Hi guys, just a poll here, what is the percentage of technical support questions that you get are results of customers not bothering to read the manual?

e.g.
" can you teach me step by step how to use the FTP program to upload my site?"
"How do I setup a subdomain?"

We get only around 10%. Just wanna know how u guys are doing.

What does "ard" stand for?

Think it's "around"

correct,

ard = around

Ive edited the original post to avoid confusion

I would say ours is closer to about 50%. Most clients plain and simply say they don't have time to read the manual. Some have actually said to me that is what they pay us for is to answer these type of questions.

I personally think the entire notion of what support is and what they should do is screwed up.

ive been running tech for a couple of companies.. and i think 90% of the answers can be found in the FAQ.. there are very very rarely questions that cant be found there...

Oh yeah that is very true. But, like with us who have live chat on our site, they feel it is easier than reading the faq, archives, manual whatever. What is it called...instant gratification...errr...laziness. Something. :stickout

Originally posted by smartbackups
Oh yeah that is very true. But, like with us who have live chat on our site, they feel it is easier than reading the faq, archives, manual whatever. What is it called...instant gratification...errr...laziness. Something. :stickout

I love lazy people... they make me more mullah :D

I'd say that if it's supported, it's in our manual.

The only support questions that aren't covered in the manual and FAQ are about things being reported as broke. Usually they're not actually broke, but sometimes they are.

I'd say over 99% of them, then.

I find the people that refuse to read the manual are the customers that are quicker to call too, instead of sending an email.

With us, about 50% are nuisance requests. It's gotten to the point where we email them the link to the answer. And if using live chat, we've got the canned responses plus we can push them the page rather than just giving them the link.

Some still say, "I don't understand/it's not working for me." - I've been know to set up a test case, test it and then tell them that is works fine with the test case and for them to repeat the process noting any errors they receive since I didn't get any. The other day this worked well for a customer who was telling me the system wasn't letting them create a redirect. Turns out he was trying to create a subdomain not a redirect and he had already maxed out his allowed subdomains on that plan.

Install a system like SimpleSupport or phpSupport or any ticket based system and set your auto-response email to include he faq url and maybe the top 10 asked questions. When you send the actual repl simply add the question to your site faq and state something like:

Client X,
Thank you for your inquiry. In answer to your question, ....... This answer along with many others can be found on our FAQ 24x7 at www.somewhere.com
Us

That generally stops repeat questions and helps you build a really big database of questions.

Originally posted by TedS

That generally stops repeat questions and helps you build a really big database of questions.


From what I've seen, people dont like "looking" for answers. Period.

Originally posted by kunal
From what I've seen, people dont like "looking" for answers. Period.

I expected no other message from a maker of a support desk ;)
But you are right.

Originally posted by Dunthank
With us, about 50% are nuisance requests. It's gotten to the point where we email them the link to the answer.

If you run a business that offers a service and people pay for that service then they should be supported. If you consider your customers requests to be a nuisance, then run a business that doesn't require you to answer customer requests. And if you don't think that they don't know you think they are a nuisance then you're wrong.

This is not directed at Dunthank personally, but at the entire notion behind this thread.

Different customers have different skill levels. Some customers will look in the manual, but most of them won't. The sooner everyone comes to terms with this and starts accepting that a paying customer has the right to ask questions, no matter how simply or obvious and regardless of wether it is in the manaul or FAQ's, the sooner our industry can start getting a better name for itself when it comes to customer service.

Customers can be frustrating at times - I agree with that. But I am sure each of us at the forum has been the frustrating customer of some other service provider who offers a service we are not experts at.

Your customers are not there to meet your needs, you are there to meet theirs. Plain and simple.

Having done tech support for years in a previous life, I can see both sides of this question. Yes, it's frustrating to answer the same "simple" questions over and over.

But you have to remember that many of your users are just as scared as you are frustrated.

And many tech support people, though they may know everything there is to know about computers, networking, etc., they cannot communicate any of that knowledge to newbies in a manner that makes sense to the newbies.

