General

This blog post is a little bit different from the not so relevant open web centric stuff you usually find here. However I think it’s a good story about great customer service. So why not share it with you, although I play the stupid part in this story?

On Sunday I checked my credit card bill and discovered that I was charged a few Euros from VeriSign, more specifically from GWS VeriSign as it was stated on the credit card slip. That charge didn’t make sense to me because I didn’t purchase anything from VeriSign recently. Though the credit card slip also stated the three letters VIP. In February I bought a VeriSign Identity Protection credential but that was a one-time charge. So I wondered why I was charged again. Also my credit card company couldn’t provide more details about the transaction.

So without much further thought and research I emailed support at VeriSign Labs. VeriSign Labs is responsible for some of VeriSign’s identity programs like the OpenID Provider. Don’t ask me why I emailed VeriSign Labs, just have a look at the first few words at the beginning of this paragraph. But I got a quick reply from them on Monday and much to my surprise it was from Gary Krall, the technical director for the PIP. Gary and I were in contact in the past already, talking about VeriSign’s OpenID Provider.

As you can guess from Gary’s title, his job has nothing to do with credit card transactions of his company or customer service. However he offered to find out what was going on at VeriSign and track down the responsible department and people. No easy task, considering the size of the company. But Gary made me feel taken seriously, sending daily updates about the progress of his research. I think that’s awesome!

The results of Gary’s research made me look stupid, though. It turned out that a company called Global Warehouse Solutions was distributing VeriSign’s VIP credentials in Europe but didn’t charge customers right after the purchase. I checked my credit card bills since February and realized this was true. I was never charged for the credential so far.

I feel so bad and totally stupid about this. I should have checked the bills right away. Rather I opted for emailing VeriSign’s support, harassing Gary and causing trouble at different departments at the company.

Nevertheless I am grateful for experiencing the support Gary – and all other people involved – provided. I think it is a remarkable example of customer service. Thanks a lot!