Tech Support

In a previous job I was a software support technician. One of the lessons I learned while doing that job was that people get frustrated when it is difficult to contact support.

Yesterday morning I tried to upload some files to my website via ftp. I received an error “553 Disk full”. Whenever I receive an error, my first response is to determine if the literal meaning of the error is correct. So I logged into the control panel for website and I wasn’t even close to running out of space. I used the file manager that is on the control panel and uploaded the files without a problem.

I then tried to post to this blog through Blogger.com. When I told it to publish the post, it returned an error “error 553 Disk full - please upload later”.

I’m not sure that “please upload later” is good advice if the disk is actually full. If the disk is full you need to make room or you will not be able to put more on it. It’s not a difficult concept. However, it’s not Blogger’s fault that my host was malfunctioning.

Again I checked the amount of space I had available via the file manager. I had way more than was needed to publish that post.

Since it was morning I went to work assuming that the problem would me fixed by the hosting company at some point in the day. The web hosting account I have uses virtual hosting. Virtual hosting means there are multiple web sites on one server. That server is managed by my hosting provider. Therefore it seemed reasonable that they would have it fixed without my involvement. Let’s just say my faith in their monitoring system has been shaken.

I tried to publish the post multiple times during the day to no avail. I was busy with other activities after work so I didn’t bother contacting support immediately. I tried it again later in the evening and it didn’t work so I decided to contact support.

The last time I contacted support for my site the email was never answered. Ignoring your customers’ requests for support is always a bad idea. I went to their website to find the email address for support and sent them an email. I also pointed out to them that they never responded to my last request. I received a fairly quick response this time:

Hello,

Thank you for your email. We have a new system in place which requires support related issues or requests to file a ticket in our helpdesk. Please file your issue or inquiry at the following address:

https://desk.hostdime.com/

Once you reach that page, click on Submit a Ticket and select a proper department. This new system will allow us to help you more efficiently and faster. We appreciate your cooperation and patience.

Regards,

HostDime.com

I was not pleased. If you “have a new system in place which requires support related issues or requests to file a ticket in your helpdesk.” Don’t post a link to email support. Explain the process and post a link to where the customer must go to file a ticket. If you post the email address and then send the email telling them they need to file a ticket, you look stupid and the customer’s frustration level is increased.

If you are going to do something stupid like that, you might want to proofread the email that you’re sending out. Since an issue is abstract it cannot file a ticket.

So I filed a ticket. I received a reply from their support staff requesting more information, but I had already gone to bed. This morning it magically worked so I’ll send them a reply informing them that I “have a new system in place which requires support related issues or requests to file a ticket by posting a comment to my blog.” I’ll let them figure out how an issue or a request is going to file a ticket.