The Packet Scoop

It’s absolutely shocking to me that the number one complaint we hear from customers about software vendors is support. In a vacuum, you would think customers would complain about new features, bugs, and pricing models more often than support, but it seems that software companies continue to miss the mark.

When we started PacketTrap several years ago we decided to put support ahead of everything – ahead of marketing programs, ahead of product management and engineering, and certainly ahead of sales efforts. If you talk to our customers and partners I think you will find that we set the bar for customer support in Silicon Valley. But that’s just words, specifically what do I mean by support?

Here is what I mean:
1. Sales: First, there is no such thing as sales in our company. It’s called Account Management. It may sounds like semantics, but it’s really not. Sales implies hard core in your face sales. Our company doesn’t work that way. We build strong long term relationships with every customer we work with. You will have a direct phone line to your Account Manager. You will not be thrown into a phone queue. Account Managers can answer just about all of your questions during your evaluation and trial process. We are here to answer your question. Our products speak for themselves.

2. Support: Second, there is no such thing as Support in our company. It’s called Relationship Management. Once again, it may sounds like semantics, but it’s really not. We are not only here to support you, we are also here to make you more effective in your job. Similar to Account Management, you will not be provided just a number to call into. You will be provided a direct line to your Relationship Manager – Jonas, Bryan, Elisabeth, Steve, Patrick, etc. These people are technical. They can solve your technical questions, help with configurations, and also point you to other IT resources that PacketTrap may not be able to provide. You will know this person by first name. You have a question, just call Jonas. We wont waste your time asking you to press 1, then 5, then 7, then telling you that the next support rep will be with you in approximately …….twenty-six minutes.

3. Access to Product Management and Engineering: You need to speak with someone in Product Management about our roadmap or have a question that only a very technical engineer can answer? Your Relationship Manager can put you in direct touch. Unlike most Silicon Valley companies, our product management and engineering teams are not insulated from customers, in fact they are actually customer facing.

4. Access to Leadership: It’s another shock that in many technology companies I’ve worked for the CTO, VP of Engineering, and VP of Product Management have such little contact with customers. You want to speak with a senior member of our team, just phone in. While they may not be available at the moment (they usually are), they will get right back to you.

I really hate clichés, but it’s actually true for PacketTrap. Our customers do come first. They are the most important part of our company; in fact they are an extension of our company. We view our customers as partners. We help our customers manage their IT networks and our customers help us build better products. It’s just so surprising that all companies aren’t this way.

By the way, the direct line policy applies to everyone in our company. You can reach me anytime at 415-348-0700 x112. You won’t get an admin, that’s a direct line. You may get voicemail, but if you’re a customer (err partner) I’ll get right back to you.

steve goodman | ceo | steve@PacketTrap.com | w: +1 415 348 0700 x 112
http://www.PacketTrap.com
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