Is Unresponsive Customer Support a Deal-Breaker?

Every company claims they have excellent customer support, but do they really? In order for a software solution to work most effectively for you and your team, you need to be able to have ready assistance. In any relationship, communication is essential. What if you sent a message to your significant other and went days without hearing from them? You’d start to wonder what is wrong. Or if you are even in a relationship anymore. Think of your software provider as a relationship.

Anytime you have concerns, you hope that customer support responds in a timely manner. But if it doesn’t, it might be time to pull the plug. The right construction software will value what you have to say. The construction industry places a critical focus on building relationships—and that extends to the software solutions providers we partner with. Here are three things to consider when determining whether unresponsive customer support is a deal-breaker.

1. Consider the Severity of the Issue The first question you need to ask yourself is how severe the issue is. If it’s a minor problem that can wait a day or two for a response, then unresponsive customer support might not be such a big deal. On the other hand, if you’re experiencing a major issue that is impacting your workflows, then you need a software provider that will respond quickly and help you resolve the issue as soon as possible.
2. Determine How Long It Takes for Customer Support to Respond.Even if an issue isn’t severe, unresponsive customer support can still be frustrating. If you’re used to quick responses and helpful solutions, waiting days (or even weeks) for a response can start to wear thin. When evaluating customer support, pay attention to response times—both when everything is going well and when there’s an issue that needs to be addressed.
3. Assess the Quality of the Support You Receive Once you finally do hear back from customer support, take note of the quality of service you receive. Are they friendly and helpful? Do they seem like they actually care about solving your problem? Or are they terse and uninterested? The quality of customer support should be just as important as response times in your evaluation process—if not more so.

Whether or not unresponsive customer support is a deal-breaker will vary from company to company—but it’s definitely something worth considering before making a final decision about which construction software solution is right for your business. If you place a high importance on quick responses and helpful solutions, then you need to partner with a software provider that feels the same way.