When Wesabe launched, their then-CEO Jason Knight posted office hours. During these times (noon – 4pm pacific), anyone could call and talk directly to the CEO. You could be a current customer, prospective customer, or anyone else curious about Wesabe. I really loved the idea.
The idea reminded me of professor’s office hours in college. Dedicated time set aside for one-on-one with your professor. I didn’t go often, but when I did I found it really valuable.
Announcing our office hours
So it’s about time we try office hours at 37signals. On Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3pm to 5pm central time, I’ll be standing by to take calls from customers, prospective customers, or anyone who has a question about 37signals. You’ll find the phone number and additional details listed on the Office Hours page.
Let’s talk about it
You can call and ask product questions, pre-sales questions, suggest feature requests, lodge complaints, offer praise, share ideas, discuss recent blog posts, or talk about good or bad experiences using our products. Anything that’s on your mind is fair game. I’m here to listen, share, and be available to help in any way I can.
I have no idea how this is going to work out, so it’s deemed more of an experiment than a permanent fixture, but let’s see what happens.
For the technically curious, I’m primarily using Grasshopper to manage the calls, numbers, and messages. During office hours, Grasshopper forwards all calls to one of my numbers. During off hours, Grasshopper plays a recording. Cool tech and a nice product.
I look forward to talking to you soon.
Chris Enns
on 19 Oct 09Why not put it out as a podcast afterwards? Might help save answering the same question a bunch of times.
Justin Jackson
on 19 Oct 09Wow, this is quite an interesting idea for 37signals, who up until now, just offered support via email.
Interested to see how it works out!
JF
on 19 Oct 09Chris: I may do that, but first things first. Just going to take calls and see how it goes.
Publishing these calls involves additional layers of complexity. 1. Asking someone permission to record the call, 2. Editing out callers who don’t give permission, 3. Making sure calls don’t include any personal information someone may have mentioned even though they agreed to be recorded, 4. Uploading the MP3, etc.
So maybe down the road.
Kevin Holesh
on 19 Oct 09I like that idea too. I’m curious as to how many tech-support type calls you’ll get.
I also see a lot of feature requests in your future :-P
@Chris, A podcast of some of the best calls would be excellent, especially if they were explaining some of 37signals’ beliefs.
Sukh Dugal
on 19 Oct 09Good thought. We’ve been trying to take a go at Grasshopper too but not sure if the non-tech staff can use the interface.
Are you planning on keeping this on as an experiment of long-term?
Aviv Hadar
on 19 Oct 09Incredible.
Btw, we’ve been using Grasshopper since it was GotVMail (roughly 2.5 years now)—love it. Recent changes to the service have only increased usability.
Talk to ya soon Jason :) – thanx for this.
JF
on 19 Oct 09Btw, we’ve been using Grasshopper since it was GotVMail (roughly 2.5 years now)—love it. Recent changes to the service have only increased usability.
Yeah, one of the reasons I didn’t do this sooner is because last time to tried to set up GotVMail I just couldn’t figure it out. I revisited it recently and was impressed with many of the changes. Still a bit cryptic around the edges, but much improved.
Jay Owen
on 19 Oct 09Hopefully you don’t get too many people trying to get tech support during that time. It will be interesting to see how it works out for you.
It may just be me, but it seems like you are becoming more available lately via online chats, twitter, and now this.
Is this part of a deliberate plan for marketing the new book or just a new level of openness you are looking for with customers? (or neither)
Is this a shift in your current roll at the company or just an addition to your current responsibilities?
JF
on 19 Oct 09Hey Jay… No new plan, just trying some new things. I like interacting with our customers and other people who are curious about 37signals.
Happy to hear from anyone – people who like us, people who don’t like us, people who haven’t made their mind up yet or don’t have an opinion.
I’ve been thinking about doing this for a while, but I just got around to it now.
Re: shift in role… Not really. I’ve always spoken with customers one-on-one, but usually just via email or in the comment section on blog. Now that we have Twitter (and better phone tech like Grasshopper) I can stay in touch in more ways.
Excited to see how it goes.
Benjamin Welch
on 19 Oct 09Fucking Awesome!!
I was wondering if anyone has tried out Google Voice for this purpose.
Look forward to talking with you Jason.
JF
on 19 Oct 09Benjamin: I explored Google Voice, but they don’t have the notion of “closed” in their voicemail system. You can set an “away” message, but it’s not automated by time. With Grasshopper I can set an away message that automatically comes on or goes off depending on the time of day. That’s one of the reasons I prefer Grasshopper.
Sarah
on 19 Oct 09@Jason
I thought you already were going to humble yourself and not go by the title “CEO” because it’s so stuff-ie.
I could have sworn I read a 37svn blog post on that. Maybe not.
