Today we released our newest online service, PassBuilder.com. It’s a free password generator program that can create unique passwords based on the different criteria that users choose. It’s really great - it lets people pick lowercase and uppercase letters, numbers, and punctuation. They can even choose to get a memory aid when they generate their password - which is important these days, when nobody has just one password to remember! I admit, for some things that I need a password for on my home computer, I still use jumbled versions of my cats’ names and book titles. Maybe now that PassBuilder is out, I’ll go home tonight and fix some of those passwords online!
Another great thing about this new service is that it works with or without JavaScript enabled in your browser, and it works great on mobile devices too. So now, wherever anyone goes, they can visit PassBuilder and create new passwords at the drop of a hat.
Seth Godin writes today about customers and their responsibility, whether companies can (or should) blacklist customers, and consumers gaining power. I wish he’d written more, actually, but since he didn’t, I will.
Anyone who spends any time with the public knows that some people are going to take advantage of, or behave irresponsibly in, any situation. I think it’s the responsibility of the company to their other customers to control this behavior however they can. For example, if someone is talking on a cellphone in a theater (I can’t believe this happens, but it does), I think it’s the theater’s responsibility (not just their option, but their responsibility) to throw the offender out. Their responsibility is to the other people who have also paid for their seats (upwards of $110 on Broadway).
But then the company has to deal with some irate consumer with the power to post anything he wants on the internet. The person thrown out of the theater can post that the theater was rude, or that the play stunk. Or even that they got food poisoning from the drinks at intermission. And they probably won’t hurt the theater at all.
But abusive users do have the power to hurt smaller companies. A smaller company can easily be harmed by 1 or 2 negative reviews or comments, even if there are many more positive reviews elsewhere. Most people are far too busy - and there’s way too much content available - to keep looking for information once they find at least one answer.
We provide excellent service because we believe in it, not because we’re afraid of bad comments. But we’ll occasionally give someone a refund on a very old purchase, or a “replacement” of a product we know they didn’t pay for, just because we don’t want to deal with the possibility of a bad review online. Some people might call this protection for the consumer, but I think it’s much more like the kind of protection people get from organized crime (at least in the movies; I’ll admit I have no experience with it at all). It’s just paying someone to go away. Unfortunately, it’s reinforcing the bad behavior, which just means encouraging it.
There are a bunch of news stories around this morning about Dell announcing “more aggressive pricing”. Analysts are writing about potential price wars.
Dell apparently also announced a planned improvement to its customer service and support, but either the analysts just didn’t believe it or they didn’t think it was important enough to write about. But I think a serious customer service war between Dell and anyone would be such a huge benefit to the PC users of the world.
Customer service is getting worse and worse, and Dell is one of the biggest offenders. The internet is full of Dell horror stories. I don’t know about HP’s customer service or tech support, but I’ll probably find out, as I doubt I’ll ever buy another Dell. We’ve always bought Dells here (except for the guys who build their own PCs), but after the last experience, at least I’ll never buy one again. It’s too bad - I like their PCs - but I will not support any company that treats me this badly.
We’re known for our excellent customer service and tech support. I don’t expect that level from other companies, but I do expect much more than I’m getting.
I’ve seen many discussions in the various ISP groups I read about customer service and tech support. Yes, it’s expensive, and, yes, it’s time-consuming. And yes, some of the users try hard to take advantage of it, and then everyone gets frustrated. But I really can’t see that providing bad service is the answer. And since I’m in charge, my vote is the one that counts.