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CollectiveX: How to lose customers and frustrate people
Today I came across CollectiveX, a site for managing a group of people on the web. Interesting, I thought to myself. That’s pretty much what I’ve been looking for for a client who wants to manage their board members, various committees and all their associated meetings through a web interface. It sounds good, it sounds perfect.
I went through the CollectiveX tour and was impressed. Slick interface, simple to use and easy enough to get people over the suck stage and into the kicking ass (as Kathy Sierra puts it while talking about creating passionate users).
So I decided to sign up and try the darned thing. When I did, it felled over and I started noticing bad things.
Here are the 3 things I noticed, that I’ve also sent to them via their fancy feedback device in the footer:
- On the pricing page I had no clue how to sign up. The buttons are practically hidden. No difference is colour or shape from the rest of the design. They’re lost! I wanted to sing up and couldn’t.
- Go through your copy on the site carefully. On the pricing page the price for the entry-level premium package is $36. On the Create a Group Account page it tells me I’ve selected the $34 package. C’mon, folks. Get it straight! You’re asking for my credit card and you’re telling me two different prices.
- Um, make the sign up work. It no work for me (Mac, OS 10.4, Safari browser). I hit submit and get a cryptic error that looks like a custom 500 and tells me to go back and try again. It’s great that you’re sending an email to the development team, but if you’re out doing awareness work (as you must have been to come to my attention), then make the thing work.
So CollectiveX, you folks have a product I want to try but can’t get working. I’m ready to be a good client of yours. I’m trying. Please help yourselves. You’ll also be helping me.
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Comments
James,
Not ::exactly:: sure what your client is looking to do, but if if one of the needs they have is to set up a private social network for their board members and/or committees, I encourage you to check out Haystack ( http://haystack.cerado.com ). Would be happy to personally answer any questions you may have.
BTW, the sign up button is clearly visible on the left-hand side of the page, and labeled “Click Here to add your organization.” :-)
best,
chris
Hey Chris,
Thanks for the comment and the invitation to check out Haystack. I like the product and philosophy a lot. It may be a great fit for another client looking to connect its disparate members across geography and time zones. I’ll play around with it a little more and maybe demo it to them.
As for the first client I thought of for CollectiveX, what really made it a good fit was oriented all communications and people around calendar events. My client wants to manage their board of directors and a number of committee meetings, all of which happen on a well-defined schedule. Their main pain is managing email, agendas, schedules and minutes, and publishing all that content to a secure website, all organized around the calendar. So for that, CollectiveX looked great. I’ll just have to see if they come through with a working product.
James,
First, I would like to apologize for the inconvenience you experienced during your sign-up process with CollectiveX. As I am sure you understand, during the first few days of a launch various bugs and issues arrise which we have now worked through.
The price difference you witnessed was a result of our change in pricing structure prior to the launch. As a result of the feedback we received from our users during the private beta period, we modified our pricing structure to better fit the needs of our customers. Unfortunately, one of the numbers was input incorrectly by $2. We apologize for any confusion this may have cause and greatly appreciated you bringing this to our attention.
The CollectiveX staff is listening very carefully to the needs and feedback of our users in order to provide a quality product that you will find value in using. If you would like to speak with me directly regarding any questions or issues you may have, please feel free to contact me at (410) 715-XXXX or maggie[at]collectivex.com.
Regards,
Maggie Halligan
CollectiveX
Hi Maggie,
Thanks for your follow up and diligence in following the online conversation. I really liked the CollectiveX idea. I also liked the design and feel of the whole thing, as I mentioned. It’s not really fair to the hard work you and the CollectiveX team have done to write the whole thing off for a few small things. So I’d love to try again. It’s on my to do list for tomorrow.
~James