I guess what I'm saying is, just because your Web site has a FAQ or user manual, and just because you, the expert understands everything in them, that doesn't mean that those things were written in such a way that newbies can understand them.

I think a lot of tech support requests could be avoided if the people who wrote the FAQs and Users Manuals actually tested them out on newbies, and kept rewriting them until they made sense to that target audience.

With that in mind, no matter how user-friendly your documentation is, many of your users will always ignore it and write to you for personal answers instead. It's just human nature, and if you choose to work in tech support, you've got to accept that part of your job is always going to be working with humans.;)

Originally posted by nmihosting
. . . . . . Your customers are not there to meet your needs, you are there to meet theirs. Plain and simple. Nicely said, Leeanne. :agree:

Originally posted by godfather
you've got to accept that part of your job is always going to be working with humans.;)

I often find it interesting that this doesn't seem to be high on the list of tasks for some businesses. It's a little disturbing in this industry as we're all in the business of 'services', not products.

Some customers will always be high maintainence, for whatever reason. It's your job as tech support to make sure they get the answers to their questions. Just saying to them "RTFM" isn't a great way to keep their business.

We have one guy who's quite high maintainence. Nice guy though and very polite - he just needs a lot of support from us. He gets all the answers he wants as it's a part of what we're obligated to do, and we're happy to do it.

He's also refered a lot of business our way because of that attention he recieves too.

Almost everything he asks is already there in black and white on the site - he just prefers to e-mail and get the answers that way.

Greg Moore

Originally posted by nmihosting
If you run a business that offers a service and people pay for that service then they should be supported. If you consider your customers requests to be a nuisance, then run a business that doesn't require you to answer customer requests. And if you don't think that they don't know you think they are a nuisance then you're wrong.

This is not directed at Dunthank personally, but at the entire notion behind this thread.

Different customers have different skill levels. Some customers will look in the manual, but most of them won't. The sooner everyone comes to terms with this and starts accepting that a paying customer has the right to ask questions, no matter how simply or obvious and regardless of wether it is in the manaul or FAQ's, the sooner our industry can start getting a better name for itself when it comes to customer service.

Customers can be frustrating at times - I agree with that. But I am sure each of us at the forum has been the frustrating customer of some other service provider who offers a service we are not experts at.

Your customers are not there to meet your needs, you are there to meet theirs. Plain and simple.

Leeanne, did anyone say that they weren't helping the customers, even beyond the call of duty? Most were not even complaining. A question for percentages was asked, and answered. Why bash?

BTW: I don't know about you, but we are not charging customers to meet their entire information technology needs. We are charging them for web and email hosting and for the support of those services should there be problems with them.

We also assist our customers beyond this, but just to be courteous and "provide good customer service". Although customers do have the right to ask for this extra support, they don't have the right to receive it.

Godfather, I think that the number of people who make it to the FAQ and are confused by it are much smaller than the people who don't even try to use the FAQ.

Originally posted by bitserve


Leeanne, did anyone say that they weren't helping the customers, even beyond the call of duty? Most were not even complaining. A question for percentages was asked, and answered. Why bash?

BTW: I don't know about you, but we are not charging customers to meet their entire information technology needs. We are charging them for web and email hosting and for the support of those services should there be problems with them.

We also assist our customers beyond this, but just to be courteous and "provide good customer service". Although customers do have the right to ask for this extra support, they don't have the right to receive it.

Godfather, I think that the number of people who make it to the FAQ and are confused by it are much smaller than the people who don't even try to use the FAQ.

Hi bitserve,

I appreciate your opinion and you make some good points. You are right, as hosting service providers we are not there to meet a customers entire IT needs. But more than a few times in this thread it is mentioned that customers ask questions that are answered in FAQ's or manuals and that this is a 'nuisance'. I believe you termed it 'they refuse to read the manual'.

