Part II of II
Having received instructions to go back to Gloom to request the Complexity coupon – and with frustration growing – I sent this:
Candidly, as a long-time [Gloom] customer this is frustrating. Seems both organizations are passing the buck. Quite disappointing. Don’t believe I could possibly be the only person in this situation. Seems the two entities need to work together and support your loyal customers.
The reply came back quickly:
Hi, David
Did you received a [Gloom] email to claim [Complexity] offer? It has to be claim from there. Please note that only Free users and Monthly users are eligible for this offer.
My response was immediate:
I’ve been a long-time [Gloom] ‘annual’ customer, so don’t recall seeing that offer. Didn’t know it’s only for monthly users. (Guess you put less value in those who pay up front!) Let’s close this out and I’ll move on. Thanks.
Complexity has a free standard plan. The paid version is $20 per month. I’m not trying to scam them out of 40 bucks to try it for 60 days. I just wanted to use the upgraded model as a comparison to ChatGPT and Claude.ai, both of which I paid for to test.
I discovered three takeaways from this circular dialogue experience:
1. Don’t offer something to newcomers that frustrates loyal customers. (Are you listening mobile companies and streaming services?)
2. Don’t put in place a program that requires your employees to say, ‘You have to contact [the other group] to fix that; my bosses haven’t empowered me to help you.’ (Consider, instead, the Ritz-Carlton approach: ‘You’re authorized to fix a problem for up to $___, immediately, no questions asked.’)
3. Do think through beforehand, ‘What could go wrong with this great idea we came up with and how will we respond when it happens?’ (Or, at least, put in place an internal mechanism for adjusting on the fly… even if I, indeed, am the only person in the world in this situation!)
