To succeed in the global marketplace, Web hosts must be aware of differences in customer care.

When In Rome: Customer Service Around the Globe
By Sebastian Moser

“Have a nice day!” It’s been the standard-issue customer service sign-off line since the concept of doing business over the phone was first put into practice. But for those who work in the field day in and day out, this seemingly harmless, well-intended phrase can elicit more hostility than a Yankees/Red Sox game if it’s not used in exactly the right context or uttered with the most perfect vocal inflection.

Then again, it depends on where the customer reading or hearing the line happens to live.

As a truly international Web hosting company with core operations in Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States, 1&1 Internet is in the unique position of dealing with customers from a wide variety of cultures and socioeconomic circumstances. And, as someone who has spent considerable time extensively involved in the company’s customer service operations in each of these countries, I can tell you firsthand just how different they can be.

Take the “Have a nice day!” line, for example. 1&1 customer support agents in the United States routinely include this phrase at the end of each and every email they send to customers. And quite frankly, they genuinely mean it. This is why it seemed rather peculiar when an agent’s email to a customer was subsequently forwarded to the complaint department because the recipient felt the “Have a Nice Day!” was arrogant and condescending. In fact, the customer demanded an apology.

Certainly, an incident like this would be considered unusual in any country and is more an example of a simple misinterpretation than of any dramatic cultural difference. Still, it’s fascinating to see and experience how diverse customers are in different locations, in several respects; right on down to the way people actually use their hosting packages.

Thinking Globally
For a global Web host, ascertaining the differences in usage patterns within your various countries of operation is crucial. It helps determine many things: pricing, features, policy, server capacity and so on. In Germany, the vast majority of users use only a small percentage of the features that come with their plan, particularly the allotted Web space and email addresses. In North America, on the other hand, customers use substantially more of their provided Web space and mailboxes (four times as much, to be exact) which, for example, places a much heavier burden on the hardware on location. Thus, these issues need to be taken into consideration and will influence other factors more so in the US than they will elsewhere.

Bargaining is something that appears to be indigenous to the US and is most likely a carryover from the American method of car buying which, ironically, most Americans will tell you they find most disagreeable. It’s essentially a negotiating session wherein the customer goes back-and-forth with the salesmen in an effort to maximize the value they’re getting for their dollar. In fact, it’s kind of an unwritten rule of car buying in the US that if you want the best deal, you have to be prepared to negotiate. In other words, most of the time the onus is on the customer to see how much they can get for the price they’re paying and it’s not uncommon to hear a car buyer tell the sales person: “Well, if you throw in the alloy wheels and the premium stereo package at this price, you have yourself a deal.”