Does anyone else run into the customer who refuses to obide by the helpdesk support? We constantly recieve the infamous ticket stating "I want to talk to a human!". We do not offer phone support to shared hosting customers but rather only dedicated and VPS customers. This is clearly outline on the website and in the terms of service, however, people would rather go without getting there issue resolved then send in a simple email outlining a problem. Does anyone else run into this issue? How do you handle it?

Greetings:

Put yourself in their shoes. They pay good money. They are human beings. They are the customer. No customers = no business.

Thank you.

For a very long time I only initiated email support/ticket support but over time it made things a lot easier to just grab a Vonage line for $25/month. As customer base grows and you have the extra funds I would invest in a phone line (vonage) if that makes more sense.

The look and feel of your company will change dramatically thus increasing your clientele, I strongly believe our client base has expanded and the client(s) feel more comfortable with our company knowing if there is an emergency someone will pick up during business hours and not feel like they are being pushed down in queue.

Just remember when your at the store waiting in line? How impatient are you and how would you like if lane #4 opened up right next to you and just checked you out almost immediately.

So ultimately if you neglect to pick up if they are not a higher paying customer, you need to re-evaluate $5 or $5,000 each customer should be able to call and treated the same.

just my 2 cents.

+1 for giving every client access to phone support. But if they abuse it (assuming its not something on your end) they should start looking for another provider. For a $6/mo hosting account to cost you $30-$50/mo in time/support is not cost effective to have a bunch of clients like that. But they should still have access to the same support as your other clients.

I found that by hiring an answering service, most customers could talk their way out of a problem. Even if the person at the other end of the line only took messages, the interaction went pretty well and the customer was generally good to go. The answering service I use also didn't have a problem taking a look at some documentation to help the customer in simple cases, which was a bonus for me.

Some times the caller would ask for a return call, and with those people I've developed pretty good friendships and business relationships with.

Also, you'd be amazed at how calm and normal people are on the phone vs. in a helpdesk ticket. Computer technology still is uncomfortable for older people, and their frustration with it echoes in the way they send in these DAMNED TICKETS. But get them on the phone, and any perceived anger melts, and they're pretty mellow.

There are always exceptions. Just step up, apologize that you can't talk to them until they calm down. And ask them to call back when they have calmed down. And hang up.

The solution in this case is not to offer phone support. As I stated, plans are specifically listed on that no phone support for the package they have chosen which is why the cost options are lower. Phone support is not included with the plan, as it is not priced into the plan. We do offer phone support, but offering phone support for a small shared plan is not reasonable for a $6 per month 30MB package. My gripe in this instance is that people think they are owed the world for every dollar they receive. They want to buy a dollar cheese burger but get a Filet mignon. The fact of the matter here is they pay the $6.00 because they want budget options. If they wanted phone support they could get it by by paying for premium support. However, they do not wish to pay for it and feel it should be included. I'm not sure how one could remain in business recommending that phone support can be offered to the budget customers. Just taking up 1-2 hours of a technical persons time could result in over 500% loss per customer. This is with helpdesk support not causing an issue as the ticket for this instance has been responded to in less than 10 minutes with a viable solution by a HUMAN.

Why won't you offer them support over phone? Try it out.

The solution in this case is not to offer phone support. As I stated, plans are specifically listed on that no phone support for the package they have chosen which is why the cost options are lower. Phone support is not included with the plan, as it is not priced into the plan. We do offer phone support, but offering phone support for a small shared plan is not reasonable for a $6 per month 30MB package. My gripe in this instance is that people think they are owed the world for every dollar they receive. They want to buy a dollar cheese burger but get a Filet mignon. The fact of the matter here is they pay the $6.00 because they want budget options. If they wanted phone support they could get it by by paying for premium support. However, they do not wish to pay for it and feel it should be included. I'm not sure how one could remain in business recommending that phone support can be offered to the budget customers. Just taking up 1-2 hours of a technical persons time could result in over 500% loss per customer. This is with helpdesk support not causing an issue as the ticket for this instance has been responded to in less than 10 minutes with a viable solution by a HUMAN.


Make a huge FAQ or what would be the difference in this customer going with a larger hosting company that will offer phone support for same price? The ultimate goal would be to find out why this customer needs so much support and is it your problem or theirs if they are not worth the time you may be in the wrong business :) or remove your packages under $10

The solution in this case is ...

You of course are right, the customer did agree to 'no phone support' when signing up. Not sure why they're taking out their personal pain on you though. Your business model is yours, stick with it like you are. Keep referring them back to what they agreed to. Eventually they'll grow tired of it too, and you'll have some peace and quiet.

You of course are right, the customer did agree to 'no phone support' when signing up. Not sure why they're taking out their personal pain on you though. Your business model is yours, stick with it like you are. Keep referring them back to what they agreed to. Eventually they'll grow tired of it too, and you'll have some peace and quiet.

Very well said!

The theme of the topic was to discuss how to treat the few customers out of hundreds who do not wish to pay for phone support and cause additional problems by not following the terms of service and the plan in which they agreed. Recommendations to change my business plan that is working for 99% of my customers, or discussing rather or not I'm in the wrong business would be straying off topic as niether is the case. We have many customers who are fine with helpdesk support so this is obviously not a company issue, but rather an individual.

