Ask HN: Idea on making Wordpress support as services

#1

Post by vive » Tue, Jul 22, 2014, 12:35 PM UTC

Idea on making wordpress support as services - www.wpsupport.io

Would love to validate the idea and hear your thoughts on making it better.

Do you think a service such as ours is a real needy one ? The idea came from few of our clients using our services (Web development services - I am one of the top 10 Freelancer in Peopleperhour.com, http://www.peopleperhour.com/freelancer/vive/ecommerce-architect-php-web-deve/80166) and were trying to experiment our idea with wordpress to start with.

Our main focus at present is to get our first 100 customers. Any input on different channels to try out?

Would love to hear all your thoughts on to it

Thanks, Vive

Re: Ask HN: Idea on making Wordpress support as services

#2

Post by roddyf » Tue, Jul 22, 2014, 12:56 PM UTC

Yes, this is a needed service as there can be many issues arising in Wordpress that need to be resolved quickly. I use this service and it is great.

Re: Ask HN: Idea on making Wordpress support as services

#3

Post by vive » Tue, Jul 22, 2014, 1:04 PM UTC

roddyf wrote: post #2

Yes, this is a needed service as there can be many issues arising in Wordpress that need to be resolved quickly. I use this service and it is great.

Thanks Rod for your testimonial.

@everyone: I just shared this link to my clients just that they can share any potential feedback as well :)

Re: Ask HN: Idea on making Wordpress support as services

#4

Post by jeffmould » Tue, Jul 22, 2014, 1:09 PM UTC

Personally I think it is a good idea. A previous company I worked with tried this in the past though and the number one issue they ran into was customers that took advantage of the "unlimited" support. It can be difficult to be firm and set limits with some customers but you need to when offering an flat-rate unlimited support offering.

The other part the company I worked with had trouble with was not offering a 24/7 response time. Many of the problems they got inquiries about and that people wanted support with were emergency requests (i.e. site hacked, db down, plugin screwed up the site) that the customer wanted resolved then. Most customers would have happily paid a little more to have a person answer their request at 3am.

With that in mind though, there are several companies that seem to be doing well built around this model. WPCurve and WPSiteCare are two that come to mind. So it can be done.

Re: Ask HN: Idea on making Wordpress support as services

#5

Post by johnsmith2xkman » Tue, Jul 22, 2014, 1:15 PM UTC

The issue with this model is always response time and that you have the same ideas with your customer about what should be reasonable turnaround time for a ticket. Also the types of bugs and issues that are covered. I've tried a couple of companies using this model and would probably do so again for very low level issues - anything more complicated I think requires dedicated support.

Re: Ask HN: Idea on making Wordpress support as services

#6

Post by vive » Tue, Jul 22, 2014, 1:18 PM UTC

jeffmould wrote: post #4

Personally I think it is a good idea. A previous company I worked with tried this in the past though and the number one issue they ran into was customers that took advantage of the "unlimited" support. It can be difficult to be firm and set limits with some customers but you need to when offering an flat-rate unlimited support offering. The other part the company I worked with had trouble with was not offering a 24/7…

Thanks Jeff, Yes, those are very valid points. I think we were not very clear on "unlimited" support, We are offering unlimited small fixes and we would do only one at a time. So O think yes we are not very clear on explaining that on the site yes?

Our aim is to offer 24/7 ultimately. But at present we don't offer it. But we would offer it once we have few traction. You are right when their site is hacked or plugin screwed they really wanted to fix it right immediately. Yes we are working towards going on 24/7 in a month or two.

Yes WPCurve, WPSiteCare all do good I guess and mostly they are impressive as well on their services. Hats off to them.

Re: Ask HN: Idea on making Wordpress support as services

#7

Post by vive » Tue, Jul 22, 2014, 1:30 PM UTC

johnsmith2xkman wrote: post #5

The issue with this model is always response time and that you have the same ideas with your customer about what should be reasonable turnaround time for a ticket. Also the types of bugs and issues that are covered. I've tried a couple of companies using this model and would probably do so again for very low level issues - anything more complicated I think requires dedicated support.

Thanks John, Yes, We guarantee a response time of 30 mins and resolution time of 12 hours at max, usually its less than 3 to 4 hours. But again it depends on the fixes.

You are right anything more complicated or needs some dozen hours you really needed a dedicated support. I aim to connect with people who does needs some support on small fixes and if something like plugin broke they need not panic rather we are there for them to sort it out at the earliest.

Re: Ask HN: Idea on making Wordpress support as services

#8

Post by jeffmould » Tue, Jul 22, 2014, 1:38 PM UTC

vive wrote: post #6

jeffmould wrote: post #4

Personally I think it is a good idea. A previous company I worked with tried this in the past though and the number one issue they ran into was customers that took advantage of the "unlimited" support. It can be difficult to be firm and set limits with some customers but you need to when offering an flat-rate unlimited support offering. The other part the company I worked with had trouble with was not offering a 24/7…

Thanks Jeff, Yes, those are very valid points. I think we were not very clear on "unlimited" support, We are offering unlimited small fixes and we would do only one at a time. So O think yes we are not very clear on explaining that on the site yes? Our aim is to offer 24/7 ultimately. But at present we don't offer it. But we would offer it once we have few traction. You are right when their site is hacked or plugin s…

One thing you might consider as you move towards 24x7 is possibly offering multiple price points. Include a higher level price point that provides the 24x7 service. That way at least you are getting paid for that late night service. Plus it weeds out the customer that wants 24x7 service but doesn't really need it. If it is a true "emergency" and that critical most likely they will spend a little more to have someone available immediately.

I will be honest, I did not read through the entire site so I am not sure if it was or was not clear on the site. But just in case I would also clearly spell out in the terms or on a separate page what fixes are included and what are not. Either way the key to success is having as clear of an understanding of what is expected and what is not expected for an end result before you begin any work. It is better to turn down the $50 customer that will cost you $500 than to try and make it work with them.

Re: Ask HN: Idea on making Wordpress support as services

#9

Post by vive » Tue, Jul 22, 2014, 3:09 PM UTC

jeffmould wrote: post #8

vive wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks Jeff, Yes, those are very valid points. I think we were not very clear on "unlimited" support, We are offering unlimited small fixes and we would do only one at a time. So O think yes we are not very clear on explaining that on the site yes? Our aim is to offer 24/7 ultimately. But at present we don't offer it. But we would offer it once we have few traction. You are right when their site is hacked or plugin s…

One thing you might consider as you move towards 24x7 is possibly offering multiple price points. Include a higher level price point that provides the 24x7 service. That way at least you are getting paid for that late night service. Plus it weeds out the customer that wants 24x7 service but doesn't really need it. If it is a true "emergency" and that critical most likely they will spend a little more to have someone…

Thanks a lot Jeff, Such a wonderful thought. Yes you are right, I would have a different plan which would cost upwards $99 to provide 24/7 and also have a resolution time as very less.

I would add up the list of example fixes on what we can fix it for the subscription which would clearly help. You are right at present our site lacks it and we don't have the sample fixes though at present. Yes, definitely its always better to turn down $50 customer that will cost $500 for us :)