Get Satisfaction: Help us review a new page design

http://blog.getsatisfaction.com/2009/04/08/help-us-review-a-new-page-design/

by rufo • 17 years ago

36 34 17 years ago

blog.getsatisfaction.com

tjic2• 17 years ago

Under "all press is good press", I note that whatever their sins, getsatisfaction.com has achieved name recognition. I doubt that any other startup posting "Help us design a web page" post would rise to the top of the front page in 20 minutes...

judofyr• 17 years ago

Well, in contrast to other startups, I think we can all agree that the current page design has some serious flaws which needs to be fixed ASAP. By voting up we show that we actually care about this issue and that Get Satisfaction is doing the right thing.

brandnewlow3• 17 years ago

Why should people help a company with an unethical/shady business model. It's not a "bad design" you had a problem with, it was a design that too-accurately reflected your business model.

kolya3• 17 years ago

Not sure if all press is good press. Sure I know their name now but now I know to avoid it too. And in the near future, when I'm considering options for my own gig I'll probably go with UserVoice or SuggestionBox instead.

thalur• 17 years ago

I like what they've done to improve the page. The only thing that sticks out a bit is the "yet" in "... is not yet participating". It sounds a bit pushy, like they are trying to pressure the company into participating.

windsurfer• 17 years ago

It sounds better than "...is not participating" as that sounds like the company discredits the site. I think they should put "...is not officially participating" as that sounds like the company may or may not be part of the site.

cjbos• 17 years ago

I think it has alot to do with the color of the boxes too, swap the "not yet participating" color with the "opted out" color and it comes across alot less threatening to me even with the same copy.

Semiapies6• 17 years ago

They are, but at least in a more honest way.

jjburka• 17 years ago

The page does make it clearer when a company has endorsed the page or not. A couple observations

* I don't think the "X has Opted Out of this Community" and "X is not yet participating" states are both needed. Just labeling it as unofficial in both cases should be enough.

* The wording in the post a topic to the forum (#6) is strange sounding to me. Maybe "Ask X customers a question"

Semiapies6• 17 years ago

Well, showing "Opted Out" might save someone at the company having to answer eighteen hundred emails from people suggesting this cool service they should use. ;)

mdasen• 17 years ago

If you really want to do the right thing, change "X is not yet participating" to "Get Satisfaction has no affiliation with X". The second one is the truth. The first one might have truth to it, but makes it sound like X is avoiding the forum - like they have something to hide.

I know that your business plan is based on getting companies to pay you to become their support system, but it would be nice if you didn't try to shape your words to pressure them in that direction. You have no connection to the company. You are unofficial. That's the truth. It's a small change, but a very meaningful one. No one likes the implication that they're avoiding something.

Get Satisfaction is not yet responding to this criticism. ;-) Yeah, it feels pretty crappy. For all I know, you haven't even read this or know it exists! Yet, I'm implying that you're just ignoring it because you don't want to be open. It might not sound like a big deal, but it's a huge change in how people see the companies represented on your site. If you really want to be a good steward, don't be playful with your words - be honest. I'm not saying you're intentionally doing this, just that if you want companies to take you seriously and trust you as a support mechanism, saying that you're unofficial will get them on your side more than saying they aren't participating.

amichail• 17 years ago

I'm not saying you're intentionally doing this

You are and they are.

And BTW, their success probably depends on the misleading wording, at least initially. If it were done as you say from the very beginning, they would probably have much less traffic now.

The art of building a successful Web 2.0 company seems to do whatever is required always staying a hair's width away from getting sued. Threats of a lawsuit are great for publicity just as long as they don't materialize into litigation.

jaytee_clone• 17 years ago

You're right.

It's just unfortunate, because they could easily be just as successful via a more honest strategy. Costumers need however much support they can get, official or not. Many times I prefer official forums for support, because I get faster response.

I guess greed gets the best of us. But it does make more money. At what cost though.

siong1987• 17 years ago

I agree with what you said. I immediately stopped reading the post when I see the "X is not yet participating" in the design. I am still disappointed with the new design.

Semiapies6• 17 years ago

"If you really want to do the right thing"

Minor point: they're not here. Tell them that in their comments. :)

paulgb• 17 years ago

I would be surprised to hear about any SF-based, consumer-facing web start-up who didn't follow comments about them HN. Not to mention a company that is in the customer satisfaction industry.

kylec• 17 years ago

No, they're not yet participating here.

cedsav• 17 years ago

I'm not a native English speaker but the wording of "Ask a Question of Cyberdyne Customers" seems odd. Did they mean "to Cyberdyne Customers"?

Also, "People-Powered Customer Support" doesn't really convey what they say it conveys. All customer support is people-powered. 'Community-Powered Customer Support' or 'Customer-Powered Support' would be more accurate.

And as others have suggested, "Get Satisfaction has no affiliation with X" is much better that 'X is not yet participating'

tjic2• 17 years ago

> I'm not a native English speaker but the wording of "Ask a Question of Cyberdyne Customers" seems odd. Did they mean "to Cyberdyne Customers"?

Your phrasing might be more logical, but the phrasing that the page currently has is the phrasing that sounds best to native speakers' ears.

The simples English words sometimes have the trickiest definitions.

I recall that "be" takes multiple pages of the Oxford English Dictionary.

With regard to "of", I think that definition #8 here

http://www.yourdictionary.com/of

"concerning; about; with reference to - 'think well of me'"

is the way it's being used.

teej• 17 years ago

> Your phrasing might be more logical, but the phrasing that the page currently has is the phrasing that sounds best to native speakers' ears.

I disagree. I ask a favor OF someone. I ask a question TO someone.

natch• 17 years ago

Your solicitation for feedback says:

"Most customer support communities on Get Satisfaction have some level of employee involvement (about three-quarters), but the rest are added and cultivated by customers."

OK. Just one point. This is kind of a meta-comment about how you are doing this.

The above, quoted from your solicitation for feedback, ambiguously mentions "employees" without clarifying whose employees they are. Employees of Get Satisfaction? Or employees of the company in question? I think I know the answer, but really it is ambiguous. To someone who hasn't read more about the back story, it is VERY ambiguous.

Ambiguity in the writing on your site seems to be a recurring theme. In fact, if I understand the back story correctly, a problem with ambiguity is one of the main reasons you did this new page design. Maybe you should try shuffling the writing team around a bit; they seem to be having trouble stepping outside of themselves to see the prose as others would see it.

run4yourlives• 17 years ago

I think you need to step back and figure out who your customer is first.

From my outside view, it seems like you are trying to be everything to two very distinct entities - organizations and their customers. It seems you are trying to insert yourselves in between this relationship, even if one party isn't interested. I think this is the failure point.

It seems in my mind that the real customer here is the organization, since they are the ones paying for the service. You act - intentionally or not - as an advocate for the customer. Everything you do seems to be aligned with goading the organization into giving you money. It is very off putting from their perspective, which in the long run will probably end up hurting you.

If you want to be a voice for consumers, be that. If you want to provide a service to organizations, do that. Don't attempt to insert yourself into an already existing relationship - regardless of how functional it is.

Eliezer• 17 years ago

Call me crazy, but as an uninvolved third party it seems to me that this should fix the main problems identified and I'm impressed with Get Satisfaction for fixing it.

brandnewlow3• 17 years ago

They should hire 37signals to design the page.

jcromartie• 17 years ago

Sorry, I still think it sounds like extortion.

markh• 17 years ago

Fantastic followup! Classy.

Get Satisfaction: Help us review a new page design

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