My point is; so what if it is in the manual. Manuals are for those who wish to get there instructions from manuals. If my customer does not care to read up on his support issue in our Knowledge base I don't mind, becuase the Knowledge base is there to make his/her life easier - not ours. If the customer preferrs to open a support ticket or call to get the answer, then we are here to support him/her.

To frequently customers are made to feel 'stupid' by tech support when they get flippant responses that just point to the answer in the FAQ's section (such messages might as well start with DUH!). Godfather also makes a vaild point when he says that many 'manuals' might be over a new customers head. So I don't feel that it is a case of customers 'refusing' to read the manual, but even if it was - does it really matter. If you are dedicated to providing good customer support, then it shouldn't matter at all.

I do not think it is our responsiblility to teach customers how to use their computers, or the software on their computers such as FTP programs. But if they need support directly relating to our services then we should provide it and do so without making them feel inept or as though they are a nuisance.

And I DO feel they have the right to expect this from us.

I have to agree with Leeanne (sp?) everytime a customer shoots off an email to support or makes a phone call that experience is going to change their opinion of you one way or another. If you simply refer them to the FAQ this is very possibly going to lower their opinion of you. I will show an example of how I handle questions that are on my FAQ.

Customer: How am I supposed to upload the files to my site? Should I map a drive or something?

Response: Hello Customer. <copy and paste from FAQ>What you must do is obtain an FTP client. Free ones are available from www.download.com, do a search for FTP. Once you get the client downloaded and installed you will need to add a site to it. Your server name is "ftp.server.com" without the quotes, and the username and password are u: "username" p: "password" without the quotes. Once you have the site added connect to it and navigate to the html directory. This is where you must place your html files.</copy and paste from FAQ> I hope that this information will help you get started, but if not please feel free to email me back and let me know where you are getting stuck. For future reference this information is located on our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on our website and so in the future you might want to check their first to save yourself some time. As always feel free to contact me, if you need further assistance.

I believe answering questions in this manner, don't leave the customer feeling like you are just dumping them off to your site.

Originally posted by nmihosting
. . . . . .frequently customers are made to feel 'stupid' by tech support . . . . I have read many complaints of hosting companies. And I believe that this looms as the largest.
People will put up with a lot from hosts. But when you make them feel that you think they're an idiot . . . . . . . well . . . . . . :rolleyes:

I generally agree with everything that DaddyPops wrote, and I applaud his willingness to try to explain things to his users. DaddyPops, please don't take this as me picking on you, but I can't help but point out that the lines from your FAQ that you quoted are exactly the type of writing that we techies understand, but many users often can't comprehend.

Newbies often don't understand the overall concept of what it means to FTP files to a server, let alone the details of how to do it. As a result, they are confused by simple (to us) instructions like you will need to add a site to it, and once you have a site added (comma) connect to it. They wonder, "What does add a site to it mean?" and "What does connect to it mean, and how do I do that?" and "How do I place my HTML files in the HTML directory?"

That's why the writer of the FAQ or manual should do all they can to explain what FTP is first and then explain the rationale behind each of the step-by-step instructions. That way, the end user LEARNS what they're doing and how to do it, instead of just blindly trying to follow unclear (to them) step-by-step instructions.

That's what I meant in my earlier post when I said that the writers of FAQs and User Manuals should test them out with complete newbies, and keep editing them until they are appropriate for that target audience.

You may think I'm being very picky or that it takes me a long, long time to write my documentation to reach the lowest common denominator of users. You'd be right.;)

I've been looking for a new host, and this thread is one of the most enlightening I have read on this forum.

I have experienced hosting companies that make me feel uneasy to ask any question that I might have, for fear that they will respond "... it is in the FAQ ... " with an implied "you idiot - stop wasting my time."

Reading the discussion between hosting companies here appears to bring out your "true colors". There are certainly one or two hosts I will now cross off my list after reading this thread.

godfather, that was just an example, I have no FAQ as I am not a hosting company, but I do support for a lot of other sites including web hosting companies. You are absolutely right though, I was only demonstrating a method, with something I popped out of my head. In real use it should be much more detailed than that. However I think web hosting companies should expect a very limited amount of knowledge from the people they sell accounts to. It is not the hosters job to teach people how to use the internet.

