Just a random thought. A lot of the posts on here are about keeping customers happy but I would say a company is only as good as its staff. Happier staff == Happier customers. So my thought was to offer a "tip jar" that if a customer has had a good experience they can fire some money over via Paypal to an email and say thanks and then at the end of the month the money would be split up internally (exact details I've got no idea on)

DO you think this would work or customers would just see it as us trying to squeeze more money out of them?

I actually like the idea. I don't know your exact setup, but what if you modified your helpdesk to actually say something like, "Tip Rus!" That way, if they're happy with the response, you can tip the person that made it.

My thought was when a ticket is opened its put in the auto-ack or something that users would see but its not something we would ram down peoples throats as ultimately that will just turn customers off. Technically its dead easy to implement the problem is more how do we split it up internally (i.e some staff work more hours than hours, should it just be support staff or all depts etc, should it be split equally but those are more internal issues)

Its just I know this job can be a bit thankless sometimes and its nice to get told you are doing a good job

How about not splitting up the tips at all? If I have a ticket open with Bob and I think he's done a wonderful job, I'd want all of my tip to go directly to him, not to be split up among other employees. It would also be more motivation for the employee if they could keep all their tips rather than split them up.

Ehh, that'd look a bit tacky in my opinion. Tip jars are best suited for cafes, ice cream parlors, etc. Unless you're trying to brand yourself as the friendly web host on the corner :P, I don't think it would look good for a professional organization to accept tips.

I believe a client expects good quality of service from the provider and wouldn't want to pay you extra. Come on now, you're not a pizza delivery boy..

I don't think you would get much tips from answering support tickets about how the server doesn't work and so on.

I am 50/50 on this. One reason being is that customers don't expect to tip staff they expect that service to be part of what they paid.

Its unique though which I like and it gives a extra added incentive for your staff :)

Your staff should be happy, your customers should be happy and it shouldn't involve anything but proper business practices PERIOD!

If you need to provide your support staff with an incentive to do good work or quality work to make your customers happy, provide it yourself!

Asking your customers, or suggesting that they throw a tip their way to make your staff happy or to tell them they have done a good job is just plain.. well ... stupid.

Your support staff should be doing a great job all the time. If they are not happy or will do a bad job because they don't have enough wages, that's your fault.

Just a bad idea, .....

Staff well-being is important, but even if you won't believe it, increasing $ usually does not bring more happiness, but more problems.

Recognition is quite often more valuable and provides more long term satisfaction than an extra buck from time to time. Why don't you publicly felicitate or encourage the customers insert a felicitation on your forums for that staff?

Q

It really comes down to the way society is structured.

Is tipping a waiter any different than tipping support staff? They both are getting more money simply for doing their job, and even if a waiter does a bad job they still usually get a tip (even if it may be low).

Tipping support staff is no different than tipping any other worker.

To say having a tip section for web hosting is stupid, is the same as saying that having a tip jar at a cafe is stupid. The only difference is hosting is online.

HOWEVER, that being said, having a tip jar online could go either way. As I said before, it comes down to the way society is structured. People don't expect to see a tip jar on your site and may take offense to it.

Just as people expect to see a tip jar in some places, they don't expect them to see it in others.

Okay how about instead of a tip jar, you just encourage customers to rate the staff member using the built-in helpdesk rating system ("Was this reply helpful?"). Then, at the end of every month, the employee with the highest rating from clients gets a $10 Amazon gift card or something like that. Or maybe half a day off to spend with his/her family or something.

It really comes down to the way society is structured.

Is tipping a waiter any different than tipping support staff? They both are getting more money simply for doing their job, and even if a waiter does a bad job they still usually get a tip (even if it may be low).

Tipping support staff is no different than tipping any other worker.

To say having a tip section for web hosting is stupid, is the same as saying that having a tip jar at a cafe is stupid. The only difference is hosting is online.

HOWEVER, that being said, having a tip jar online could go either way. As I said before, it comes down to the way society is structured. People don't expect to see a tip jar on your site and may take offense to it.

Just as people expect to see a tip jar in some places, they don't expect them to see it in others.

No, they aren't even close to the same. Tips are expected and calculated into pay when doing a service type job (waiter, buss boy, bellman, etc). They don't get paid the normal wage (in the US, less than minimum wage usually). Technicians are normally paid a full wage, thus it not at all the same. I think there is nothing wrong with customers point out how well the tech did, etc. Maybe a simple rating scale. Then INTERNALLY you can recognize them/give them a bonus.

While i do think the idea if creative, I would definitely frown upon it from a customer standpoint.

Okay how about instead of a tip jar, you just encourage customers to rate the staff member using the built-in helpdesk rating system ("Was this reply helpful?"). Then, at the end of every month, the employee with the highest rating from clients gets a $10 Amazon gift card or something like that. Or maybe half a day off to spend with his/her family or something.

I definitely think thats a better idea.

I can definitely understand where you're coming from here. It's a good idea. I'm not sure how willing customers would be to tip... after all, they're not just paying for the hosting account, they're paying for the service too. Can't hurt to try though...

I can definitely understand where you're coming from here. It's a good idea. I'm not sure how willing customers would be to tip... after all, they're not just paying for the hosting account, they're paying for the service too. Can't hurt to try though...

Actually it could hurt to try. he could completely alienate his customers.

Just a random thought. A lot of the posts on here are about keeping customers happy but I would say a company is only as good as its staff. Happier staff == Happier customers. So my thought was to offer a "tip jar" that if a customer has had a good experience they can fire some money over via Paypal to an email and say thanks and then at the end of the month the money would be split up internally (exact details I've got no idea on)

DO you think this would work or customers would just see it as us trying to squeeze more money out of them?

You might be better off taking that time to ask customers to "recommend you" or plug your name in a forum or blog or on their site.

Fluidhosting.com does not ask me, but I often plug their name every now and again to show my support. They do a wonderful job and I consider my "plugs" a "tip."

If FH asked me to tip I'd more than likely tell dave to increase the prices if they needed money or be concerned they were having money issues. lol... but that is my twisted thinking.

We had such offer running when we used to handle one massive project of outsourcing back in 2004/2005

We used to pay $200/month to the representative who recieves highest positive feedbacks from clients.

It worked like a charm and all of the reps were on their toes as $200 was a very generous amount by Indian standards!