Um .. that thing you make, it's broken (or, HOW TO GET GOOD SERVICE)

I occasionally IMs that read like this:

"I have your bed it isn't working"

As you can imagine, this isn't very helpful to me. Often the IM comes with a few hints, like mentioning poseballs, or mentioning a feature, etc. Usually, questions I could easily answer quickly by email have to wait a day or so until I can get ingame, or for answers to my questions.

Here are a few tips to help you get the best service.

1) Check the maker's Profile Picks, in case they have clues on the best way to contact them. Heed the advice! Don't assume everyone prefers notecards.

2) Identify, as clearly as you can, the product you're having an issue with. Most makers have big lines of products, and lots that fall into the same general category but possibly very different under the covers.

3) Tell us what's wrong.

4) State clearly what you did, and what happened.

5) Be polite! Even if you're frosted. This is probably the most important point, btw. It can also help to have a little fun or show a sense of humor. Yes, we makers should treat every customer kindly. But it sure is a lot easier if our customers treat us that way as well. Of course, you're irked that the product isn't working as expected. Do yourself a favor and try to get past that.

Don't bother telling us how upset you are. If you need urgent service due to a timeline ("my wedding's in 2 days!" that can help us prioritize, so please tell us. While venting may make you feel better, it rarely improves the quality of the service you get. "I can't wait to get this working!" produces much better results than "FIX THIS NOW OR ELSE!"

6) Don't send a "hi" IM, with nothing else, just to see if we're online. Most of us don't hide our online status. If we do, it's for a reason. Your "hi" IM serves no useful purpose: put some information in it. Think before sending. OK, this is just a nit, over a very minor nuisance. Hopefully it wouldn't really imact your service.

Finally, remember that the "creator" of the object or script or notecard in the product is not necessarily the maker from whom you bought the item. It will, if the maker is doing the right thing, but it isn't always so. When it isn't, the creator is often someone who created freebies that the product was built using. So, try to figure out who actually SOLD you the item. You'll get much better help that way.

BTW, I'm happy to say that by far, most support requests I get are polite; many are even cheerful.

No doubt this kind of post has been done before. Consider this just a friendly reminder.

I agree with OP. I have received prompt response because my notes to the vendor are clear and always polite. Sometimes taking a picture of it simply says it all.

I purchased a dress from a well known designer. When I copied the items to inventory all but one item transferred. I put the dress on and the undershirt was missing which made me topless. Rather than going into a lengthy notecard, I simply took a picture of me in the dress (much to Will's chagrin) placed it in a notecard titled "A picture is worth a thousand words" along with a brief description.

The designer got back with me immediately (cracking up at the notecard title) and resolved the problem. Later she immed and thanked me. Apparently other buyers was beginning to contact her about the same issue. She told me she checked her records to see who purchased the items and sent everyone an undershirt with an explanation note.

It turned out sl had a problem that day and because of my notecard to her, she was able to be proactive.

Gee, I believe I made that product. Please send me the picture! Er, I mean, the notecard ...

thanks for this lear...i often have people im'ing me and saying...your thing doesnt work....well turns out, they dont know how to make it work. i am happy to patiently help them, but i cant do that if i cant even understand what the problem is. then if we are not in the same time zone..it can get tricky.

notecards notecards notecards! they not only will actually get to me, unlike the IM you sent when I was offline, but I have them for reference!

I like when I notecard *and* IM a shop owner TWICE, just to ask a simple question after I've spent 20,000L on a full perm package of theirs, and then I never hear from them.

Sometimes, no matter how much effort you make, some creators just suck. (wishes he could name names...)

Show up naked. Bring beer.

Let's not forget "read the instructions."

I sell a slide that requires a modest amount of set up, When you rez it, it will tell you the steps in local chat. I have also enclosed a notecard that details these steps.

I still get IMs regularly from folks who tell me the slide does not work. Invariably, they did not read the notecard nor did they read the onscreen prompts.

Eventually, I will be redesigning the product to avoid this, but it strikes me how often that could be prevented by simply reading the information provided.

I'm not a merchant, but I do get notecards for other things, so I know they are most helpful and I have used them successfully when communicating with merchants myself.