JF
on 19 Oct 09Sarah: I don’t like the title at all (I never use it) but I thought it was useful in this context – especially for people who don’t know our thoughts on titles. It gives new customers some context and that can be helpful in this particular situation. But it does make me cringe.
Matthew Bloch
on 19 Oct 09I find it really weird that executives talking to customers could ever be a brilliant novelty, rather than a standard part of your business. I run an ISP in the UK, and manage to grow our business, manage 10 staff, get software development done, provide customer support by email and phone, deal with internal problems and have the occasional exploratory chat with customers, or potential customers.
I am not a web 2.0 celeb so I don’t need to tell callers to form an orderly queue, or make their point in 10 minutes- that seems like a hazard of your self-inflicted position as a business/dev guru :) but also no doubt a large source of attention and sales for 37signals. For my business, we can make a good profit and still talk to our customers every day without them needing appointments. I don’t seem to see anyone promote casual phone contact as an essential part of a technology business; I still think it gives you an edge, and it’s not all that difficult.
Vicki
on 19 Oct 09Wow- what a great idea, but also a thumbs up for having the cojones to actually do it! I really enjoy reading SvN, but shake my head sometimes at the vitriol that comes out in the comments. I really hope the calls you get reflect people’s genuine desire to communicate with you and 37Signals.
Personally, I’d avoid a podcast of the calls- besides the technical kerfuffle, I think you’ll get a more relaxed and open conversation going if people are just chatting with you.
But I would really love to read about your reflections on the experience- especially how your attitude and expectations change, and if the kinds of calls you get change.
Good luck! :-)
JF
on 20 Oct 09Matthew: I’d like to be even more accessible, but with a few million users, and a hundred thousand+ readers on our blog, I could easily take calls all day and get nothing else done. Ultimately that wouldn’t be in anyone’s best interest.
So I’ve carved out some dedicated time where I can focus exclusively on talking to customers. No distractions, no other responsibilities. Taking calls, listening, and talking is my priority.
jonezy
on 20 Oct 09I think this is a key point here:
So I’ve carved out some dedicated time where I can focus exclusively on talking to customers. No distractions, no other responsibilities.
having the ability to dedicate time to this, in the manner described above really intrigues me. I was just reading some profiles on famous successful people recently and one of the traits described in most was there ability to clear time and focus exclusively on a single task. I would be interested to hear how that works as well.
good luck with the experiment and maybe we’ll chat on the phone!
Pearl
on 20 Oct 09Why not hire more people and take calls all the time if you have millions of users? What kind of revenue stream are you working with? If your business is built on NOT taking calls – why start now? Wouldn’t your time be better spent making your software better or is the new focus of 37signals just marketing 37signals in any way possible? I just feel like this is not productive. People can call you now if they really want to. You may end up with tons of unhappy callers who could not get through and whom you never respond to plus a bunch of crackpots calling you. This live Q&A thing works better at a conference doesn’t it?
dramaqueen
on 20 Oct 09Sorry Jason, but this seems like a publicity stunt and nothing more. That’s why those who have tried it stopped soon. Can you consider filming it live? That would actually be more interesting and your answers will help others at the same time. Please consider it.
Bert
on 20 Oct 09If you get a call asking if you have all your shoes and glasses, it’s me. Good luck and let us know how it goes, what works and what doesn’t . Thanks
JF
on 20 Oct 09If you get a call asking if you have all your shoes and glasses, it’s me.
Ah, the Jerky Boys. Those were the days.
JF
on 20 Oct 09Sorry Jason, but this seems like a publicity stunt and nothing more.
Why don’t you give me a call and we’ll talk about it?
JF
on 20 Oct 09Why not hire more people and take calls all the time if you have millions of users?
This isn’t about opening a call center. It’s about me being able to talk directly with our customers. I want to hear the good, the bad, and the indifferent with my own ears. I want to have conversions and learn from direct interaction.
Wouldn’t your time be better spent making your software better…?
This will make our products better. There’s a lot more to building products than pushing pixels.
You may end up with tons of unhappy callers who could not get through and whom you never respond to plus a bunch of crackpots calling you.
Yup, that could happen. We’ll see how it goes. It’s an experiment. I’ll report back.
Josh Walsh
on 20 Oct 09I really enjoyed the Ask 37S live on JustinTV. You can only benefit a few people on private calls, where you can influence an unlimited number on JustinTV.
Use the bigger firehose, please.
JF
on 20 Oct 09Josh: We’ll be doing more general-audience 37signals Live segments as well. But office hours serve an entirely different purpose.
Josh Walsh
on 20 Oct 09Awesome, looking forward to more live stuff. Maybe get GaryV in the house for one when he’s in Chicago???
