There are many different types of customers, people, that's the world. But I wonder how you other hosts support/deal with a specific type, the newb's. We all have them.

They sign up, then call/contact you. They can't accomplish anything on there own. I always wonder what they do from the time they get off the phone with me until I talk to them again. I am currently building a tutorial section of the knowledgebase, but I know this only matters if they actually read it.

After a long night of dealing with "how do I make a web page?" & "will you do it?" questions I am frustrated. These customers arn't in a postion to shell out $$ for design/development and I am searching for a solution to this ongoing problem.



:homer:(customer) -----> HTML, Directories, FTP, Nameserver, etc.. <-------(me):angry:



Any help is appreciated.

The solution is to either charge them for your time, increase your prices, or tell them that you do not provide the type of service/support they need.

:)

The solution is to either charge them for your time, increase your prices, or tell them that you do not provide the type of service/support they need.
Yep, it's as easy as that. Sometimes they get a bit stroppy, but we're in the hosting business, not the web design teaching business. I direct those folks to a few newsgroups/forums, where they can interact with others and get help.

Maybe I'm just looking to a scripted responcec to these types of questions. Perhaps my frustration is blocking me from finding a responce that is blunt, but prifessional.

tell them that you do not provide the type of service/support they need.

:)


Exactly. 100% the truth and straight to the point

If you are a hosting company, as the others said - make it known that that is what you can support. If you have members on your team that are proficient in whatever areas the customer needs help, let them know that is web development support and you charge $XXX an hour for that, billable in 15 minute increments.

Explain to them that your support deals with technical issues about the hosting service only; have a link list of help pages or the flash tutorials are a good option

Plan pricing usually specifies what kind of customer you'll get. If your aiming for people who base their decisions on price/space/bandwidth then for the most part your getting newer customers who need more assistance.

Typical sales model:
Newer customers look for lowest pricing.
They signup for the bottom of the barrel packages.
Then your support costs increase because you get to answer all the newbie questions.

Most of our signups are people who have experience in hosting. While we have no problem assisting people who are new most of our customers don't require support.

Why not offer a Website building program as part of each hosting package? Or as an add-on?

After a long night of dealing with "how do I make a web page?" & "will you do it?" questions I am frustrated. These customers arn't in a postion to shell out $$ for design/development and I am searching for a solution to this ongoing problem.

As others have suggested, just tell those customers that their question is beyond the scope of your support. As a hosting company, you should only be supporting actual hosting-related questions, such as how to connect to your server. Web development, script debugging, etc. should not be included, and you need to explain that to your customers.

why not tell these customers that there is tutorials sites out there. asking such questions are not related to you and therefore should not be directed to you. or you could do the website building program as mention above

If you are in the hosting business and dont' want to be in the design/support business team up with designers that DO want that business.

Rather than telling your client "we can't help you", point them in a direction to places that can help them.

We have 3 places that we recommend on a regular basis, and have been doing so for the past 5 years. We send them clients, they send us clients - it's a win-win.

Also, don't be afraid to ASSIST someone with something, but when it comes to DOING it, that's when you refer out to other designers/programmers etc.

You could tell them that you don't provide that sort of support, however, you might want to think about getting some tutorials on your site and possibly a few basic website templates to get them started.

When I get customers that ask me to design or code their websites somehow I usually give them the option of paying $20 an hour for admin time or I direct them to some helpful online tutorial and guides. Most of the time my customers are understanding.

It's always nice to go the extra mile for a client, but I guess if they really are eating alot of time that should be spent on answering other support requests, business wise I guess you'd *have* to refer them somewhere else or charge them, although its not something I've ever done before.. Guess it depends how much you charge, and can it justify the support time.

It really depends... I've delt with noobish questions down to the point where they were covered in the welcome email. It comes to the point where if the question was in the welcome email, you politely tell them to read it or ask if they want you to re-send it. In welcome emails, I always put:
- Name server URLs
- Where the web directory is (/public_html/)
- Direct them to the user forums/help desk
- Any other bits of info that are important

Even if it comes down to having a "README.txt" copied into all new accounts, you have to know where to draw the line on tech support.

The solution is to either charge them for your time, increase your prices, or tell them that you do not provide the type of service/support they need.

:)

This would probably be the best way to solve it,

But still give a small amount of support, just say that the support team should only be used for server issues not for general help

Some hosts have luck with internal forums where users help users.

mrbister, the only problem I've seen with those is that about 5 'power users' arise and dominate every thread with their own bickering and slander. While they can be useful, I've never had a good experience operating them.

Yes, the need for active moderators is a must to keep some type of users in place. :)

If you are a web host and are currently hosting a website that said customer is looking for, your clients will love you to death for giving them clients and give you return business in exchange.

Everyone loves their backs scratched

if customers start to share with you their script/desig work its good to have a number of tutorials/forum URLs/articles and hand and supply them with all this staff and ask to find an answer there

I guess you really need to decide what services you can provide, and at what sort of level of experience?

If your knowlege is strictly systems and not related to coding/design, perhaps you may want to charge extra for this help/support or contact 3rd party coders/developers. I have always found that to be the best solution vs. fulltime staff.

Regards,