Disclaimer: This is a rant.
Heard of Web 2.0? I don’t know if there is a solid definition of what a Web 2.0 company is, but to me it is an offering, whether it be product or service, delivered through a really cool web interface. Google, Yahoo are very Web 2.0ish, but Mint.com, Google Apps, and Facebook.com come to mind as true Web 2.0 players, among others. Your entire interactive experience with these companies is done exclusively through their website.
Web 1.0 is the traditional web experience. Yahoo/Google search, online banking, the old Myspace, etc. The web as we have known it for the last 10 or so years.
So what’s a Web 0.5 company? A company which appears to be a modern Web 1.0 company, but can’t seem to free itself from the dregs of old technology. Companies that require the use of fax machines and snail mail to complete a web transaction. I experienced one of these companies today.
Yesterday, I signed up for a dedicated server with a hosting company. They had very competitive upfront pricing, and a decent service offering. The price was about half what I pay now, so I decided to switch. I go to their very slick online ordering system, configure my system, see the pricing, agree to pay 12 months up front, and put my credit card information in. I then get a screen saying all orders will be manually verified and I will be getting a call from them to verify I am who I say I am. This is fine with me.
As promised, they called me first thing this morning. I was sleeping, so they left a voice mail with a number to call them back. So I get into work, call them back, after waiting on hold for about 30 seconds someone comes on the line, finds my order, verifies it’s me and all is fine and dandy. I ask them when the server will be ready and she said “We will send you an email”. Okay, sounds good. I think it’s a done deal when she says “hold on please”.
She comes back on the line and tells me they are going to send me a payment authorization form for me to sign and fax back. What? Why?
“It’s our policy”
I lied and said I didn’t have a fax machine. At which point she says “well you can sign it, scan it, and email it back to us”. I ask her very politely, is there any way I can authorize the payment without resorting to scanning or faxing? She says no. I tell her to send me the form anyway and I will figure something out.
You may be thinking I am making a big deal out of nothing here. Maybe I am, I’ve been grumpy this month. However, I am puzzled why they have to go to the extra mile to make a simple sales process that much more difficult? Here is a short list of things that I think absolutely need to be printed, signed, and faxed/mailed:
- Tax Returns
- Account Applications for Banking/Brokerage Accounts
- Insurance Forms
- Legal Matters
What should not need to be printed, signed, and faxed back:
- A $400 order for a dedicated server
Incidentally, I filed my taxes online 2 nights ago and didn’t need to sign anything.
Anyway, the form came in email, and not only does it require my signature, they want me to fill out the whole thing, complete with name, address, credit card info. This was the proverbial straw. So I sent back a polite email stating “Consider this my authorization to charge my credit card. If that is not good enough, please just cancel my order”.
So back to my rant. What is it with companies that require old-tech hoops to jump through to process a stupid order? I understand fraud is a problem on the internet. But come on, work it out with your credit card company or find some other means that makes it easy for the consumer to buy your product. Fax machines should have died off about 10 years ago.
“You can mail it…”
Don’t get me started.
Edit: They never got back to me. Since they haven’t charged my credit card, I assume this to mean they decided to cancel my order.