Why Search Vendors Chase Customer Support
June 14, 2009
MSN Money (I guess it is still in business) released information about customer support survey. “MSN Survey Shows the Good Guys and Bad Guys in Customer Service” makes clear that talking about customer service is not the same as delivering customer service. The Beyond Search goslings don’t do customer support but based on our reading of the MSN survey data, other companies are following the example set here in the mine drainage ditch. Since most folks have aspirations beyond the moonscape of rural Kentucky, firms may want to look at these data and then ask, “How can we actually help our customers?”
The write up lists the 10 worst customer support offenders. Leading the list is America Online, which recently bought its new president’s start up. Those folks probably were right on top of calls from the investment wizards who made this deal happen. Other types of calls received less attention. So, if the MSN data are accurate, AOL delivers less than stellar customer support. I don’t know. I don’t do AOL.
AOL’s former good shepherd Time Warner comes in at number five in the worst customer service department. Maybe the firm will deteriorate enough to take over the AOL spot.
One the “good” customer support side of the coin were some surprises. Netflix and Amazon cross the finish line in spots three and four. I am not a Netflix customer but my neighbor seems happy. Amazon is a bit of baffler since I have never interacted with Amazon other than buying some books. I guess if you don’t try to contact the company, that earns a number four rating.
Check out the scorecard yourself. Let me point out why search vendors are after this sector:
- Search vendors can assert that a search system allows customers to obtain self service support. The idea is to make me run a query and read lots of stuff instead of talking to a person who in theory will know the answer to my question. Companies with lousy customer support are eager consumers of this type of sales pitch.
- Search can in theory reduce costs. Companies with lousy customer service got their because of cost cutting. More cost cutting makes great sense. Search vendors can argue that their system will save companies with customer support problems money. Go for it is the cheer I hear.
- Content processing companies argue that sentiment (finding emails that include clues like “I am going to sue you guys”) can head off problems. Integrating these content processing subsystems is often an expensive proposition. Do they work? Some do, some don’t.
I expect to see more search and content processing vendors dressing up in customer support duds and hitting the conference circuit.
Stephen Arnold, June 14, 2009
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