Support Outsourcing

[joshualoy]

Why does MDD outsource an increasing amount of support these days?

 

I dislike shell replies by level 1 just telling me:

We are forwarding this to the concerned person. Please hold on.

Thank you,

Level 1 Support Specialist
MDDHosting - Professional Hosting
http://www.mddhosting.com/
Follow us on Twitter! http://twitter.com/MDDHosting

Like I didn't already know that the concerned person would get back to me.

 

Taking a look at your webhostingtalk advertising posts early on in the company you advertise "We do not outsource our sales or support and it is all performed "in house"

http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=863533

 

Your latest advertising posts make no mention of outsourced support. Why do you outsource support instead of just hiring new people? The quality difference is quite apparent. I liked being able to speak to someone that responds in clear english, instead of a person that responds in half understandable english.

 

[SarisIsop]

I may be wrong but I thought that was just a standard message sent out when you start a new ticket, personally I have only ever had Mike or Scott answer my tickets.

[Scott]

If ever you feel a ticket isn't handled apropriately, ask to have it escalated to management, and Mike or myself will review it. We have been growing, and while we try to avoid issues, there is always potential for something to slip through, especially when an issue falls outside the perview of our level 1 support staff.

[Michael D.]

Why does MDD outsource an increasing amount of support these days?

We're not outsourcing any more than we ever have before. We're a small operation with a small staff and we don't try to hide this. I actually just hired a new tech on - I've been training them for about a week and once they're fully up to speed they'll be covering 40 hours/week of support.

 

That said - if something gets escalated no matter the time of day, weekend or not, holiday or not - our management team is alerted. Things do not simply sit on hold until the next day/next time somebody is available unless the customer makes it clear that the issue is non-urgent and we can get to it when we're available.

 

I dislike shell replies by level 1 just telling me:

We are forwarding this to the concerned person. Please hold on.

The last ticket I see from you was 27 days ago - we actually fired our old outsourcing provider as they have been slipping more and more [not handling nearly anything, what they do handle they handled terribly]. Our new outsourcing provider is 100% US-Based and have been doing a wonderful job.

 

That said - even with in-house support if you're asking a question above Level 1 capability you will get escalated.

 

Taking a look at your webhostingtalk advertising posts early on in the company you advertise "We do not outsource our sales or support and it is all performed "in house"

Indeed - things have changed over the years and due to our growth and the sheer fact that I do have to sleep sometime - we've had to have some back-up support for when we do not have in-house coverage. If you ever feel a ticket isn't handled appropriately let us know.

 

 

Your latest advertising posts make no mention of outsourced support. Why do you outsource support instead of just hiring new people? The quality difference is quite apparent. I liked being able to speak to someone that responds in clear english, instead of a person that responds in half understandable english.

We are hiring new people and we did let go of the outsourced support that you've had issues with. The goal is to have 100% coverage 24/7 in-house, but finding good people is hard to do and we're working on it.

 

I think you'll find all support operatives now will respond appropriately and resolve your issues - if not - you will get escalated which is the same whether or not the person is sitting in our office or not.

 

All of that said - we don't try to hide when there are issues and we're happy to explain anything you need and to answer your questions. The only thing I request is that, in the future, should you have something critical to say get with management first and give us a chance to resolve your issues before you make public criticism if you don't mind.

[Dean]

We can’t all be awake 24 hours a day, Do you think it’s fair for Mike or Scott to be awaken by a client submitting a ticket for something really silly and not server based or to be woken by one of their assistants to a urgent matter?

[Leah]

I'm coming onto this thread a bit late. I have been a personal MDD client for years and through my business of Internet Marketing & Webdesign I refer my clients to MDD. WHY??? Because over the years I have been treated to some of the best customer service by MDD that lived up to their initial great reviews I read way back when.

 

I love that Mike the OWNER of MDD personally responds to issues and compliants on the forum. Good luck on any other "famous" host. See above on this thread & other threads on this forum.

 

I love that MDD has always had the *alls to email me that there was an issue on a server. Most other hosts hope you don't catch the glitch and pretend it didn't happen.

 

I love that MDD is a PITA about updating scripts. It just ensures that the server is better secured for all.

 

I love that when stuff goes down Mike & staff is always professional and helpful. I have literally watched Mike checking in every couple of hours over a 48hr server crash due to DOS attack. He and his staff have always exceeded every other webhost I encounter with clients. I can think of several right now recently that either never respond to support requests or the answer is basically a non-answer.

 

I have not always been a easy support request for MDD. I am quite certain the MDD staff probably uses a perjorative term in response to my requests. When I have a client screaming down my neck I need answers quickly. MDD has ALWAYS been professional and prompt. Do I ever expect overnight response... not unless it is a downed server... which I might add MDD has contacted me first normally with a server issue. Any other issue can wait till normal business hours.

 

I have not experienced the "out sourced" tech support, but I do believe that as a business owner that oftentimes there are periods when you do have to resort to either the fastest solution or a cost cutting technique in order to get the business to the next level. People who have never experienced the "Holy Smokes! Support requests are coming in faster than we can handle them" can feel smug in their warm contentment of never having to make a difficult choice :

 

A: remain altruistic - we will get to the request when we can, those we get to are happy -> the rest hate us for ignoring them.

 

B: go out sourced and weed out the stuff that wastes our tech's time therefore ticking off the least amount of people & actually helping more due to lessened basic quesions..

 

Only a growing company can continue to reinvest in faster equipment & keep rates stable, website quality terms and low server usage (cough, cough... server stuffers out there). MDD add's to their servers unlike other "famous" webhosts who treat their servers like a 3rd world tenament.

 

As with any growing company MDD most likely became crunched between "customer questions need & ability to answer those questions". It takes time to build up an educated staff, so often times in order to fill the knowledge gap an owner has to choose outsourcing.

 

As Mike stated above the outsourcing did not work and new personal is being trained. There is always a growing period.

 

Anyhoo - My 2 Cents

 

Leah Rae