[Previous entry: "Little things are important--like knobs"] [Main Index] [Next entry: "Where's the updates?"]

06/20/2003 Archived Entry: "As seen on Slashdot"

It seems that my web-hosting provider is actually pretty good at web hosting. Today, my article on turboing was mentioned on Slashdot, a popular technology news site. Such mentions are known for causing meltdowns of web servers due to massive spikes in traffic.

Within are a few thoughts on relevant comments I read in the Slashdot article...

One poster commented that letters work better than phone calls. In my experience, that may be true sometimes, but not always. Letters are easier to ignore. With a phone call, if you get blown off, you at least have closure. You then know for sure that a company has no interest in satisfying you. Once you're talking to someone, you've got a name (and presumably a title). If things seem to fall through the cracks, you can call them back directly. You can send them a letter. My advice: if you have a problem that needs immediate attention, call. If it's not urgent, write.

Another poster took exception with my description of first-, second-, and third-level technical support. Taken literally, they may seem inaccurate. The terminology varies from company to company. Really good companies don't have first-level support -- you get connected directly to an expert. Of course, if you're dealing with such a company, you probably don't need to turbo your problem.

In any case, the important thing is to make it past the deflectors and get a direct line of contact going with the experts. If your problem isn't a technical problem, but an issue with some aspect of a business, an "expert" may be someone who has the authority to override policy in special cases, or some other form of decision-maker. If a supervisor can make the decision, and is willing to use that power to make you happy, great! There's no reason to go nuclear on a company that has some care for customer satisfaction. It may be irksome that you have to press a little to get it, but if the system works tolerably well, it works. Perhaps a letter to the CEO about the experience might improve things in the future.

Please read our privacy policy before posting comments.