GoDaddy.com has solid customer service phone support

I’ve decided to migrate my modest little blog from the hosted version of WordPress to a self-hosted version.  To do so, I had to make some changes to my Go Daddy hosting agreement, and I was a little befuddled.

Go Daddy’s site indicated several customer support options: besides the usual online knowledge base and forums, I could email (which they quite helpfully explained had a reasonable 5 hour turnaround), or call.  Unlike so many sites, they made no attempt to hide customer service phone numbers, and even go so far as to say they are happy to spend “as long as it takes” to resolve your problem.

When I called, Go Daddy did all the following things right: The auto attendant told me in advance about how long it would take to reach a representative (8 min.), and they were accurate to within 30 seconds; the system asked for my account number and then (as is not always the case) properly retained it when the rep came on the phone; the rep was friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful; he spoke clear, fluent, understandable English; he didn’t try to upsell me on additional services rather than resolve my issue; he identified my issue, resolved it, and also issued an immediate credit for a service I didn’t need; he asked me to please call back again if anything didn’t work as expected.

So many companies don’t do half of the above things right.

I don’t like everything about Go Daddy; I think their site design (and much of the related functionality) is a mess. Just look at this hodgepodge of content that’s mashed together like a cross between a squatter site and some type of adult portal.  Go Daddy also doesn’t seamlessly integrate their various services.  For example, domain management, hosting management, and basic website builders are all considered separate accounts and sometimes need separate logins.

Look at this "design"...yikes!

Because of these issues, I had seriously considered going elsewhere for my domain and hosting management.  But due to this strong customer support experience, I’m sticking with them.

Shortsighted companies which look at phone support solely as an unnecessary cost should think about just how well it can be used as a retention and loyalty touch point, when it’s done properly.  Go Daddy is a great example of phone support done right.