Got this in the mail this morning
The new Network Solutions embodies the fundamental changes we have made to our business in the past year including improved customer service, upgrades to our product lines, and simplified customer account management along with the promise of many more improvements to come. We have made these changes because we want to improve the level of service we provide to our customers and make doing business with us easier.
Network Solutions remains a wholly owned subsidiary of VeriSign. Be assured you will continue to experience the stability, reliability, and trust you've come to expect.
I particularly like the "stability, reliability, and trust" part. I can't pin down exactly when it happened, but it seems to me that companies have decided to take a new approach to customer service.
The first step was to rid organisations of the infrastructure to write a letter. This actually takes a lot of resources, you've got your legal department, your typing pool, and don't forget the manager who actually composes the missive.
Nowadays, you can write as many letters as you want to as many people as you want in a given megacorp and you won't get a reply. Basically, if your business doesn't fit into what are no doubt defined by process managers as "communications objects" and therefore doesn't match any associated form letter, you just don't get a reply.
What's a little bizarre, is that this process has slowly happened during the 90's while at the same time the growing business of customer relationhip management (CSM) systems has matured. What it looks like, is that the more resources companies pour into CSM systems, the less the end customer benefits:-(
Go figure...
