Web giants nowhere to be found when it all turns to custard

Neither was the two-week turnaround time to answer emails. It’s not a new problem either: RNZ’s John Campbell has a long history of trying to make local contact with the likes of Apple – an unsuccessful history.

For years there have been similar stories about members and clients trying to get in operational touch with the likes of Facebook, Apple, eBay or Google.

While most of the web giants have good-sized advertising teams here in New Zealand and lobbyist representation, they haven’t invested in localised safety or support teams.

There are two reasons for this – one economic and one procedural.

First, it saves them million of dollars. Making email the default method of communication, and often hiding that inside a complex CRM (customer relationship management) system, means the web giants can avoid having to deal with issues, or can channel them through a single global customer service centre.

If you want to experience the meaning of the word ‘‘souldestroying’’, try to find the local help phone number for urgent help on the Airbnb website.

It’s much easier on third-party website www.all-about-airbnb.com.

Second, it mitigates the need for different rules and responses for different countries. Something that would increase overheads and complexities for companies that like to maintain profitability levels north of 80 per cent.

But two years ago something changed here in New Zealand. The Harmful Digital Communications Act came into effect.

The act seeks to stop people being harmed by digital content and provide any victims with a quick means of redress. How quick? Content hosts (website operators) have just 48 hours to investigate and remove content they are made aware of.

As a result of this new law, some of the web companies, like Google, have employed people on the ground in Wellington to provide a speedier response than email allows.

Others, like Facebook, have engaged local legal counsel to do the same thing, as well as stepping up email response times from their Sydney offices.

Whereas others like Apple or Airbnb appear to have done little – a response that I think is dumb and mean.

It’s dumb because all these businesses are built on trust. At the end of the day, you are sending money or data to a person or a company you haven’t met, for products or services you haven’t seen, based on the trust that they will be fulfilled in an honest manner.

If you undermine that trust, you threaten the business.

It’s mean, because these companies make billions of dollars from their New Zealand operations.

Last year Apple enjoyed revenue of more than $800 million in New Zealand. Airbnb did more than $70m in host revenue, according to Infometrics.

For companies to extract those sort of revenues while being unprepared to invest in local customer support for when things go wrong seems plain mean.

Just as well they are paying their fair share of tax here ….

Mike ‘‘MOD’’ O’Donnell is a professional director and adviser. His Twitter handle is @modsta and he’s actually a fan of Airbnb.