4 ms·

I disagree. When you’re starting out, support is one of your key differentiating features. Customers will love you and stick with you because you’re there to he

by aidos 6y ago

I disagree. When you’re starting out, support is one of your key differentiating features. Customers will love you and stick with you because you’re there to help them when they need it. Those conversations, beyond just delighting your customers, are where you really learn the most about them and their needs. It’s where you get to live their pain and understand what you can do to build a better product. I’d recommend being ready to jump on the phone with someone the moment they reach out for help. Also, you can be honest about out of hours times - people understand that you can’t be there at 1am (though, lord knows I’ve done plenty of support with customers on the other side of the world at that time). But if you’re a tiny company getting established, you’ll be on hand at all hours, even if it’s a bit antisocial. Nobody is as loyal a customer as someone you’ve bent over backwards to help late at night or on a Sunday afternoon.

unishark 6y ago
24 hours can make it hard to coordinate times to talk (maybe they were expecting you to call back that day but not the next one), but is still great service in my field. Responding within a few hours and in person is definitely going the extra mile and will win you fans.
laurent92 6y ago
> people understand that you can’t be there at 1am (though, lord knows I’ve done plenty of support with customers on the other side of the world at that time). That is the most pleasure I take. Underpromising, yet answering tickets or taking a call at midnight. It happens once or twice a month. For the call, she told me she was stuck with a customer demo, in exchange I made clear that I wasn’t « in a work environment » and all went well. Those customers seem to get emotionally attached to us. In fact, they’re the only kind who give reviews on the Atlassian Marketplace (either those for positive reviews or the occasional disappointed person). They are a bit idealists though, and I don’t see them after two years, whereas corporate customers stay for much longer.
geoffroberts 6y ago
I completely agree that bending over backwards for users is a competitive advantage and customers won't forget it. But that does need to somehow reconcile with your availability and life outside of work—that's the rub for small bootstrapped companies.

by aidos 6y ago

unishark 6y ago

24 hours can make it hard to coordinate times to talk (maybe they were expecting you to call back that day but not the next one), but is still great service in my field. Responding within a few hours and in person is definitely going the extra mile and will win you fans.

laurent92 6y ago

> people understand that you can’t be there at 1am (though, lord knows I’ve done plenty of support with customers on the other side of the world at that time). That is the most pleasure I take. Underpromising, yet answering tickets or taking a call at midnight. It happens once or twice a month. For the call, she told me she was stuck with a customer demo, in exchange I made clear that I wasn’t « in a work environment » and all went well. Those customers seem to get emotionally attached to us. In fact, they’re the only kind who give reviews on the Atlassian Marketplace (either those for positive reviews or the occasional disappointed person). They are a bit idealists though, and I don’t see them after two years, whereas corporate customers stay for much longer.

geoffroberts 6y ago

I completely agree that bending over backwards for users is a competitive advantage and customers won't forget it. But that does need to somehow reconcile with your availability and life outside of work—that's the rub for small bootstrapped companies.