One thing that might help is to give your notecard a name other than "notecard" before you send it. Example: "XXX Problem - from Marin Mielziner"

There has to be some compromise in here from both sides. You should not have to cajole a little help from merchants and they should not have to listen to wild tirades and accusations. However, we all know there are people who will be jerks no matter what role they play.

I'm sorry - I can't resist - this one is a gem, (and I have a folder full of these)....and an example of what not to do:

""ear Mrs Mickey Vandeverre yo note card something different and i send the notecard to my mommie and she look over it and im not Satisfy with the until i get the pose that said it came with it and if not ms lady im going have report u to linden lab if i dont get the set that said with poses""

the poses were hidden in the cushions, btw....all it took was a lesson on how to "sit here."

Great post, Lear. I always get great customer service as a rule. And I have always noticed that people who claim to get bad customer service all the time (RL/SL) are the ones who either cannot express the problem in a comprehensible way or in a polite manner (or both).

tl;dr

since you're here, though, i have your bed it isn't working.

*headdesks* I occasionally get this in SL. "The skirt I bought X years ago is missing a texture." And that's ALL. Not even a picture to clue me in as which skirt, what texture, none of it.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, I'd dealt with vague descriptions of issues that I've learned what questions to ask. Used to work for a repair center for a long gone (first to send out catalogs) department store. The store sold appliances, electronics, and mowers/garden stuff that more often than not required repair. I'd get calls that stated, "it's broken." Okkkkaaay.. first, which of our lovely products is it? Second, by "broken," what is is NOT doing that it should or doing that it shouldn't?

One of my best customers did me a great favor.. she IM'd me, "A lace texture that you used on a few of your dresses has gone missing. I'm sending a notecard with picture enclosed." In the notecard was a picture and a list of the dresses SHE had noticed it missing on. 5 minutes later, she had her items fixed, I did a recall and it was not fun... I also stopped using the same textures across dresses because of it.

In SL, you do not even need beer.




One thing I try to remember -- I get emails all the time telling me that someone has offered me inventory and yet when I log in, the offer is not there. And my IMs are frequently capped from group notices. I am not even a creator and I often have this problem, so I tend to send notecards and IMs many times before I get ticked and figure I am being ignored.



Lear - the next time someone tells you that your thingy doesn't work, give me a holler and I'll help you check it out to make sure everything is functioning properly.

From a creator's perspective, it also helps to be proactive. Most of my products involve some fairly involved editing skills. Before I released my first product, I documented all of the steps involved geared towards the level of a fairly new player. This went into a notecard with each product. I also set up a blog entry with the same instructions and accompanying illustrations. So far, I've been fortunate that less than 1/2 of a percent of my customers have contacted me with installation questions. All but two of those read the instructions again and were able to figure out their problem.

Of the remaining two, one was simply hopelessly not able to install the product (and I graciously did it for free). The other wrote to tell me my instructions were too long to bother reading and wanted their purchase price back.

I did find after releasing my first scripted product that keeping track of customer inquiries and creating a troubleshooting notecard has also been invaluable. When I get questions now, I ask that they do all the troubleshooting steps and let me know if they still have issues. In most cases this solves the problem without further interaction on my part.

And thanks for the periodic reminder. Ah, if more people frequented the forums and would actually see this.

Yes, and more than a little. A merchant should take customer service seriously, taking full responsibility for good customer communication.

"I bought it from you and it doesn't work. Plz fix now!!"

So I send them a cookie. I am not sure what name close to mine makes things, but I get a message simular to that about once a month. Usually much worse english. I just send them a cookie and tell them I only make trouble and chaos, and that always works, so it must be user error.

Want some free product samples? (I'll be sure to break them first.)

Excellent point.

My thingy *always* works for you, dear. But, testing is never done, so OK!

Oops, sorry -- I think that was me!

Yeah, I have a device that's similar to others, and not totally trivial to use. I gave a very complete set of instructions, including variations for different situations. One of the SLX comments was that the instructions were too comlicated, use [brand x] instead. Brand X worked the same way, but didn't have as detailed instructions! Ah well ...

YW, but frankly, I was just venting and dressing it up as a public service announcement. The vast majority of those who see this thread already know it. And those few who don't, probably TLDR.

I ignore these. No matter who's sending them. Whether I'm online or not. I've had people complain that I'm being rude. Which is great. It lets me vent about how much I hate customers who just send me a message saying "hi".

PS: The computer fletely, mouse and all.

Me too.

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