customer service

Out and About with Fermentation Fest

News flash!

Fermentation Fest event guides are hot off the press and heading out to exciting venues throughout Wisconsin. This 24-pg, can’t-miss guide is bubbling with interesting articles, art, class listings and city map—all the ingredients necessary for two weekends of culture convergence at Fermentation Fest. You don’t want to miss the Fest or the guide!

I’ve got to say helping promote Fermentation Fest is one of my favorite projects of the year. It’s a melding of interests, from food and art, to agriculture and travel. This means artists, chefs, poets, foodies, farmers, cheesemakers, brewers, musicians, performers, and so many more people all come together for an autumnal celebration of good life. I’m very proud to design for it, very honored to be part of it.

In the weeks ahead I’ll be delivering guides to various venues (I love promoting my clients!). Check back to this page often for an updated listing of where you can find them. And don’t forget my social media because I’m also big on featuring interesting venues.

Here’s where I’ve been so far. Yep, all the way to northern Wisconsin!

#GetYourFermFestGuide2019Here

Listed in order of cities are venues where you can find Fermentation Fest guides. If you’re not in these areas, check out the Fermentation Fest website or join the mailing list.

Deerfield Coffeehouse, Deerfield
Milwaukee Street Traders, Delafield
Fitchburg Public Library, Fitchburg
Sequoya Public Library, Madison
Willy Street Co-op East, Madison
Willy Street Co-op North, Madison
ZuZu Cafe & Market, Madison
Willy Street Co-op, Middleton
Good Harvest Market, Pewaukee
Roots Coffee Bar, Oconomowoc
Soleil Lune Yoga Center, Oconomowoc
Firefly Coffee House, Oregon
The Chocolate Caper, Oregon
Landmark Creamery, Paoli (Belleville)
Stevens Point Area Co-op, Stevens Point
Cafe Coco, Washburn
South Shore Brewery, Washburn
Tribeca GalleryCafe & Books, Watertown
Downtown Grocery, Wausau

See you at Fermentation Fest in October!

Comparing Speeds of Internet

internet satellite dish

A couple months ago, in an extreme fit of frustration, I posted this whine about my slow internet. I even did a video, complete with irritating hum throughout, just so you could see how slow it really was.

Well, I’m happy to say we’ve made some changes and things have improved. Let’s do a little before and after comparison.

BEFORE: Local Wireless Broadband Provider

In the 15-18 years we’d been on the internet, we subscribed to a local, privately-owned internet service provider (ISP) company. We’ve always been advocates of non-corporate businesses and it was intriguing to be part of this company throughout its ground-up development.

We live in a rural area so for many of these years we were on dial-up. Remember that resonating screech of connection? If you want to relive the old days, here it is!

About eight years ago we broke down and purchased a wireless broadband antenna. To be specific, it was a Motorola Canopy Subscriber Module available through our ISP. We mounted this paddle-like antenna high on our 40-ft TV tower and from there it received transmission from an ISP tower located about five miles away. Purportedly, we were to get access speeds ranging from 2-6 Mbps (megabits per second). Megabits? Ha! I doubt we ever broke out of the gigabit barrior.

And then there were the lightening strikes, the interference from other 900 MHz users and the inopportune disconnects (are there ever opportune disconnects?). Combine these with a growing list of other frustrations and I had reached my limit. As much as I wanted to support a local company, the unreliable internet it provided was not acceptable. In fact, it was hurting my business. So for two days I went into full-time research mode, I learned more about the state of U.S. telecommunications than is comforting, and I calculated some comparisons.

Local Wireless Broadband Provider
Antenna Cost: $300, plus $199 installation (2005 rates)
Avg. Access Fee: $51.85/month, including website hosting ($622/year)

AFTER: WildBlue Satellite Dish

In 2009, Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. As part of this provision, specific communications companies received subsidies, which they in turn offered to new satellite broadband users by way of free setup and discounted rates. WildBlue Internet (Exede) is one of these companies. Yes, it’s a big, nationwide company, and no, it’s not one I’d normally patronize. Sometimes though, my high-and-mighty ideals just don’t work out.

