Learning from Rich Gubby of Wapple
Rich Gubby is the Senior Web Developer over at Wapple in the U.K. Wapple is one of the leading developers of mobile Internet solutions, from websites to WordPress plug-ins and more. And if Rich Gubby is anything to go by, then Wapple are also leading the field at customer satisfaction.
I recently installed the Wapple WordPress plug-in as I wanted more options for mobile visitors to this blog. There are a host of functional plug-ins out there, but a lot come with ads and many are limited in features.
Looking around I found the Wapple site, and the ability to customize the mobile version of my blog to replicate much of the web-based one appealed. Plus the fact you can tailor search engine optimization, even though it’s a mobile app, and I was sold.
I installed the plug-in and it worked. Then it stopped, and all I got was a blank screen when accessing from my BlackBerry. So I deactivated Wapple and switched back to the previous one. Cue impressed-as-hell experience with Wapple.
I received a pleasant email from Rich mentioning he noticed I’d swapped back to another plug-in, and was there any particular reason and could he help in any way. I wrote back thanking him for taking the time to contact, and explained what had happened. Rich offered to style up the plug-in and also look to see what the issue was.
It turns out that it was a comment that had messed up the code a little, so Rich fixed it there and then. He also made sure I had the latest version and new dev key that would allow me to tailor the plug-in more to the styling of my blog.
And this just impressed the hell out of me and it left me thinking that Rich and the guys at Wapple could teach many businesses a thing or two. Here’s why:
- Monitoring your product. Rich knew that I had his plug-in but wasn’t using it. Instead of letting that slide, he contacted me to see if there was anything wrong with the product, and if he could help. This leads to the next point.
- Excellent customer service. Rich saw there was an issue and made sure that his customer had the best customer service experience around. He resolved the issue and followed up to make sure everything was okay.
- Brand loyalty. There are numerous WordPress plug-in developers, yet I’ve never been contacted before by one and offered an experience like the one I had with Rich and Wapple. That’s made me incredibly loyal to them and they’ll be the first I go to when I need mobile solutions.
- Consumer marketing. I’ve talked before about the power of consumer marketing and why it’s an untapped weapon for many businesses. Through Rich, Wapple’s service now has me blogging about it and sharing with you, and that’s all free marketing.
As budgets and belts tighten, the people and businesses that are succeeding are the ones separating themselves from the rest of the noise around them. Rich Gubby did that in spades and then some.
Something to learn from, yes?
9 Responses to “Learning from Rich Gubby of Wapple”
What I really like is that it's not just limited to the negative experiences any more as well, John – seems to be more people willing to praise and share the good, as opposed to bitch and moan about the bad. And that can never be a bad thing.
And what I'm noticing is that the instances of praise are mostly about service.
After reading this post, I checked them out. Installed the plug-in, and a day later got an email from Rich asking if I needed help with anything. I had it installed, but he suggested to carry my theme over, and then volunteered to go in and make a few quick changes.
Big props to Wapple. Highly recommend. Great, great service.
Thanks for bringing attention to this, Danny.
Now why doesn't that surprise me? Mad props to Rich, here's to Wapple showing business what real customer service is.
Hi,
I do respect Rich Gubby’s work on Wapple Plugin which is certainly not easy. But Wapple plugin communicates to external server to do various tasks which I personally don’t prefer.I taught in a simple way.
Why not create a mobile specific theme and have a plugin which will make sure to display this mobile theme to your mobile phone users!
So I created IamMobiled Mobile Plugin and Blue Heart Mobile Theme
Here are some key features:
1) Comes with a mobile theme “Blue Heart”
2) Automatic mobile detection
3) Images are optimized for mobile view
4) Make money through integrated ad system.
5) Optimized for touch screen phones
6) Mobile users can even leave comments
7) Mobile users can search for contents.Please check it out and let me know your feedback and suggestions at haress@iammobiled.com
Plugin can be found at:
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/iammobiled-…
Case and point. When someone has an amazing experience with a product or service, they tell others. But not just once. They tell it thousands of times per day – in blog posts like this. The social web has turned the volume up on what we've been doing for a few hundred years – making consumer decisions based on recommendations of people we trust.
Thanks, Danny!