Examples of Good Customer Service
In the more than five years I have been on the Internet, I’ve purchased a lot of products. Initially I, like many noobs on the Internet, had a meltdown when I was unable to 
download the product I just purchased.
I can still remember the first purchase I made and accidentally clicked off the download page. I was absolutely sure the site was a fraud, frantically looked for support and practically screamed for a refund. After creating several digital products, some in niches outside of Internet Marketing, I too found customers frantically asking for a refund when they had issues with a purchase.
Here’s a few examples of good customer service on the Internet that can be used by website owners to address customer complaints and website visitors before making a purchase.
Customer Service Tips Before You Purchase
Internet Marketers provide customer support in a variety of ways:
- Help Desk
- Contact Form
- eMail Address
- No Support
Yes – you read that correctly – NO SUPPORT has been provided. Or – one of my favs – what they do provide doesn’t work!
Before you make that purchase, be sure to check out the contact information that has been provided. You’ll want to know that it’s current in case you actually have an issue that requires their attention.
Recently, I used the Internet to find a local electrician. The one site that attracted me used a contact form to request service. I filled in and submitted the required information and within minutes, I received an email informing me the information could not be sent. So much for the professional website!
Internet Help Desk
It’s good news for you if you find the site is using an Internet Help Desk to assist customers. That means the site has the ability to provide FAQs, Technical Support and a Knowledge Base or Articles for customer self-help. This allows the customer to resolve the issue before having to open a support ticket.
Don’t assume these self-help features are being used. I have found that most are not being utilized. But don’t fret – as long as the help desk will allow you to open a ticket, you should be OK.
I say should because many website owners are not employing a support staff and don’t monitor their tickets every day. If you can, look for information on their Help Desk system that tells you how long it will take your ticket to be resolved. A common Help Desk requirement is to resolve tickets as quickly as possible, usually within 8 hours.
Realize that 8 hours is relevant – if they’re located in Australia and you’re in Canada, you could be waiting up to 15 hours before they pickup and resolve your ticket. Good customer service training for an Internet Help Desk is to have a postal address listed on the site – be sure to look for this information.
Help Desk Best Practice
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Look for a FAQ page or category on the Help Desk. This is provided to address the most common customer issues.
Technical Support This section of a Help Desk will address the most common technical issues that are encountered by customers. Some of these issues could be 1) Could not Download Product, 2) Could not Open Product, 3) Could not Install Software, etc.
Knowledge Base This section is usually provided to address common customer issues by product. This information could be 1) to explain the affiliate program, 2) to explain the features of a product in detail and how they are used, etc.
Articles Not all Help Desk software provides all these categories. Sometimes you’ll find the information in articles that have been categorized for easy access.
Tip on Help Desk Support
Need more information about Help Desk systems and building a Help Desk? Learn more about customer service management and get my customer service tips.
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In the more than five years I have been on the Internet, I’ve purchased a lot of products. Initially I, like many noobs on the Internet, had a meltdown when I was unable to download the product I just purchased. I can still remember the first purchase I made and accidentally clicked off the download [...]
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Excellent information!
I have experienced many sites that offered NO support whatsoever, and others that had support, but never responded.The latest membership site I’ve been involved with is The Network Marketing Machine, and I must say that it is Top Notch! Keep up the great work and thanks for providing QUALITY information!