surprised that you think that a person this rude is entitled to support. Paying gets you support, it doesn't get you the right to be rude to the person you're asking for help. What would you have done?
  - technothrasher 6y ago
    Considering they did come back with a polite follow up, I agree with the above poster that it was likely a case of poor communication skills rather than intentioned rudeness. Your quick follow up to their inappropriate message with your own overt rudeness is clearly what is setting posters off here. I would have given them a bit more of the benefit of a doubt before I went off on them.
    - StavrosK 6y ago
      How is it rude to tell someone they're being rude? My takeaway from the reactions in this thread is that businesses are culturally expected to let the customer walk all over them, and anything other than "thank you for your abuse, now please let me help you" is considered rude.
    - ecpottinger 6y ago
      Garbage! Telling someone they are rude is not rude, it is cutting off the rude behavior.

onion2k 6y ago

Very often people say they don't like something because they can easily imagine being in the same position. If that's what prompted you to state you don't like the response, just be sure you never post such a rude support request and you should be fine.