AHN: when did customer support materialize into a smiling girl with a headset?

4 points by mitjak 16y ago ↗ HN

I can understand bad design decisions and business card websites. But for websites that rely on online sales above all else? I simply cannot believe the amount of stock photography of smiling phone operators and, worst of all, the number of websites happily using those photos.

3 comments

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drowsydream 16y ago ↗

BTW, there is one whole website dedicated just for such photographs: http://www.headsethotties.com/

mitjak 16y ago ↗

Oh no, why would you provide me with such a rich source of entertainment so close to the sleeping hours.

apowell 16y ago ↗

Like it or not, the headset girl has turned into the universal symbol for "here's how to contact customer support". It's not cool, and it's not creative -- but it's a very effective way to be sure that people (who can't be bothered to read) find your support number.

Even more than that, it's a quick way to show that you have phone support, which can boost customer confidence even if the customer doesn't need to use it.