If you’re looking for some light-hearted reading fun, especially if you’re a parent, you’ll want to check out The Honest Toddler. Whoever the creator is, they have developed a Facebook page, Twitter feed, and a blog, all with content from the eyes of a somewhat cynical toddler. As a parent myself, some of the posts are quite amusing, and I’ve been fascinated with it simply because of its following – it’s not a brand or company, or someone trying to sell something, yet the following “the toddler” has is staggering and increases daily. Just goes to show people need some fun in their (online) lives.
The other day I watched in amusement as The Toddler had issues with the blog he/she runs, and turned to GoDaddy’s online chat for help. In true form, the conversation unfolded in a way that is anticipated from a highly gifted toddler if one were actually in need of website assistance. Below are some of the screenshots:
Status update: Trying to fix my site. My chat with Godaddy is going nowhere and they are being very belligerent.
Status update: i feel like Brian W. isn’t listening.
Status update: why is he rushing me?
To add insult to poor Brian W’s public debut, it looks like The Toddler tried the chat again, this time with a different GoDaddy representative, which went much smoother:
Status update: Like most adults, Brian W. had a hard time admitting he didn’t know what he was talking about. Spend the last few hours with Jiri who just ripped up and put back together this server like it was a piece of American cheese.
Jiri, you give terrible advice and struggle with intimacy but you fixed what 8 other people in your company couldn’t so you’re OK. You’re OK.
While my heart went out to Brian W, as I’m sure he wondered if he was being pranked, he did do a pretty good job of sticking with his spiel as though it was a real customer. It’s a tough place to be in, but as the title of this post suggests, you have to take every interaction seriously because you just never know who you’re really talking to.
While it was humorous and kept me amused that evening, there was a turn of events that made me take note. As I mentioned, The Toddler has a huge following – of course there was significant conversation surrounding these status updates. Again, I felt for Brian W because he probably didn’t realize his interaction would be made public.
In the sea of comments that night, I noticed that GoDaddy became aware of the situation and joined the conversation:
While we all know this is an actual customer, and not just a toddler gone mad, it was likely very difficult to tell that from an online chat. However, the representatives stuck with it and ultimately assisted their customer.
Kudos out to them, and a huge Kudos to GoDaddy for taking note of what was going viral online and attempting to resolve the issue publicly. It not only shows that you’re staying on top of online conversations, but that you are invested in ensuring customer satisfaction to all customers, even when they appear to be Toddlers trying to give representatives a hard time.
Customer service is vital, and everything should be taken seriously – you just never know where it might end up. Had Brian W or Jiri taken a different course or attitude with this customer, it could have ended very differently.
