Attached Link: Advice for Online Vendors: Sample Customer Questions

Here's the introduction...

So you think you’ve created a great product and you think you’re ready to become an online merchant? Hold your horses. Having a great product is just one factor of selling things online. You’ll have to deal with… customers! That’s right- real, honest-to-goodness people!

I’ve been selling digital products since 2001 and I’ve been running the Vanishing Point website since it started in 2004, so I figured it was time to share some of my experiences. Over the years, I’ve been asked numerous questions, ranging from the intelligent and challenging, to the downright “out there” (a more polite way of saying “idiotic”).

I've listed a number of questions I’ve received over the years, with my un-sent sarcastic answer. I’ve also included a real answer in case some people don’t get the sarcastic one. In many cases, I’ve tried to retain the original grammar and spelling errors in the e-mail.

Read the whole thing at Wordpress...

What I find most interesting is that the OP makes fun of customers with specific mention of keeping the original grammar and spelling errors from the emails.  Meanwhile, there are grammar and spelling errors in the responses and blog.

I'm sure there's a FAQ on the site dealing with apparently common issues such as PayPal - though I didn't see it right off. I'm sure because that would seem to me to be a higher priority than compiling a list of 'Stupid Customer Tricks' :-)

I'm sympathetic to the situation of online merchants who may have little or no control over payment services, shippers etc. I think the fact is though that many people see the merchant as the* *"one throat to choke" as they say in IT. A little education might help, even if it seems redundant.  In any case, a lot of patience and a thick skin are prerequisites if you want to deal with the public.

Quote - Meanwhile, there are grammar and spelling errors in the responses and blog.

I'd be interesting in hearing what kinds of spelling errors you found in the blog. I originally wrote it in Word and then I pasted it into WordPress. I use Firefox, which has its own spell-checker and I used WordPress' spell-checker as well. The only words the spell-checkers didn't like were proper names such as PayPal and Renderosity. ;)
Yes, there are some grammar errors, such as sentence fragments, but those were left in to keep the paragraph flowing.

To answer the other question, yes, many websites (and PayPal itself) have FAQ pages and instructions. My point in the blog is that too many people simply fire off a complaining e-mail rather than looking for (or reading) FAQ's and instructions.

I couldn't spel-chek the blog (it didn't display right in a web browser) but it may be a good case for
insulating creative individuals (modellers and coders) from customers with 2 or 3 other employees
in the chain of command, e.g. customer talks to customer service rep, who talks to customer
service boss if needed, who talks to head of coding or modelling if needed, who then talks to
coder/modeller if needed IMVHO.

but it reminds one of a joke (from the economist) where a software designer takes several
customers to dinner.  the head-waiter asks the coder what he wants, and he replies "steak".
then the headwaiter asks "and for the vegetables?", to which the coder replies "oh, they'll
have steak as well".

"My point in the blog is that too many people simply fire off a complaining e-mail rather than looking for (or reading) FAQ's and instructions." 

Quite so. If having one forestalls even one or two complaints/conundrums, you're ahead of the game though. But, you never know until you try and while it would probably take only a small fraction of the time it took to compile your list I suppose it wouldn't be as much fun.

So this is how we need to treat our customers? Thanks for the advice, but as a new vendor, I'm going to ignore this. I really don't think that things from private emails should be shared like this.

I do think the customer should be treated cordially. Even if I as a vendor may think the question isn't that brilliant, I still don't want to answer them in this way. I don't think putting down customers in this way is giving good advice to new or any vendor.

I'm sure there a much better ways of giving advice to new customers, it's very sad if this is the kind of advice that a seasoned vendor want to pass on to us newbie's.......

Let me see if I have this right...

These are genuine mails from your customers, written in good faith because they thought you could help them out?

So, assuming they are real, there's a chance some of the correspondents may well be members here, may even be reading this very thread.

And you post 'em - or at least a link to 'em - in a public forum for ridicule?

Nice.

agreed. seeing a lot of making fun of the emails and zero advice.

As far as asking about the availability of the starship bridge... I advised someone to do that

Sorry guys

I wouldn`t treat any customer in that way (ridiculing them or publishing their e-mails).

