Customer IQs reach new low

15 years ago

I had a customer who bought re-brandable master resale rights and after payment said that they didnt have a business and personal rights was FREE.

Its amazing though how many dont understand the clickbank thing even when it is pointed out to them!

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Rus Sells

15 years ago

Not as low as the IQ of the women who called 911 three times because Mc Donalds was out of Mc Nuggets!

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SiteSeller52

15 years ago

Originally Posted by Rus Sells

Not as low as the IQ of the women who called 911 three times because Mc Donalds was out of Mc Nuggets!

Did that really happen? I swear some people's children...

You wonder somethimes if its that they are stupid
or they just arent not paying attention to the details.

This just goes to show that we aren't dealing with the
brightest bunch, and it's a shame because when I write
my sales page copy and products, I always assume that
there is some sort of pre-knowledge on the subject that
I am writing about, and I usually skip the small stuff.

Looks like I need to re-evaluate some of my sales copy too.

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sevenish

15 years ago

Originally Posted by SiteSeller52

This just goes to show that we aren't dealing with the
brightest bunch, and it's a shame because when I write
my sales page copy and products, I always assume that
there is some sort of pre-knowledge on the subject that
I am writing about, and I usually skip the small stuff.

It has nothing to do with intelligence. It has to do with a few issues, including how users interpret copy in the context of the work flow and interactive elements. Assuming that your users are reading your copy with the same perspective and context as you are is ... um, how do I put this? ... unwise.

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Harvey Segal 15 years ago

Originally Posted by sevenish

Ah, I see. I'd have a talk with my vendor then to modify the instructions to be more specific.

Unnecessary. Out of thousands of support tickets over the years this is the
first person to enter his own address.

Originally Posted by sevenish

if taken literally, that user DID follow the instructions.

Blindly following instructions does not mean the customer is blameless

e.g
"Open tin and stand in boiling water for 5 minutes"

Harvey
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- Kay King 15 years ago
  
  "Open tin and stand in boiling water for 5 minutes"
  
  I don't buy that product any more - too painful.:p
  
  kay
  
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  So sit down, be quiet, and don't touch anything.
  
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  Frank Donovan 15 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by Harvey.Segal
  
  "Open tin and stand in boiling water for 5 minutes"
  
  Originally Posted by Kay King
  
  I don't buy that product any more - too painful.:p
  
  I bought a firework once and the instructions read: "light fuse and retire".
  
  I haven't worked since.
  
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templarjustice

15 years ago

Originally Posted by Rus Sells

Not as low as the IQ of the women who called 911 three times because Mc Donalds was out of Mc Nuggets!

She did not have a low IQ. She called 911 due to the fact that McDonalds did NOT give the money back. There's always more to the story.

She was actually exhibiting a very high emotional EI whereas, she felt that she was not going to get anywhere & to get the respect that she felt she deserved, was to call law enforcement. McDonalds, a multi-billion dollar company's excuse was that they don't give refunds.......in the end, the woman got more than her chicken nuggets back.

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Rus Sells

15 years ago

Originally Posted by templarjustice

She did not have a low IQ. She called 911 due to the fact that McDonalds did NOT give the money back. There's always more to the story.

She was actually exhibiting a very high emotional EI whereas, she felt that she was not going to get anywhere & to get the respect that she felt she deserved, was to call law enforcement. McDonalds, a multi-billion dollar company's excuse was that they don't give refunds.......in the end, the woman got more than her chicken nuggets back.

I argue that she has low IQ because 911 is not for people who feel they are getting stiffed by McDonalds! She should be charged with improper use of 911.

911 Abuse - 911 Misuse - Illegal 911 Calls

I really hope your not actually defending this persons actions are you?

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stevenh512

15 years ago

Originally Posted by Rus Sells

Not as low as the IQ of the women who called 911 three times because Mc Donalds was out of Mc Nuggets!

Not to drift too far off-topic here, but I used to have a friend who was a 911 dispatcher for the California Highway Patrol. One time she got a call from a lady who was driving down the 5 freeway in Anaheim and called 911 to ask how to get to Disneyland (for those of you who don't know, you can see Disneyland from the 5 freeway, and the exit to get off on is "Disneyland Dr.").

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Will Edwards

15 years ago

Originally Posted by stevenh512

Not to drift too far off-topic here, but I used to have a friend who was a 911 dispatcher for the California Highway Patrol. One time she got a call from a lady who was driving down the 5 freeway in Anaheim and called 911 to ask how to get to Disneyland (for those of you who don't know, you can see Disneyland from the 5 freeway, and the exit to get off on is "Disneyland Dr.").

A similar thing happened here in the UK when they opened the M25 London orbital Motorway. A woman rang the police after driving round for the entire Motorway several times, asking how to get off.

