Yes, that’s right, I made a silly pun regarding the much love-to-be-hated website Hellopeter. The reason? Well there is a new service that has launched called Don’t Go.
Personally I am very weary of this sort of service. I have a fair amount of issues with Hellopeter and think that any service of this kind can be used to abuse companies, clients and individuals.
I am very interested to see how this project turns out and what sort of reception it receives. For now let’s take it at face value and see if we can’t get our own back by taking a stand.
Let’s have a read and see what they have to say to SA Rocks:
Firstly, tell me a bit about the service that you are offering.
Our service is a real time customer complaint portal that allows consumers to vent their dissatisfaction about a product or service by simply using their cellphones. All you need to do is sms your complaint to 34040 with a pretext i.e Don’t go/Don’t buy/ don’t fly/ don’t drive, etc, followed by your account of discontent and off the sms goes. The messaging technology is supplied by Clickatell, a global provider of mobile messaging solutions.
How did the concept come about and how long has it been in the pipeline?
This came about when a friend and our families went on vacation in KZN. The kind of customer service we experienced there was less than enjoyable and we were sitting down and we said to each other; imagine if you could send an sms and complain right now; and that’s how the concept was born. It has been on the pipeline for the past twenty months. Initially we thought we could get it up and running earlier but the more we understood the dynamics of having a multiplatform and multi-network delivery channel the more involved it got. Fortunately we have a South African company that is more than capable to rise to such demand; Clickatell.
Is the focus of the service purely SMS or is there online presence to add to it?
Thanks to the ingenious South African inventions like Clickatell and local IT companies, our product is multiplatform, people can log their complaints on our website as well.
Hellopeter is a site with a similar concept that has a huge following. What are your thoughts on their service?
Hellopeter is a very good service and we found out about it during our research and we feel it has a role to fulfill in the market.
What flaws in the hellopeter model have you tried to correct with your service?
Dontgo is not a response to Hellopeter. Our service was created to provide all South Africans with an easy, instant way to make themselves heard about bad service and to provide companies with immediate feedback so that they can instantly address service issues.
Hellopeter has come under fire recently for not allowing companies to respond to complaints with enough ease, how easy is it for companies of any size to defend themselves or get involved?
Well, Don’t go allows companies the chance to make amends with the dissatisfied customer promptly. This involves e-mailing customer complaints directly to the subscribing companies at a cost of R89 per month to alert them about service failures. Non-subscribers are called and provided with the alerts for free the first time, and then have to pay the subscription fee for ongoing notifications. As we also ask for a lot of detail in the complaints, this can help companies pinpoint a specific area of service failure in the business down to the actual store level to address problems more effectively.
Do you think that South Africans like to complain a lot or is it a global phenomenon?
Complaining is seen as a very negative thing, but actually it is the first, very positive step to address problems with the products and services customers pay their hard-earned Rands for.
What about starting up a positive feedback equivalent of DontGo? How about MustSee?? Do you think that would work as well, or are we back on the complain a lot sentiment?
You will see in the first week of February, our website will be rejuvenated and will include The Wall of Shame and the Wall of Fame; these will highlight the worst and the best as indicated by the consumer. Yes, you can send; Do Go, Do fly, Do drive, etc to 34040.
Where is DontGo situated? Do you plan on taking the concept to a global market?
Currently we are situated in South Africa and we are intending to take the concept globally and thanks to Clickatell we have the technology to offer the same service anywhere in the world.
Can I complain about anything, anywhere, anytime?
For sure!
Do you have any final words for the SA Rocks readers?
Yes, we at Don’t go would like to say to SA Rocks readers, you do not have to wait till you get home to vent your discontent; pick up your cellphone and sms to 34040!
Similar Posts:
- How to complain
- Don’t complain – if you don’t want good service
- Add some muscle to your customer service complaints
- Don’t Complain … compliment!
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February 1st, 2008 at 8:04 am
I found your site on technorati and read a few of your other posts. Keep up the good work. I just added your RSS feed to my Google News Reader. Looking forward to reading more from you.
Jason Rakowski
February 1st, 2008 at 8:42 am
Seems Don’t Go is not the only one with this idea.
I recently came across another company offering a very similar service, called SMS for Service (http://www.smss.co.za).
Although these two services are not identical there is a striking similarity between them.
February 1st, 2008 at 9:31 am
Yeah I see the similarity – both of them look like the kind of site that you’d get if you clicked a link in a spam e-mail! ie. zero trust!
Someone should build a Facebook app and capture this market once and for all.. Hello Peter is established, but hasn’t done anything innovative in this space for years. I like the SMS idea but don’t care to pay any more for it than what a regular SMS would cost… because otherwise it reeks of someone trying to make a fast buck.
And the first thing I asked thought to myself, what about to “Do go”?
That’s me doing my complaining duty for the day.
February 1st, 2008 at 3:04 pm
last 3 posts are gold mate, nice.