You could offer them one time phone support and simply tell them that the plan they are on is ticket based support only and no phone support, if they wish to keep calling then they can pay up or move on. If its only 1 client out of hundreds then it will likely not put you out of business loosing them. Though each client is valuable and each has a opinion that can be very public at times it simply will not work if they are buying a service and are expecting something else.

I think having a telephone support option is a very good Idea! It re-assures people!

So besides Vontage what other companies are out there to get phone service at a decent price.

I'm just starting myself and was going to start off with web based and email support. I plan to build online support based on top issues. That way if I do phone support in the future I only deal with those rare issues.

You have a business model that obliviously works for you - 99% of the time. Seems simple - offer to move them to phone support if they upgrade their plan.

Skype works fine. Just got a skype out number.

Great idea Steve. You could even have that as an add-on to a hosting plan. You get really cheap hosting with web/email support and for $20 bucks more a year phone support.

Keep referring them back to what they agreed to. Eventually they'll grow tired of it too, and you'll have some peace and quiet.

Because they've gone elsewhere.

Why not offer a "upgrade to telephone support" option you can point to?

Everyone knows, when they are on the customer end of things, that things go a lot faster and smoother when using the phone because the communciation is two ways instead of back and forth over email.

Or, second best, chat support.

Because they've gone elsewhere.

Why not offer a "upgrade to telephone support" option you can point to?

Everyone knows, when they are on the customer end of things, that things go a lot faster and smoother when using the phone because the communciation is two ways instead of back and forth over email.

Or, second best, chat support.

Well again, not every business model is for every person. A lot of people will only walk to their local bank, they do not have ING Direct accounts.

Have a per phone support charge, for those not on the phone support plan. Outline the charges clearly and that should solve it.

--Tina

So besides Vontage what other companies are out there to get phone service at a decent price.

I'm just starting myself and was going to start off with web based and email support. I plan to build online support based on top issues. That way if I do phone support in the future I only deal with those rare issues.

Skype is an obvious one.

Does anyone else run into the customer who refuses to obide by the helpdesk support? We constantly recieve the infamous ticket stating "I want to talk to a human!". We do not offer phone support to shared hosting customers but rather only dedicated and VPS customers. This is clearly outline on the website and in the terms of service, however, people would rather go without getting there issue resolved then send in a simple email outlining a problem. Does anyone else run into this issue? How do you handle it?

If you want to strictly stand by your policy, then politely remind the shared-hosting clients that they must upgrade to VPS or dedicated hosting to be eligible for telephone support. That should (hopefully) do it.

-mike

I assume that the amout of people on those style would not be much.And they agreed to pay mean agreed to your TOS and the non-phonr support policy.Stick to your own style will be fine.
Or,if their problem is really critical,offer them a free phone support and tell them it's free but if it is needed again,they should upgrade their current plan.Here makes them a little grateful and it transfer the decision to them whether upgrade or not,I think.

So besides Vontage what other companies are out there to get phone service at a decent price.

I'm just starting myself and was going to start off with web based and email support. I plan to build online support based on top issues. That way if I do phone support in the future I only deal with those rare issues.

Asterisks with voicepulse.

For our regular shared hosting, we do not offer phone support, but we do publish an "emergency phone number" on our website.

If they call the number it goes straight to voicemail, with a message asking them to leave their helpdesk ticket number... and if they don't have a number then here is the URL to the helpdesk. Beeep.

If they don't leave a helpdesk number in their message.. then they don't get a call back. There is absolutely no reason why they can't submit a helpdesk ticket, so for the price they're paying... that's what we expect.

Everything depend from business model you are select. You are absolutely free select business model meet your requirements and you only need inform potential customers about it. You may offer or do not offer phone support, your support person may speak on fluent English or speak with "Russian" accent, you may be the best host company or be a most terrible. Nothing does matter:) If customer happy with you - he will stay with you. If he unhappy - he will leave you. Why he happy or unhappy with you- who know :) So, don't worry, be happy and if you understand well what you are doing you will win at the end.

Unless they're a victim of something you've done to them (ie downtime, your service isn't working properly etc) then I would offer them phone support at an additional cost.

If there was a problem that is your fault as a client I would feel that as I have paid you for a service which I am not getting I should be able to contact you in any way I see fit. If ticket support wasn't working for me I'd perform a WHOIS and try and get in touch with you that way. Hell, if your address was local I'd come and knock on your doors - business or residential! (Obviously I'd be polite!) If I've paid for a service that you aren't providing then I would follow it up on my terms!

As a business if I felt I was letting a customer down in any way and they wanted to speak to me over the phone I would feel obliged to let them contact me in this way.

Unless they're a victim of something you've done to them (ie downtime, your service isn't working properly etc) then I would offer them phone support at an additional cost.

If there was a problem that is your fault as a client I would feel that as I have paid you for a service which I am not getting I should be able to contact you in any way I see fit. If ticket support wasn't working for me I'd perform a WHOIS and try and get in touch with you that way.

Well put. I suppose a key issue, though, is how can the client know whether the issue is due to the provider's actions or due to the client's own actions?

-mike