22 Responses

• John

  NOT happy about this. My $99/month PLUS hundreds of recurring charges @ .25 cents each PLUS a dozen or so referrals doesn’t get me live support!?!? Really!?!?

  I’ve been with 1SC since 2002, but I’m only as loyal as they are to me. If someone comes along with a better shopping cart solution, 1SC has just opened the door for me to step through.

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• Martin Wales

  Hey Rob,

  Regardless of the issues, pricing or subject matter, this is a great example of the power of social networking via the Net to get the attention of a service provider or product manufacturer.

  Love your combination for:

  Email Broadcasting + Blogging = Consumer POWER

  We can all learn from that.

  Wishing you much sucesss,

  Martin

  http://www.CustomerCatcher.com/free
  “Helping You Get Customers Until You Beg Us To Stop!”

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• Kathy Atkinson

  Hi Rob, I was not please to read that email either. I will definitely be sending them some feedback on my reaction. If enough of us complain, perhaps they will reconsider. Kathy

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• Geoffrey

  Well, this is exactly why I’m on Rob’s mailing list; to get “insider insight” on things relevant to online business. As a nubie just putting together a new commercial site, I’ll certainly be looking at other shopping cart options FIRST. I agree with Rob that any provider of online business functions needs to be able to cover thier costs. And of course, support can be extensive for some users due to complexity or the user’s baseline knowledge. But their approach certainly doesn’t seem to be very customer friendly, does it? It almost seems that they are looking to make profit on support. Hmm, maybe they’re recruited some displaced execs from the credit card and insurance sectors. Well, let’s at least hope their $34 per incident charge covers getting the ISSUE fully resolved – rather than being PER CALL.

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• Tom Buford

  Hey Rob

  Thanks for the post. I think this is a great topic to “vent” about. I agree with you 100%. I think it is a gouge and at the worst possible time for many people.

  Fortunately for me I think their auto responder system is pretty much poopoo, so I’m not as entrenched in 1SC as many others out there. I do rely on 1SC as my primary shopping cart though.

  Not only are the peeps at InfusionSoft smiling, but I bet there are more than a few very happy 1SC-Savvy Virtual Assistants. I’d much rather pay a VA who knows his/her way around 1SC than get suckered in to the new profit center there at 1SC.

  WOW…time to hop off this soap box. I guess my morning work out got my blood flowing HAHA.

  Peace
  Tom

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• Donna Gunter, Internet Marketing Automation Coach

  Hi Rob–

  I’m with you. I’m quite aware that good tech support is expensive for a company. However, in many cases it’s that stellar tech support that makes me decide to do business with one company over another — and pay more money for a service that I can easily find more cheaply elsewhere.

  Charging your clients extra for tech support is just a poor business move. You don’t breed customer loyalty by doing that — you create huge customer dissatisfaction.

  Perhaps 1ShoppingCart believes that they have their long-time customers stuck between a rock and a hard place, and that the customer will happily fork over more money to pay for what used to be included in the monthly service charge instead of taking on much hassle entailed switching to a new service.

  I’m not sure that their customers are quite that loyal..:) I’m already looking at new providers.

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• Julie

  WOW Rob! I agree with you! What a bummer! I have referred clients to 1shopping cart and told them of their excellent customer service, and you are right, usually the challenge takes about 5 minutes.

  I am disappointed that getting basic customer service has turned into a paid priviledge. I often help our clients with shopping cart issues just because they are clients – good thing some of us still love to serve people as a practice of doing business!

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• Lela Bryan

  Rob,

  I TOTALLY AGREE with you. I never complain about anything and I sent them 2 emails telling them that their new policy SUCKS.

  The only reason that I am with them is for their support and I think that they are over priced any way.

  Are there any other reasonable alternatives to 1 shopping cart that are reasonably priced with good support.

  Every month I think to myself how over priced 1 shopping cart is and wonder what am I doing with them and then they want to tell me that they are going to charge me for support…. get over yourselves 1shoppingcart

  I did my part Rob… how about the rest of you?
  Did you write them an email.

  Lela Bryan

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• Nancy Farris

  Brilliant article, Rob!

  Spot on. I had much the same reaction. When I first got their email, I thought, “You gotta be kidding, right?” I quickly recognized the wolf in sheep’s clothing. Come on!!!

  I rarely get fired up, but this one has me fuming!

  Thank you for offering some alternatives… I’m hoping they will reconsider their plan. From their actual twitter id @1shoppingcart – it doesn’t appear they are actually interacting with their audience.

  Know anyone who could help build a more cost effective full cart/autoresponder/affiliate solution?

  Nancy

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• Jannette Murray

  Years ago, when I was starting with my web site, in order to do business online; and wanted to be able to process payments in a convenient way for my clients/customers and for myself, I evaluated 1Shopping Cart and others, I opted not to do anything with a monthly cost, as I was not yet making any money online, and that would have created a negative result toward my bottom line.

