The Agile Micro ISV Blog

The
words we use dramatically effect customer perceptions. Since the Web
changed marketing from 1 way traffic to a 2 way conversation, customers
are getting better and better at spotting BS.

Every company on Earth screws up from time to time, what’s important
is that we’re honest about it, and above all, we say the S-word.

I recently re-read Hugh MacLeod’s account of a US lock
manufacturer missing the whole point of the conversational aspect of
Web based customer relations. It goes a little something like this:

DAY ONE:

KRYPTONITE:  Our bike locks are the best.
THE MARKET: Yes, your bike locks are the best.

DAY TWO:

KRYPTONITE:  Our bike locks are the best.
THE MARKET: Yes, your bike locks are still the best.

DAY THREE:

KRYPTONITE:  Our bike locks are the best.
THE MARKET: Ummm… yeah I’m sure they are, but what’s all this about some recent video on the net that’s supposed to show how you can crack your locks in 10 seconds using a simple Bic ballpoint pen?

DAY FOUR:

KRYPTONITE:  Our bike locks are the best.
THE MARKET: Hey, I just saw that video on a friend’s website. And I’m
kinda ticked off because I just paid $60 for one of your new locks 3
weeks ago, and I’m wondering if a Bic pen can crack my lock or not…
does the pen crack all Kryptonite locks or just one or two models?

DAY FIVE:

KRYPTONITE:  Our bike locks are the best.
THE MARKET: Hey, I just visited your website and saw no mention of the
Bic pens. What the hell are you doing about it? Are you going to fix
the locks? Are you going to give me a refund?

DAY SIX:

KRYPTONITE:  Our bike locks are the best.
THE MARKET: No, they’re not. You guys are assholes.

It’s stories like this one that make me feel really heartened to read true apologies, like this one from Typepad:

We’re sorry. We messed up, the anti spam system got way too aggressive,
and we were trying to dial it back in small increments instead of what
we eventually did, which was flipping all the way back to a setting
that we know works for most people.

The
post continues, but there’s the crux of it. I’m sorry. We messed up.
It’s quiet tricky and we got it wrong. Full marks to Typepad.