Webafrica: Is this e-mail style annoying?

Foxhound5366

Foxhound5366

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So a while ago Webafrica caused waves by introducing their funky over-the-top images (e.g. on their website and billing), and all was good.

Now I see they've injected that same approach into their support e-mails, and it comes across sounding extremely textbook and insincere.

Example 1: Paragraph in response received to support ticket received only 48 hours earlier (on a trivial billing-related matter).
I hope that you going well this morning, thank you for taking the time out of your day to contact us directly.

I am truly sorry that it has taken so long for us to get back to you on your query, there is no form of excuse that can or will measure up to the level of service that you have received thus far, it is indeed not acceptable.
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Cool your jets there Jim, the world isn't ending. If I get a sobbing response like this to a 48 hour delay, what will happen when you REALLY let me down? Roses delivered to my door by your CEO?

Example 2: Intro to another web-ticket, with another simple billing query.
How are you doing today? It is really wonderful to hear from you, thank you for taking the time out of your day to contact us directly.
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Do you see from the above that they've actually INCREASED the fake enthusiasm? We now have 'It is really wonderful to hear from you' injected into the middle of the first line, which was paraphrased from the earlier template. *facepalm*

TEMPLATE != Authenticity. When the hell will companies learn?
 
This sort of response is becoming quite common place. Have you had a look at say The Microsoft Community and seen the same type of BS coming from MS employees?

Makes one think that some or other phycologist trend is becoming evident.

Just another form of the old " send the b itch the standard letter"
 
Lol yeah Daniel. I think it stems from front line support staff generally being underpaid temp workers, so all they're entrusted to do is copy out of templates when replying to clients (VFS - anybody tried e-mailing them??? LOL)

Here's a crazy idea, but maybe start having your intelligent back office guys actually fielding front line support queries - you benefit coz your back office guys feel more accountable, AND your clients benefit from more intelligent replies.
 
Doomed if you do, doomed if you don't.



What would be an acceptable start for a support email?
 
Rickster said:
What would be an acceptable start for a support email?
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Well, some thought would be a nice place to start...
I hope that you going well this morning, thank you for taking the time out of your day to contact us directly.
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Well - what else would I do if I'm having a problem - contact them indirectly? Not call them at all? Why thank me for doing the only thing I can & should do?

I am truly sorry that it has taken so long for us to get back to you on your query, there is no form of excuse that can or will measure up to the level of service that you have received thus far, it is indeed not acceptable.
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So what they're saying is they cannot come up with an excuse that's as ****ty as the level of service they've just supplied? The sentence just doesn't make sense. It should read: "There's no excuse that can make up for or justify etc. the level of service....".

Quite a poorly written response.
 
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Kelerei said:
Personally, I prefer communication that cuts out the feel-good bull**** and rather solves the problem than make me feel warm and fuzzy. But maybe that's just me.
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Yeah exactly, this. Let's cut the bs ... the call centre rep does NOT know who I am, they are NOT excited about hearing from me, and frankly I don't expect em to be. All I want is for my problem to be resolved swiftly and with authenticity: no fake enthusiasm, no cut-and-paste responses. Just give me what I want, or explain to me personally why you can't give it to me and what I need to do if that's what I want to get (this last part is practically impossible to get in the cut-and-paste template world of client care).
 
Afrihost tell me, when telling me that they do not know why my line upgrade has taken over 6 weeks to resolve, that they are committed to providing "internet joy". I told them to stop the bulsh** and just do the work they are paid to do
 
chrisc4290 said:
Afrihost tell me, when telling me that they do not know why my line upgrade has taken over 6 weeks to resolve, that they are committed to providing "internet joy". I told them to stop the bulsh** and just do the work they are paid to do
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Yup, that's exactly what I'm talking about. Well Chris, on the plus side, now you can feel happy knowing it's not just Afrihost ... all the ISPs are in a race to the bottom of cheesy and insincere client care.
 
This is call center canned responses all the world over.

Yeah sure, you want your problem solved and you don't want to wade through a paragraph of fluff first. Fine, but it's not hurting you by being there. Now just imagine a CEO who likes canned responses with his R35000 a month spend. So they opt for politeness instead of just not acknowledging their sloppy response times.

Source: I work for kind of a call center. While we have a quite bit more freedom with our responses, I consider it disrespectful to not apologize for the issue the customer is having, nor acknowledge the fact that they have taken the time to contact support instead of just closing their account.

What matters is from the time of receiving the support ticket to a speedy, satisfactory resolution.

Those ISP call center guys? The low tier ones? They get their scripts, they get told what to say, how to say it and to identify if it's above their paygrade (i.e have you tried turning it off and on again doesn't work).
 
StevenC said:
Yeah sure, you want your problem solved and you don't want to wade through a paragraph of fluff first. Fine, but it's not hurting you by being there.
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That's where you're wrong. It literally does hurt me. I feel an intense burning sensation in my anus when I read insensitive 'fluff', occasionally accompanied by bleeding.

I should probably see a doctor about that.
 
Foxhound5366 said:
That's where you're wrong. It literally does hurt me. I feel an intense burning sensation in my anus when I read insensitive 'fluff', occasionally accompanied by bleeding.

I should probably see a doctor about that.
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I hope that your rectum has stopped hemorrhaging this evening, thank you for taking the time out of your day to reply directly to my post.

I am truly sorry that it has taken so long for us to get back to you on your post, there is no form of excuse that can or will measure up to the level of bleeding that you have received thus far, it is indeed not acceptable.

As per your suggestion, a visit to the doctor for the 2 thumbs up could definitely help plug the situation.

I truly look forward to your response and I wish your rectum a great week ahead!

Toodles, winky face!
 
My rectum thanks you Steven C: more responses like yours in client support e-mails, and we may all have a more pleasant time.
 
Hi Guys,

Appreciate your feedback and I can see where you all are coming from. I have sent this to our Billing Manager so he can take it up with his team.
 
WebAfrica Helper said:
Hi Guys,

Appreciate your feedback and I can see where you all are coming from. I have sent this to our Billing Manager so he can take it up with his team.
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That's cool, thanks for taking this further :) If we can have a bit more simple and straight-forward client care, it's a huge win in the world.
 
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