  I looked around, found PayPal, and have been very happy with them ever since. I realize there are stories that some who have suddenly started to make a lot of money have had their account frozen, and money held. I know of no one personally, nor has it ever happened to me. Were I beginning to all of a sudden make a big income, I would forewarn PayPal and ask them to communicate with me, if they had any problem with that.

  Some online business people I know use other services, such as Clickbank, 2 Checkout.com, and others, and are also satisfied with them/recommend them.

  I am aware that Clickbank has a delay in payment, especially until one’s customers have used a minimum of certain credit cards to make their purchases (???), and I believe they pay you twice monthly, or maybe only once. My husband says one has to wait three months to get paid, because they put a warranty on all that you sell, and thus allow for returns.

  With PayPal, my earnings are available to me instantly, and via my PayPal debit card, to either spend or to deposit in my checking account locally. There is a $3 fee for that, however, so I like to use the debit card. (Neither PayPal nor my bank would acknowledge responsibility for that fee, however.)

  I have also found an online option and an offline option from Online Automation, Inc., in the Post-Master Express and Bamboo Biz Online versions of their software which will do all the database, serial auto-responders, follow-up and record keeping, sorted by activity. I’ve not started using them yet, as I hadn’t needed to move my mailing list from Topica.com. I expect to do so, however.

  I recommend both of these options. Hope this is helpful.

  Jannette

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• Jannette Robert Murray

  P.S. PayPal’s customer service is excellent – and FREE.

  Plus is one wants to leave their money in the PayPal account, and earn interest on it, you can do that.

  Jannette

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• Rob

  @John

  Great comment that 1SC has opened the door for you to step through to another company. Things like this change people’s habits. Every time I go to Starbucks now I am amazed how much shorter the lines are, and I have no problem getting a table. Circumstances do change people’s habits in ways that can harm your bottom line. I don’t think 1SC gets it yet.

  -
  @Martin

  Thanks! Hopefully someone from 1SC has their Google Alerts switched on and is listening.

  -
  @Kathy

  Great you are sending them feedback. Its what we all need to do. Enough of it may get them to consider some different options.

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• Melanie Jordan

  Hi rob,

  I just got back from a trip and saw this message about the service change (which was in my Spam folder). I just sent off a protest e-mail myself to 1ShoppingCart.

  Their new policy just doesn’t make any sense at all.

  Here’s what I said:

  Very Disappointed In Your New Phone Support Policy

  One of the reasons I chose 1ShoppingCart over other companies is because unlike many of the others out there, if you have a problem, you can reach someone to get your question answered pronto by phone. As a busy small business owner who does a lot of online business, you don’t always have time for someone to e-mail you back with an answer to your question, as hours mean lost money and people have quick attention spans on the internet.

  Also, to be honest, your videos don’t always answer many common questions, and if you’re looking for a quick reference to doing something it takes too long to shuffle through videos hoping to find the answer, so the fact that you had great phone support helped me decide to stay with you when I was often frustrated by that.

  I can understand you don’t want to have extended issues that are not your fault tying up personnel, but you should be willing for $99 monthly pro accounts to throw in at least a call or two a month in phone support and if it’s an issue on your end, it shouldn’t ding that total.

  I hope you’re going to be rethinking this as this is not a very customer-focused way to treat customers–especially in a tough economy.

  Melanie Jordan
  Author of “What You Know Is Worth More Than You Know!(TM)”

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• Suzanne

  I’ve been going round and round with 1SC for almost a month because our email provider has decided to blacklist 1SC. Which means we don’t receive our emails from our shopping cart – like when someone new has subscribed, when testing things, when sending code for custom forms, – nothing. We are getting the run around from both companies and now this added fee (which we hadn’t yet heard about) is the corker. We have sooo much set up in 1SC that switching gives me cold chills. What a poor excuse for a company

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• Sylvia Warren

  Hi Rob,

  I agree! This 1SC “offer” isn’t about customer service. It’s about more revenue for 1SC at the expense of its client base. Providing a minimum amount of telephone support with its shopping cart would be much smarter.

  Thanks for using your online presence to spotlight this poor business decision.

  Simply the Best,
  Sylvia

  http://www.simplythebestcoaching.com/3-simple-success-practices/
  inspiring smart women to thrive as leaders

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• Rob

  @Geoffrey

  Thanks for the complements. Appreciated!

  You know, that is what is so perplexing about this. 1SC was always a place you could go if you were starting out. And the support made it possible for you to get started with them. And then you were in for life. (Kinda like the credit card companies getting students their first cards on college campuses).

  I bet they lose a ton of their starter business because of this decision. Which will be even more expensive because starter business eventually turns into long term customers.

  -
  @Tom

  You point about alternatives is also well taken. I would much rather invest that $400 in a good VA who can handle things for me. Also there is Christina Hills Shopping Cart Queen program.

  The only way this makes sense is as a high end concierge service for folks who can afford it. But new blood coming in on the bottom end of their funnel that turned into high end folks, may slow.

  -
  @Donna

  Yep, many in this thread (as well as many who replied privately) have said they:

  ** Are no longer considering 1SC
  ** Are looking to migrate away when they weren’t before
  ** 1SC is no longer their top option, when it was before.

