I'm always excited when I can use the services of our advertisers and recently I tried Hover.com for managing a website for my kendo club (www.northwestkendo.com).
I had been using a domain provider who will remain anonymous, suffice to say they were not based in North America and I had been suffering under their terrible customer service (poorly-written response templates, no toll-free access to support, and apparently no CRM because I had to restate my entire issue every time I contacted them).
When I saw Hover.com's advertising I thought I would give it a chance - I had nothing to lose and everything to gain, to paraphrase Karl Marx.
What a difference! A literal night-vs-day experience for me. The customer support person was able to communicate easily with me and our exchanges were professional and delightful. Equally important, when I decided to transfer my domain the process was easy. I made the request, provided the necessary information, and it was all taken care of swiftly and completely.
So now Hover.com has a customer for life as well as an evangelist who can attest to their quality service and support.
Customer service is often under-appreciated by decision-makers but for those of us who have regular interactions with service providers, customer service is a reflection of a company's philosophy and commitment to its' users.
It's more of an art than a science and it is a key driver in retention and customer lifetime loyalty.
Let's hope for more Hover.com's and less of...Brand X!
