- Netflix goes for phone over email support
- “Netflix set up shop [for its call center in Oregon] a year ago, shunning other lower-cost places in the United States and overseas, because it thought that Oregonians would present a friendlier voice to its customers. Then in July, Netflix took an unusual step for a Web-based company: it eliminated e-mail-based customer service inquiries. Now all questions, complaints and suggestions go to the Hillsboro call center, which is open 24 hours a day. The company’s toll-free number, previously buried on the Web site, is now prominently displayed.”
- Prototype JavaScript framework: Prototype 1.6.0 release candidate
- “The first release candidate of Prototype 1.6.0 has arrived! The core team is continuing its tradition of bringing thoughtful incremental upgrades to the core APIs in addition to performance improvements and bug fixes. Keep reading for some of the highlights of this major release, or download it now for instant gratification.”
- Why you should keep your landing pages simple
- “In every case, landing page effectiveness and measured conversion increased significantly when choices and unnecessary distractions were eliminated — and the overall design and orientation of the page emphasized the call to action.”
- Indian retailer succeeds with designed clutter
- “So Mr. Biyani redesigned his stores to make them messier, noisier and more cramped. ‘The shouting, the untidiness, the chaos is part of the design,’ he says, as he surveys his Mumbai store where he just spent around $50,000 to replace long, wide aisles with narrow, crooked ones: ‘Making it chaotic is not easy.’ Even the dirty, black-spotted onions serve a function. For the average Indian, dusty and dirty produce means fresh from the farm, he says. Indian shoppers also love to bargain. Mr. Biyani doesn’t allow haggling, but having damaged as well as good quality produce in the same box gives customers a chance to choose and think they are getting a better deal. ‘They should get a sense of victory,’ he says.”
- Tips on working from the most popular productivity bloggers
- “Here are a handful of tips on working from the most popular productivity bloggers on the internet, along with bloggers on organization, the environment and more. Instead of blathering, we will summarize and then allow you to read more if indeed you think a point is up your alley.”
- Collaboration with development is a handshake, not a handoff
- “As designers, we have the opportunity to provide an immense amount of value as the design moves through the development process. This process is best when it’s less of a handoff and more of a handshake; it’s a commitment between the designers and developers. Trust is a key component of this relationship, and once developers learned to trust our design decisions—and realized that we were really listening to their feedback about technical feasibility—it allowed them to focus on writing code and not second-guessing our design choices.”
- iMovie ‘08 moves backwards
- “I can’t remember any software company pulling a stunt like this before: throwing away a fully developed, mature, popular program and substituting a bare-bones, differently focused program under the same name…It’s unusable, in fact, for anyone doing professional work that requires any degree of precision.”
- Biz videos w/ Kawasaki, Jobs, etc.
- “Stories are what change people’s lives, and video is a great way to deliver stories. The web is now exploding with free videos (you knew that) and many of them are powerful enough to make a difference…Here are a few to get you started.”
- Wozniak's new goal is efficient housing
- “It’s like the way I used to make computers”—how so? Woz: Simple design. Think about the right way to build something and take a lot of time to get it the best that can be done with the fewest resources used. No waste. Build it right and with few parts it does a lot. Don’t cover things with more and more and more technology for features. Design them in from the start. It starts with the architect, of a home or a computer, working from a knowledge of the building materials and a desire to choose wisely.’” [via Slashdot]
- Photos from Virgin America inaugural flight
- “Today I had the pleasure of going on Virgin America’s inaugural ‘California Dreaming’ flight number VX0846 from LAX to SFO. It was a pretty fantastic experience altogether, starting with taking off from the Imperial Terminals Flight Path Museum at LAX and ending with a reception by Mayor Newsom.”
- Remedies for the small blogger blues
- “Redefine success for yourself. List all things your blog does for you (fosters gratitude in your life, helps you hone your craft, organizes your thoughts…).” [via MM]
Mike
on 17 Aug 07I was pretty surprised by David Pogue’s review of iMovie. He can usually be counted on as acting like a smitten teenager when talking about Apple but this time he really scorched the upgrade. He gained back some needed credibility on this one.
