Task.fm was bootstrapped.  This meant I didn’t have a huge amount of money to spend on expensive tools, software and infrastructure.   But that didn’t mean we had to skimp or go without.  This is a series of posts on the tools, software and tricks we used to save money but still maintain the same functionality of the big guys.

Customer service doesn’t need to be expensive.  You could get by, using just email.  But in this day and age, especially running a software company it pays to be a bit more creative and offer users the best service experience possible.  Here is how to do it for just $19.

Customer Support Community – GetSatisfaction

GetSatisfaction is a relatively new concept based around the idea of “open customer support”.  So instead of communicating in closed channels such as email, you pull the curtain down and put your customer service in front of everybody.

Our GetSatisfaction community contains a combination of bug notifications and feature requests.  I personally respond to every request – even if its saying “we’re not planning on developing this”.

GetSatisfaction is a perfect fit for Task.fm.  If you’re looking for an alternative try UserVoice.

Total Cost – $0

Help Desk – Zendesk

GetSatisfaction isn’t suitable for people posting sensitive account issues (such as billing enquiries).  Therefore we needed a Help Desk.  ZenDesk is a really solid offering.  Although we respond to most emails directly, I can forward complex tasks to ZenDesk which automatically creates a ticket.

ZenDesk also supports forums – which for us isn’t really being used (Get Satisfaction) fulfills this need for us.

ZenDesk is beautifully designed, unlike many self hosted and open source options.  Which can make the difference between a bad and good customer service experience.

Total Cost – $19 per month

Email – Google Apps

Send an email to info@task.fm and it goes to a hosted Google Apps account.  Gmail does such a good job of managing conversations and search that their is literally no competitor or alternative in this space.

Complicated emails get forwarded to ZenDesk and the rest are answered right from gmail.  I also setup a catch-all address to make sure we get everything that comes our way

Total Cost – $0

Contact Form – Wufoo

This is something that I could of easily have custom coded this but it was easier to go with Wufoo. They off a click to create form builder and they handle all processing of forms.  What I would like, is to have a custom coded contact form which automatically creates a ticket on ZenDesk.

Total Cost – $0

FriendFeed

Some of the best conversations about Task.fm have happened on FriendFeed.  I have setup a room that posts all our blogs posts, Tweets and updates.  The room can also be used for support.

Thanks to saved searches – if someone is talking about Task.fm I see it.  If you ask a question I answer.

Lots of feature requests come from FriendFeed users and I respond to every single one.

Total Cost – $0

Twitter

Although FriendFeed catches most of the Twitter chatter about Task.fm, I still keep a profile there.   Again I respond to each and every question asked about Task.fm (if its meant to be answered).  I have setup custom searches of our company name and our unique features.

Total Cost – $0

What We Need to do Better – User Documentation

We need to create some good user documentation for Task.fm.  This will be done on ZenDesk – its really good for this.  Look at Twitters Zendesk for a good example of how  User Documentation can be done.  It doesn’t need to be boring!

In Conclusion

So how does this all work out for us.  Pretty Well.  The most common response I have been getting is “thanks for your quick response” which means I must be doing something right.

Total Cost – $19 per month.  Pretty good huh!  Of course we don’t employ anybody for just CS.  instead its handled by everybody on the team.

What does your startup use for Customer Support?