The best part about SaaS

Do NOT search for "sass" on Flickr

Do NOT search for “sass” on Flickr

I’ve mentioned that I’ve got this software-as-service website. 1 2  Today, while dealing with a tech support problem, I realized what I love most about this type of business.

But, first, the tech problem.  A user e-mails me saying that he can’t log into the site from his iPhone (running iOS6) any more.  First, I try his login/password to confirm they work.  They do.  I have him try refreshing the page – I’ve heard the new iOS sometimes causes weird caching problems.  He still can’t log in.  I try logging in from an iPhone 4 running iOS6 and an iPhone 4S running iOS6.  No good.  I get him to confirm he’s clicking “remember me” when he logs in.  Yes, he is.  I finally tell him I can’t explain what’s going on – I’ve tried to replicate his problem on another iPhone 4 running iOS6, just like his, and I can’t figure out what happened.

He e-mails me a little later to say that he figured out that his iPhone had been set to reject cookies, and thus, he was not able to log in.

Which brings me to the thing I love about my SaaS business.  When someone says the site doesn’t work, all I have to do is confirm that it works in some browser somewhere on the internet – and then I’m basically 99% sure the problem is on their end.  Now, I can help them troubleshoot a problem to a certain extent, but for the most part if my site works in any one browser, it should work anywhere.  I don’t have to worry about their operating system, software conflicts, and other nonsense like that.  Just get to the internet and the site should work.
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  1. Photo courtesy of Sebastián Dario []
  2. Why a photo of a puppy?  Well, I tried searching for a photo that included the word “sass” on Flickr… and I now wish I had not done so. []

How not to ask for tech support

DISCLAIMER:  This has nothing to do with MakerBot, MakerBlock, or anything you see on this site.  This is me venting my frustration at a user of a totally totally different website that has nothing to do with awesome cool robots.1

“Oh, yeah, you know, it’s just not working for me.”

Great.  Thanks for that.  I don’t know what you tried or how.  Did you take your computer out of the box it came in?  Is there a keyboard?  Plug your computer in?  Take the sheet off of your monitor?  Are you wearing a blindfold?  Is your hair too long and obscuring your vision?  Do you have an internet connection?  Are you surfing from your phone, a laptop, desktop?  Could you bring the web page up?  Is the program too slow or are you not able to use it at all?  What happens when you try to use it?

  1. But, damn, I sure wish it did have something to do with awesome cool robots! []