Posting Date: September 21, 2002

WebWord Comment -- Here's a short story. WebWord was having problems earlier today. For example, the home page was disappearing. I did some investigation and hypothesized that the server was low on space. I contacted my hosting provider to let them know what I thought. In less than 10 minutes they responded and told me that I was correct about the space and they were taking care of the problem. 10 minutes! In light of the crap that we give companies about how bad they are at responding to customer complaints and feedback, my hosting provider, QWK.net, is a shining star. Let's give them a round of applause for their efforts. Oh, and for those fools that think usability people can't say good things, well, buggers to you. When people do things right, we reward them. They get front page exposure. They get a slap on the back. They get our business.

Reader Comments...

By the way, I just calculated the actual time it took QWK.net to respond to my HelpDesk call. I was wrong about the 10 minutes thing. Zut! It was 3 minutes. Seriously folks, has any company ever responded to you this fast?

Posted by: John S. Rhodes on September 21, 2002 05:28 PM

That's exceptional ('course I'm wondering if they are readers of the site..:)

Just did a customer service email survey for local companies here in W. MI. The fastest response time was about 40 minutes, which I'd still say was exceptional given it was after 10:00 PM when I contacted them.

The downer, however, was that while fast the response was clueless...totally ignorant of content posted on their own site, no help whatsoever...

What we found was that 17% of the companies included did things "right" - responded within one business day, provided an answer right in the email, were courteous, etc.

Posted by: Mike Boyink on September 21, 2002 07:51 PM

I appreciate a blank white page. It brings out the nihilist in me.

Posted by: Jack on September 22, 2002 12:08 AM

We use Rackspace for some hosting, and they frighten me (in a good way) with their responsiveness.

They fix issues as soon as you raise them, regardless of the contact mechanism: phone, email or website. And they follow up with you personally: "Is it okay now? Can we help you in any other way?" I'm in New Zealand, and they'll call me regularly just to see how things are going.

This is an unsolicited endorsement; but I suspect that a lot of their customers are similarly passionate about their "Fanatical Service"

Posted by: Che Tamahori on September 22, 2002 08:54 PM

What I like about your story, John, is that they listened to you. I hate dealing with companies that say, "Well, we'll check it out and you just go play over there with your toys." I've even had people tell me I was wrong, then have to come back later with their tail between their legs. So, I love to hear stories about companies that say, "OK, that sounds like a good place to start - I'll get back to you shortly."

Excuse me while I go make a note about QWK.net.

Posted by: Lydia on September 23, 2002 12:43 PM

hell, I contacted a hosting company on behalf of one of my clients about increasing their aloted space (give them more money) and never heard back.

@*$&! NuVox

Posted by: Mick on September 23, 2002 09:10 PM

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