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• Leila

  I quit using 1shopping cart because it was a pain to try and figure stuff out AND they were charging me $99 per month so that my downloadable product link had an expiration time of 24 hours.

  I went onto the Warrior’s Forum and a lot of people were talking about E-Junkie for their shopping cart which works with your own merchant account AND with PayPal.

  I have one product that has 5 bonuses that go with it—all downloadable and they are charging me $5.00 per month! Even if you have 50 products the fee is reasonable.

  AND most importantly, the customer service is outstanding and it free!

  I have no affiliation with them so this is a testimonial that’s real. I’m new to internet marketing and they have been very patient and helpful in guiding me how to set my account/shopping cart up.

  You can even customize your cart to match you site including using your logo.

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• Linda

  I sense there is a greedy trend out there. For example, collaborating with opt-in lists to cross promote products has dissolved into a daily bombardment of who can be the first to cash in on the 1-2% of any group who will buy anything x 100,000. Over the years I opted-in to many great information and service leaders and bought their wares from time to time. Now I am opting out of their lists. Many of them send me more cross-promotion junk than their own wonderful ideas and promotion. They lost their own uniqueness and their niche market and I label them the “cross-promotional selling group”. In my opinion they’ve lost themselves in this other branding activity. So I dumping them one by one.

  1 Shopping Cart…..in my opinion has done the crunching math. All those thought leaders who got their own branded name of 1 shopping cart, built great opt-ed in lists and promoted 1 Shopping to their opt-in lists, are now crunching the possibility of big $$$ in raised fees x 100,000.

  In my opinion, we are in the internet era of the greedy to the max trend x 100,000. This makes me value those people who know what service is x 100,000.

  I still am the Power of One. Times that by 1,000,000.

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• Sandy Zuniga

  Just got the news after getting your announcement forwarded to me by a client. Are they insane?! I admit, I like 1SC. I am a Virtual Assistant and have been using it for my client’s for years and have taken courses as well as practicle experience so I can become an expert in it but there are times I’m stumped and need customer service (not that they were very helpful most of the time). So, unless you are an expert, they are not making it easy for the average client to use their system and think that they may be loosing more business by this change than getting more revenue.

  Ugh…looks like I may have to find alternatives for my client’s or they will need to keep me on a permanent basis. With the new additions to 1SC, the customer service should still be included.

  Thanks for the info Rob.

  Sandy

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• Rob

  @Julie

  “I am disappointed that getting basic customer service has turned into a paid privilege.” Couldn’t have said it better myself.

  .
  @Melanie

  Thanks for forwarding the note you sent to 1 Shopping Cart. I think its important they know how many of us are displeased, and how they may be missing out on money they could have made from folks who will no longer refer friends, colleagues and clients to them.

  .
  @Lela

  Wow two emails! Thanks for the tip on e-Junkie. I have also heard good things about them, and their prices are much more in line with what alot of marketers can afford.

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• Charge for Support? No Way! | Infusionsoft Blog

  [...] a post that is heating up in the blogosphere by loyal 1ShoppingCart customers, they are fuming over the company’s switch to a paid support model with little or no communication from the company. So if you need help or have a problem, prepare to [...]

• Kerry Nesbit

  I just received the second infuriating email from 1SC. Here are excerpts:

  Hi Kerry,

  On September 1st, we released an important extension to our support services, Ultimate Unlimited Support. This new level of service was designed to provide an extra level of support for clients who want the ability to contact a support representative, knowledgeable with their account, at will. If you have not yet opted for Ultimate Unlimited Support, we encourage you to do so today to continue taking advantage of these personalized services….

  We want you to know that we remain committed to supporting each and every one of our users to the greatest extent possible. No matter what the issue is, we will be there to help you and ensure that we do our part in making your business successful. Thank you for choosing 1ShoppingCart and we look forward to serving your business for many years to come.

  Here’s my reply:

  On September 1, you didn’t have the nerve to announce you were discontinuing telephone support unless your customers were willing to submit to a substantial fee increase. You weren’t forthright enough to admit you were taking an important service feature away that was part of the deal when your customers signed on with you. Attempting to position a major service cut as “an important extension to our support services” and “an extra level of support” is insulting. You may say you “remain committed blah blah blah,” and talk about many years to come, but you’ve done your customers a real disservice with this decision and you don’t have the decency to be upfront about it. Shame on you.

  Kerry Nesbit

  And here’s how I responded to the first announcement:

  You may be “excited to announce an upcoming addition,” but the fact is you’re DISCONTINUING TELEPHONE SUPPORT WITH ONLY ONE MONTH’S NOTICE unless we’re willing to cough up an additional $400+ a year. Trying to position a choice between a 35-58% price hike and discontinued support as an exciting announcement is insulting to your customers. Very poorly handled on your part.

  Kerry Nesbit

  They haven’t had the courtesy to respond to either message. Maybe if I paid them $34….

  Thanks for giving me a place to vent.

  [Reply]

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