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Skype Finally Offers Compensation for Outage

posted on August 22, 2007


You have to give Skype credit for eventually doing the right thing and compensating its premium customers for the recent outage.

I moaned on Monday that Skype had dropped the ball by failing to offer any kind of compensation for the 30+ hours outage. While the majority of Skype users get the service for free, some, like me, actually hand over cash for premium services. I whined…

How about some token of apology? Maybe some free credits? I ended up having to take client calls via my cell phone – any idea how expensive that is?

Today, I received the following email…

Hello

You may or may not know but last week Skype wasn’t available for a
couple of days.  There were a number of reasons for this and I am
delighted to say that the problem is now well and truly sorted and
everything is back to normal.  For those of you who tried to use Skype
during that time but couldn’t, we’re very sorry. For those of you who
didn’t try to use Skype – well thankfully you were not affected but we
want to reassure everyone that Skype is now working happily and the
problem is fixed.

We know we have many faithful users out there who give us feedback
(good and bad) on what we’re doing as a company.  The Skype community
makes us what we are.  Without you, our users, we simply wouldn’t
 exist.  We’ve helped people stay in touch with their friends and
family over the past four years without any massive hitch and we want
it to stay that way.

When the unexpected happens, it’s important to remember the people who
stuck behind us and whose loyalty humbled us.  I want to thank
everyone for their support, patience and being part of the Skype
 community.  And for those of you who missed out on using Skype last
week – I want to especially thank you as well.

As a goodwill gesture to all you faithful Skype Pro, Skype Unlimited,
SkypeIn or Skype Voicemail customers, we’re adding an additional seven
days to your current subscription, free of charge.  And even if you
didn’t miss out on using Skype last week – you can still have a week
free on Skype, on the house!

So please enjoy it, call your loved ones, friends, family and
colleagues and thanks again.

Talk soon,
The people at Skype

We’re not taking the credit for Skype’s change of heart, but I’m sure we added to the many voices that felt Skype should cough-up some form of compensation.

Ok, so it doesn’t cover the extra cost of making international calls via a cell phone, but I think 7 days of free service seems fair. What do you think?


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  • rick gregory

    Man… I’d like to think that post was tongue in cheek, but it sure seems whiny as hell. Oh no, you had to spend some money for international calls? OMG, the world will END! Will your business survive??

    How much money have you saved via Skype just this calendar year? Hundred of dollars? A couple of thousand?? And you’re WHINING about making a few international calls?

    It was certainly the right PR and customer service move for Skype to do what they did, but the sense of smug entitlement that people have about compensation for any kind of vendor mistake is getting more than a bit annoying.

  • http://www.thevanblog.com Steven Bradley

    Rick I don’t think there’s anything whiny about this post. Skype made a mistake that affected a lot of it’s customers, paying customers who rely on Skype for their business.

    Yes companies do make mistakes, but this was a pretty big one followed up by the company keeping people in the dark about what’s going on.

    I don’t think this is about a sense of entitlement. Andy was writing about what Skype should do to retain their customers. Granted it was just mistake on Skype’s part and mistakes fo happen, but there will be a lot of people who will now be looking for another service.

    This post is Andy letting us know that Skype did listen to complaints from customers and is now doing the right thing.

  • http://www.webmaster-money.org Webmaster Money

    Well 7 days free is realy good deal. I think most people will stay with Skype anyway. This was first time something like this happend and users are used to this service so I wouldnt say that there will be someone looking for other services.

  • http://www.marketingpilgrim.com Andy Beal

    Rick just likes to take opposing views a lot. ;-)

    Rick, it’s simple business. If you pay for a service, you expect it to work. When it doesn’t you expect “good” companies to compensate you. It’s very simple.

    I’m glad Skype did the honorable thing.

  • http://www.skype-aka-skipe.com Mo Better Skype

    I wish more companies like Sprint, Verizon, AT&T would provide compensation for their service outings like Skype. I don’t even get an “I’m sorry from those dudes.” I have had 12+ hour prime-time outings with AT&T’s Internet service and they haven’t done or said one thing about it.

    Way to go Skype! Lead the pack!

  • http://symbiancorner.blogspot.com William

    I would prefer free SkypeOut minutes for everyone.

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