Today I want to talk about something that I’m hoping won’t offend people. I’m not trying to criticize or call people out, but I think this is something people don’t really realize, then when I point it out there will be kind of a, “Well that makes sense” moment. If you know what I mean. 😉
Okay enough cloak and dagger… let’s just dive right in.
When you purchase a product (like a plugin or theme) don’t ask other customers for help. Ask the person you bought it from for help.
I’m in a lot of Facebook groups and I often see people in those groups who have purchased my products. Some of them will create posts asking other customers for help (ie “Is anyone using the Tweak Me v2 theme? How do you…”).
Now you might think, “What’s the big deal?” Well let me just pose this one question:
What makes more sense? Asking the person you paid to help you? Or asking people who aren’t being paid to help you?
I’m not saying those other customers don’t want to help, I’m just saying, if you bought a product then you’ve already paid someone to help you (like me). You’re not bothering the seller by asking for help, you’re utilising a service that was given to you as soon as you handed over money.
Your best resource is the person who knows EVERYTHING about the product.
Another customer will know a bit about the product since they’re using it, but the person who created the product should know EVERYTHING about it. They’ll probably be able to answer your question the fastest and most thoroughly.
In the Advanced WordPress group I’m in, I often see people posting questions about specific themes (not mine, but other themes). And honestly, every time I want to reply with something like:
“Why don’t you ask the person you bought it from? They’re the one actually being paid to help you.”
Why ask a bunch of random people instead of the person who actually made the damn thing? Why is it that turning to the seller for help seems to be a last resort?
I guess I just don’t understand the logic there. Some people might say, “Well I didn’t want to bother them.” If the question is seen as a ‘bother’ then why would you bother people you AREN’T paying instead of someone you did in fact pay?
Many sellers are eager to help.
- We want you to be satisfied.
- We want you to fully understand the product.
Whenever I see a public question about my products, sometimes I worry that other people will look at that question and think, “The seller must not have helped them…” I know that’s kind of a stupid fear, but it is something I think about.
My point is: I WANT to help.
If you have ever asked other people for help, I hope I haven’t offended you. But maybe you can see it from my side now. 🙂
This makes a lot of sense to me. I try and search for answers by myself on the sellers website and also through Google (I’m a little obsessed with googling answers and have had a lot of success that way too). And if that doesn’t work, I’ll send the seller an email. It’s simpler that way in my eyes, and has always worked out well in the past. Especially with the questions I’ve emailed you about UBB and UBB to Goodreads, you always respond fast and answer all my questions, thanks!
This is good advice, but I have to say you are an unusually and amazingly responsive seller in my experience! Other sellers of online products can often appear to think their job is done after they get your money, or be very slow in replying. I like your way better, but it’s not necessarily the norm.
Thank you so much for this post – I’m often a little hesitant to contact the seller with my questions, especially if I’ve done so before, because I feel like a bit of a nuisance. But if you put it this way, that the seller is actually being paid to help us, it seems a lot more logical. Certainly makes a lot of sense!
It makes more sense to contact the seller, but I can understand the other side of the fence too though. There is the thought you are being a bother, but then you also worry about what you are asking. Is it the type of thing that you should be asking for a quote for custom work on instead of just having to try to figure out? I know I always worry about those sorts of things because I feel like a bad person when I ask a question, find out it’s a custom thing and realize I’m not in a position to hire for it right away. Now if it’s a problem, then yeah, ask the seller every time! But when it comes to customizing, I can totally understand why they would go to someone else to ask “Hey, you did this thing, can you tell me how?” or “Hey, I want to do this and you look like you understand coding, do you have a minute?” The sellers are generally much busier than people who just happen to use the product but have figured out a customization that you haven’t.
For me, it depends on whether I’m asking a technical or troubleshooting question, or whether I just have questions about the tool.
But the biggest part for me is timing. I mostly work during times people won’t be in the office responding to support inquiries, so if something’s urgent, I look other places for answers. (This is why it really bothers me when companies skimp on a good knowledgebase/FAQ in favor of pushing limited phone or online support instead.)
If it’s more of a general question, like if I know 100% that something is possible with a tool, but just am not sure what steps get me there, it’s different. I’ll usually simultaneously ask the seller and any communities I’m in, especially if it’s at night or over the weekend.
I always prefer talking to the expert who knows best, but frequently I just need to figure something out as quickly as possible, and it’s 6pm on a Saturday or 2am on a Tuesday, so I’ll turn to other customers and online resources more. If I use an answer from an outside source, I still try to verify it with the seller eventually.
I gotta admit, you make a valid point.
You are definitely my go-to person for all things UBB and Tweak Me, Ashley, and you are so very good at getting back to me in a timely manner! I’ve had other bloggers ask me something about UBB, though, and I don’t know if that’s because they feel like they’re bothering you 🙂
You make a valid point, but there are good reasons to ask a group or twitter, or wherever. For instance, if I think it’s something easy, or at least something that is done a lot, and I know the seller is in another time zone, I’ll shoot the seller an email or ticket, but also ask my twitter peeps because they may have the answer faster. And asking a group or twitter is different in that people can answer if they know, or they can keep scrolling, so it’s not a burden or work for anyone.
But if it’s something more technical or it’s a glitch in a plugin or something, I’ll generally just go right to the people who make it and sell it for the reasons you listed above. They know what the hell they’re doing.
I was reading this post and actually I bought the theme from you. But I’m so clueless on this world thathated I am lost. I don’t ask. I try to look it up online and find a way without asking, because I guess you already have too much to work and I think my questions are so silliest that you would solve in one second what I am taking forever to figure it out, but no, I don’t question, eve though my head is filled with them.
I always go to the seller first, but sometimes they aren’t that great at answering on-time or in a way that makes sense to me.
I actually contacted my host with an issue and they spit out a bunch of tech jargon that made no sense to me and when I asked if they could clarify they said, “I’ll put in a ticket and have our tech experts help you.” At that point, I was sick of it and I actually came to you! I asked the same exact question in my email to you, you answered within 24 hours and worded it in a way that made COMPLETE sense to me. My host? They didn’t get back to me for almost 2 days and it wasn’t even an answer to my question.
This is obviously not the case with every situation. Sometimes I ask the seller and they are quick and help a lot! I think once you’ve exhausted that option or maybe they don’t have the best customer service, it makes sense to go elsewhere.
I think this is a really great point!! HAHA! I just emailed the seller as I was reading this about an issue I am having with the product. I don’t know why I didn’t do that sooner!
I hope they can help you! 🙂