Reason #372 to hate GoDaddy…

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Now back to our regularly scheduled program…

I hate GoDaddy. 

Usually, I’m not the hating kind. But when it comes to GoDaddy, I bury my gentle, live-and-let-live ways, and unleash fury.

Yesterday…

I called GoDaddy support because they host a client’s website, and I couldn’t log in.

Instead of seeing the site, I saw an error message telling me I’d been “blocked.”

The site was up and running. Others could reach it. But not me — at least not from my network at Story Power HQ.

The message directed me to contact the website administrator to get “unblocked.”

So, acting as the website administrator, I launched GoDaddy support chat…

…and braced for the worst. 

I waited and waited and waited and waited and waited until — finally — Ramesh asked, “How are you doing today?”

(Not good, I thought. But I spared him that detail).

I told Ramesh about being “blocked.” I asked him to help.

I waited and waited and waited and waited and waited until — finally — Ramesh wrote: “You weren’t blocked. You just were not whitelisted.”

🫤 🤷 🙄

He told me he’d whitelisted me, and I should try again to log in.

I followed his instructions, but no dice. Still “blocked.”

I told Ramesh so and asked:

“Why do you have to add me to a ‘whitelist’ to access the site. Everyone except me is able to access the site, and they’re not on a whitelist.”

No answer. More waiting. And then Ramesh said, “Try again.”

Nope. Still blocked.

“Any idea why I’ve been blocked?” I asked.

After a long, long, long wait, he replied, “You haven’t been blocked.”

I sent him a screen capture of the error message that said I’d been “blocked” — the message with instructions on where to turn to get “unblocked.”

He didn’t acknowledge that.

A few minutes later he said, “Clear your browser cache and try again.”

I replied: “I’m connected to you on Chrome. If I clear my Chrome browser cache, won’t it log me out of GoDaddy and end the chat?”

He didn’t reply.

So I opened my Safari browser, cleared the cache in that one, tried to log in to the site, and got a message telling me…

I’d been “blocked.”

I told Ramesh what I’d done and said, “Still blocked.”

His reply: “I told you. You haven’t been blocked. If you want to disagree that’s fine.”

😡 😡 😡 😡 😡 😡 😡 😡

Yes. I want to disagree. I sent him (again) the screen capture of “you’ve been blocked” message, ended the chat, and…

…left a scathing review.

(And I mean SCATHING).

A few minutes later, I was able to log into the site (a happy coincidence, I think).

Poor Ramesh. I suspect he was working off some customer support script that didn’t include, “I’m sorry you’ve been blocked.”

So like a mis-programmed robot, he kept saying, “You haven’t been blocked,” despite all evidence to the contrary.

I don’t buy the old adage, “The customer is always right.” Customers are often wrong.

But I also don’t believe the script is always right. The script is often wrong.

When we mindlessly follow the “script,” — without hearing or acknowledging our client’s needs — we invite their fury.

So it goes in customer support. So it goes in marketing and sales.

It’s easy to find scripts and templates and other pre-programmed marketing and sales messages that claim to attract prospects and close sales.

But marketing and sales is not about mindlessly sticking to the script. It’s about using your one-of-a-kind, human brain.

It’s about building human connections and relationships…

…which requires listening to your prospects and customers…

…and conversing with them — not spitting lines at them.

Don’t be a robotic slave to the script. Be human.