One of the final steps in opening up our doors has been the integration of our secure payment system. Today we received a welcoming package from the friendly folks at Discover. Discover? I said to myself — does anyone still use Discover? Well, we’ll soon find out.

Inside the welcome package was this window decal. We don’t really have the proverbial glass door to display it on, but it does make us feel like we’re in business.

Do you have a Discover card?

I like to think that as the Community Manager I am as adept at answering Tech Support questions as the next guy. This is not always the case though. After all, I am only human. I make stupid mistakes and I field questions I just can’t answer. There is nothing worse than going to a friend or colleagues house to “fix” his computer only to find that I can’t. Sometimes it is a hardware issue and I simply don’t have a motherboard in my back pocket. Sometimes it is because I am just stumped. Even worse, sometimes I make stupid mistakes. For days now I have been trying to get Google Talk to play nicely with my Adium setup. Nothing would work though. I kept getting annoying error messages. Come to find out, I was getting those messages and not being able to login because I was entering the wrong password the entire time. I felt so stupid. But the process made me realize something. It isn’t always whether or not we answer the question at hand but moreso how we field it. When we start to get on live chats and actually solve peoples real problems there will need to be a huge emphasis on how we treat them. If I called in with this question and it went unfixed I would be frustrated, yes. However, if the person on the other end treated me with dignity and respect and was professional the entire time, I would turn my focus to the refreshing customer service I had just received. Not only that but I wouldn’t think twice about where to turn when my next problem surfaced.

MinuteFix may be the most obvious form of tech help to come down the pipe in the last five years. It is not about the end product all the time though. The end product can sometimes be hugely obvious. At the same time it is also not about the money a company can make either. Sometimes it can be about the quality of life afforded to all involved through the availability of a product. So, what are some of the primary things that I have been thinking about that keeps me so interested in MinuteFix?

• Community of technicians. MinuteFix is unique in that it matches up certified technicians with computer users experiencing problems. If you have an issue with the Windows platform, what better way to see how to fix your problem than to watch someone as they walk through it with you?
• No waiting in line. I won’t lie. I am a Mac guy. I you were to cut me I would bleed candy apple red. I use my Windows box as a coaster most times. However, I have absolutely hated the two times I have had to get help with my computer(s) via Apple tech or (cue: “God forbid” gasp from the audience) stand in line at the Genius Bar to find out I just didn’t have a preference checked right.
• Easy payment. Have you ever bought a book from Amazon? Have you ever purchased a song from iTunes? If so, you are familiar with digital payment. That is what MinuteFix will operate on. You get help for seventeen minutes? You pay only for seventeen minutes. It’s going to be that easy. Hopefully we will accept Visa, debit, PayPal, etc.

With a service like MinuteFix the question has, of course, been asked numerous times as to why we think it will even work. “Don’t you think people will be hesitant to turn over their desktop to a person out in cyberland?” Kind of ironic, I think, since the last time I heard this question was from a friend as he sat hunched over his laptop transferring funds from his savings account to his checking. “You seem pretty comfortable putting sensitive info out there,” I shot back.

There is no doubt that the mild submission of watching your desktop start moving on its own is a bit nerve-wracking. Considering that it is an almost instant way to receive tech support, it sure does beat that Muzak!