February 17, 2005

Forgetting About Customers: Skype and Blogger.com

I've been a long time Blogger.com user and had liked its service a lot. However, recently their service has been going down, down, down due to server/code problems on their end. Interestingly enough, there is no live customer support. Knowledge bases are good - but not when you NEED a live human via email or phone. I was considering switching to TypePad, but I like how Blogger pushes my blog file to my own server instead TypePad's method of domain mapping as the only way to have one's blog on one's own web site.

Along the lines of bad customer service Cnet writes about VOIP telecomm provider Skype In recent weeks, there's been a spike in complaints about the company's first commercial service--SkypeOut--that lets customers cheaply make calls off the Internet to ordinary phone lines. Aside from having to wait days for accounts to be credited--as the anonymous suitor and dozens of other customers have complained--many SkypeOut users say their conversations are disrupted by a two-second delay between someone speaking and being able to hear what was said.

A note to companies that want to compete for business. 1) don't offer FREE service unless you can support it 2) business will PAY for your services but it must be a) reliable and b) you must be there to answer the phone or email when we need you.

This is why Bob Parsons of GoDaddy.com does not fear if Google.com gets into web hosting - he knows they will have a BIG challenge with customer support. Sure, they'll get a few million or thousands of free accounts - but where will the MONEY come from?

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