How Not to Write Bug Reporting Guidelines

These directions are from the Debian Samba package (which provides Windows-style file- and printer-sharing).

This kind of attitude is sadly common among free software, and it's extremely counterproductive if your goal is actually finding bugs and improving the software. The 3rd paragraph is where it gets really rich (note that it is trivial to change the bug's severity after submission).

2. Reporting Bugs
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If you believe you have found a bug please make sure the possible bug also exists in the latest version of Samba that is available for the unstable Debian distribution. If you are running Debian stable this means that you will probably have to build your own packages. And if the problem does not exist in the latest version of Samba we have packaged it means that you will have to run the version of Samba you built yourself since it is not easy to upload new packages to the stable distribution, unless they fix critical security problems.

If you can reproduce the problem in the latest version of Samba then it is likely to be a real bug. Your best shot is to search the Samba mailing lists to see if it is something that has already been reported and fixed - if it is a simple fix we can add the patch to our packages without waiting for a new Samba release.

If you decide that your problem deserves to be submitted to the Debian Bug Tracking System (BTS) we expect you to be responsive if we request more information. If we request more information and do not receive any in a reasonable time frame expect to see your bug closed without explanation - we can't fix bugs we can't reproduce, and most of the time we need more information to be able to reproduce them.

When submitting a bug to the Debian BTS please include the version of the Debian package you are using as well as the Debian distribution you are using. Think _twice_ about the severity you assign to the bug: we are _very_ sensitive about bug severities; the fact that it doesn't work for you doesn't mean that the severity must be such that it holds a major Debian release. In fact, that it doesn't work for you it doesn't mean that it doesn't work for others. So again: think _twice_.

Zappos.com Doesn't Understand or Doesn't Care that Your Address Is Private? (Updated: No, They Just Communicate Badly)

(Important update 4/26/09. See below.)

Zappos.com has a neat new real-time visualization of orders and their locations (http://www.zappos.com/map/#). Publishing locations of orders seems like a big privacy problem to me; I contacted them using their online form about the issue. Both my note and their completely useless/clueless reply are below.

Complaint:

Hi,

I was just looking at your visualization of orders at http://www.zappos.com/map/#. It's an extremely cool visualization.

However, I have a concern: Addresses and locations are private data. If you're not adding a fuzz factor or taking other steps to protect your customers' privacy, then you are committing a quite severe privacy violation and need to take down the visualization immediately.

If you are adding a fuzz factor, you need to add information to the visualization clearly explaining how you are protecting said private data, to avoid worrying your customers.

Thank you!

Reid

Reply:

Hello Reid,

Thank you for contacting the Zappos.com Customer Loyalty Team.

Here at Zappos, our customers are our first priority. We work hard to preserve the trust that we build with our customers.

Zappos.com respects your privacy and wants to protect your personal information. Please know that Zappos.com does not share or sell any of our customers' information.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please let me know.

Reid, I hope this information was helpful to you and we look forward assisting you again in the future!

We are constantly striving to improve our service. If there is anything more we can do for you or if we could improve your experience, please do not hesitate to let us know. We are always here for you - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. We are a service company that just happens to sell...shoes, bags, clothing, and accessories. 1-800-ZAPPOS-1 (1-800-927-7671) or 702-943-7677.

Thank you for shopping with us,

Lauren S.
Customer Loyalty Representative
Zappos.com
Powered by Service!
The Web's Most Popular Shoe Store!
Phone: Toll-free 1-800-ZAPPOS-1 (927-7671)
e-mail: cs@zappos.com
http://www.zappos.com

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Update 4/27/09:

I received another e-mail from Zappo's customer service on the 20th, as follows, emphasis mine:

Hello Reid,

I hope you are having a good day. I wanted to contact you in regards to your concern over our new order map program. Zappos.com is a service based company that genuinely cares about our customers and would never reveal information that would affect their privacy. We do not reveal any details in the map beyond the zip code of the purchase and what item was purchased. This can be a great trend-finding tool to help our customers in their shopping. If you click on the picture of the product, it will take you to the page for that item on our site. All of our customer's identifying information, including name or specific address, is kept private and only used for the purpose of their orders.

I apologize for any confusion with this new program. If you have any further questions or concerns at all, please do not hesitate to contact us back. We want you to be assured that we care about our customer's privacy. Please also see our Privacy Policy:

http://www.zappos.com/privacy.zhtml

I hope this helps to clear things up for you. Again, please call or e-mail us any time if we can be of any additional assistance.

So, it appears that while Zappos is rather clueless about communicating it (there still isn't any indication of the granularity of locations on the visualization), they aren't committing the gross privacy violation I was originally concerned about.

Customer Service Win

The North Face hydration systems (i.e., water-filled bags with a hose that fit into a backpack, if you don't want to be so snobby) have a brilliant system where the bite valve has a magnet on it, and you clip a corresponding magnet onto your chest strap. It's super-easy to use and way better than the Camelbak clips.

I wanted a second magnet so I wouldn't have to keep transferring the one magnet between my frame pack and my daypack. I called up The North Face. The conversation went something like this:

"Hi, I need one of those magnets that clips onto a backpack strap."
"OK, what's your address?"

They wouldn't take my money. So now I have a second magnet. I was very impressed.

Superb customer service seems to be endemic in the outdoor products industry. I had a great warranty experience with MSR a few years ago (a stove weld broke after 4.5 years of use, and it was fixed free of charge due to the 5-year warranty), and I have an ongoing warranty experience with Marmot that seems to be going very well (down sleeping bag lost loft in a few baffles).

I wonder why. Generally, my customer service experiences these days run from awful to disastrous (try e-mailing Facebook support sometime). Is it because outdoor stuff is all luxury items?

Project 100, #67.