Yahoo Web Services and Tech Support

Grrrrrrrrrrr....Venting!

[dvduval]

-It took them 9 days to transfer my domain name.
-Their phpMyAdmin is not functioning properly, and they refuse to provide support by phone. They said I would have to use email support, but they would answer within 8 hours. It has been 2 days.
-I can't speak to a manager, except during business hours. During business hours it almost always takes 20 minutes on hold to get through.
-You can't just setup an email address. Each user has to receive an email at thier current account to authenticate.
-If you have a store at yahoo, you can't have access to the html for that store when upgrade to a Merchant Starter Account.
-They don't post tech support phone numbers or email on their site or even it the webmaster's control panel.

So I am at 12 days since the upgrade, and my hands are tied waiting for customer service email support.

When they answer the phone, they ask for your name. If you say, "Tom Jones", they say, is it alright if I call you "Tom" (they are trained to say this as well as how not to let you get the answer to certain questions). I think next time I will say, "I would prefer you refer to me as 'Hostage'".

This is my experience. Hopefully, yours has been better.

Looks like I not be the first:
[webmasterworld.com...]

[hotelmarketing]

I feel your pain ... I am going through the same with directory services. With over 100 paid listings, you would expect Yahoo would provide live customer support ... absolutley frustrating.

[Chndru]

"I would prefer you refer to me as 'Hostage'".

LOL. pithy comment :)

[dvduval]

Yahoo seems to be using php 4.1.2!
What in the World are they doing over there?
I believe this version is about 3 years old.

[dvduval]

I was just told that ALL support related to PHP or mySQL must be done by email, and that I could not speak someone on the phone. It has now been 4 days since I sent the first of 3 emails.

I ask the CSR, "So if my database were to become corrupted or have a major problem, and my site is database driven, and my site were to go down, I could only use email to get help, correct?"

"Yes"

"And you understand it has taken 4 days and I still don't have an answer for the mySQL problem?"

"Yes"

"And how do you feel about this level of customer service?"

"Sir, none of us in this department have any expertise in mySQL. You need to contact them."

"Ok, may I speak with a manager or someone in that department"

"Sir, you will need to send them an email."

[companyone]

Hi,

Sound's like CS at yahoo has been trained the same way as the CS people over at Paypal....LOL

If thats the case, everyone is in for a very, very tough time.

They know you really can't go anywere other than Google....and everyone is already there.

So it really does not matter to them how long you have to wait.

Its not like you can go list your website with someone else that covers 90% of all internet users.

Sorry, but thats the way I see it.

The Customer Service needs of Yahoo now....were very foreseeable months ago. The fact that its not in place...tells you what they think they owe their customers in terms of service.

Its not like Yahoo is a "start up company" and is being caught off guard by customer service needs.

Dan

[dvduval]

In my case, I am helping a person with a Yahoo store add a database driven link directory. I never imagined it would be this difficult.

I'm sure as people want to get a "Real" hosting account they will leave Yahoo. Sure, a Yahoo Store has it's benefits, but it is certainly replaceable.

I'm being sure to let my customer know about all the problems, because soon I will be asking them to "Upgrade" their store and say goodbye to Yahoo.

I had always been curious what it would be like to have a Yahoo Store. I've created or managed no less than 30 different stores, using at least 7 different carts. My curiousity has been satisfied. As I grow my business, the Yahoo Store will not play a role in my growth.

[jchance]

Its amazing to me the way companies feel about customer service.

As soon as companies stop thinking of customer service as something that the "have" to do to keep customers and start thinking of it as something they "get" to do their buisiness would blossem.

Customer service is one of the only times that a big companies like Yahoo will have direct interaction with their customer base. These are the make or break moments that can make someone a life long "tell my friends about Yahoo" customer or an "I hate Yahoo" kind of customer.

These large companies look at it strictly from a numbers perspective when in reality if they would step back a bit and think of it from a marketing perspective they would realize that spending the money to provide great customer service is probably some of the best marketing you can do. Word of mouth is a huge thing (as we can all see from this thread).

[cabos]

You are dead on:

"Customer service is one of the only times that a big companies like Yahoo will have direct interaction with their customer base.

These are the make or break moments that can make someone a life long "tell my friends about Yahoo" customer or an "I hate Yahoo" kind of customer."