The rise of free and open source software has seen a substantial increase in the number of discussion forums that provide technical support to users. It is such a standard part of the landscape, that when you start a new technical project, one of the first things to do is to find the places where [...] - 28 hours ago

Conversion rates, user satisfaction, and retention improve when you deliver a consistent user interface - one in which you tell customers something that is consistent with what you actually do. The issue arose with a client, but I have a personal experience of a very similar case. I logged into our banks internet banking facility. [...] - 3 days ago

Inspired by a great piece of spam this morning. This looks like a lengthy and individually crafted posting, offering a summary of what looks like the current situation on H1N1 in the USA. The problems? Well, it is targeting a US dentist, and the spam was contributed to an article about how Google has been [...] - 5 days ago

The AdWords Help Forum has degenerated over the last year or so, into a customer service forum. I intend to cover that in detail some other time. The common signatures of pain in the forum are: Complaints that “Google won’t accept my Credit Card“ Making promo vouchers work Suspension for various reasons, often involving guaranteed ways to make [...] - 6 days ago

There’s a classic FAIL in user handling on many eCommerce sites: forcing users to register details before you’ve explained the reason and value. People know that they need to hand over addresses for shipping, but requiring them to offer these details before you’ve verified that the items are in stock and available, or that you [...] - 7 days ago

AWHE (AdWords Help Experts, is now rated as “Influential” by Topsy. The blog was started by Google-recognised “Top Contributors” in the AdWords Help Forum, to help us to include pictures and video and common answers for frequent or tricky questions in the AdWords Help Forum. A recent graphical rework and substantial posting by Kim Clinkunbroomer [...] - 7 days ago

A common topic over in the AdWords Help Forum is that of a declined Credit Card. I’ve just had some more approaches from people suffering from this problem and looking for a cure. Someone signs up for AdWords, tries to make a payment and Google fails to take the money. The bank says that the [...] - 3 weeks ago

Not quite a Jane Austen title, but “Help Forums and Helplessness” involved far too many terminal sibilants. The recent launch of Google’s Nexus One, the Google branded Android phone, highlights Google’s fledgling incompetence with mass market customer service, already demonstrated in abundance in many of Google’s own help forums. Harsh criticism, you might think, but I’ve [...] - 4 weeks ago