Originally posted by fox

Reading the discussion between hosting companies here appears to bring out your "true colors". There are certainly one or two hosts I will now cross off my list after reading this thread.

fox I don't think it would be fare of you to judge a host by the conversations they are having in this topic. Just by posting to this thread it shows that they all care about their customers.

I think "nuisance" might be too harsh a word up there. I consider a nuisance something like a telemarketer calling me constantly for five days straight trying to sell me something I don't want. "Unnecessary" is probably not a very good term, either. If the question were unnecessary, the client probably wouldn't ask it at all. If it's necessary for someone to know how to change their password even if it's written up in the FAQ or sent in the welcome email they receive or even in big red letters on their control panel, then so be it. Questions like that are easy to answer and faster to resolve than some of the things that can occur in the hosting world, as we all know. Think of it less in terms of gnats flying around your head and more like a breather from the harder issues that come rolling into whatever support method you maintain.

I think everyone agrees that you should serve customers properly, no doubt about that. But keep in mind that this thread and indeed the vast majority of this board is from the web hosts point of view. With that in mind, why do webhosts put up FAQ's and KnowledgeBases? To answer questions for customers.

So, from a web hosts point of view (and for this thread), a support request that is answered in provided material is an unneccessary one. After all, the answer has already been given. The term I used in a previous post in this thread "nuisance" is an old customer support term, used in many industries outside of web hosting. It is used to describe all the little things that take up time that, in a perfect world, shouldn't.

We support our customers far beyond the call of duty - ask any of them! Our hallmark is "Great Service!" But that still doesn't mean that we don't get questions that have been answered elsewhere or even answered for that customer just last week. Being in a service business means you've accepted the fact that those types of questions and even customers will be part of it - so enjoy it and do a good job! As others have said in this thread - it is well worth it. We have a very low churn rate because of our customer support.

Yes, we point people to the manual, so they will learn that it is there and to some extent what is in it. But we do also tell them how to accomplish their goal.

Originally posted by Dunthank
The term I used in a previous post in this thread "nuisance" is an old customer support term, used in many industries outside of web hosting. It is used to describe all the little things that take up time that, in a perfect world, shouldn't.

I think that the telling word is old, i.e., out dated . If you look at acceptable customer service standards today and acceptable customer service standards 10 years ago then you would see a big contrast. I am talking across the board here, not just in hosting or IT. Through out the 90's the bar was constantly raised when it came to customer service. What was consider 'extending yourself' 5 years ago is now considered a normal part of serving the customer. The most recent customer service training seminar I attended talked about 'reaching for stellar service' by consistently creating positive customer experiences - this is what most technical support people fail to do. They think that just because they supplied the answer or pointed to the manual that the customer should be happy. Well what about making the customer feel valued and appreciated. This is probably sounds touchy feely to many here - but it is now the expected global standard in customer service.

All of this of course is a personal choice from person to person, company to company. I am sure that everyone who posted here does serve their customers well. I am just offering my view and certainly believe that everyone here is entitled to their own view.

Hello
This appraoch has saved us huge amounts of support calls.
(its not web hosting but a similar approach might work).

http://www.nameroute.com/contact.html

Used to get these questions asked up to 20 times per day.
Now its down to one or two.
People just don't read the help pages but they DO go to the contact form.

Gordon

Thats a really good idea, but personally i don't experience this system as very friendly, I want to ask a question and get a "*** off" sign in return.

I learned to type to answers to common questions very quickly :).

Imagine you would have a regular company that has to answer all those questions by telephone...
At least (most) people email a ISP or Webhost service desk for answers.

Originally posted by DaddyPops


Customer: How am I supposed to upload the files to my site? Should I map a drive or something?

Response: Hello Customer. <copy and paste from FAQ>What you must do is obtain an FTP client. Free ones are available from www.download.com, do a search for FTP. Once you get the client downloaded and installed you will need to add a site to it. Your server name is "ftp.server.com" without the quotes, and the username and password are u: "username" p: "password" without the quotes. Once you have the site added connect to it and navigate to the html directory. This is where you must place your html files.</copy and paste from FAQ> I hope that this information will help you get started, but if not please feel free to email me back and let me know where you are getting stuck. For future reference this information is located on our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on our website and so in the future you might want to check their first to save yourself some time. As always feel free to contact me, if you need further assistance.

I think this kind of response is great. It both makes the customer feel as though you are pleased to help them, and it also lets them know about the FAQ's section. Also note that when directing them to the FAQ's section it postions this as something of help to the customer, not the service provider. Plus, if the customer does not understand the instructions provided, they will have much more patience in further requests on the same issue - but if you upset them from the get go then it is going to make helping them even harder as you proceed.

Many hosts simply send a response like (and I mean that this is all the message says):

"The answer to this is in our FAQ's section here is the link ...."

This invariably makes the customer feel like a dumb ass and offers no idication that you value their business. Sure, you might get through your support requests faster, but is it worth upsetting your customers just to save a few minutes?

Personally, I'm always happy to hear from a customer, regardless of the question, as it gives me an opportunity to serve and "WOW" them. My customers are the best form of advertising I have.

It you're really good at providing service, generally you are going to know it as your support volume actually INCREASES because your customer know they'll get a quick and accurate response when they email or call, so why try to solve the problem themselves?

I ran a software helpdesk for years. There was a point where we actually stopped adding support resources and decreased our response time because we were just getting too good at it, and as a result, our support costs skyrocketed and customers stopped using resources available to them to help themselves, like websites, manuals, robo-tech, etc..

In this industry though, service is probably the one thing that makes a hosting company stand out. If you're going to be successful you can't skimp on it.

I think this thread has evolved from the original question. Many support requests are unnecessary simply because the answer is available in readily accessible self help documentation. By definition then, the request is "unnecessary".

That does not mean that the request isn't important, that it isn't an opportunity to create customer goodwill, nor any of the good points brought up in the further discussion. But the question was what percentage of the requests are unnecessary and implied that this is from the web hosts viewpoint.

What we all as hosts do is different from the fact of the matter. Yes, most requests are answered in the documentation. And though that makes the need to submit a trouble ticket, email, or call an unnecessary one, it doesn't make it any less important to our operations. Just because we, as hosts, acknowledge that we shouldn't be getting a request doesn't mean we don't provide the support nor belittle the customer. On the contrary, each request can, and will be, the means by which we thrive or fail. Only if you have the wrong attitude to start will the realization that the request was "unnecessary" lead to poor customer service in response.

Many of you have already alluded to this, but I'm going to reiterate it for the sake of clarity:

In any service industry, clients are usually willing to forgive technical problems, poorly written or non-existent documentation, and even temporary losses of service, if the company's ATTITUDE toward them is cheerful, helpful, and enthusiastic. The one thing that they cannot forgive is a company that displays a gruff, stop-bothering-me, annoyed attitude toward its customers.

You can't control your clients, but you can control your attitude toward them by constantly reminding yourself that, if it weren't for them, you would be out of business.

Years ago, I overheard a harried clerical worker at a major university call out to a coworker, "We could get so much more work done if it we didn't have all these students."

If that sounds like your company's attitude, then you would be wise to rethink and retool your thoughts and attitudes toward your clients.

Oh, and DaddyPops, I apologize for misunderstanding that the FAQ "example" you gave was actual text from your FAQ.

Originally posted by Dunthank
I think this thread has evolved from the original question. Many support requests are unnecessary simply because the answer is available in readily accessible self help documentation. By definition then, the request is "unnecessary".

That does not mean that the request isn't important, that it isn't an opportunity to create customer goodwill, nor any of the good points brought up in the further discussion. But the question was what percentage of the requests are unnecessary and implied that this is from the web hosts viewpoint.

What we all as hosts do is different from the fact of the matter. Yes, most requests are answered in the documentation. And though that makes the need to submit a trouble ticket, email, or call an unnecessary one, it doesn't make it any less important to our operations. Just because we, as hosts, acknowledge that we shouldn't be getting a request doesn't mean we don't provide the support nor belittle the customer. On the contrary, each request can, and will be, the means by which we thrive or fail. Only if you have the wrong attitude to start will the realization that the request was "unnecessary" lead to poor customer service in response.

Yeah, what david said!

Anyway, even most of the things in our FAQ and manual are beyond the support that we offer. Here's what our "before you order page" says:


Our technical support department can only provide assistance regarding the operational status of your web space and email. We can also answer questions regarding the functionality of the web and email servers. However, we generally will be unable to assist you with the publishing of your web site, the configuration of ftp or email clients, or the back end programming of your site, unless it is done under contract.


Wait, I'm not going to stop there. It goes on.


Other Needs

Although we believe that it is always a good idea to outsource for your web hosting needs, it is not a small decision that you should take lightly. You should treat it just as you would when shopping around for office space. You need to talk to the heads of all departments to discuss their needs, and ensure that these needs are going to be met by the service provider that you are going to use for your web and email.

There are several things that you need to review, before you acquire your web space.

1. What intellectual property problems are you going to encounter when you begin to publish content that will be publicly available to the Internet community?
2. What types of privacy policies and disclaimers are you going to require regarding information that is stored on or passes through the web and email server?
3. What types of human resource policies will you need to implement regarding usage of orginizational email and web services?
4. How will these policies be published, enforced, and ammended as needed?
5. Will your organization require special insurance to deal with potential loss from things such as civil suit, or unexpected downtime?
6. Who will be responsible for publishing your web site and keeping it up to date?
7. How much training will your personnel require to effectively utilize your email and web services as you had planned?


If you don't know what to do with web and email hosting, then don't purchase it, or hire a third party expert. It's like buying a car and expecting the dealer to show you how to drive. They give you the manual. They're not going to read it to you, and they're not going to help you unless it's broken and you're under warranty. Otherwise, you're going to pay for service just like everyone else.

I'm not saying that there's not a market for "hand holding" web hosts, but I've never seen one advertised that way. Why a customer would expect it, I don't know.

Anyway, even if we truly were ranting about customers, this is the "running a web hosting biz" forum. This is where we hosts can bond and share stories. If you want to bash your fellow hosts for letting off some steam, I guess it's your right.

Originally posted by godfather
Years ago, I overheard a harried clerical worker at a major university call out to a coworker, "We could get so much more work done if it we didn't have all these students."

*Ears perk up* I actually used to work at a large University and you wouldn't believe how often I heard that phrase mumbled by fellow co-workers :D

Originally posted by bitserve
Anyway, even if we truly were ranting about customers, this is the "running a web hosting biz" forum. This is where we hosts can bond and share stories. If you want to bash your fellow hosts for letting off some steam, I guess it's your right.

bitserve,

For the second time in this thread you have referred to the comments of people who do not agree with your view as 'bashing'.

You are implying that becuase I or others are offering an opinion that you or others do not nessicarily agree with that we are 'bashing'. My posts here have in no way be written with the intent of bashing.

I to am 'letting of steam' as you referred to it. It's just that my 'steam' is different than yours. That doesn't make it wrong, just as your opinion is not wrong.

Dunthank is right when he says that the thread has moved on slighlty from the original question asked - as happens with most open honest debating and discussion. But the posts being made are still addressing the implications of the original question.

I value the the opinions of everyone who has posted to this thread and read them with interest. So please stop referring to my posts as bashing, as this is not what they are and I am sorry if you have choosen to view them in this way.

Originally posted by nmihosting
I value the the opinions of everyone who has posted to this thread and read them with interest. So please stop referring to my posts as bashing, as this is not what they are and I am sorry if you have choosen to view them in this way.
Amen.

Once again, good communication depends on the attitudes that we choose to hold and display -- both toward users and toward each other.

nmihosting,
Please go back and read your first post, and tell me if you weren't saying that the entire web hosting industry needs to start providing better customer service, except for you, because you're already providing perfect customer service.

Your other posts basically say the same thing.

Are you bashing me for saying that I consider that bashing? :)

BTW: If you are going to call me bitserve, I'm going to call you nmihosting.

PS: This is my 1000th post abusing those who would dare disagree with me. :dgrin:

Originally posted by bitserve
nmihosting,
Please go back and read your first post, and tell me if you weren't saying that the entire web hosting industry needs to start providing better customer service, except for you, because you're already providing perfect customer service.

Your other posts basically say the same thing.

Are you bashing me for saying that I consider that bashing? :)

BTW: If you are going to call me bitserve, I'm going to call you nmihosting.

PS: This is my 1000th post abusing those who would dare disagree with me. :dgrin:

Mark,

Again, I am sorry that you view my posts as 'bashing'.

Also, my referring to you as bitserve was not meant to be rude. That is your 'nick' here, just as 'nmihosting' is mine. I am used to referring to people by their 'nicks'.

And no, I was not in the least implying that everyone gives bad service except my company. But knowing that this is how you viewed my post and subsequent posts explains your responses.

As you have implied, yes you have been posting to this board for much longer than I, and I am appreciative of your tenure here. As I am sure you appreciate that just becuase I am a 'newbie' to this forum, doesn't mean that my views are any less vlid than yours. Views that others seem to share, as indicated by other posts in this thread. Your views are also shared by others who have posted. Isn't this the whole point of a forum such as this? People come together to share their differing views?

With that said can we agree to disagree and move on?

i find less than 5% of the customers account for the most support costs..that is where one must spend hours with them on the phone going over and over the same material because they forget, or just are unable to grasp the basics either because of lack of general ability..or perhaps on occasion, because of a disabilty.

With one of my customers like this, I gave up trying to teach him how to fish(after a year of trying) a few months ago. I now just make the changes for him whenever possible because it is less expensive to do that and there is still an equitable profit to be made from his account.

I did ask one customer to leave , basically because he was costing more each month in telephone costs and support costs than he was paying in hosting over a period of 9 months. 19 times out fo 20, what he said was "our" problem was a problem he caused because of lack of knowledge of the software he was using to develop and maintain the web site.

I might have been willing to just explain the situation to him, and suggest we needed to raise his hosting, howevever the rascal also continued to try to hit on me and flirt in a really obnoxiuous way even though I told him i was married!!

We go out of our way to investigate any issues..to make sure it is not our problem, and then try to help the customer fix the process or problem on his pc..but Mr flirt was just too much,
Who wants to be awokened at 5am in the morning with some flirt??

hehehe
Also for us we offer 24 hour toll free tech support, and we are not participating in the commodity hosting market. Our lowest cost plan is 20.00 a month..for 50mb. But for that they do get a lot of service.
If they don't have a ftp client, we send them a totally free one.
If they goof up the version of the web site on their pc..we walk them through how to get a fresh copy.
If they need a script..we look for one for them.

We want to be considered their internet technie partner..providing a solid tech infrastrucutre for their business or site and so encourage them to call us with any questions about the internet. Our customeres tend be experts in their own business, we dont expect themto be experts in the internet too.

If you are charging a premium for service, then one one should provide service. I would think if you are charging rock bottom prices, then you should set the customers's expectations as to what level of tech support service they can expect for it.

A good FAQ , well written, really cuts down on telephone calls.

Finally, I used to get slightly impatient at customers who seemed to talk really slow..or just could not grasp things. My eyes were opened when i found one of my customers who is like that, has MS. So before you lable someone one too lazy to read the FAQ, consider that perhaps they do better in getting talked through something due to a disability.

Regards
Dej