In a world where customer service is pitiful in most industries, it is nice that one industry in which I am a frequent customer has great customer service. I’m talking about the Bible Software industry.

From PC applications to iPhone apps, I have installed software from about 10 different companies.  And nearly every one of them does a really good job of supporting their products. I was thinking about this so I thought I’d give out some kudos via my blog.

1. Phone Support – A hold time is not unusual in software support. Hold times over an hour are often common. But I’ve never been on hold more than about 10-15 minutes. This is my least used method of support, but nearly every time I have had to call a company for support they have been friendly and helpful, often bending over backwards to do a good job. Recently I called Logos about an account issue. They’ve had some struggles with very fast growth and as a result less than ideal phone support (long hold times). But my experience was very good. A few months ago I was installing Bibleworks and had to call about a very unusual problem that 99% of the population would not face. But they handled it quickly and were more than friendly/helpful. Over the years I’ve talked on the phone with others and never been disappointed.

2. Email Support – If you don’t hear back in less than 24 hours on weekdays and by the end of Business Monday, then you are getting bad support. I’ve never had to wait longer than that except in rare  circumstances. Usually it has been a person instead of just an automatic response with canned FAQ answers. When it has been a canned response it was just to say, “We got your email and will handle it soon.” Then within a few hours I did.

3. Online Support – A good company will have online support with updates to the software (if updating is not built in), FAQs so I can help myself quickly, and a Forum where users or company people can help. When they do have Forums they will be busy with lots of people helping and answering questions quickly.  There are only a couple of Bible software companies that I have used that don’t have good online support. Some of them have such great forums that I go daily and have even developed online friends via these support forums.

4. Social Media Support – It is cool that I can send a Tweet via Twitter or a message via Facebook and someone from the company will get back to me. Also, the best companies will Tweet suggested tips, new resources, and will offer discounts to Twitter and Facebook users.

5. Training – Some Bible programs are so advanced that a simple Help menu or manual is not enough. Good companies offer online videos and maybe even training sessions in your area. This is the least likely area of support for Bible software companies. But many are doing a good job of this.

In a future Christian Computing Magazine article, I might just test some of the most popular programs and apps in these five areas and see how they stack up. From my personal experience, I expect to be very pleased.