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Ask HN: Large companies with good customer support?

by openquery on 1/25/24, 3:33 PM with 14 comments

This is a bit of a rant which is a result of trying to negotiate a quota increase with a large cloud provider. The experience was absolutely terrible. It felt like I was talking to man / machine hybrid which kept asking me the same questions over and over. I really don't see why it should be this big of a deal asking for 2 more vCPUs when 64 were previously granted.

I've had a similar experience with my mobile carrier - absolutely cryptic and opaque to get any sort of help.

Are there any examples of large companies with excellent customer support or is it just not doable?

  • by solardev on 1/25/24, 4:43 PM

    I've had great support from Vercel, Google Fi (surprisingly), and Verizon. Also REI and Amazon, but they're retail. Steam/Valve too.

    Of those, probably my Fi calls are my favorite. You get connected to a US support agent in a minute or so and they've solved my issues every time with no bullshit. I'm so surprised Google has any support at all, much less actually GOOD support.

    Before Fi I used Verizon (which also had good support, just poor signal in my area). Then I briefly switched to AT&T Wireless, which is an absolute shitshow of a company that I'll never use again. Worse support than a fast food joint. Incompetent on every front. I switched to Fi after that and have been very happy.

  • by chadash on 1/25/24, 4:55 PM

    OXO. The company that makes kitchen gadgets. They are owned by Helen of Troy, a conglomerate which I don't know anything about. But I've called up OXO several times for small issues with products and within 3 minutes, I had a person on the phone, within 10 minutes I had confirmation that they are sending a new part or product, and within 3-4 days, I had a new, working part/unit sent to me.

    Sure, a better experience would be faultless products, but even the best companies will have occasional mistakes and if you have good customer service, it makes me super happy to buy your products again.

  • by fckgw on 1/25/24, 7:44 PM

    Uline is a 10b/yr eCommerce shipping supply company that has US-based customer support that will answer the phone, with a live person on the other end, within 3 rings max. Customer support is also open 24/7, 365 days a year including all holidays across US, Canada and Mexico.

    The key to this being possible is 1) They're a private company 2) that's wildly profitable 3) so they can just hire a ton of customer support without having to answer to shareholders.

  • by hotpotamus on 1/26/24, 9:20 PM

    I don't think they're that large, but Consumer Cellular talked my mom through migrating her phone from Android to Apple over 2 hours which really impressed me. My calls with them have been really good too, but nothing on that level.

  • by swarfield on 1/26/24, 9:17 PM

    For insurance, USAA has god tier support. I've never had to wait more than a minute to get a US based rep that knows what they're doing.

    Edit: That minute includes going through the "Press X for Y services" menu.

  • by KomoD on 1/25/24, 8:16 PM

    > Are there any examples of large companies with excellent customer support or is it just not doable?

    I'm not sure what counts as large but I've had good experiences with Amazon, 1Password, Namecheap, Equinix, Netlify and Revolut

    I'm sure there's more but I can't think of them right now

  • by dgunay on 1/25/24, 7:47 PM

    Fidelity has good customer support, but I imagine the relationship between the customer and the business in a brokerage is quite different from other companies.

  • by joshxyz on 1/25/24, 4:50 PM

    I got great xp with Namecheap, DigitalOcean, Vultr, and Bunny.net. Reachable and fast responses.

    Okay level: contabo.

    Slow response: scaleway.

    Dorks: hetzner.

  • by syndicatedjelly on 1/27/24, 2:45 AM

    Amazon showers us with money when we so much as call customer support and sneeze loudly into the phone. 10/10

    Comcast made me want to vomit for 10 minutes after I spent 45 minutes in a chat (a chat!) to figure out why my bill doubled for no reason. Their answer? Go fuck yourself. However, they once were competent when I phoned with a technical problem. So that helps. 7/10

    The food stand down the road always smell delicious. They are quick, professional, and make extremely delicious burritos. One time they put the wrong ingredient, and it unfortunately something I cannot eat. I had already driven home 20 minutes when I discovered, which made me sad. 9/10

    The local supermarket chain terrifies me. A nationally publicized shooting happened at one of their locations nearby, and the thought haunts me the entire time I'm in the store. Also they hire scabs anytime the employees start hankerin' for a union. 1/10

    LinkedIn: The biggest professional dick-measuring website on Earth. They are ruining society somehow. I wish someone could explain how though. Maybe we'll get a documentary a la "The Social Network" in 10 years. 4/10

  • by aristofun on 1/26/24, 6:17 AM

    Amazon, Anker are good

    Paypal has gone to trash

    Uber (eats) has no support whatsoever

  • by aynyc on 1/25/24, 7:10 PM

    The best: Patagonia and amazon

    Good: Subzero, T Mobile

    Terrible: LG, Samsung