Will
on 17 Aug 07Where exactly is Netflix’s toll-free number “prominently displayed” on their site?
I don’t see it on the home page. I don’t see it on the Contact Us page. I don’t see it on the Help page. I don’t see it on the About Us page.
Not that I’m trying to rip on Netflix; I love Netflix and I think quality phone support is a great move. But they’re not exactly making it simple to find the number…
Mike
on 17 Aug 07@Will, Netflix’s phone # isn’t prominent – until you need it. I think it’s kinda cool actually: in their help section, if your problem can be fixed online, you’re told how to take care of it yourself. However, when you have a problem that can’t be fixed online, the phone number appears – for example, click “something else?” under any of the the Help section categories. You’re given the 800 number and a 6-digit code to give to the customer service operator.
I was pretty hesitant at first – I didn’t want to wind up in IVR hell – but my experience with this very same 800 number converted me. As my blog post reveals, I was impressed.
Mo
on 17 Aug 07If they really did “eliminated e-mail-based customer service”, perfect example of trying to be too cool and overly zigging when everyone is zagging. Sometimes email is better than a phone call, many times I have easier access to email than phone.
Ben Edwards
on 17 Aug 07Having not really used the older versions of iMovie I am actually really liking ‘08. I think Apple really wanted to make it quick and easy to make movies to share with friends and family and that the people complaining are trying to get something out of this product that is not intended. It is still amazing how much people complain when a feature (any feature) is removed. Once again the lesson of not adding a feature until it is absolutely demanded seems like a solid one to abide by. Otherwise, even if you are actually improving your products by removing features that complicate things, there will be those that raise holy hell over it.
Kevin
on 17 Aug 07@Netflix: I hate talking on the phone. Just let me e-mail.
@iMovie: “It’s unusable, in fact, for anyone doing professional work…” Isn’t that the idea? iLife is the basic, easy, simple version, and the Pro Apps like Final Cut are for professional work? Sounds to me (admittedly, I didn’t look at the context of the quote) that the reviewer is using iMovie for the wrong purpose.
Mike H
on 17 Aug 07Thesis: in stripping down & rewriting iMovie to be simpler, quicker and easier, it was just “getting real.” Discuss.
Will
on 18 Aug 07@Mike – thanks for the Netflix info. That makes perfect sense, though it does seem a bit “hidden” to someone just looking for a number to call…
Dan Boland
on 18 Aug 07@Netflix: Another company that eschews e-mail support in favor of phone support is Google. We have a hosted account with Google at my company, and when something goes wrong - which is a little more often than you’d expect - you have to call them.
@iMovie: I haven’t used ‘08, but I will say that previous versions of iMovie made no fucking sense to me, especially when it came to editing. So maybe now it won’t be worthless to me.
Max Williams
on 19 Aug 07The iMovie article reminds me of this SVN post, which seems pretty supportive of killing features. I think the new iMovie is perfect for its position in the market.
Paul
on 20 Aug 07I really do think that iMovie should have been renamed for this version; it’s a totally different app.
That said though, I had a hell of a time putting together a 5 minute movie in iMovie 06 a while back. I wanted to do something that I thought was pretty simple – continue a voice track from a video whilst showing still images – and I did do it, but the solution was so ugly that I felt I was missing something.
In contrast I walked into an Apple Store two weeks back and put together a 2 minute clip with iMovie 08 in just a few minutes with fades, audio track, etc. While I’m not sure if the new version will solve my problem – sounds like it won’t – it definitely shoots for the “instant gratification editing” angle and scores big time.
Pete
on 21 Aug 07@netflix – Reed Hastings had an embarrassing moment during a 60 Minutes interview in December when asked about a customer service number. He couldn’t find it because it did not exist. At least he took care of it later:
“Stahl asked Hastings what customers like the Henkels should do to get through by phone.
“I’ll show you that here,” he started.
It took forever. “Ah…how do I contact customer service?” he wondered.
And even the CEO couldn’t find a phone number. “Okay, it’s all by e-mail,” he said.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/12/01/60minutes/main2222059_page2.shtml
This discussion is closed.