So now we have this not-so-attractive dish sitting on our roof just outside our attic window. It connects to a satellite located somewhere in the southern sky and, for the most part, it’s bringing fairly reliable internet (no, there isn’t TV with this satellite). Recently, data showed my my speed clocking in at 10 Mbps—that’s not cable internet fast, but compared to what I had before, it feels like the speed of light! More importantly, it doesn’t cut out like my previous internet and, so far, working with the company’s service reps has been a pleasant experience.

WildBlue Satellite
Dish cost: $0
Installation: $5
Avg. Access Fee: $42.15/month ($505/year)
Website hosting with Hands-On Web Hosting: $4/month ($48/year)

So there you have it. I can probably quit whining for a while. But just so you know, the whole broadband issue isn’t going away soon. Here in my Badger state “a lack of reliable and affordable broadband service in many areas in Wisconsin is hampering the ability of individuals and businesses to capitalize on new technologies,” according to this recent Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article. Justifiably and thankfully so, there are many organizations pushing for change.

What about you? What internet are you using and how’s it working for you? What are your thoughts on better access in the U.S.?

3 Ways to Grow Customer Satisfaction

how to grow customer satisfaction

For the past month I’ve been updating Chris Kirsch’s website. She needed a few tweeks (more on that later) and because she was having problems with her host provider, she wanted to switch companies.

Switch companies? No problem.

How wrong I was.

I won’t bore you with the technical minutiae of how a job that normally takes days dragged on to become weeks. But I will say it involved three different companies and each of them proved you can either grow customer satisfaction or you can kill it.

Personally, I’d like to grow it, because that’s the best way to grow a business. Duh.

1. Make it easy to be your customer

Chris found getting tech support from her former host provider was next to impossible. You know the routine— long wait times on the phone, then outsourcing to a foreign country. When she decided to change companies, they would only receive her request via FAX. (Who uses FAX machines nowadays?)

Both Chris and I found getting tech support from her new company was better because it was prompt. Yet, they only offer service via their own support page or an online chat. Sometimes, you just need the immediate back and forth of talking on the telephone. Plus—and this is important—people like to be treated like a person, not a piece of technology.

In the transferring process, I needed to involve my internet provider (strange, I know…don’t ask). They are Netwurx Internet and their customer service came through the best. I could email them. I could call them. I could even ask for service reps by name because I know who they are — I’ve actually been in their office and met them. They’re a local company based out of Hartford, WI, and no, I’m not affiliated with them.

So, what can I do to make it easier for you, my Adunate customers?

2. Take responsibility (even when it’s not yours)

When problems arose in the transfer of Chris’ website, the first thing all three companies did is blame us, the users. Then they blamed each other. This is a common complaint against most technology companies.

Recognizably so, problems often do lie with the customer. I can see that in the tech industry. I see it in my own. You probably see it in yours. However, when customers call with a problem, they feel frustrated and they’re looking for help. The last thing they want is to be interrupted with an automatic “It’s not us, it’s you.”

It would be so much more reassuring if customers could hear: “Hmmm, looks like together we’ve got a problem that needs to be addressed. Let’s see what we can do together to fix it.”

I’ve resolved to listen more, talk less. I’d like to be a problem solver for my clients, even if the problem is not my own, or of my doing.

3. Care about your customer. Show it.

When Chris told her former host provider she was canceling her account, not only was the service rep rude and made the process difficult, he also didn’t seem to care. As Chris wondered, wouldn’t a company at least want to know why its customer was dissatisfied? (By the way, Chris is the epitome of grace and civility. That service rep had no reason to speak to her in a rude manner.)

Contrast this with my internet provider:

Chris is not a Netwurx customer. Nor did she transfer her hosting to them. Yet when I, as Chris’ webmaster, was having problems connecting to her new site from my internet, Netwurx cared enough to stick with the problem and find a solution. They went out of their way. Not only am I impressed, Chris is too.

A good company shows that they care about its customers. And a smart company shows they care about potential customers as well.

I want Adunate to do both.

As a web designer, I’m often asked about web host companies. Online, I hesitate to recommend one over another. However, here is Web Hosting Geeks’ top ten list, or you can google “rate web hosting” for additional helpful information.