Skype Approaches a Crossroads

Is Skype reaching a sort of crossroads with its internet phone service in terms of customer satisfaction ... Quite a few poor service with SkypeOut, which looks as though it's at the heart of the many and growing complaints about it as evidenced by the amazing volume of posts in the Skype-to-Skype free service. I'm hearing comments about it and seeing more posts - such as this one yesterday from my colleague I can confirm Elizabeth's experience - in Skype calls we've had over the past few days, she's either suddenly dropped off the connection or I can't hear her after about a minute or less. Almost every time. Skype, are you listening to comments like this? New entrants like bi-weekly podcasts wholly over Skype. I'm beta-testing their voice messaging service - it's excellent. And third-party developers like interesting and useful added-value services such as the ability to send text messages to mobile phones. But all this will be for naught if customer perceptions that Skype just isn't paying attention to their needs and concerns continue unaddressed. Great service is one thing. Great customer service is what gives you the true differentiator and sustainable loyalty. Neville Hobson is the author of the popular Crayon. Visit Neville Hobson's blog: