

Insight into CD Baby's Customer Support - An Interview with Derek Sivers  - nithyad
http://blog.supportbee.com/2011/06/14/cd-baby-customer-support-an-interview-with-derek-sivers/

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Shenglong
CS experience really differs. I worked at a company that had its Sales
department outsourced to Canada, and its CS department in India. When I was
working Sales (for the few months) the most common first-question I got was
"Are you in India!?!", and the most common exclamation I heard was "Thank
god!"

The worst CS experience was Paypal. Most frustrating experience in the world.
In case you've been lucky enough, it goes something like this:

\- Long wait \- Non-English speaker picks up \- Non-English speaker repeats a
script to you \- You ask a question \- Non-English speaker tries to answer
your question with a scripted answer that doesn't apply \- You can't
understand, so you ask for clarification \- Non-English speaker repeats
scripted answer that doesn't apply \- You phrase your question in a different
way \- Non-English speaker repeats scripted answer that doesn't apply \- You
rage, and ask for a manager or someone who speaks English \- Non-English
speaker tells you no one is available \- You rage some more, and _demand_ a
manager \- Non-English speaker hangs up without answering your question.

If you have to call customer service, tell them you have a claim issue with
someone overseas. They'll transfer you to a department that actually speaks
English. :)

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jevinskie
After spending over 100 minutes on hold with Comcast last night, reading this
article dramatically lowered my blood pressure. It is nice to know that some
people still care about customer /service/!

~~~
nithyad
@jevinskie I can so relate to you! It was such a pleasure talking to him. The
fantastic part was knowing that his team actually had fun all the while. It
was like they never had a drab moment:)

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danieldk
I ordered an album from CD Baby twice, once digital, once on disk. Browsing
and buying from CD Baby was a joy, because their love for the music was so
apparent.

It's also one of the rare sites where artists were seriously engaging with
their customers. I posted a (favorable) review about one of the two albums,
and ended up discussing not only his album, but also buddhist meditation.

It feels good to be treated as a human, not a mindless consumer.

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jbk
I wish it was the same for all companies... This is really different from my
experience with major music companies...

Do they have an API for selling their music?

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jasongullickson
Is "CD Baby" related (in any real way) to "Film Baby"? I had a less-than-
stellar experience with the latter...

~~~
sivers
FilmBaby was started by a CD Baby employee. I let him use the name.

I haven't talked to him in years, so I don't know if it's part of CD Baby now
or not.

~~~
random42
What exactly do you mean by "let him use the name"? Do you have a trademark on
the word "Baby"?

~~~
seabee
Presumably, told him in a friendly way that they wouldn't sue for trademark
infringement.

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shaunkoh
Reminds me hugely of what Zingermans does: [http://www.amazon.com/Zingermans-
Guide-Giving-Great-Service/...](http://www.amazon.com/Zingermans-Guide-Giving-
Great-Service/dp/1401301436/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308077877&sr=8-1)

