It’s All About the Customer

Customer service is an important part of any business, and it’s certainly the case with AOM. Helping people with problems, asking questions about certain features, and generally dealing with issues that may arise is a vital part of what AOM is all about. Many new features come directly from feedback by users, and as bugs come to light, that same feedback has helped to make the program better. But while the user base continues to grow, and the software becomes more flexible and customizable, the number of hours in a day remains the same. Add to that the difficulties that can happen if emails are lost or missed, and customer service begins to suffer, a situation nobody likes.

To that end, a ‘trouble ticket’ system has been instituted. Now instead of firing off an email, a ticket can be opened, with customer inquiries saved in a database instead of an email inbox. Anyone opening a ticket can check it online, and replies are automatically sent and saved. All in all a more professional approach, which is what it needs to be. As some of you reading this blog may be aware, I have been invited to join the AOM team as an online tech support member and forum moderator. I’m pleased and excited to be able to help in some small way to contribute to the improvement of AOM. My involvement in the Support & Forum areas allows Justin to spend less time answering questions, and more time developing future versions of Associate-O-Matic. And with another set of eyes, we hope anyone needing help will not have to wait any longer than necessary to get a reply. The system has been in place for nearly a month now, and it seems to be a great success, both for customer service issues and increasing the available time for making AOM even better than before. Yeah, I’m having fun too.

Bug report: The current version (v4.1.1) should soon be replaced by a patched version, v4.1.2. The main reason is that a problem with DVD/VHS ratings causes movies to not be displayed at all. This certainly can cut into sales, if the product is not visible. There is a quick fix for US customers – go into the ‘Filters’ tab of the control panel, and save from there. UK customers can’t do anything until the patched version is released. Which should be soon.