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As a counterpoint, on my site (Obsidian Portal), support is a big drain (both timewise and mentally). Further, it has little to do with paid vs free (we're free

As a counterpoint, on my site (Obsidian Portal), support is a big drain (both timewise and mentally). Further, it has little to do with paid vs free (we're freemium). Both groups demand support, and the freebies are often the most angry. For example, every day I'm dealing with someone who is convinced that the login system is broken. It's always user error, but it requires input from me pretty much every time, to the point of "here is a new temporary password. i've tested it and it works. please copy and paste it in" Yes, we have an automated "forgot password" feature, but no matter how much automation you add there will always be people who avoid all that and demand personal attention.

sid6376 15y ago
Would it make sense to have an automated email to the effect of "Thanks for contacting us. Here are the frequently faced problems." ?
- paganel 15y ago
  > Would it make sense to have an automated email to the effect of "Thanks for contacting us. Here are the frequently faced problems." ? It depends on the target audience. If it consists of geeks/people familiar with computers from an early age, then, yes, they might read that, otherwise you're going to do what MicahWedemeyer does (and what myself I'm doing, for a Groupon-clone website targeted to women): emailing your users predefined passwords, hoping they'll actually change them after the first time they use them.
  - eropple 15y ago
    This is not a good solution. If you're emailing them generated passwords, you should immediately route them into a password-change workflow on login. You shouldn't be "hoping" anything.
    - paganel 15y ago
      I'm not selling diamonds, only spa-coupons, so it's not the end of the world is someone-else somehow cracks other user's account (we don't store or process CC information on our side). > you should immediately route them into a password-change workflow on login We already have that by default (we're using Drupal), but, as I said, most of our target audience finds it too complicated.
- MicahWedemeyer 15y ago
  We use an auto-ticketing system that has that feature. They say, "halp i can't log in!! ur site is broke!!!" and see a page that says: "Do any of these articles answer your question? If not, click the 'Submit my ticket' button below." One of the articles is titled "Can't log in? Try these steps..." I assume that's catching some of them, but plenty still click the submit button. You will always have some people who navigate through every automated trap you set up. You can choose to ignore if you want, but your customer service reputation will suffer.
kelnos 15y ago
Have you considered that your login UI (including the "forgot password" feature) isn't intuitive enough for your audience? We take a lot of things for granted as programmers/techies. Beyond that, I think I'd start "firing" customers who are a huge support drain like that, especially those who are non-paying customers. Unless your site depends heavily on network effects, and a large percentage of visitors have password issues, it sounds like your time could be much better spent elsewhere.
- MicahWedemeyer 15y ago
  Easy to say, tough to do. I feel personally beholden to all our users, and I want to make sure they can use the site effectively. To that end, I try to help as best I can. It's a drain, but I feel guilty just ignoring someone who is begging for help.
  - WA 15y ago
    I know exactly the feeling you describe. But I think some posters here are right and there might be a little issue with your design. Maybe you simply lack a little snippet of information somewhere like "Cookies need to be enabled" or something like that. Or they simply don't recognize easily whether they are logged in or not. Maybe it helps if you ask some people to perform a specific task while you're watching them (for example your friends). You can learn a lot from that about your design.
  - kelnos 15y ago
    It really isn't that hard, especially given the relative anonymity of the internet. I've done it before, and while I'm not going to say it's a good feeling actually doing it, I feel so much better afterward knowing that my overall stress level is going to be lower. Some people are just poison when it comes to providing support, and they're not worth the time, money, and stress.
chadgeidel 15y ago
Perhaps this is naive (and you may be doing it already), but do you provide different "QoS" for your paid/free users? Have 2 addresses/contact forms with specific promised return times?
- MicahWedemeyer 15y ago
  We treat all equally. Maybe bad business, but I don't feel right just letting people twist in the wind.
  - chadgeidel 15y ago
    Well, sure. I'm not suggesting ignoring them, just prioritizing them.
    - dualogy 15y ago
      That's precisely what I do -- I have to -- needless to say deprioritized users feel fully "ignored". That said, you can't please everyone... if you're the one left serving the lowest-IQ users with the lowest-or-no-budget, you just give others an easier time making good money off more savvy software users. Before you know it, you have to close down shop for good...
SteveC 15y ago
I've had a few customers like that. What I eventually did was make it possible for them to be logged in automatically by visiting a unique URL. Horribly insecure, but it's not a service that needs high security.

