Without much research it sounds like Kepes and Svane got pwnd hard.
Zendesk CEO calls Freshdesk a freaking rip off - Freshdesk responds
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Re: Zendesk CEO calls Freshdesk a freaking rip off - Freshdesk responds
#62As much as I'd like to side with the guy getting picked on (Freshdesk), Zendesk is completely right. Ignoring the interface and naming similarities, you can't complain about ZenDesk on Twitter without multiple Freshdesk spammers bombarding you. Sure there's nothing illegal about it, but they're obnoxious with the "a customer of a rival is complaining, I MUST CONVERT THEM!" concept. (I called them a rip-off of Zendesk…
@ecaron - On that day,I did not know that someone else from my team was responding to you. As a startup we were just too eager to respond. I had sent you a grand total of two tweets and the second tweet was actually to apologize for the inadvertent ganging up - http://twitpic.com/7oh3ly
Re: Zendesk CEO calls Freshdesk a freaking rip off - Freshdesk responds
#63Earlier quoted context omitted.
Something about the whole freshdesk attitude really rubs me the wrong way. Not saying zendesk is in the right either. I just feel like I read the whole ripoffornot page and cringe. Definitely doesn't seem like the type of company I would want to give my time or money. A couple people complained about their product on twitter and they built a whole page responding to it? In it, they respond to the criticism by making…
In an alternate universe it would look like they are complaining about personal attacks on them.
Yeah, I think that's the problem with these kinds of flame wars. Is freshdesk right that the criticism about them was out of line? Yes. Does responding by saying the criticism "reflects poorly on the intellectual ability of the person making the judgement" and "[criticizer should] exercise better judgement and ethics when making negative comments about a company" seem heavy-handed and just as ridiculous as the initial criticism? In my opinion, yes.
I've had people call me every name in the book over my projects: a copy-cat, a sad and pathetic developer taking advantage of people and those are just a couple off the top of my head. Did I respond by calling those people ignorant or stupid or unethical? No. I just let it be. I feel good about what I'm doing and I keep trying to make products I'm proud of. Haters gonna hate.
Re: Zendesk CEO calls Freshdesk a freaking rip off - Freshdesk responds
#64Earlier quoted context omitted.
There isn't too many arguments in play. One thinks Freshdesk is knockoff of Zendesk, the other one makes a website describing how it isn't. The real play is the choice of words and how Mikkel("Indian cowboys", the RIP OFF comment, etc.) went on about this, and how Zendesk responded The customers are there to tell whether they're a knock off or not. I don't want to say anything as I'm not a customer.
I don't think Mikkel called them Indian cowboys - that was someone else.
Correct, it was @cloudgroupsyd (Christian Marth), who promptly apologized and explained what message it was trying to originally say.
Though he should've learned from Michael Richards and never said something that stupid in the first place. He had plenty of characters to phrase it right in his original tweet. But you know what they say about hindsight...
Re: Zendesk CEO calls Freshdesk a freaking rip off - Freshdesk responds
#65As much as I'd like to side with the guy getting picked on (Freshdesk), Zendesk is completely right. Ignoring the interface and naming similarities, you can't complain about ZenDesk on Twitter without multiple Freshdesk spammers bombarding you. Sure there's nothing illegal about it, but they're obnoxious with the "a customer of a rival is complaining, I MUST CONVERT THEM!" concept. (I called them a rip-off of Zendesk…
@ecaron - On that day,I did not know that someone else from my team was responding to you. As a startup we were just too eager to respond. I had sent you a grand total of two tweets and the second tweet was actually to apologize for the inadvertent ganging up - http://twitpic.com/7oh3ly
My point is that Freshdesk's marketing plan (spam anyone who hints at ZenDesk dissatisifaction) adds credence to the "rip-off" claim.
Re: Zendesk CEO calls Freshdesk a freaking rip off - Freshdesk responds
#66This might be a good lesson in don't feed the monster so it gets more attention. When the big guy talks smack about a presumably smaller guy, it's because they're threatened? Who cares if their pricing is a rip off, it's good for Zendesk if Freshdesk is a ripoff, because no one will use it. By saying and doing nothing Freshdesk could spiral into a blackhole of me never hearing about it. Instead Zendesk put Freshdesk…
Exactly. Before this I'd never heard of either one of them. Probably hard to keep in mind from the inside, but for most tech companies, almost nobody knows you exist. Certainly less than that number know about any of your smaller competitors.
Re: Zendesk CEO calls Freshdesk a freaking rip off - Freshdesk responds
#67There's a political saying that should be heeded, "never attack downward."
You risk more by attacking downward and you have less to gain.
Re: Zendesk CEO calls Freshdesk a freaking rip off - Freshdesk responds
#68If you're on the right track, competitors are going to rip you off.
If you're on the right track, competitors are going to try to poach your customers.
If you're on the right track, some competitors are going to talk trash about you when they think no one's looking. Or even when everyone's looking! Using profanity in their Twitter feeds, even!
But just because you're on the right track doesn't mean you can't derail; take the high road and let your customers decide. How you deal with unethical competitors is just one mettle-proving battle in a much larger campaign.
I sympathize with Zendesk, but there are times where it's wiser to just let your tongue bleed out. Let that extra salt sustain you for the more important battles ahead.
Re: Zendesk CEO calls Freshdesk a freaking rip off - Freshdesk responds
#69You must be awfully naive to think that there will be no competitors (with similar features) when you build a product which is relatively simple. If it wasn't listed in bold under the "threat" section of your business plan then something is off.
Re: Zendesk CEO calls Freshdesk a freaking rip off - Freshdesk responds
#70Quoting Mahatma Gandhi and then immediately writing your name and title under it just seems wrong.