1. Will customers pay for it or not? In the end, they pay for everything they’d like to have.

2. What kind of customers am I working with? Look at GoDaddy - they offer things dirt cheap, it “works”, and they offer phone support. They’re targeting the masses, not only the technologists and visionaries who are willing to give something a try even if it doesn’t come with a warranty. It’s the difference between people who bought MP3 players and those who bought an iPod. 2GB of space vs 500 songs. The list goes on.

Overall, it should be a clear decision. Email is much more efficient, not as customer centered, but it gets the job done. Phone support costs more, that’s basically it, and it gets the job done as well, with the potential of a better experience.

Last point I want to make - When pizza is delivered, shedding a few minutes off of a 30 minute delivery increases the chance that someone will be a repeat customer by a double digit percentage. I don’t remember that statistic, but even if you can respond to an email in 15 minutes, a phone call might be preferred because it solves it in 12 minutes. Amazing email support is great, but it hasn’t replaced being able to pick up a phone and talk to someone.

Jacob - I feel the phone is better for resolving billing issues, simple technical support issues (where the issue requires more teaching than fixing), and for some sales issues. Complex technical issues are often better handled over email. My general rule of thumb is if it takes more than a couple of emails to fix, pick up the phone. I also agree with you in saying that just phone support is no better than just email support. Customers should have options in all situations.

Sara - Your points are head on and exactly what I was thinking. The goal is to have the customer understand the issue in a timely manner and that is what companies should work towards.

1) some customer prefer phone (easier for them to understand when being verbally spoke with, they aren’t computer literate etc..) while sone prefer email (don’t have time to talk during Customer Service hours, understand written word more than verbal discussions)

2) some issues are easier to explain in written form, while some are easier on the phone.. and some even need both - email over a spreadsheet and go over it on the phone with the customer.

often times I’ll tell my phone customers that if I explain it in writing that they may understand better. and other times, I’ll tell my email customers to call me when they have a chance, because it might be better understood in verbal dialogue.

You mention in your post that you feel the phone works better for a lot of things, but you never go on to describe which things you feel these are. Would love to hear examples from your perspective.

Personally I feel it depends on the complexity of the problem, the complexity of the product, and the savvy/knowledge of the customer who has the problem.

If the customer doesn’t understand the problem or can’t explain it succinctly, the phone (or chat) makes more sense to avoid the back and forth. If the customer completely understands the problem and just wants to report it so it can be resolved email makes more sense.

Both have exceptions based on the severity of the issue and how quickly one expects to have it resolved, which leads to the biggest conundrum of all where for some customers EVERYTHING is an emergency. And then you get into scale and costs and the whole thing blows up on you

I actually get more frustrated with “phone only” support rather than “email only” support. Sometimes I have a quick “How do I do this?” or “This doesn’t seem to be working right” question or comment. I don’t care how quickly it gets answered, so I’d rather send an email and go about my business until I get a reply rather than be tethered to the phone for 5 or 15 minutes (or even longer).

Worst of all are the companies that utilize the policy where the only way to cancel service is via a phone call, with their primary reason being to put an obstacle in your way to discourage cancellation and to subject you to a “save team” even in clear cut cases where your mind is made up or no circumstance will keep you as a customer.