sid6376 15y ago

Would it make sense to have an automated email to the effect of "Thanks for contacting us. Here are the frequently faced problems." ?

paganel 15y ago
> Would it make sense to have an automated email to the effect of "Thanks for contacting us. Here are the frequently faced problems." ? It depends on the target audience. If it consists of geeks/people familiar with computers from an early age, then, yes, they might read that, otherwise you're going to do what MicahWedemeyer does (and what myself I'm doing, for a Groupon-clone website targeted to women): emailing your users predefined passwords, hoping they'll actually change them after the first time they use them.
- eropple 15y ago
  This is not a good solution. If you're emailing them generated passwords, you should immediately route them into a password-change workflow on login. You shouldn't be "hoping" anything.
  - paganel 15y ago
    I'm not selling diamonds, only spa-coupons, so it's not the end of the world is someone-else somehow cracks other user's account (we don't store or process CC information on our side). > you should immediately route them into a password-change workflow on login We already have that by default (we're using Drupal), but, as I said, most of our target audience finds it too complicated.
MicahWedemeyer 15y ago
We use an auto-ticketing system that has that feature. They say, "halp i can't log in!! ur site is broke!!!" and see a page that says: "Do any of these articles answer your question? If not, click the 'Submit my ticket' button below." One of the articles is titled "Can't log in? Try these steps..." I assume that's catching some of them, but plenty still click the submit button. You will always have some people who navigate through every automated trap you set up. You can choose to ignore if you want, but your customer service reputation will suffer.

kelnos 15y ago

Have you considered that your login UI (including the "forgot password" feature) isn't intuitive enough for your audience? We take a lot of things for granted as programmers/techies. Beyond that, I think I'd start "firing" customers who are a huge support drain like that, especially those who are non-paying customers. Unless your site depends heavily on network effects, and a large percentage of visitors have password issues, it sounds like your time could be much better spent elsewhere.

MicahWedemeyer 15y ago
Easy to say, tough to do. I feel personally beholden to all our users, and I want to make sure they can use the site effectively. To that end, I try to help as best I can. It's a drain, but I feel guilty just ignoring someone who is begging for help.
- WA 15y ago
  I know exactly the feeling you describe. But I think some posters here are right and there might be a little issue with your design. Maybe you simply lack a little snippet of information somewhere like "Cookies need to be enabled" or something like that. Or they simply don't recognize easily whether they are logged in or not. Maybe it helps if you ask some people to perform a specific task while you're watching them (for example your friends). You can learn a lot from that about your design.
- kelnos 15y ago
  It really isn't that hard, especially given the relative anonymity of the internet. I've done it before, and while I'm not going to say it's a good feeling actually doing it, I feel so much better afterward knowing that my overall stress level is going to be lower. Some people are just poison when it comes to providing support, and they're not worth the time, money, and stress.

chadgeidel 15y ago

Perhaps this is naive (and you may be doing it already), but do you provide different "QoS" for your paid/free users? Have 2 addresses/contact forms with specific promised return times?

MicahWedemeyer 15y ago
We treat all equally. Maybe bad business, but I don't feel right just letting people twist in the wind.
- chadgeidel 15y ago
  Well, sure. I'm not suggesting ignoring them, just prioritizing them.
  - dualogy 15y ago
    That's precisely what I do -- I have to -- needless to say deprioritized users feel fully "ignored". That said, you can't please everyone... if you're the one left serving the lowest-IQ users with the lowest-or-no-budget, you just give others an easier time making good money off more savvy software users. Before you know it, you have to close down shop for good...

SteveC 15y ago

I've had a few customers like that. What I eventually did was make it possible for them to be logged in automatically by visiting a unique URL. Horribly insecure, but it's not a service that needs high security.