Customer feedback: how to get customers to read instructions?

Open Discussion
21

Thanks Larry! :slight_smile:

22

In a recent post, Jon gave suggested numbers for GO. It would be great if that were in the manual, particularly in the Custom Curve section so that targets could be sent with the best starting number applied.

23

Good idea Jeff, Iā€™ll add that to my notes of things to update. Iā€™m working on updating all instructions now.

Happy printing~ Dana

24

I believe that the posts that Jeff is referring to are:
http://www.inkjetmall.com/tech/showthread.php?1413-Is-gloss-differential-on-custom-profiling-targets-OK&p=6796&viewfull=1#post6796
http://www.inkjetmall.com/tech/showthread.php?1413-Is-gloss-differential-on-custom-profiling-targets-OK&p=6800&viewfull=1#post6800

Jon was reluctant to give numbers, lest they be interpreted as hard and fast rules, but I agree with Jeff that these numbers are useful guides all the same.

25

Dana,

My thoughts:

The first set of instructions many will see is the printed set when we eagerly open our first set of Cone carts and inks. In our rush to print, itā€™s straight to the filling procedure. We get to point 7 and learn that ā€œYou are now ready to print!ā€

Great! Off we go. Except many people will only read on when it comes to needing to refill some weeks or months later. And chances are itā€™s only now that theyā€™ll read that bit about ink levels or about not leaving the machine idle for weeks, by which time itā€™s too late and theyā€™re contacting you for a fix. You do have a troubleshooting section at the end of the pages, but itā€™s at the end and you want those exact issues not to become issues in the first place. So they need to come off that back page.

So, I suggest a prominent box, maybe with larger color lettering right at the top of the first page. This will alert the customer to key doā€™s and donts. Each item in the list can be be linked to a probable consequence, and then the reader can be directed to the section later in the pages dealing with the topic in more detail. Hereā€™s a quick example off the top of my head.

                                                 PLEASE READ THIS FIRST

Dear customer, with the right care your printer with the Cone Color system should perform reliably to your expectations for a long time.
To ensure this the the following are vital:

  1. Do not let cartsā€¦ before you notice they need re-filling. Result: Inks may stop printing andā€¦ See pageā€¦or go to inkjetmallā€¦
  2. Printers should never be left idle for weeks at a time withoutā€¦ Result:ā€¦ See pageā€¦
  3. ā€¦

If you wanted it to sound a bit less foreboding and perhaps more attention grabbing you could title it ā€˜The 4 Commandmentsā€™ or something a bit more off beat to introduce the list.

Another alternative for non readers would be a link in the instruction sheets to the same sort of content, but in the form of a short video clip.

I canā€™t speak with authority about your forums, but perhaps a lot of your content could be distilled into a section of the most frequently encountered problems together with the solutions. Would flow charts help folk navigate a simple self diagnostic procedure before pulling out their hair and contacting tech support?

This could replace the endless repetition of questions on your help pages about essentially the same few problems. You wonā€™t please everyone, but hopefully youā€™ll preempt some questions.

Finally, if youā€™re battling with people with a short attention span for reading, then Iā€™d suggest breaking up the density of the text on the instructions (use more line spaces, paragraphs and sub headings), and make use of a variety of larger font sizes and color.

How about suggesting to customers that they enter a regular reminder into their smart phones to come on at the weekend every fortnight or week to run a maintenance print through their machine? Itā€™s really easy to forget to do it for too long, but timing the reminder for the weekend will make it more likely they can act on it immediately.

Hope some of this helps.

Chris

26

Oops! Sorry, mistake.

27

Hi Dana,

Donā€™t know if you saw my thoughts on the printed instructions that come with new carts as I posted them on page 3 of this topic. (Having just posted this I see now that page 3 is also where this post has gone to!)

I must echo what others have said: you do a fantastic job of promptly replying to the constant volume of problems. And whatā€™s even more impressive is that you never ever come across as getting fed up with anyone, even if the issue is one of their making and has been dealt with a thousand times before!

Chris

28

Thanks for your suggestions Chris, and we appreciate your compliments on the support we provide, as good customer service (as well as good products, of course) is very important to us.

We have video production scheduled for next month, and I am currently working on re-writing the product instructions, as well as making a step by step trouble shooting guide for basic issues and frequently asked questions. We already have a FAQ section, but itā€™s not broken down into a step-by-step troubleshooting guide. Thereā€™s a lot of paper waste involved in including paper instructions with every order, especially if someone buys individual carts and gets a set of instructions with each cart, so we started including paper instructions with only sets of carts (and have all instructions available on the Instruction tab on the product pages), but then people get confused when they donā€™t receive instructions, and donā€™t see the notice on their sales order or the product page directing them to the website for instructions. After brainstorming about what to about product instructions many times over the years, we have decided to have very detailed instructions with more photos and trouble shooting guide on the product pages online (along with videos), and include a sheet of paper with links to instructions in each order, so everyone still receives paper in their box, but not the whole multiple page document, so it helps them get the information they need to use the products they ordered, but doesnā€™t waste a ton of paper.

Thanks again for your input, itā€™s very helpful for us to help our customers.

Best regards and happy printing~ Dana :slight_smile: