You don't have to give Great Customer Service anymore!

Giving poor service is just dumb, if you ask me. :-)

Happy customers talk.

Unhappy customers talk too.

It makes no sense to not provide great customer service.

And it is only going to get worse, as the bar is lowered and lowered... it looks like there is no turning back. Anyone who keeps standards high will REALLY shine in comparison...

I don't know if this is still the case, but when I was working in Japan a few years back, going to a department store was like going to a strange planet in a strange culture. There would be five or six young, attractive females at the checkout counter, all dressed in uniform, and each one would bow to you at the end of the transaction. Way too much attention for my comfort level! And you would get the same treatment whether you spent 100yen or 10,00yen.

When I visited China and bought some post cards at my hotel gift shop, it was shocking to have the cashier practically ignore me and even throw the post cards down so the packet landed at the end of the counter - as in "Don't let the door hit you on the way out!" It was quite shocking when compared to being handed your purchase with a smile and a bow in Japan.

Good customer support is one of the most important things that I look for, when deciding to buy something.

Customer support should be a top priority for every business.

John

Although harder to find in today's marketplace, great customer service still exists. And thankfully you found it here at the WF. I've also had a good experience with HG although I often find I know more than the first line reps I encounter. ~sigh~

At the risk of dating myself, back in the day, the gold standard for support was WordPerfect. Not only was it free via an 800 number but it was great support.

A story told by Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh -

One night a bunch of Zappos execs wanted to order a late night pizza after a conference ended. They were with a Sketchers rep, (Sketchers is one of Zappos' brands), and the Sketchers rep jokingly said "why don't you call Zappos Customer Service?" The Zappos people decided why not, so they called the customer service line in Vegas. The girl who picked up the call asked where they were, and in about 5 minutes had a list of 5 pizza places that were still open at that hour of the night that were in their delivery zone.

You can definitely set yourself apart from the "just get the sale" bunch by providing great customer service.

The old rule of thumb in retail: a very happy customer will generally tell 2 or 3 people about their great experience; an unhappy customer will tell 10-20 people about their poor experience. Treat every customer like your best friend.

Customer service is extremely important. I was on a cruise once and the table waiters and room servants called you by your names! "My pleasure, Mr. So-and-so". When you make the customer feel important, they will love to come back to you.

Anger is always a greater motivator than happiness. If my customers leave angry, I'll be running scared because I know they will be much more motivated to take action and talk about me. I would much rather erase any chances of that happening by taking a few extra moments.

This post comes at a time when I'm getting back into IM with a different vision. Now, I want to make websites I can print on a business card. You can't do that with the get-rich-quick mentality most people jump into IM. Hopefully, this approach will pay richer dividends in the long run.

It's pretty atrocious for hosting companies to be giving bad customer service. They're relying on people such as yourself to continue paying for their service. With good customer service, they'd probably be keeping an awful lot more money. Common sense, really!

Of course HostGator would provide that for free. You are a new customer looking for hosting, a quick transfer gets you quicker to them and your money to them.

I still believe in offering good CS tho.