3 ms·

If one out of 100,000 cases requires support staff, surely the $50 or so per year (for Google Apps business) should be enough to cover that? Low price doesn't

If one out of 100,000 cases requires support staff, surely the $50 or so per year (for Google Apps business) should be enough to cover that? Low price doesn't mean that you can never afford any service. I received a personal response/apology and vouchers from a marketing representative once after I complained by e-mail about a €2,99 food product (Iglo brand). Google is either just greedy and reckless, or their prices are below the cost of the actual product (with no support costs factored in), but even then they could afford some level of support. But hey, if they get away with it, no big deal, right? (Edit: another example, I have a €0,90 per month e-mail account from df.eu and receive personal, thoughtful reponses when I ask them about technical issues like TLS support - how is a much smaller company able to do that and Google isn't? It's obviously not the product price.)

josh2600 14y ago
Because support hurts margins. Google has a fiduciary duty to shareholders, and supporting anything other than their ad products doesn't make sense from a cost-benefit perspective. I'd wager that most google products lose money, and I'm almost certain that GV is unprofitable. Is this morally correct? That depends on ones value system. Google tells customers that they don't provide support and users continue to consume the service. If you want support, the price tag is higher than free.99.
- TDL 14y ago
  Plenty of public companies have support departments. Support services hurt margins from a naive analysis of a business. Good support services can strengthen a brand, which can create loyal customers over time.
  - goostavos 14y ago
    Amazon is a perfect example of this. Their site is convenient, Prime is handy (even though their streaming is useless), but it's their customer service which made me 'loyal.' Over the years, I've had a few items arrive damaged, including a few very expensive ones. The customer service calls seem to take at most 5 minutes. For instance, I had a computer arrive completely destroyed. I called them, explained what happened, and the rep asked whether I wanted a refund or replacement. I said "replacement," and she replied "I'll have it to you by tomorrow." That level of service, as a consumer, means so much to me.
- lazyjones 14y ago
  That doesn't make much sense. If the products are losing money and Google's fiduciary obligations to shareholders consist only of maximizing margins, Google should shut down those products. Not supporting paid products for businesses(!) will hurt more than just the reputation of those products, as a shareholder I would consider it irresponsible on behalf of Google (I'd assume that they're also pissing off some shareholders who use those products).

josh2600 14y ago

Because support hurts margins. Google has a fiduciary duty to shareholders, and supporting anything other than their ad products doesn't make sense from a cost-benefit perspective. I'd wager that most google products lose money, and I'm almost certain that GV is unprofitable. Is this morally correct? That depends on ones value system. Google tells customers that they don't provide support and users continue to consume the service. If you want support, the price tag is higher than free.99.

TDL 14y ago
Plenty of public companies have support departments. Support services hurt margins from a naive analysis of a business. Good support services can strengthen a brand, which can create loyal customers over time.
- goostavos 14y ago
  Amazon is a perfect example of this. Their site is convenient, Prime is handy (even though their streaming is useless), but it's their customer service which made me 'loyal.' Over the years, I've had a few items arrive damaged, including a few very expensive ones. The customer service calls seem to take at most 5 minutes. For instance, I had a computer arrive completely destroyed. I called them, explained what happened, and the rep asked whether I wanted a refund or replacement. I said "replacement," and she replied "I'll have it to you by tomorrow." That level of service, as a consumer, means so much to me.
lazyjones 14y ago
That doesn't make much sense. If the products are losing money and Google's fiduciary obligations to shareholders consist only of maximizing margins, Google should shut down those products. Not supporting paid products for businesses(!) will hurt more than just the reputation of those products, as a shareholder I would consider it irresponsible on behalf of Google (I'd assume that they're also pissing off some shareholders who use those products).