February 1st, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Thanks Bryan!! Been keeping me busy I must admit!
Think im going to take it slow this weekend and relax on the posts.
February 2nd, 2008 at 10:38 am
I can only hope that the companies receiving these complaints do take it very seriously!!!
I am not happy with the general service that we are accustomed to in our country. And it looks to me that companies view complaints in a very light manner, whereas they should be viewed as a step in bettering your company, as it stated in the article.
And if you ask me, if the companies and government really took complaints to heart, the country would not have been in a state it is in.
Great post Nic… (hey i can’t believe this is the first time i comment here!!!)
February 5th, 2008 at 11:51 am
WHERE CAN I LODGE A COMPLAIN ?
February 5th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Simply visit the site above or go to http://www.hellopeter.co.za and try there!!
Thanks for your comment
March 6th, 2008 at 10:37 am
http://www.dont-go – Why cant I lodge my complaint on ur website? Why do i have to sms? I will not take part in any sms businesses/champaign’s – just big money-making schemes!!!
April 23rd, 2008 at 5:55 pm
I have read the comments written above. I own the website, SMS for Service (SMSS) where customers can send a sms to 34050 at R2 per sms. It’s generally cheaper to send this sms than to make a call. To use our website, however is FREE.The same service is avaialble on our website. Customers sms a complaint, compliment, suggestion or booking to 34050, or use our website. The sent message reach the business instantly via email, sms notification and the customers receives an instant auto response as well. The message is also available on our website, so the business owner will be able to see the message anywhere in the world, all he needs is Internet access. This is NO money making scheme, since the R2 paid for the sms, covers the sms auto response and the sms notification to the business. This service was started purely to uplift service delivery, and make it easier for businesses to get involved with legal sms marketing. Anyone is welcome to contact me for any additional information or questions.
July 12th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
What about taking our government to task as well? Can some-one not create a space where all crime can be reported? All it needs to show is the area, the crime committed and a real case number (to verify the truth of the post, if neccessary). This will enable the public of South Africa to obtain statistics on the crime and area in which it was committed.
COME ON, SOME ONE OUT THERE SURELY MUST HAVE THE EXPERTISE TO SET SOMETHING LIKE THIS UP!!!!!!!!!
March 15th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
I have been promised by Telkom that they would install my new line since beginning of Feb, four times I have been promised and have been waiting like a fa@t for thier technicians to arrive to no avail, than they say they are ready for the 2010.
August 28th, 2010 at 8:59 am
i will subscribe to ur rss feed!
October 29th, 2010 at 1:02 pm
I’m disappointed. You guys aren’t much better than hello peter. Any private business owner, i assume would feel that websites like these are unethical to say the least. Why do companies still need to pay to respond to complaints, Can companies and businesses also complain about dishonest customers and put their personal details on this site, that seems fair as far as i’m concerned.
Or a client themself must be willing to put their personal details on this site if they want to lodge a complaint.
It seems to me Business owners have no rights anymore. What stops a person from fabricating complete lies about businesses, or even competitive businesses lodging false complaints about each other.
I visited these type of websites for the first time this moring and it will definitly be last. I’m also a client of other businesses. If i have a problem and i’ve had plenty, i weren’t anonoumous and atleast gave them oppertunity to defend themselves fairly.
November 29th, 2010 at 1:44 pm
Please,Please, PLEASE Just remove your NSA flag & soccer ball from my screen. At least grant me the oppertunity to remove it myself, by letting the delete option come on the screen when I right – click
January 5th, 2011 at 9:24 pm
I am a contractor and I and a few other contractors have had very bad experiences with a client ( who abuses us and gets out of paying for services rendered). Is it possible to name and shame people who are not registered companies but rather private individuals?
February 18th, 2011 at 4:03 pm
I am afraid I have to support Chris on the flag matter, THIS FLAG IS REALLY ANNOYING PLEEEEAAASE REMOVE IT, I don’t see why it should be there in the first place. You want people do something, you don’t force them to or otherwise thy will just stop using your service.
March 7th, 2011 at 10:10 am
I had a complaint against Child welfare, about poor service. Anybody who has delt with them, will know there is nothing you can do about it. I went onto this one site. http://www.poormanskitty.co.za it’s a site like hello peter, and facebook combined, it’s a new site. I logged my complaint, and the same day I got feedback from them. They phoned the head of Child welfare and sorted out my complaint. A 10 in my books. There site have blogs, chatrooms, and all other ways to inter-act, but you have to pay a R50 once off fee. It has worked for me.
April 19th, 2011 at 11:30 pm
Both Telkom and the soccer ball to my right suck
December 14th, 2011 at 2:28 am
Writing from home is one of the easy job and its become more popular today. And, has an lot of advantages in it. Great effort in it.
December 14th, 2011 at 1:25 pm
Mark, you said the magic word. Kites will look around for you.