In the digital age, we often hear about poor customer service experiences, especially on social media. However, I recently had an exceptional experience with Automattic, the company led by the original creator of the WordPress blogging platform. This experience provides valuable insights for technology startup founders on how to truly delight customers and build lasting relationships.
The journey began with my decision to migrate my self-hosted blog, which I’ve maintained for over two decades, from an Azure Virtual Machine to Automattic’s WordPress.com SaaS platform. This article highlights the outstanding customer service I received during this transition, focusing on both engineering and billing support.
Engineering Support:
I opted for the “WordPress.com Migration Trial,” a complimentary service valued at $500. Within hours, a Happiness Engineer from Automattic reached out with detailed instructions on the migration process. They offered to migrate my blog, venkatarangan.com/blog, with over 4000 posts and over 10GB of assets, to their staging servers at no cost for a trial period. I was provided with a secure endpoint to safely share my blog’s password – I was impressed.
Although the migration took nearly a week instead of the promised 2-3 business days, the process was seamless. Automattic kept me informed about the progress and even identified plugins that were incompatible with their platform, suggesting alternatives without prompting. This proactive approach was refreshing, as most established technology firms avoid making recommendations due to concerns about endorsements. Automattic’s willingness to go the extra mile was a welcome change.
Throughout the trial period, I sent daily queries, concerned about the migration of my large blog with baggage accumulated over the decades. Despite not having paid anything yet, I received prompt and detailed responses. For instance, when I was worried about losing SEO rankings due to a URL structure change, the Happiness Engineer provided a workaround using a redirection plugin and even set it up on a trial URL for me. They also guided me through DNS setup on Cloudflare, highlighting relevant sections for my case. Typically, tech support would direct customers to lengthy documentation, but Automattic’s personalized assistance stood out.
During the migration, they noticed a new blog post I had published that hadn’t been migrated. They reminded me to manually publish it to the new staging setup, ensuring no content was lost. This level of attention to detail and care was beyond my expectations and demonstrated a commitment to customer satisfaction that is rare in the industry.
After testing the staging site, I decided to proceed with the “WordPress.com Business Plan” for two years, costing USD 396, which was after discount and including Tax. The hosted plan relieved me from maintaining the Virtual Machine in Azure, updating software, and handling backups, as Automattic took care of everything.
Additionally, I noticed that Jetpack subscribers from my old site were not reflecting on the new site. Automattic quickly identified the issue, transferred the subscribers, and deleted the redundant free site to prevent future confusion. Their proactive problem-solving approach, rather than directing me to self-service through export and import, was a refreshing departure from the norm.
Billing Support:
A fortnight after the migration, I discovered that Automattic offered special pricing for India, significantly lower than what I had paid. The Indian pricing was INR 14,499, equivalent to about USD 172, which was less than half of what I had initially paid. Feeling sad I overpaid, I contacted their billing support, explaining my situation as an Indian citizen who made the purchase from India using an Indian credit card.
To my surprise, Automattic responded promptly, which started “Thank you for laying out all the details for me. I can see where you’re coming from.”, and offering a full refund of $396. They also provided a grace period to renew the plan at the Indian pricing, which was 43% lower. I took the offer, received the refund and a free fortnight of usage, allowing me to pay the reduced Indian price. This level of customer care, including a fortnight of service for ‘free’, was unprecedented in my experience with technology companies. Most companies would have cited policy restrictions, but Automattic’s flexibility and understanding were commendable. That’s the reason I decided to write this long article in praise of the Happiness Engineers and Automattic, led by Matt Mullenweg.
Learnings for Founders
For startup founders, this experience underscores the importance of exceptional customer service. Their approach transformed a potentially stressful migration into a seamless experience, earning my loyalty. Here are three key actionable practices from this, that you can implement in your business:
Proactive Communication: Automattic kept me informed at every step, anticipating potential issues and addressing them before they became problems. By offering solutions and alternatives without waiting for me to ask, they provided a refreshing and reassuring experience.
Personalized Support: The assistance I received was tailored to my unique needs, rather than being generic. Automattic understood my concerns and provided specific guidance, going beyond standard procedures (SOP) to ensure my satisfaction.
Flexible Policies: When I discovered the pricing discrepancy, Automattic was open to adjusting their policies to accommodate my situation. They offered a refund and a grace period, showing empathy and understanding, which built trust and strengthened our relationship.
By adopting these practices, you can create a customer-centric culture that fosters loyalty and satisfaction.
Footnote
Thank you, Automattic, for this remarkable experience. For those interested in learning more about this innovative company, I recommend reading “The Year Without Pants” by Scott Berkun. This book offers a deeper insight into the culture and practices that make Automattic a leader in customer service.
