Discover the World of Forums

Have you ever waited on hold when phoning a company for support, only to get a technician who is required to go through a ‘boilerplate’ script and hopefully, at some point, arrive at your issue? Or perhaps you are speaking to someone whose native tongue is not your native tongue and your communication is practically non-existent.

There is another route you can take called the community forum in which you can often get a better answer to your question. Although forums have been around for a number of years, their popularity is growing as an alte
ative means of help and support for consumers and businesses.

A community forum is an internet portal where people gather together to help each other with issues about a product or service. You might think of it as a peer-to-peer support group where anyone can pose a question and other people provide solutions.

In order to increase their customer service and satisfaction levels, many companies are augmenting their help and support structure by introducing user-to-user forums thereby providing another avenue of support. Additionally, forums, like other popular social media platforms, are another means for people to interact with each other on a more personal level about a specific topic.

The advantages of using a forum is that it is very likely that another member may have experienced the same issue you are having or has working knowledge of the product in question and can give you an answer in your own language without all the techno-speak or the reading of a prepared script.

When I was having problems with the panel on my dishwasher – all the lights came on at once with the push of only one button – I did not call Kenmore. Instead I went to an appliance repair forum and found a number of people with the same issue. In reading what they did to solve the problem, I was able to fix it. I would not have gotten that result by speaking to someone in another country about the dishwasher.

While your answers on a forum may not be immediate, you don’t have to stay by the phone either! Just post your question and check back when there is a reply. The time in between is your own. And, if you don’t completely understand the suggestion, you can ask for clarification. The beauty of the forum platform is that it allows for 2-way conversations between regular folks.

So, if you have a problem that you need to solve or have some knowledge to share, don’t be shy – find a community and join the discussions!