How about a Google pay per call help desk?

[James]

I find this is the greatest weekness in the webmaster/adsense relationship. We are talking on many occasions to computer programs. This cannot be the way to conduct business.

If at least they came up with a pay per call support line, say $10 a throw, at least we would not feel so isolated.

I honestly think Google has far too many chiefs and not enough Indians on the payroll, all coming up with new ideas, indeed according to googles own employment website they allow staff 20% of the working hours to do just that.

Coupled with the fact that they have a very high proportion of very young people working there, who may be experts in programming, as far as business experience is concerned, I do not think they realise the implications of many of the decisions they take.

[webnoob]

> I honestly think Google has far too many chiefs and not enough Indians on the payroll

and i honestly think to speak to someone on the phone from another country would be as worthless as having no one to talk to.

spend 15 minutes on the phone just to try to have an "understandable" conversation? no thanks. you'd think with the amount of money google makes they would have help-desk employees working around the clock.

[NoLimits]

The costs of G having a Publisher hot line would be chump change.

I'd be willing to bet that there are SINGLE publishers that provide G enough money in a day to run a call center of 100 or more people.

I feel that it would be a great investment in improved communication, and timely resolution. It's really amazing to think that billions of dollars change hands monthly with no verbal communication.

I wouldn't be willing to pay per call... I probably wouldn't even call - but I would love the option.

[sailorjwd]

I think a telephone support center would be no better than the current email method, and perhaps even worse.

Typical support centers drive you nuts with 15 minutes of basic interaction:

Read the FAQs
Clear your browser cache
Plug your computer in?
Reboot
It's a Windows problem
Check with your ISP
Write more content
Mediabot will revisit within two weeks and the problem should be fixed by then

At least the email method gives you a minute to cool down before you start yelling.

[Marcia]

Coupled with the fact that they have a very high proportion of very young people working there, who may be experts in programming, as far as business experience is concerned, I do not think they realise the implications of many of the decisions they take.

So do you then suggest that they hire some of us "older, more mature folks" on the assumption that we somehow have more sense? Cool beans, I may just be he first in line to apply if that were so, but I don't believe that I/we have much more sense in some matters than the young punks you're referring to may have.

Sorry, but I fail to see the logic in that kind of an assumption.