Building relationships with customers through support didn't turn out as hoped (uncommonapps.nyc)

Article summary

The article's author attempted to build relationships with customers through support, but it didn't yield the desired results. The author's approach to support involved providing detailed explanations for their decisions, but this was not well-received by customers. The article sparked a discussion about the challenges of providing effective customer support and the limitations of subscription-based business models. The author's experiences and the commenters' reactions highlight the complexities of balancing customer expectations with the realities of software development and business constraints.

Main themes

• Customer Support
• Subscription Models
• Software Development
• Business Constraints
• Customer Expectations

What commenters say

• Providing detailed explanations for support decisions can come across as unhelpful or uncompassionate to customers, highlighting the need for more effective communication strategies.
• Some commenters argue that subscription models are necessary for sustainable software development, while others believe that one-time purchases or alternative models could be more effective.
• The importance of empathy and understanding in customer support is emphasized, with some arguing that a more personal touch, such as phone calls, can be beneficial in building trust and resolving issues.
• There is disagreement over whether bug fixes and security updates should be included in the initial purchase price of software or if they should be provided through subscription models.
• Some argue that the value of software lies in its ability to solve a specific problem, and that customers are willing to pay for a solution, but not necessarily for ongoing subscriptions or updates.
• The idea of selling software versions with limited lifetimes is proposed as an alternative to subscription models, allowing customers to purchase a specific version with a defined support period.