If you're a Skype user like I am -- or just keep an eye on the technology press -- you no doubt already know that the popular internet telephony service experienced a two-day outage last week as a result of a scheduled, automatic and widespread Microsoft security update.
And if you're a Skype user, you may have already seen the email the company sent today, letting its premium customers (Skype Pro, Skype Unlimited, SkypeIn and Skype Voicemail) know that because of the two-day outage, we would receive a seven-day contract extension free of charge. Do the math -- they're compensating their best customers with a benefit that outweighs the inconvenience by more than two-to-one.
And here's the thing -- I wasn't expecting anything. Now, that's a sad statement, isn't it? I've become so used to crappy service that I didn't expect any form of recompense. My mobile provider drops calls all the time; my cable service routinely freezes when I try to access the interactive menu system; my browser crashes at least several times per day (speaking of which, where is Microsoft in this whole mess -- their pushed update caused the problem didn't it?) But no matter how much these providers let me down, they rarely seem to offer any kind of compensation -- and certainly not without a whole lot of complaining on my part.
So how about you? How do you respond when you fail your customers? Do you go the extra mile to try to make things right? Maybe you should take a page out of Skype's book -- at least when it comes to doing what you can to right a wrong.
For those of you who aren't Skype customers, here's the entire customer email. Compensation aside, I think it's pretty good as far as customer service emails go and clearly acknowedges that a company lives or dies by its customers -- a reality that more businesses need to recognize.
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"Hello
You may or may not know but last week Skype wasn't available for a
couple of days. There were a number of reasons for this and I am
delighted to say that the problem is now well and truly sorted and
everything is back to normal. For those of you who tried to use Skype
during that time but couldn't, we're very sorry. For those of you who
didn't try to use Skype - well thankfully you were not affected but we
want to reassure everyone that Skype is now working happily and the
problem is fixed.
We know we have many faithful users out there who give us feedback
(good and bad) on what we're doing as a company. The Skype community
makes us what we are. Without you, our users, we simply wouldn't
exist. We've helped people stay in touch with their friends and
family over the past four years without any massive hitch and we want
it to stay that way.
When the unexpected happens, it's important to remember the people who
stuck behind us and whose loyalty humbled us. I want to thank
everyone for their support, patience and being part of the Skype
community. And for those of you who missed out on using Skype last
week - I want to especially thank you as well.
As a goodwill gesture to all you faithful Skype Pro, Skype Unlimited,
SkypeIn or Skype Voicemail customers, we're adding an additional seven
days to your current subscription, free of charge. And even if you
didn't miss out on using Skype last week - you can still have a week
free on Skype, on the house!
So please enjoy it, call your loved ones, friends, family and
colleagues and thanks again.
Talk soon,
The people at Skype"
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