The customer may not always be right, but without them vendors are nothing.

So how do I get started in poser?  :p

The sarcasm is a bit too relentless: tone it down because not only are potential vendors reading this but so are customers, some of whom might find the attitude a bit... hmm... unnecessary. Yes, some of the questions are mind-boggling in their naivité, but remember: they're customers. Unless you dont want them to come back, it's sometimes a nice idea to be... well, nice.

Just sayin'.

I wasn't sure what kind of reaction I would get, but this is not exactly what I expected.

There are entire websites devoted to making fun of silly/ odd/ strange customer-service questions, where readers are encouraged to laugh at the customers. It's considered "humor" to laugh at the new people who don't know how to plug in a network cable to get on the Internet or who think the CD-tray is a cup-holder.
For example, look through the "Computer Stupidies" section on Rinkworks.

Yet when I write a blog focusing on Poser and product-specific questions, people say it's not nice.

The problem, tho, is that in the Poserverse, chances are good that your nascent merchant is also a customer. We live in a very tight little world: it's not like making fun of the guy who's calling about cup holders, because the degree of relationship here is more intimate than someone calling up customer service at a big, anonymous corporation. Look where you put your request: on a site board that's pretty much nothing but customers... and they see this... and they recognize your name... and they think, "Hey, if that's what he thinks of me, &^*% him."

Not a wise move.

It doesn't sound funny, it sounds grumpy, and it's not clear who your audience is. It's "advice for vendors" but you're answering questions of customers.

Your thoughts on exchanges are bizarre incidentally... Basically you say

1. it's your own fault, you eat it
2. "Secondly, these are digital products. You can’t exchange them as you can with physical products: if I give you a new product, then you have received two items even though you only paid for one. Is this fair to me, to the merchants who may have worked on the product, or to the other customers who have paid for two separate items?"
3. Maybe you're trying to rip me off

#2 is totally ridiculous. If the customer is not ripping you off per #3, that means they're not going to use both products. Maybe #2 could be a footnote to #3 explaining why it's bad to rip you off. But on its own it doesn't make any sense and makes you look unreasonable.

Well, I stand by what I said in my first post.  It's not cool to mock people who ask questions, even if you believe the questions and/or the questioner to be a bit dim.

You must remember this community aims to be as inclusive as possible, which means we don't start laughing at folks who may be somewhat naive.  You should also keep in mind many of your customers - I include myself here - read these forums and will form negative opinions, based on your reactions, as posted here. 

I am absolutely no saint and am not known for my patience; however, having worked in customer facing environments and being asked no end of seemingly crazy questions on a daily basis, I have learned tolerance. 

Keep in mind there are a great number of newcomers, some of whom may be reading this thread.  How do you think they will feel if they see an experienced member of the community openly mocking them?  Not good, mate.

Quote - I wasn't sure what kind of reaction I would get, but this is not exactly what I expected.

There are entire websites devoted to making fun of silly/ odd/ strange customer-service questions, where readers are encouraged to laugh at the customers. It's considered "humor" to laugh at the new people who don't know how to plug in a network cable to get on the Internet or who think the CD-tray is a cup-holder.
For example, look through the "Computer Stupidies" section on Rinkworks.

Yet when I write a blog focusing on Poser and product-specific questions, people say it's not nice.

Well I think your comparison fails for the simple fact that the customer-service questions from Rinkworks are actually quite funny.  Most of the posts from your customers, however, are honest questions or suggestions.  If you expect all queries to be sensible to you, you probably shouldn't be working in costumer service.  If you were aiming for humor in your blog, it was a colossal miss IMHO. It leaves me with the impression that you don't care for your customers at all. I´ve never bought anything from your site and after reading your blog, I probably never will.

There is a lesson here. Creating 3d content is not easy and JHoagland is good at it. Dealing with IT-naive customers, and managing your reputation is also not easy, and there JHoagland has a need to develop his/her skills. This very public and embarassing gaffe has demonstrated this clearly. I think we have castigated him/her enough now. VanishingPoint has excellent products. That has not changed.