Startup CEO asks, "Have you no idea who I am?"
Weird.
Here's the background:
We set up our first daily pass w/ the service for a client mtg. The users did a quick test before the real call and had problems. Tech support was unavailable so they walked the client through the docs over the phone. Afterwards, the users emailed me about it and I sent their comments to the company along w/ a note to let them know.
I know the company from my wife's company, who uses it for all their online meetings. I had heard great things and when the product works it really is great. So, what happens when things don't work? Turns out you might hear where you stand and who you're talking to. I find this interesting, especially since things were so positive just moments before. Oh, my wife is also a customer service expert. She finds this thread interesting, too.
So, I'm curious. What do you think happened here? Do you find this ok or is there something lacking? Was there a clear breakdown or offense somewhere in the thread? Too much frank feedback?
Btw, I really didn't know who I had been emailing with up until the very last post. Can you guess how I found out?
--- Begin Thread ---
On Nov 7, 2008, at 11:27 AM, Anthony Rossello wrote:
Hi,
We've had a change of plans for the call today and we will not be needing the day pass today. The meeting will be rescheduled for early next week but not sure exactly when, yet.
I will let you know when it's definite.
Thanks,
Tony
On Nov 7, 2008, at 1:19 PM, wrote:
Anthony:
No problem. You will not be charged for today's pass.
Let us know when we can be of help.
Best,
-rich
On Nov 10, 2008, at 8:40 AM, Anthony Rossello wrote:
Great. Thanks, Rich.
I just heard from my colleague that the meeting will now be on Thursday, 11/13. Please make the necessary changes.
Thanks,
Tony
On Nov 10, 2008, at 2:31 PM, wrote:
Tony:
You're all set. Starts 11/13. Ends 11/14.
Best,
-rich
On Nov 18, 2008, at 7:32 PM, Anthony Rossello wrote:
Hi Rich,
Two things I wanted to let you know about:
1. The service did not work our for my colleagues on the 14th. They tested around 9a and decided to just email the attachments to the client and walk them through everything over the phone.
To give you some context, here are the emails I received from both colleagues who tried to use it:
"Tony - it didn't work - it kept freezing and timing out and their customer service did not open until 9 which is ridiculous"
"I am in the office. The connection seems to be fine - but as a participant - we got a notice from them saying the connection was not stable enough. I also don't like the fact that it did not give me any notice as the host that the participant had been disconnected.
Either way – the thing that frustrated me the most is that their customer service did not open until 9. I would suggest that we don’t standardized on anyone that does not have 24hr support or at least a lot better than 9am – that is just not realistic for a business service especially given the likelihood that we will use this more for meetings happening in different time zones.
The concept was good"
"I am in the office and [we] are able to access internet and Outlook. Outlook was very slow to set up for me -- and has been for some time. We had issues with the service. I was able to log on to the session, but it timed out even though [the host had logged in]. When I tried to log on again it told me that the host hadn't started the session. [The passcode was changed] and I was able to get in again, but then got a message saying the host's connection with the service wasn't strong enough."
2. I just checked my AmEx bill and it looks like I've been billed twice for $9.95 on 11/14/08. Please look into it.
Thanks,
Tony
On Nov 18, 2008, at 10:23 PM, wrote:
Anthony:
My apologies for the poor performance you experienced. [The service] can only work as well as the Internet connections between participants. Poor performance nearly always indicates a network problem -- either between the host and our service, or your guests and our service.
Looking at the session logs, in this case the problem appears to be on the host side. In both cases, the host computer was able to send about one screenful of data, then could not maintain a reliable connection.
Was the person with Outlook slowness also at the host's location? That suggests the path between that person's computer and your company's mailserver may also have experienced network stability problems.
Another piece of data that is puzzling is that both host and guest have the same IP address: [ ] Were both sides in the same physical location? I suspect one was "VPNed" into the other's network. If so, that alone could have caused the poor performance. VPNs seldom can handle high speed streams like screen sharing.
I suggest you give me a call tomorrow or when you have a few minutes. With a little more data, we hopefully can identify where the problem lies.
RE the double billing -- the bank that serves as our credit card intermediary mistakenly double-authorized today's batch of [] invoices, but settled just one of the two authorizations. So one of those charges is settled, the other is a "hold" that will vanish in a few days when your bank's pre-authorization policy auto-expires it. On your final statement, you should see just one charge.
Kind regards,
-rich
On Nov 19, 2008, at 9:52 AM, Anthony Rossello wrote:
Hi Rich,
Thanks for getting back to me so quickly and for investigating the logs. I understand the technical issues that may have been the main reasons for the failure. Although, they were both at the same location but there was no VPN happening. I tested w/ 1 host and 2 clients several weeks ago at that same location w/ no problem.
But the real issue w/ their experience is the issue of technical support. [The] note about not being able to reach anyone is really what made him want to pass on the product.
I was confused myself, as I haven't had an issue w/ response time using this email address and just assumed that tech support was readily available. If there's a misunderstanding regarding available hours and method of contact ([He] was looking to call), please let me know.
Thanks,
Tony
Tony:
Our tech support is 9-5 ET, as posted on our Support page. []> Support If you phone us then, you'll be talking to one of us within one ring. No automated attendant black hole.
After hours, we monitor emails, but on an ad hoc basis. (We're a company of 12 people, Boston based.)
Nearly all of our customers are on flat rate plans, so if there is a network issue inside their network, we can resolve it early on and then there's rarely an issue moving forward. Frankly, if all you do is a DayPass here and there, we'll probably never make any $s on your account. But we stand committed to find out what was wrong and help you repair it. Consider that an amazingly inexpensive IT expertise opportunity...
Best,
-rich
PS. Not to go over the top, but you're talking to a Stanford PhD in EE. I suspect the "support person" you might get from some other vendor may not have quite as much experience.
Rich []
CEO & Founder
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