Think Customers: The 1to1 Blog

I tried to pose a question on LinkedIn yesterday and encountered a technical problem sending the question to my contacts. So I went to the support page. There's a 49-page list of FAQs. Yes, they're searchable. But it wasn't helpful in my case. When I selected the option to connect with a LinkedIn representative, email was the only channel of communication available. That's fine for some issues, but mine was something best resolved in real time. I'm in the middle of trying to complete an action that will likely time out and take more time to redo. Frustrating! At least offer chat. (Frankly, I wish most sites would offer chat as a service option.) Or, at the very least, give an idea of when to expect an email response.

So I searched around for a phone number. There wasn't one. Not even on the pages for advertising and corporate solutions inquiries! I'm sure I know why. Frustrated customers like me would go there looking for a number, any number, to call to get their problem resolved. And I don't know about you, but I'd be concerned about advertising on a site that keeps me at arms length before I even start the sales cycle.

Annoyed but undaunted, I went back to the list of FAQs and typed in "customer support telephone number." Here's what I got back:

"Customer Service Telephone Number
What is the customer service telephone number?
LinkedIn does not traditionally provide phone support to our members. Our primary avenue for support is through the 'Customer Service' link found in the bottom navigation bar of the LinkedIn website."

LinkedIn doesn't "traditionally" provide phone support? I think customers "traditionally" don't like to have an unresolved support issue. And traditionally prefer to find other providers when they get poor--or no--service.

For a site that's all about helping to foster connections, not offering customers multichannel service that includes an option of contact with an actual human being is a real disconnect.