Will

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Trader54

15 years ago

Originally Posted by Harvey.Segal

Customer 1

Baffled by this instruction on a web page:

Replace xxxxxxxx with your ClickBank id in the line below
http://xxxxxxxx.vendor.hop.clickbank.net

He was actually trying to change it on the page.

Customer 2

Raised two tickets at my Help Desk.
Where it says enter email address he has entered mine.

Harvey

I guess I'm starting to understand now why some are not getting
credited for their clickbank sales. LOL

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Anna Johnson

15 years ago

Hmmm... very unfortunate. But it's not necessarily due to low IQ. I'm thinking of the law firm partner who called the IT department because his PC didn't work. They told him to switch it on. Or the other law firm partner who was seen moving the mouse... across the screen. These were presumably very smart people.

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The Hypothesis

15 years ago

Originally Posted by Anna Johnson

Hmmm... very unfortunate. But it's not necessarily due to low IQ. I'm thinking of the law firm partner who called the IT department because his PC didn't work. They told him to switch it on. Or the other law firm partner who was seen moving the mouse... across the screen. These were presumably very smart people.

You're very generous in your presumptions Anna.

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BizBoost

15 years ago

THE APPLE might not be falling too far from the tree. Many of these things wouldn't be happening to us if we had developed more intuitive FAQs.

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Daniel Brock

15 years ago

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BizBoost

15 years ago

Originally Posted by dbbrock1

This is a good point...however only a small percent of clients will likely read the documentation that is supplied. I admit that is me sometimes lol. The rest just create help desk ticket to get the answer instead of having to FIND the answer.

So true, but all hope is not lost.

The FAQ should, in the least, be on the help desk page. And it should be composed of the Top 10 reasons people have been visiting the help desk in the first place. All the while, the marketer ought to be making changes where possible to minimize visits from those Top 10 reasons. Until those visits reach a trickle...

Remember when Amazon.com came out with the "WHERE'S MY STUFF?" button?

Simple, but it just spoke volumes to their understanding of their customers and ended up saving everyone a lot of time.

Eric

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sevenish

15 years ago

Originally Posted by BizBoost

The FAQ should, in the least, be on the help desk page. And it should be composed of the Top 10 reasons people have been visiting the help desk in the first place.

A FAQ is all well and good in many circumstances, but it's no substitute for decent instructional copy.

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sevenish

15 years ago

Originally Posted by Harvey.Segal

Customer 1

Baffled by this instruction on a web page:

Replace xxxxxxxx with your ClickBank id in the line below
http://xxxxxxxx.vendor.hop.clickbank.net

He was actually trying to change it on the page.

Customer 2

Raised two tickets at my Help Desk.
Where it says enter email address he has entered mine.

Harvey

Believe it or not, yours customer are following your directions. Your site users can't read your intention, only your copy.

Would it have been that hard to put "enter your email address ..."?

I've been working with software and web applications for over 13 years, both with usability testing and interaction design. If there's one thing I've learned it's that however I think users ought to interpret my interface and its elements doesn't matter. If I want my interface to be usable and profitable, I test it with real users and make appropriate changes.

You can snicker at your users all you want, but it essentially shows that you can't put yourself in their shoes.

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Frank Donovan 15 years ago

This is all very amusing, but I'm just wondering what a thread taking the piss out of our customers says about marketers' IQ. :rolleyes:

Frank
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Harvey Segal

15 years ago

Originally Posted by sevenish

Would it have been that hard to put "enter your email address ..."?

It's embedded in the Help Desk system.

Originally Posted by sevenish

You can snicker at your users all you want, but it essentially shows that you can't put yourself in their shoes.

Where do I 'snicker' ?
I'm not naming names.

And I do put myself in 'their shoes' by continually
improving my FAQ and instructions as questions arise but
there is a point beyond which further detailed explanation
will deter 99% of your other customers.

Harvey

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sevenish

15 years ago

Originally Posted by Harvey.Segal

It's embedded in the Help Desk system.

Ah, I see. I'd have a talk with my vendor then to modify the instructions to be more specific.

Where do I 'snicker' ?
I'm not naming names.

And I do put myself in 'their shoes' by continually
improving my FAQ and instructions as questions arise but
there is a point beyond which further detailed explanation
will deter 99% of your other customers.

I understand. It never ceases to surprise me how some users interpret some of the sites I work on. The fact is that developers and designers can become so accustomed to the intent of the interface and its elements that they can't see any interpretation other than their own. I find myself there all the time, and that's why I test my work ... even after all these years. I work on very large enterprise sites and it's a lot cheaper to get it tested prior to launch than to launch, lose sales and have the call center overloaded with support issues due to confusing instructional copy or unintuitive workflows.

Take a look at the part that I bolded in the clickbank link instructions and see if you can't understand that, if taken literally, that user DID follow the instructions.

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Paul Myers

15 years ago

Harvey,

Raised two tickets at my Help Desk.
Where it says enter email address he has entered mine.

