Cash Crate Crash & Customer Service

For the longest time, the Monetizer has been promoting the popular "Get-Paid-To" survey site known as Cash Crate. Personally I've earned at least 5 checks from them sent via US mail as promised and found their company to be reliable. Unfortunately for at least a month now, my attempts to use the Cash Crate site have been met with:

"You tried to access the address http://www.cashcrate.com/, which is currently unavailable. Please make sure that the Web address (URL) is correctly spelled and punctuated, then try reloading the page."

It appears the wonderful and reliable paying site has officially crashed, with no mention. At least you'd think the company would have some sort of announcement on the site, but there is none. It could be a sign of the times, but it's definitely a sign of inadequate service.

When I add this in with my recent experiences with Ximmy.com (they've yet to pay Monetizer for referrals, and aren't responding to emails about it), it goes to show that these days any online business must be serious about its customer service. Even if you're a blogger, you have a duty to respond to emails of your "customers" so that they realize their importance to your brand and or business. For some reason Ximmy and Cash Crate don't have this aspect handled, and there's plenty of other websites out there that make it pretty impossible to get a question answered. Amazon.com seems like one, as it doesn't offer a good email or online communications system.

The lesson to be taken from all of this is the concept of valuing your readers, site visitors and customers. Keep these considerations in mind with your own blog or website and avoid the trap of becoming a site that ignores its customer base...