User-friendliness
March 21, 2007 – 10:45 amIf you have an online store, and especially if you run a service-orientated online business, it is imperative that your website is user-friendly.
Take for example what I went through with two companies which registered my domain names. Company A is American, Company B is Malaysian.
When I registered my first domain name last year through Company A, I was able to straight away log in to my account and easily set up a URL redirect and email forwarding even though I did not have any experience before and it was my first time doing it. Until today, I have yet to open a support ticket with them.
When I registered my new domain name recently with Company B, it was way different. I think I have written in to them more than ten times. If they are not fed-up receiving my email, then I am fed-up emailing them!
I could not even set up basic URL redirect and email forwarding. There was also a technical glitch on my account and even though I did what was necessary for email forwarding, it was not working.
The irony was that in the end, they solved the glitch and then gave me step by step instructions to set up email forwarding, which I already did correctly in the first place, making it seem like THEY were the ones who taught me how to set it up. Chey!
And then there is another case. I am an affiliate member of two companies. One company rewards us with $25 per referral while the other, $15.
The company that pays $25 paid me on the spot on the first of the month. There was no hassle at all. On the other hand, the other company is not as friendly. Even though I earned the $15, they did not pay on time, making me write in to them as if to chase for payment. It has been almost a month since due date and a week since I wrote in to them but I have not even received an acknowledgement.
I mean, these are commercial companies. If they wanted to run programmes like these, why not make it easier for people to receive their payment? Why must they make us chase for the payment as if we need the $15 for dinner?
If they were offering free services like Technorati, which did not reply me even though I have written to them three times since early February, 2007, or are my issues resolved yet, I can close one eye since it is a free service and one shouldn’t expect too much.
Anyway, my point is that a company has to be user-friendly so that we are happy to return as a customer, as in the first case, and happy to work for for the company to promote its programme, as in the second case.
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