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Support Example from Aweber

by Mark Singletary
6 replies
About midnight my time I sent a contact request to Aweber through their contact form. I knew it was after midnight and I knew that they wouldn't even see my request until morning.

But what they've done might be a good example that perhaps some can learn from. They listed the local time in their office right on the contact us page.

It's sometimes hard to remember (or even know) the time differences with people we buy from.

The perceived lack of support/responsiveness probably contributes to refunds and bad feelings.

So while every support/contact page should say when the user can expect an answer, you may want to add more information such as the local time.

You could also have messages that, at the appropriate times, inform/remind your user that today is a national holiday and you are celebrating it with your family but you'll be back tomorrow or that it is the weekend and you will be back to work on Monday morning or you are out of town with limited email contact but will be back to full form on May 16th.

Mark
#aweber #support
  • Profile picture of the author tantykimi
    I guess the time on the contact page is a pretty good idea as at least people don't have to go onto Google and try and find out what time it is for that host.
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  • Profile picture of the author Paul Myers
    Mark,

    REALLY good idea.

    Some people seem to forget the simplest things. I got an email from a customer that was sent late Saturday evening, my time. Another at 1:30 AM on Monday, "reminding" me that he was waiting for an answer. I will admit, he was very polite in his request for free consulting on something that was completely unrelated to what he had purchased.

    I sent him a proper and polite reply, but what I really wanted to do was refund him and say, "Sorry dude. Sunday was Mother's Day, and no amount of money puts you ahead of time with my mother. Go away and never darken my inbox again."

    If I were certain he lived in the US, that is exactly what I would have done.

    The fact that both were sent on the same weekend should have been enough to do that, but challenging known family time is just beyond good manners or good sense. I had to bite my virtual tongue on this one.

    Where is the Gibb-Smack button?

    Anyway, back to your point...

    Marlon does something similar with his webinars. He posts the times in US central, Queensland AU, Singapore, London, and a few others, if memory serves. I always thought that was a nice touch.


    Paul
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    • Profile picture of the author Katie Rich
      Originally Posted by Paul Myers View Post

      I sent him a proper and polite reply, but what I really wanted to do was refund him and say, "Sorry dude. Sunday was Mother's Day, and no amount of money puts you ahead of time with my mother. Go away and never darken my inbox again."

      If I were certain he lived in the US, that is exactly what I would have done.

      Paul
      Paul, if he was from the UK he probably had no idea it was Mother's day. Our celebration of Mother's Day is in March, not in May. I admire your stance though, NOTHING is more important than your mother.
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  • Profile picture of the author blueclcl
    Great idea - we should all be doing this really..Anything that adds a positive to our sites can only be a good thing.
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  • Profile picture of the author bluebrain
    Aweber support and customer care is stellar. I once got a refund from them for 3 months because I had stopped using the service but they were still charging me. When I noticed it I mailed and complained, but wasn't really expecting to see a refund. But they did it and I'm grateful, so whenever I need a Autoresponder service, I'll go to them.
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  • Profile picture of the author talfighel
    You can even say something like:

    We are currently closed and will be open to support you on Monday 9Am Eastern time.

    Someone might email you with support questions on Friday night. What happens if you are closed till Monday?

    Letting your customers know this is very helpful.
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