GoDaddyGuy

I have seen a lot of negative stuff about GoDaddy’s service on the blogs but I sense that they are aggressively trying to change that, and what I have experienced so far is a great case study for how businesses can use Twitter and other social media.  Here’s the story:

1. I set up a WordPress blog on GoDaddy and screwed up the plugin installation like a dope

2.  I called GD tech support and was told they don’t support WordPress (even though they feature it in their Auto Install applications center)

3. They sent me a survey re the call and I mentioned that they should support simple WordPress issues

4. I posted on Twitter to see if anyone could help with the issue

5. I got a tweet from @GoDaddyGuy (Hi Alon) saying he had emailed the solution to the problem.  He had also left a message on my office phone!

6. I got a follow up email from Warren Adelman, President of GoDaddy, that did not seem like it was canned.  It mentioned my comments re WordPress and how they were addressing them.

So what can you learn from this as a business?

People are using social media to get help.  Here are the latest tweets on plumbing alone. Smart businesses could monitor searches for relevant questions on Twitter Search and come to the rescue.  It’s no different than Yahoo Answers in that way. GoDaddy was actively scanning Twitter (and many other social media sites I bet) for people having issues and providing help where needed.  Way to go…daddy.

Update:  More about GoDaddy’s phone call strategy

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14 Response Comments

  • Andrew Shotland  July 18, 2008 at 2:36 pm

    Tad, they contacted me yesterday

  • Bob C.  July 18, 2008 at 3:22 pm

    While this reflects positively on GoDaddy, for scouring social media for opportunities to help customers, that function itself seems to be more necessary since GoDaddy created the problem in the first place by not being able to handle the technical support question on the front-end. I don’t think this is a net positive for GoDaddy’s brand as a result, at best it’s a wash.

  • Andrew Shotland  July 18, 2008 at 4:24 pm

    Bob,

    My current impression of them is positive. I feel like they listened and adjusted. This may not be the last problem I have with them (can’t stand the UI on their site) but I think they scored a point – unless of course you are the grouchy, glass half-empty type who is looking for the bad side of every company they deal with. Today I am trying to look at the glass as half-full.

  • Andy Beard  July 18, 2008 at 5:51 pm

    Do they still have a horrendous way of treating domains that receive spam reports through no fault of the domain owner, such as an affiliate spamming an affiliate link?

    Last I heard you have to pay a fee to join their spam prevention group and in some way sign that you will never be a bad boy again.

    Effectively never use Godaddy for anything that might be related to email, hell even comment subscriptions on a blog could get you in trouble.

    I hate the interface as well

  • Andrew Shotland  July 18, 2008 at 6:40 pm

    Well if my mentor Andy Beard can’t stand them then perhaps I am being played for a sap.

  • Bob Chandra  July 18, 2008 at 8:52 pm

    >My current impression of them is positive. I feel like they listened and adjusted. This may not be the last problem I have with them (can’t stand the UI on their site) but I think they scored a point – unless of course you are the grouchy, glass half-empty type who is looking for the bad side of every company they deal with. Today I am trying to look at the glass as half-full.

    Andrew, I’m sure you do feel better about them; you said as much in your blog. But the fact remains that were the question handled appropriately in the first place, you wouldn’t have to fish for an answer on Twitter.

  • Jamie  July 22, 2008 at 12:05 pm

    Can’t say that I have had a lot of trouble with GoDaddy. I have worked on many sites hosted through them and the customer service, while pretty bad little while back, is getting better.

    To be honest, the worst thing about GoDaddy is Bob Parsons, that guy is obnoxious.

  • Candance Carnahan  December 10, 2008 at 8:41 am

    Since you mentioned godaddy.com, I’ll also list a few of my recent findings for Godaddy coupon codes. I am a J2ME Programmer, and these coupons come in very handy when purchasing or renewing a domain. Use Godaddy promo code ZINE3 for $7.49 .com domains and renewals. I save about $40 every time I buy domains from godaddy.com. When I buy at least 5 domain names, I also get free private registration when I use ZINE3. For other Godaddy coupons, use ZINE1 for 10% off, ZINE2 for $5 off any $30+ purchase, and ZINE25 for $25 off any purchase of $100 or more, like hosting plans. These promo codes are current, working, and do not expire. I hope these Godaddy.com promo code coupons save as much loot for the other blog readers as they have for my co-workers and I. Have a good one!
    -Candance from Kankakee, IL.

  • Frank  January 7, 2009 at 4:26 pm

    That’s pretty amazing actually! I’m glad to hear that Godaddy has been stepping up their customer service. When I had some experiences during the whole .ME registration fiasco I really got turned off. It seems that they are trying and it’s really great to hear how they have a Twitter representative out to help. Very cool!

  • Andrew Shotland  February 2, 2009 at 3:51 pm

    I only caught about half of one but it seemed unbelievably lame.

  • Len  September 6, 2011 at 7:50 pm

    Gary V said Twitter Search was probably the most important site on the Internet and that Twitter’s best use was to use it to “listen”.

    GD may have problems but it’s a good point they are listening. When company policy changes on some of the points, THEN I think we’ll see more meaningful, long term changes. At least someone took the initiative and broke with company policy and turned a negative into a positive.