In writing a comment on Sacha's blog, I came to the idea of deciding to offer a simple response to support incidents coming from the lowest paying tier. I wonder if anyone has done this and if you think it would work, or be a smart move?
Create a canned automatic response to someone submitting a request/support email that goes something like this.
"We have worked really hard to make this app/service as easy and intuitive to use as possible. On top of that we decided to price it very low to make it even easier and affordable for people to take advantage of. 80% of our paying customers never contact us for help or support. We honestly just don't have the time or resources available to explain how to use our service. If our help section and FAQs can't fix your problem, then you probably shouldn't be using this app, or we're gonna have to ask you to pay for support.
Option 1: Click here and we will immediately cancel your account and refund you.
Option 2: Click here to upgrade your account for support
Option 3: Figure it out!
Have a Nice Day!"
Or something like that. Perhaps it can written to be more friendly or in a more suitable tone. But you get the idea.
If you don't have the resources for providing support and can't help yourself being rude, then maybe you shouldn't give the free/cheap option in the first place.
There are other options besides behaving like a dick.
Personally I like how mobile operators handle this. Whenever I call their free support line, I am placed on wait for at least a half an hour, with a message along the lines of "our operators are currently busy, please hold ; if you'd like priority then call this number ...".
The wording is rude, but I'm sure that's because it's an off-the-cuff answer. The concept is valid though - advertise up-front that the lowest cost option does not include free support. You can add a 4th option with a link where users can ask for help from other users.
If he doesn't have the resources for providing support and can't help from being rude, maybe he shouldn't be providing subscription-based software products at all.
Software is support. Sure, there are ways to mitigate the cost and quantity of support, but once the product is built support is one of the primary functions of the business.
Create a canned automatic response to someone submitting a request/support email that goes something like this.
"We have worked really hard to make this app/service as easy and intuitive to use as possible. On top of that we decided to price it very low to make it even easier and affordable for people to take advantage of. 80% of our paying customers never contact us for help or support. We honestly just don't have the time or resources available to explain how to use our service. If our help section and FAQs can't fix your problem, then you probably shouldn't be using this app, or we're gonna have to ask you to pay for support.
Option 1: Click here and we will immediately cancel your account and refund you.
Option 2: Click here to upgrade your account for support
Option 3: Figure it out!
Have a Nice Day!"
Or something like that. Perhaps it can written to be more friendly or in a more suitable tone. But you get the idea.