"How could something that started out so beautifully, go so horribly, horribly wrong?"
Not too long ago, I encouraged my brother to sign up for Rhapsody, one of my favorite online music services. He quickly grasped the beauty of it, and began using it—a satisfied customer. Until that is, something started to go wrong. After experiencing Internet connection hiccups he tried to upgrade to the new verson of Rhapsody's software, which then failed to install, disabling his access. His subsequent attempts to reinstall the software failed, despite having followed instructions provided via e-mail. A busy person, he has little time or patience for PC troubleshooting, and is unsure of what to do next. Meanwhile, he continues to be charged for Rhapsody. Multiple this scenario (or something like it) thousands of times and you begin to comprehend the dimensions of the problem.
The most common queries I receive on this Web site are from people desperate to get service, any service, from one music service or another. These are simple queries. I want to cancel my account. How can I get your software? I'm being charged and it isn't working, please help. I get these requests despite the fact that I have no affiliation with these services. Some people simply need redirection. Others are looking for help they can't get from these services. What they do get: FAQs and form replies, assuming they can find them. What they don't get: personal service. If their problem is at all complex, or fails to fit the canned answers given to the support people or posted on the Web site, they are cast adrift. Forget about phone contact. Timothy Noah at Slate Magazine recently wrote a two-part article documenting his struggle to find a customer support phone number for the iTunes Music Store. Part 2 is subtitled, "Wherein it is revealed that our quarry is a phantom."
With some services, finding an e-mail address or Web form to request support is akin to finding hidden treasure in a video game. At Yahoo's LAUNCHcast, you have to click on an answer to a canned question before you see a button asking you, "Is this enough information?" Clicking on "No" will take you to a form where you can request support. Never mind that the canned questions aren't pertinent to your request. You still have to click one if you want to reach Yahoo support.
The reality is that these services, with their razor thin margins, are hard pressed to provide personalized service. This, of course, is depressingly the norm when it comes to consumer software and online services, and isn't likely to change anytime soon. The best solution, it seems, is to craft a service that needs less support; that functions reliably in the real world, so that fewer customers will stomp off in anger when the canned answer doesn't solve their problem. This means never releasing software that hasn't been thoroughly tested and debugged. It means losing that new feature if it makes the service less reliable. Failing this, services should support online forums where customers can help each other. The LAUNCHcast User Group is a good example, with Yahoo staff answering questions alongside other users. If online music services are to reach beyond the tech-savvy early adopters and succeed on a large scale, they need to do a better job smoothing the bumps in the road.
Of the music services I have used regularly for more than a year, I can tell you the following about their technical support: Rhapsody and Live365 are above average. They have gotten back to me quickly, and my particular questions have been resolved in short order. Yahoo has been below average, while Musicmatch has been the worst. Spend any time on the Musicmatch User Group message board
, and you'll see that their technical support is regarded as a joke (releasing a buggy version of Musicmatch Jukebox didn't help matters). eMusic hasn't required any technical support, a best case scenario (though I know problems do occur, thanks to their message boards).
—Andy Breeding
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