TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Re: handling queries from the market (was: Laptop for personal use?)
Subject:Re: handling queries from the market (was: Laptop for personal use?) From:wanda <wetcoastwriter -at- me -dot- com> To:techwrl <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:04:39 -0500
At one of my employers, their software product had been the result of their consulting. Before the wild world of the impression of connectivity through the web, dissatisfied customers would contact customer support or their sales rep and complain verbally. We'd record these as bugs which would then be ranked for fixes in a patch or next version but some customers felt that their concerns were not being heard. They would write to our street address and simply add a management position title (Director of Product X, Director of Marketing, President, etc.). These letters often had the effect of elevating the issue dramatically. The bug report (if one existed) would be tracked down and fast-tracked. The customer would be contacted by several people including a support manager who would walk through the problem with the customer to ensure they felt heard. Product managers would contact the customer as the fix was implemented in code and keep them up-to-date on the progress. This was the noisiest process I know of. There was something a little less noisy at another employer, a place that wanted to think they had a bit more dignity. I think, in a way, the forms on web sites are less satisfying because there is not the sense that you've rattled someone's cage, spoken to the big guns; when filling out the forms, I generally feel much the same way I do at neighborhood fireworks. Writing to someone up the food chain feels more like the Canada Day fireworks on Parliament Hill.
On a more personal note, after getting the run around from a company about my microwave (it was fancy, expensive, and broke within a month of getting it as a gift), I used connections to find the name of someone at the head office. I wrote to them and implied that I would use my gift of the gab to complain publicly if I did not get a resolution. I got a letter back immediately and a replacement microwave arrived less than a month later.
I know that some companies use the web-based forms to populate in-house databases for issues, but I'm not sure of the mechanics. It's just something I've heard spoken of at conferences and on lists (such as ours).
HTH,
wanda
wetcoastwriter -at- me -dot- com
On Jan 30, 2012, at 11:42 AM, Milan DavidoviÄ wrote:
> Wanda -- have you seen, or heard second-hand, how a company handles
> such things when they get them? If so, can you give us insight into
> the process of receiving and processing the information? Thanks...
>
> --
> Milan DavidoviÄ
>http://twitter.com/altmilan
>http://altmilan.blogspot.com
>http://ca.linkedin.com/in/milandavidovic
>
>
> On Mon, Jan 30, 2012 at 11:24 AM, wanda <wetcoastwriter -at- me -dot- com> wrote:
>> When you're thinking of buying something like this where you know there are social and political reasons for being concerned, you can write up an email template and send it to the various companies you're considering buying from. You can ask them pertinent questions about their business practices and tell them that these are an important part of your decision making process. Even if you don't get the information you want, it informs the companies that these are important issues for consumers. It's like the complaint letters, they know that for each one they get there are thousands of people who feel the same way.
>>
>> wanda
>> wetcoastwriter -at- me -dot- com
Create and publish documentation through multiple channels with Doc-To-Help.
Choose your authoring formats and get any output you may need. Try
Doc-To-Help, now with MS SharePoint integration, free for 30-days. http://www.doctohelp.com
---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-