GeeIWonder
on 20 Oct 09You should document this thoroughly. I know that’s no fun, but this is the kind of experiment it’s well worth doing it for. You might even be able to get someone to do it for you (perhaps this is the idea already?).
Good luck. Look forward to hearing/seeing how it works out (or doesn’t).
Paul W
on 20 Oct 09In the UK there’s a cool, and I think pretty easy to understand, service offered by PBX and switchboard offerings which best correlate with Grasshopper.
Paul W
on 20 Oct 09In the UK there’s a cool, and I think pretty easy to understand, service offered by Voipfone, which looks similar to some of the services Grasshopper offer. I’ve found it useful for my needs, but haven’t yet tried the hosted PBX and switchboard offerings which best correlate with Grasshopper. (Link works now…)
Raj
on 20 Oct 09The CEO of MouthShut has been doing this for almost a decade!
Greg
on 20 Oct 09The sad thing is that … with non web-based business, you almost always can call the company simple to chat with them.
This is only “new” because the Internet has allowed the creation of businesses without physical offices and phones.
Anonymous Coward
on 20 Oct 09The sad thing is that … with non web-based business, you almost always can call the company simple to chat with them.
This isn’t about calling and “chatting with them”. it’s about a direct line to the CEO. Most businesses don’t have anything like this, internet or not internet. You call and you get a receptionist. No way are you getting through to the CEO.
Greg
on 20 Oct 09Do you really believe that what you’re saying?
I can almost guarantee any 15 employee business will allow you to talk directly with the owner if you just ask.
People purchase the product/service from companies that size because they typically know the founder personally and feel like they have a relationship with that person, even if they have not met the owner.
Jason, don’t forget that people use your products not because your product is better than it’s competitors, because it’s not, ... people paid to use your products because they feel like they have a relationship with you via this blog.
Please don’t forget that.
Robert
on 20 Oct 0937Signals – the company, your products and your approach to business – have inspired me. Without trying to sound over-dramatic, you resuscitated my desire to continue working in the IT industry.
I used to have a functioning, creative brain that generated lots of ideas… but working a few years at a big corporate company extinguished all that. Until I discovered this blog. You make me want to be a better (IT) man!
I will wait for the initial rush of calls, but if you’re still doing this in a month or so, I would love to call and ask your thoughts on usability and changing the world (in a profitable way).
Justin Reese
on 20 Oct 09“This is only “new” because the Internet has allowed the creation of businesses without physical offices and phones.”
Almost; the Internet has allowed the creation of businesses with millions of customers without physical offices and phones.
I think you’d be hard-pressed to find a 15-person company with millions of customers whose CEO was available by phone, Internet or no Internet.
Sarah
on 20 Oct 09@Justin
Just to name a few:
- Book authors (non-internet) - Professional speakers like Peter Drucker (non-internet) - Craigslist (internet) - Radio stations (non-internet) - Almost anything mail order
Note that I’ve listed only 1 internet company.
Justin Reese
on 20 Oct 09You can call those people on the phone? I’m asking honestly, I don’t know.
chrisF
on 20 Oct 09A couple quick comments from someone that called today:
First of all, I was taken a bit off guard when the line picked up and I heard, “This is Jason.”
Honestly, not having heard of Grasshopper before, I somehow figured that ‘it’ would answer the phone put me in a queue that 37s could manage. Really wasn’t expecting to get straight through.
Once I got past the “woah, I have to start talking” part of the call, it was a positive experience. He took just over five minutes to listen and respond to some specific questions I had prepared for him.
Thanks, Jason.
Chris Enns
on 21 Oct 09@Greg: “Jason, don’t forget that people use your products not because your product is better than it’s competitors, because it’s not, ... people paid to use your products because they feel like they have a relationship with you via this blog.”
Really? I don’t really want to step into any commenting/trolling war, but I mean, c’mon. Jason sounds like a great guy and all, but we’re not paying 37signals $100/month because I’m hoping to have a good conversation with him. It is because of the products working well and helping our own business improve.
Certainly having an interesting, charismatic, opinionated owner doesn’t hurt – but that isn’t what got them to where they are. They still have to produce great products/content.
GeeIWonder
on 21 Oct 09They still have to produce great products/content.
Meh. As a fellow U2 fan I think it’s very a) ironic and b) ridiculous that you choose this particular argument to make.
Andy Traub
on 23 Oct 09amazing to me the amount of cynicism displayed here…If I knew Jason was a jerk I might say some of those things but as far as I can tell he’s a pretty nice guy. Man, the anonymity of the net sure makes some people really mean. Or maybe they were always mean spirited but the net gave them a place to share their cynicism w/ the world. Either way, nice talking to you the other day Jason. Our 6 minute conversation was a great “publicity stunt” that no one heard. ;)
This discussion is closed.