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The fuck off contact page

nicchan.me

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Re: The fuck off contact page

#61

Post by solumunus »

permo-w wrote: post #39

I'm not sure I've ever seen a contact page that wasn't like this. I always felt it was basically reasonable. if you can direct someone to an answer without having to waste money/time/compute on providing custom service, then that seems basically reasonable to me. yes it's annoying, but it's not a pattern I've ever felt was particularly dark. I'm perfectly happy with "speaking to a human" being the last port of call t…

Very often it’s available somewhere but difficult enough to find that sometimes I give up trying, which I assume is what they’re going for.

Re: The fuck off contact page

#62

Post by nephihaha »

permo-w wrote: post #39

I'm not sure I've ever seen a contact page that wasn't like this. I always felt it was basically reasonable. if you can direct someone to an answer without having to waste money/time/compute on providing custom service, then that seems basically reasonable to me. yes it's annoying, but it's not a pattern I've ever felt was particularly dark. I'm perfectly happy with "speaking to a human" being the last port of call t…

Sometimes you do need to speak to a human, especially if you don't have much money and they've taken a lot of it from you.

Hostile customer service is a sign that a company is too comfortable and there is insufficient competition in the marketplace.

Re: The fuck off contact page

#63

Post by latexr »

rikafurude21 wrote: post #14
diziet wrote: post #2

"You will get less leads with the 'enterprise style' contact page. You don't have enough leads right now. You don't have low value self-serve users you want to turn away. Your BDR team is not overflowing with leads you need to turn away. You can make money from having more leads. Less leads will generate less revenue. Here are some potential metrics from the two styles of contact pages. Here is how these metrics tie…

Scolding your clients like theyre kids will definitely sour the relationship

I don’t think the person you’re replying to is suggesting literally that exact message, but something like it. Adapt to your client and the type of relationship you have with them. You can transmit that same message with a different tone.

Re: The fuck off contact page

#65

Post by nephihaha »

esmiz wrote: post #36

The rise of AI has a lot to do with how these pages keep inventing new ways to avoid offering real support. And along with it comes their close cousin: the “go-away” chat agent—full of useless answers and designed specifically to prevent you from reaching an actual human.

The other techniques are keeping you hanging on a telephone for a long period (I have had to deal with this recently) and then cutting you off, or employing staff who cannot understand English very well.

All means of deflecting genuine complaints away and burying them. They also aim to deflect anger off the structure onto underpaid customer service drones.

Re: The fuck off contact page

#66

Post by scott_w »

oneeyedpigeon wrote: post #27
Veen wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have to judge it client by client though. Some are amenable to and grateful for a flatly stated analysis and recommendation, even if it goes against their ideas. Some will feel belittled and undermined. You need both sorts to pay their invoices and refer their peers, so you pick your battles.

> Some will feel belittled and undermined. This has always frustrated me. You wouldn't go to a doctor, hear that you need an appendix removed, and feel "belittled and undermined"! The 'problem' (it's a problem from my pov) is that clients simply think they know better when it comes to digital/computer/online stuff. They're used to browsing the web, so they think they know what a good website is. They know how to writ…

> This has always frustrated me. You wouldn't go to a doctor, hear that you need an appendix removed, and feel "belittled and undermined"!

Many people absolutely do. Hell, look at the number of people who refused to take a safe and effective vaccine during a pandemic!

> The 'problem' (it's a problem from my pov) is that clients simply think they know better when it comes to digital/computer/online stuff.

I must also say there is definitely a reasonable point to challenge your doctor. While they're an expert, they're still human. As a software engineer, I expect my non-expert colleagues to challenge me, and I've come up with better ideas as a result.

As a real-life example, I'm currently trying to get treatment for my Morton's neuroma (foot-nerve issue). The orthopaedic consultant wants to do a neurectomy but I want to investigate alternatives before taking the leap. Why? The alternatives, while they may not work, won't make things appreciable worse, whereas a neurectomy has a 3-6 month recovery if it goes well and can't really be undone if it goes wrong.

Re: The fuck off contact page

#68

Post by thisOtterBeGood »

Great post! And I must admit that this must be the best website I've encountered in ages. The mix of oldschool OS with the pixelated font.. Perfect!

Communicating process is a top-notch hint. Getting everyone involved in meetings to the have the same context and expectations about the common goals is never easy.

Re: The fuck off contact page

#69

Post by [deleted] »

nephihaha wrote: post #57

Urgh... One of the worst things, when you want to contact someone and they have hidden every means of doing so. It reflects badly on the companies that do this and questions why such pages exist to begin with. I understand why companies hate spam, but when a company hides customer service, that should be a major red flag and reeks of cowardice. Customers can and do have major problems, not just Karen type issues, but…

[deleted]

Re: The fuck off contact page

#70

Post by bjackman »

savolai wrote: post #56

Wow I love the design of this site. Really hit some right notes for me. If you’re going to talk about reviving the ”old web” on hn, please follow through and reach for the originality level of this. So many thoughtful details.

I also admired this and for a moment thought "I should steal this person's style". Then I quickly realised I am not even close to capable of pulling a design like that off, on so many dimensions.

I guess that's why this person is a professional designer and I'm a person who's never worked on a product with a UI in his career!

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