Dear customers,
This is Michael Herrick, president of Matterform Media, writing to tell you about a new customer service policy that we expect will provide you with better service in the future.
It's been a rough year here at Matterform. Various factors in 2005 and 2006 have made it difficult for us to provide the kind of service that our customers had grown to expect from us. I'm afraid many of you have not received the service you deserve and that we want to provide. For that, I am very sorry.
We're still a tiny company -- Daniel and I are the only full-time employees right now -- but that should make it easier, not harder, for us to provide the kind of personal service that only Mac users can expect. We've been thinking and worrying about this problem for some time and have come to some realizations:
- We've been trying to provide tech support like a large company, instead of relying on our strengths as a small company.
- We've been trying to fit our customers' service needs into categories that we thought would be convenient for us, instead of asking our customers what they really want.
These two misconceptions have caused us to rely for too long on a high-end case management technology, one that we designed for large companies. We held tenaciously to the belief that we needed more technology to solve our customer service problems. We kept making the technology bigger and better and ended by losing touch with many of our customers.
Here's what we have done to correct our mistakes and start providing you with better service:
- No more HelpRequest Web site. The case-tracking technology we were using was completely unsuited to our needs and your needs. It slowed down the whole process and made it a burden. We're done with it.
- We are now offering some tech support by telephone, with certain limits. We've been discouraging phone support for years, thinking that email would be more efficient. But we realize that there are some kinds of problems for which phone is the best possible form of communication. You've been requesting phone support for years and we've decided that you're right.
- We continue to offer help by email. For those quick, simple questions, and for those who prefer communicating by email, we will continue to answer your questions by email. But not with that HelpRequest behemoth. Your questions will come right to our in-boxes where we can't avoid seeing them.
- We will be more up-front about how long tech support will take. Remember, we still are a tiny company and we have limited resources. Our telephone hours will be limited. Our email turnaround may sometimes require more than a day or two. But we will try to communicate with you, primarily through our newly-redesigned Web site, so that you will know what to expect and not be surprised by unexplained delays.
Our new service agreement takes effect immediately. But it will take some time for us to make a full transition and there will be some inevitable glitches. But we will do our best to communicate with you about all this, because that's what service is really about.
We have a back-log of old cases right now that we will be taking care of the in the coming week. If you would like to hear from us sooner, or if you don't hear from us within a week, feel free to call us or send us an email. But please refer to your old case number so we will know that we can close it after we talk to you.
Our new customer service policy is outlined in more detail on our new Help page. You can go to our Help page to send us an email, look up our phone number, check our current schedule, and more. The Help page is at:
If you have been disappointed by poor service in recent months, I apologize. If you've been with us long enough, you'll remember that we've provided much better service in the past, and I hope that will encourage you to believe that we can provide better service in the future. I hope you will see in our new customer service policies, our new Web site, and our new products, a new commitment to provide you with excellent software and excellent service.
To those of you whom I've met on the phone, at trade shows or on the net, personal regards. And to all of you, thank you for your business and continued support.
Michael Herrick, president
P. S. If you want to talk to me directly, you can email my personal address, michael@matterform.com, catch me on iChat at HerrickDesk, or phone me at the office at +1 505 747 1220.
About Matterform Media
Matterform Media, based in Española, NM, is a leading provider of software for the Macintosh computer. Matterform was founded in 1992 and launched one of the first e-commerce Web sites in 1994. Its other products include Spamfire, an anti-spam filter; Sonar, a file monitor utility; and Yank, an all-purpose uninstaller.
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Short URL: link.matterform.com/service 