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This is fundamentally about not being undercut by competition which means the costs a business can absorb are fundamentally relative to competitors' costs (espe

This is fundamentally about not being undercut by competition which means the costs a business can absorb are fundamentally relative to competitors' costs (especially so in high margin SAAS businesses). If everyone has to offer support and there's no way to cheat, the market will find a way to meet demand efficiently under new circumstances

Msw242 5y ago
At a higher price level! It's important to write out and acknowledge that people cost money.
- chii 5y ago
  exactly! I think the right should be there - but the cost must also be associated with it. For example, there should be a plan for which you pay an upfront cost and get a human.
  - falcolas 5y ago
    Cool. What, about $5 a year? Totally worth it.
  - Msw242 5y ago
    HN logic: A) my skillset deserves $300k/y in comp B) I'm not paying another $10/m for my bank just because they'll have to have a human spend a few hours a year supporting me
- dustingetz 5y ago
  This is an assumption that a cost increase must certainly be reflected in increased price. Companies price based on customer perceived value, not costs. Particularly in venture funded SAAS, where the profit margin between cost and price is large. And companies have made little effort to invest in live support; if such an investment was necessary we would expect to see live support costs streamline as the industry of live support sees sudden increase in demand and investment.
- falcolas 5y ago
  People cost money, yes. But when you're distributing that cost across thousands (or tens of thousands) of customers every year, those costs are a pittance. Single digit dollars per year on the outside. Not exactly a bank breaker for a vast majority of businesses.
  - stevenhuang 5y ago
    > costs are a pittance That is completely dependent on the support burden at the margins of an additional customer. If your business is high-touch, your business won't scale. Which is perhaps the problem. Companies should not scale beyond what they ought to (when additional scaling hurts those at the margins).

Msw242 5y ago

At a higher price level! It's important to write out and acknowledge that people cost money.

chii 5y ago
exactly! I think the right should be there - but the cost must also be associated with it. For example, there should be a plan for which you pay an upfront cost and get a human.
- falcolas 5y ago
  Cool. What, about $5 a year? Totally worth it.
- Msw242 5y ago
  HN logic: A) my skillset deserves $300k/y in comp B) I'm not paying another $10/m for my bank just because they'll have to have a human spend a few hours a year supporting me
dustingetz 5y ago
This is an assumption that a cost increase must certainly be reflected in increased price. Companies price based on customer perceived value, not costs. Particularly in venture funded SAAS, where the profit margin between cost and price is large. And companies have made little effort to invest in live support; if such an investment was necessary we would expect to see live support costs streamline as the industry of live support sees sudden increase in demand and investment.
falcolas 5y ago
People cost money, yes. But when you're distributing that cost across thousands (or tens of thousands) of customers every year, those costs are a pittance. Single digit dollars per year on the outside. Not exactly a bank breaker for a vast majority of businesses.
- stevenhuang 5y ago
  > costs are a pittance That is completely dependent on the support burden at the margins of an additional customer. If your business is high-touch, your business won't scale. Which is perhaps the problem. Companies should not scale beyond what they ought to (when additional scaling hurts those at the margins).