4 ms·

For what it's worth, Thor Muller (Cofounder of Get Satisfaction) responded in the comments and said the wording was a mistake and would be changed immediately:

For what it's worth, Thor Muller (Cofounder of Get Satisfaction) responded in the comments and said the wording was a mistake and would be changed immediately: "Gosh, we messed up on the wording of that badge and are changing it pronto. The wording on that badge was actually intended to explicitly state that the space was NOT OFFICIALLY SANCTIONED by the company, but that doesn’t come off at all. The idea is to encourage openness, and provide a badge for companies that want to be associated with it. This was just unfortunate phrasing (one small part of an ongoing redesign effort), and doesn’t reflect our values, as I think many, many people and companies who’ve used our service can attest."

JoelSutherland 18y ago
The text in the badge is/was: 37signals has not yet committed to open conversation about its products and services. Encourage them to join and support the Company-Customer Pact. I really have a hard time believing that this was an oversight. It is at the top of almost every page. When you consider GetSatisfaction's strategy it is even well written.
- scott_s 18y ago
  I agree. The language was simple and clear. I have difficulty believing language that straight-forward was an accident.
  - webwright 18y ago
    They don't mean accident in that they fell on a keyboard and that came out. They mean accident in that someone wrote it as placeholder (or supposed final) copy and it didn't get reviewed/agreed to by the team before it got launched. Clearly some writer was overzealous and the higher-ups didn't get a chance to read it. Happens all the time at small startups.
    - scott_s 18y ago
      That badge is/was on every page for companies that haven't set up an account with them - which I assume is a lot. And according to what other commenters here have said, it's been worded as such since launch. I have a hard time believing that the "higher-ups" hadn't read something as ubiquitous as this on their own site. Also, at a small startup, shouldn't there be very little distance from the writers and the "higher-ups"? In a truly small startup, I would assume the descion-makers are the ones to write the copy.
      - olefoo 18y ago
        > That badge is/was on every page for companies that haven't set up an account with them Yeah, the badge itself is an include in a template, good tools give you great leverage but they amplify your mistakes as much as they magnify your successes. I could see that being a mistake of the "We didn't think through the consequences of what we were saying.", type. OTOH I think 37signals is on the right tack by responding publicly because a private conversation would have had to start with a C&D over the use of their trademark in a manner likely to cause confusion.
      - webwright 18y ago
        Actually, according to the founder of the company (and, more importantly, the Internet Archive), that wording changed with their most recent release.
    - evgen 18y ago
      > Happens all the time at small startups. ORLY? How many layers of management bullshit are there between the decision-makers at Get Satisfaction and the people writing their core message? This is not some random page buried deep within the site, it is top right on most of the pages they are generating. I have a feeling that what they mean by "accident" is that someone with a voice decided to call them on it...
      - tptacek 18y ago
        I agree; also, this seems like the kind of copy that most smart companies would be measuring for conversion.
- mechanical_fish 18y ago
  What you say is completely true. That said: Accept the groveling apology for what it is. GetSatisfaction has passed the first test of customer support: When the customer gets angry, you must grovel, and vice versa: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=240170 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=240170
  - sfg 18y ago
    "GetSatisfaction has passed the first test of customer support", What customer? 37Signals are not a customer, but a victim.
    - mechanical_fish 18y ago
      That's true, but this is the internet. Just because the customer is not visible in this exchange doesn't mean that (s)he is not watching.
- donaq 18y ago
  Not to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but could this have possibly been deliberate? The language in the badge seemed quite unambiguous to me. Could they have done this deliberately, waiting for someone big (and somewhat vocal) like, oh, 37signals to notice and speak up, then swiftly make apologies and correct the "accident"? If this is true, then GetSatisfaction has truly played 37signals, HN and possibly many other sites as news gets around, like a flute. A publicity coup of magnificent (if a tad Machiavellian) proportions.
mmelin 18y ago
That badge has been on GetSatisfaction pages for as long as I can remember, at least a year. I find it hard to believe that it could be an oversight.
- mmelin 18y ago
  I have to say that I seem to be completely wrong here. Looking through the Internet Archive, with the previous design it used to say: "Anyone can add a company or organization Love a company? Or hate one? Add it to Satisfaction! Is your company or organization already here? Claim it and get involved with your customers." It would seem as if I'm misremembering because I have spent a disproportionate amount of time on GS the last few weeks. Apologies.
- knowtheory 18y ago
  Talking with the GetSatisfaction guys on their Ustream: http://getsatisfaction.tv/ http://getsatisfaction.tv/ The badge has been up for about 2 weeks according to them. It was deployed with their redesigned header 2 weeks ago.
andr 18y ago
That's only half of the job. They still don't offer a way to "delist" yourself from GS. Customers will still think GS is providing support for 37Signals and will be disappointed. Even if the badge says it is not an official site many people will not read it. Some comments in the post compared this to Google, but it is not a valid comparison, as Google offers a very clear way to get yourself out of their index.
- aka 18y ago
  Good, and they should never offer a way to delist yourself. GS is almost irrelevant to companies with good customer service - if your service is good enough that you discover your own GS page, then linking to your official support or monitoring it is better than delisting. BUT there are a lot of corps with dire service who like to avoid public discussion rather than deal with their poor service. A magic gag option would be right up their street, and would screw over their customers.
  - run4yourlives 18y ago
    This is what 37S is complaining about - it's borderline defamation.