Very likely, this person's only experience with email is sending it from their mailer. Now, when you're sending an email from that, what address do you put in?

The recipient's, yes?

If you put someone in an entirely new context, with new rules and habits, and don't explain things clearly... whose fault is that?

I've worked with people with IQs in excess of 160 who couldn't figure out email without being shown 3 times and hearing Very Simple Analogies. They're hardly stupid because of that.

Paul

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Harvey Segal

15 years ago

Originally Posted by Paul Myers

Harvey,Very likely, this person's only experience with email is sending it from their mailer. Now, when you're sending an email from that, what address do you put in?

The recipient's, yes?

If you put someone in an entirely new context, with new rules and habits, and don't explain things clearly... whose fault is that?

Paul

Before going to the Help Desk I have an intermediate page
which starts off

=====================================
Using the Help Desk is simple.

There is no need to register first.

It's VITAL of course that you enter your email address correctly otherwise you won't
receive our response. You should get immediate email notification
when you first open a ticket so if you don't you may have misspelled it.

=====================================

Harvey

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David Maschke

15 years ago

Talk about new lows,

Customer bashing in a public forum that your target market hangs out in.

Really quite brilliant.

Dave

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Craig Fenton

15 years ago

Hi Harvey:

Hope you are well.

Do you remember a game show in the late 1960's called "Can You Top This?" Today I am outside a restaurant and a lady is screaming on the phone at a place that installs carpet. You could hear her voice on Pluto. She tells the customer service agent how could you not find XXXXXX Street in Princeton, New Jersey. Her friend turns to her and says "You idiot, you gave them the wrong address. That is where I live."

You can't make this stuff up but it's too bad it's true.

May tomorrow be a better day!

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1bad55

15 years ago

I have been dealing with the public for almost 30 years and one thing I learned early on is you can not assume anything when it comes to knowledge of the enduser about a specific item.

I sold products to professional engineers and surveyors and I knew so much more about the technology than they did it wasn't even funny.

Here I am just a High School graduate (Barely) :rolleyes: selling products to people who have degrees with 4-6 years of college and they know nothing about the technology being used everyday in the industry.

The only assumption you should make is the customer knows NOTHING!

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Melford Bibens

15 years ago

Today I got a support email from a guy asking how he was going to get his clickbank checks paid to him because he lived in a country that was on the banned list...

Seems he didn't understand that he could not buy the system and join my membership site in the first place!

Oh, and the email was all in CAPS...

Thanks, I needed that!

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bhevs 15 years ago

Oh, knowledge is really important. I knew a women who's really rich but now half of her wealth had gone because of filling an unknown form. That's very annoying being a rich without knowledge.
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- JohnMcCabe 15 years ago
  
  When I sold lighting back in college, I worked with a very wealthy man and his wife on their new home. She was a nice woman, and easy on the eyes, but about as sharp as a marble.
  
  She had custom license plates, and a custom phone number - her first name. I told her that it was kind of cool, and she laughed. Her husband dropped a bundle to get those because it was the only way she could remember them.
  
  H. L. Mencken, admittedly a bitter, cynical old SOB, once said, "No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the general public."
  
  My old engineering boss used to tell me he gave up on trying to design a fool-proof system. Having fools prove him wrong got old fast... :p
  
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mikemcmillan

15 years ago

Harvey, you're looking at it all wrong bud. Suppose 10,000 people put YOUR email address in one of your opt-in forms. Imagine the list you would have built! Uh, wait until you open your in-box!

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MaverickWil

15 years ago

LOL, I'm having a chuckle over some of these stories.

I have to totally agree with this though : "The only assumption you should make is the customer knows NOTHING!"

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Martin Avis 15 years ago

I had an email once from a lady who had bought my book via Clickbank earlier in the day.

She was very polite, but asked:

"I bought your book about three hours ago and am looking forward to reading it, but so far my printer hasn't started yet."

She hadn't downloaded it - she just thought that an ebook printed itself out automatically.

Sweet.

Martin
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- rosetrees 15 years ago
  
  I once had a phone call from a mature gentlemen:
  
  Him - "I don't seem to be getting any of those email thingies"
  Me - "Are you making sure your computer is connected to the internet before you check your email?"
  Him - "I don't understand what you mean"
  Me - "Are you making sure you dial-up and connect to the internet" (it was pre broadband)
  Him - "I don't have the internet"
  Me - "Oh. What's your email address"
  Him - "I don't have an email address"
  
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Peter Bestel

15 years ago

I don't want to appear all high and mighty here, but remember, you can laugh at your customer but at whose expense?

Reminds me of this clip from Not The Nine O'clock News. It dates from late 70's/early 80's and features a very young Rowan Atkinson (Mr Bean).

Please note, for our younger viewers, this is in the days when 'digital' meant something to do with your fingers.

YouTube - GRAMMOPHONE - Rowan Atkinson - Not The...

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