Re:Startup Lessons, Courtesy of United Airlines’ Crappy Cust...
by jmtame on Wednesday December 01, 2010 @03:36PM
(#1959466)
maybe we just have a disagreement over what's appropriate to put in company blogs. maybe it's safer to stick with simple product updates and policy changes (and it probably is in most cases), but this is the type of stuff i like to see. it shows me there are human beings behind a company and that they're committed to certain values. i enjoy supporting those types of companies, and i know if i have a problem i'll be able to e-mail or call them and they're going to help me out.
i can't remember the last time i've actually read a company blog. i don't read them because they're boring. they usually have nothing worth reading, and i don't consider myself attracted to sensationalist material either.
the fact that it's a trivial mistake in the eyes of experienced travelers can probably go dismissed here because wepay primarily caters to college students and roommates.
Re:Startup Lessons, Courtesy of United Airlines’ Crappy Cust...
by rdl on Wednesday December 01, 2010 @03:53PM
(#1959562)
If you want to add "color" to a company blog, you talk about positive things of a somewhat personal or offbeat nature. If he wanted to describe how the WePay team went on a road trip to a conference and stopped at some amazing place where the customer service was hands-on and handled exceptions well, that would be great. Or just about some board game which they really enjoy playing at the office.
Whining about vendors, especially when you are partially or technically somewhat at fault, is something you do on "friends-only" posts, personal facebook, etc.
Re:Startup Lessons, Courtesy of United Airlines’ Crappy Cust...
by mikemainguy on Thursday December 02, 2010 @07:51AM
(#1961955)
While this statement is in alignment with conventional wisdom, I think things are changing (or should). Corporations are legal entities and can/should have a voice just like any other person. When folks start watering down the corporate voice to "only be positive" or "not admit fault", they are aggravating the problem that this blog post is illustrating. There are enough faceless corporations with thousands of powerless minions doing the work of "corporate".
Re:Startup Lessons, Courtesy of United Airlines’ Crappy Cust...
by edw519 on Wednesday December 01, 2010 @03:45PM
(#1959512)
wepay primarily caters to college students and roommates
Now.
This is a great idea that, if executed properly, can be so much more. I guess that's why I was so concerned with what I saw as negative corporate blog energy.
It also shows that wepay (through this blog rant) is not saavy in some pretty standard ways of the world. Which is a real big fucking concern for anyone who's thinking about trusting them with their money.
OP says it himself with his very first "lesson", "Don’t optimize for the edge-case." Then he violates his own first lesson.
By complaining about customer service, he just got a small set of sympathetic people to passionately agree. And accidently got a huge set of potential customers to go away.
OP had a difficult experience. He got bitten by a software bug and horrible customer service. We've all been there. We understand.
My point is not that I don't sympathize with him. My point is that he's using his corporate blog to make a small point, potentially costing him huge unanticipated problems on the other side of this. He may pick up a few raving customer service fans, but how many people will think twice before trusting their money to someone either too green or too lazy to understand a standard airline contract?
OP may win this battle, but lose the war. I imagine he, his co-founders, and his business partners have worked way too hard to risk so much for so little.