JoelSutherland 18y ago

The text in the badge is/was: 37signals has not yet committed to open conversation about its products and services. Encourage them to join and support the Company-Customer Pact. I really have a hard time believing that this was an oversight. It is at the top of almost every page. When you consider GetSatisfaction's strategy it is even well written.

scott_s 18y ago
I agree. The language was simple and clear. I have difficulty believing language that straight-forward was an accident.
- webwright 18y ago
  They don't mean accident in that they fell on a keyboard and that came out. They mean accident in that someone wrote it as placeholder (or supposed final) copy and it didn't get reviewed/agreed to by the team before it got launched. Clearly some writer was overzealous and the higher-ups didn't get a chance to read it. Happens all the time at small startups.
  - scott_s 18y ago
    That badge is/was on every page for companies that haven't set up an account with them - which I assume is a lot. And according to what other commenters here have said, it's been worded as such since launch. I have a hard time believing that the "higher-ups" hadn't read something as ubiquitous as this on their own site. Also, at a small startup, shouldn't there be very little distance from the writers and the "higher-ups"? In a truly small startup, I would assume the descion-makers are the ones to write the copy.
    - olefoo 18y ago
      > That badge is/was on every page for companies that haven't set up an account with them Yeah, the badge itself is an include in a template, good tools give you great leverage but they amplify your mistakes as much as they magnify your successes. I could see that being a mistake of the "We didn't think through the consequences of what we were saying.", type. OTOH I think 37signals is on the right tack by responding publicly because a private conversation would have had to start with a C&D over the use of their trademark in a manner likely to cause confusion.
    - webwright 18y ago
      Actually, according to the founder of the company (and, more importantly, the Internet Archive), that wording changed with their most recent release.
  - evgen 18y ago
    > Happens all the time at small startups. ORLY? How many layers of management bullshit are there between the decision-makers at Get Satisfaction and the people writing their core message? This is not some random page buried deep within the site, it is top right on most of the pages they are generating. I have a feeling that what they mean by "accident" is that someone with a voice decided to call them on it...
    - tptacek 18y ago
      I agree; also, this seems like the kind of copy that most smart companies would be measuring for conversion.
mechanical_fish 18y ago
What you say is completely true. That said: Accept the groveling apology for what it is. GetSatisfaction has passed the first test of customer support: When the customer gets angry, you must grovel, and vice versa: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=240170 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=240170
- sfg 18y ago
  "GetSatisfaction has passed the first test of customer support", What customer? 37Signals are not a customer, but a victim.
  - mechanical_fish 18y ago
    That's true, but this is the internet. Just because the customer is not visible in this exchange doesn't mean that (s)he is not watching.
donaq 18y ago
Not to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but could this have possibly been deliberate? The language in the badge seemed quite unambiguous to me. Could they have done this deliberately, waiting for someone big (and somewhat vocal) like, oh, 37signals to notice and speak up, then swiftly make apologies and correct the "accident"? If this is true, then GetSatisfaction has truly played 37signals, HN and possibly many other sites as news gets around, like a flute. A publicity coup of magnificent (if a tad Machiavellian) proportions.

mmelin 18y ago

That badge has been on GetSatisfaction pages for as long as I can remember, at least a year. I find it hard to believe that it could be an oversight.

mmelin 18y ago
I have to say that I seem to be completely wrong here. Looking through the Internet Archive, with the previous design it used to say: "Anyone can add a company or organization Love a company? Or hate one? Add it to Satisfaction! Is your company or organization already here? Claim it and get involved with your customers." It would seem as if I'm misremembering because I have spent a disproportionate amount of time on GS the last few weeks. Apologies.
knowtheory 18y ago
Talking with the GetSatisfaction guys on their Ustream: http://getsatisfaction.tv/ http://getsatisfaction.tv/ The badge has been up for about 2 weeks according to them. It was deployed with their redesigned header 2 weeks ago.

andr 18y ago

That's only half of the job. They still don't offer a way to "delist" yourself from GS. Customers will still think GS is providing support for 37Signals and will be disappointed. Even if the badge says it is not an official site many people will not read it. Some comments in the post compared this to Google, but it is not a valid comparison, as Google offers a very clear way to get yourself out of their index.

aka 18y ago
Good, and they should never offer a way to delist yourself. GS is almost irrelevant to companies with good customer service - if your service is good enough that you discover your own GS page, then linking to your official support or monitoring it is better than delisting. BUT there are a lot of corps with dire service who like to avoid public discussion rather than deal with their poor service. A magic gag option would be right up their street, and would screw over their customers.
- run4yourlives 18y ago
  This is what 37S is complaining about - it's borderline defamation.