If you are running a business.. Do you?

[Sami Jalal]

One question for those running a business through internet:

Are you treating all customers the same way?

Are you ignoring some small customers (poor customers) in order to solve big customers problems?

What do you think? Because i feel sometimes that some people are on waiting list!

 

[Mr Lucky]

Are you ignoring some small customers (poor customers) in order to solve big customers problems?

Only as a last resort.

All customers could become big customers and deserve good customer service. But obviously if you are overstretched you might prioritise.

There's more to this question than meets the eye I think. ie sounds like you are having some issues.

 

[Mr Lucky]

Actually I will add something:

I tend to prioritise the customers that are most polite and friendly.

 

[Sami Jalal]

I tend to prioritise the customers that are most polite and friendly.

What do you mean by polite and friendly, this is a business as i know, and if customer wondering about a problem its his right to do that, of course without being harsh.

 

[Sadik B]

Businesses shouldn't make the mistake of trying to service all customer levels. It is a strategic mistake which will always end badly.

Apparently it seems your developer / designer / service provider isn't satisfying you because you don't have a high price job. Talk to them about it, fix it or move on.

 

[Mr Lucky]

What do you mean by polite and friendly, this is a business as i know, and if customer wondering about a problem its his right to do that, of course without being harsh.

OK, maybe I should have made the emphasis on politeness. A support request does not need to be "friendly," but in business as in anything, it is human nature that you often get the best results using diplomacy and tact rather than making demands.

I wouldn't think I have to priorities because someone is "friendly" however if someone is rude, I might wait to finish my breakfast before responding.

The initial contact for support is likely to be business like and to the point, it is once the dialogue has started that the use use of words such as "thank you" are appreciated.

 

[Mr Lucky]

Businesses shouldn't make the mistake of trying to service all customer levels.

I think that depends on how you set out the terms of customer service. If you have a premium support level, of course that would get priority as that is what people expect.

Once someone is a paying customer at any level then they should expect customer service. But I agree, it is tempting for a business to prioritise the "big" customers - human nature. However I would argue that if such priorities mean that smaller customers get neglected, the the business needs to rethink its prices to allow for better customer service all round.

 

[Sami Jalal]

isn't satisfying you because you don't have a high price job.

its not like that. But if you are a developer and i buy your product so that product must work properly same as you have described it. Is that right? Not depends on the price or the level of customer.

 

[Sami Jalal]

Customer always right as he want his product to work as it was described. I am not telling to work for a customer 24 hours, but on the other hand not to leave him waiting one week to give him at last a weak and worthless response.

 

[Martok]

that product must work properly same as you have described it

Yes, though you have to consider that other add-ons may interfere with its functionality. If the issue is with the other add-on (e.g. it is badly coded) then it's not the author's fault if their add-on doesn't work 100% as described.

Customer always right

I hate that phrase. The customer isn't always right as we can often see by posts made on these forums, blaming XenForo for various issues which ultimately turn out to be not XenForo issues at all.

I am not telling to work for a customer 24 hours, but on the other hand not to leave him waiting one week to give him at last a weak and worthless response.

Developers have real lives too and not all developers make add-ons as a full time business. Developers have holidays, some have their 'real work' to do and they also have family to spend time with. It's also very easy to miss messages posted on a forum.

Is there a contract specifying a timescale for support? If so then its fair enough to pick up a developer on this. If there isn't (and in most cases I guess there won't be) then there has to be a bit of give and take between the customer reporting an issue and the developer responding. If they are slow just once and their response isn't great, then I wouldn't get annoyed at this but would persist in trying to get a resolution (and would continue to be polite as one human being should be to any other human being). If the developer is repeatedly slow to respond and doesn't fix any issues which are those of the add-on then that is the developer's fault. The simple solution is to never buy anything from that developer again.

 

[Mr Lucky]

I hate that phrase. The customer isn't always right

+1 for this.

I sell digital downloads, and I would say that 9/10 the support questions I get are because the customer:

• Downloaded onto a mobile device without reading the big red text that said this won't work without the necessary app.
• Downloaded properly, but didn't know which folder their browser was set to download into (and hadn't read the big red text explaining how to find the file after downloading.
• Didn't register an account so instead of seeing the file in their account download area, relied on an email link which went into their spam folder due to over aggressive spam settings. And didn't see the big red text saying download support is only offered if customers register an account.

In order to buy the download, customers have to tick a box saying the have read the FAQs. But have they? No.

In spite of that I am still very polite when wasting my time.

 

[Sami Jalal]

Yes, though you have to consider that other add-ons may interfere with its functionality. If the issue is with the other add-on (e.g. it is badly coded) then it's not the author's fault if their add-on doesn't work 100% as described.

I agree with you if that is the case. But the sentence "Sorry, this is not our problem, its happened by others" is a good response for me. But what about if the developer did not give you any hint or any answer or did not read your message?!

I hate that phrase. The customer isn't always right as we can often see by posts made on these forums, blaming XenForo for various issues which ultimately turn out to be not XenForo issues at all.

When i tell the customer always right means that all customers have the right to have answer as soon as possible. Brains are not all the same, there are many who cannot understand things as you or others. So, even the issue is simple for you, maybe its hard for others. And because of that you are developer and he is not.

 

[Martok]

I agree with you if that is the case. But the sentence "Sorry, this is not our problem, its happened by others" is a good response for me.

Maybe they said that because this particular problem isn't a problem with their add-on and it's been raised several times before?

But what about if the developer did not give you any hint or any answer or did not read your message?!

Then you ask again in case they missed it. It's easy to overlook something or mean to respond and then forget because you've been distracted by other things. It's happened to the XenForo developers too, that doesn't make them bad developers, they are just human beings like you and I.

When i tell the customer always right means that all customers have the right to have answer as soon as possible. Brains are not all the same, there are many who cannot understand things as you or others. So, even the issue is simple for you, maybe its hard for others. And because of that you are developer and he is not.

I have no idea what you are trying to get at here, apart from partially backing down from your incorrect statement earlier.

Anyway, this thread just seems to be you wanting to have a rant about a particular developer who you haven't named. I would suggest that you direct your energies into contacting the developer again about whatever issues you are having and trying to get a resolution. If they are a decent developer then they will respond and hopefully get it sorted if the issue is with their add-on. If the issue isn't with the add-on then the onus is on you to sort whatever issues are causing the add-on not to work properly (e.g. other add-ons that may conflict, any incorrect set-up you have on your site etc). If the problem is their add-on and they won't fix it without good reason, then leave a review on the resource here on XenForo so others know and don't use that developer again.

 

[Jeremy]

I hate that phrase. The customer isn't always right as we can often see by posts made on these forums, blaming XenForo for various issues which ultimately turn out to be not XenForo issues at all.

I actually work in food service (fast food restaurant manager) and I loathe the statement as well. I had someone say that to me and I looked him dead in the eye and went "No, they are not." So he tried to defend it and I spent 5-10 minutes discussing this. My boss had to walk into the kitchen to laugh. I'm probably the most confrontational manager we have because I don't let customers get away with that mentality.