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I've stayed out this for the most part because neither company are of interest to me, but Tom's comment on this follow up post is interesting. It's almost as if

by Jem 18y ago

I've stayed out this for the most part because neither company are of interest to me, but Tom's comment on this follow up post is interesting. It's almost as if 37signals knew about the site, made an attempt at using it and then couldn't be bothered to continue - instead preferring to wait a while and cause a little controversy (possibly for their own benefit). That's not to say that GS were/are in the right, but why wait nearly a year to start a conversation on this?

unalone 18y ago
Do you always follow such a logical path to everything you do? I know I've gotten in situations where I've reacted to bad things way after it might have been necessary, because things build up to a bottleneck. And 37signals prides itself on being a small company where the individual people matter. They aren't professional in the smooth-and-polished-and-impregnable sense, and while that leads to some immaturity, it makes their company seem more human. So I doubt there's conscious scandal-making effort here: they don't strike me as cynical enough to work like that. http://getsatisfaction.com/37signals/topics/customer_services_sucks_totally_unresponsive http://getsatisfaction.com/37signals/topics/customer_service... That's from 10 months ago. The guy's mad, they respond (on GetSatisfaction, mind you), and the guy gets happier. But they don't keep using GS, because they do have their own support forum for this. Apparently they got more upset responses over the past year. So the first one wasn't terrible, but when you keep getting people hating you for poor customer service, eventually you hit a point where you flip and yell at GS for not providing a good intuitive solution.
- brm 18y ago
  I don't think anyone said there was a scandal in the works here, but in the realm of much ado about nothing... some things dont seem to add up and they're seemingly less human and honest when they start having stories that don't match for pr and damage control purposes... thats big corporation stuff just as much as it is small company with personality (especially now that that personality is turning towards full of themselves)
  - unalone 18y ago
    Christ, I got buried. -2 in 5 minutes for something I didn't think offended people is a record for me. they're seeming less human and honest when they start having stories that don't match for pr and damage control purposes... But their stories don't contradict. Or are you saying they seem less human when they're not glossing over everything with PR? That's kind of an odd way to look at things. I also doubt this is damage control, considering their first post said there would be a follow-up in a few days. They're just writing about this experience for the sake of people who might learn a lesson from it. (They've always been full of themselves. Look at DHH's famous "fuck you" slide regarding his critics a few years ago. They're cocky and think they know best, but people read them because very often they're right.)
- Jem 18y ago
  I'm a woman, of course I'm not always logical ;) Seriously though, I personally find that the longer I leave something the less likely I am to get worked up about it. After a few weeks it's probably gone from my mind altogether, so yeah, 10 months does seem like a really long time to wait. I don't really know that much about 37signals apart from what I've picked up here on HN, but I believe any company - any person - is capable of spinning a story for a little drama to bring their company PR. Maybe I'm just a cynic though :)
  - Jem 18y ago
    Oh dear, nobody likes my humour :p
    - unalone 18y ago
      For whatever reason, this thread's had a lot of people very quickly downvoted. Though I've got to say, humor's always hit-and-miss on HN. I think that because you started your topic off with a joke, it stood out more than the actual point you were making. Remember that it wasn't just 10 months for that one thing. From what this entry said, they got multiple complaints along the line of "They aren't responding to me on GS so their customer service sucks". That 10-month one was just the first.

by Jem 18y ago

unalone 18y ago

Do you always follow such a logical path to everything you do? I know I've gotten in situations where I've reacted to bad things way after it might have been necessary, because things build up to a bottleneck. And 37signals prides itself on being a small company where the individual people matter. They aren't professional in the smooth-and-polished-and-impregnable sense, and while that leads to some immaturity, it makes their company seem more human. So I doubt there's conscious scandal-making effort here: they don't strike me as cynical enough to work like that. http://getsatisfaction.com/37signals/topics/customer_services_sucks_totally_unresponsive http://getsatisfaction.com/37signals/topics/customer_service... That's from 10 months ago. The guy's mad, they respond (on GetSatisfaction, mind you), and the guy gets happier. But they don't keep using GS, because they do have their own support forum for this. Apparently they got more upset responses over the past year. So the first one wasn't terrible, but when you keep getting people hating you for poor customer service, eventually you hit a point where you flip and yell at GS for not providing a good intuitive solution.

brm 18y ago
I don't think anyone said there was a scandal in the works here, but in the realm of much ado about nothing... some things dont seem to add up and they're seemingly less human and honest when they start having stories that don't match for pr and damage control purposes... thats big corporation stuff just as much as it is small company with personality (especially now that that personality is turning towards full of themselves)
- unalone 18y ago
  Christ, I got buried. -2 in 5 minutes for something I didn't think offended people is a record for me. they're seeming less human and honest when they start having stories that don't match for pr and damage control purposes... But their stories don't contradict. Or are you saying they seem less human when they're not glossing over everything with PR? That's kind of an odd way to look at things. I also doubt this is damage control, considering their first post said there would be a follow-up in a few days. They're just writing about this experience for the sake of people who might learn a lesson from it. (They've always been full of themselves. Look at DHH's famous "fuck you" slide regarding his critics a few years ago. They're cocky and think they know best, but people read them because very often they're right.)
Jem 18y ago
I'm a woman, of course I'm not always logical ;) Seriously though, I personally find that the longer I leave something the less likely I am to get worked up about it. After a few weeks it's probably gone from my mind altogether, so yeah, 10 months does seem like a really long time to wait. I don't really know that much about 37signals apart from what I've picked up here on HN, but I believe any company - any person - is capable of spinning a story for a little drama to bring their company PR. Maybe I'm just a cynic though :)
- Jem 18y ago
  Oh dear, nobody likes my humour :p
  - unalone 18y ago
    For whatever reason, this thread's had a lot of people very quickly downvoted. Though I've got to say, humor's always hit-and-miss on HN. I think that because you started your topic off with a joke, it stood out more than the actual point you were making. Remember that it wasn't just 10 months for that one thing. From what this entry said, they got multiple complaints along the line of "They aren't responding to me on GS so their customer service sucks". That 10-month one was just the first.