I don't know whether someone has posted this or not, so ignore this if it is old news. The infrastructure at Bittrex wasn't capable of handling the rapid scaling of an onslaught of new users and had to shut down new account registrations (until further notice). My guess is that a lot of the exchanges are likely in the same boat.
New Account Sign Ups
December 15, 2017 10:21
Dear new users:
We have received an enormous number of new account registrations over the past few weeks. We are excited to have so many new users who want to join the Bittrex community. Unfortunately, we have to make a few upgrades to our support and backend systems to handle the increased traffic and load. As such, we have halted new user registrations for the time being. If you already have an account on Bittrex, you will not be affected by this change. Please continue to the log in as you normally do.
To our new users, we will keep you posted on when we open up registration. We apologize for the inconvenience!
The Bittrex Teamhttps://support.bittrex.com/hc/en-us/articles/115003463331I really respect what Bittrex did here. They had the choice of increasing their current customer base by accepting new applications, or they could maintain the quality of service for their existing customer base and accept the fact that this will mean turning away new customers. They chose to put existing customers first and maintain their quality of service. I'd like to think that those who were turned away due to peak loads recognise the commitment to their customers that was demonstrated and come back to Bittrex when they've scaled up.
This is the sort of long-term vision that I see in DNotes Global Inc. and if these sorts of attitudes are embedded into the DNotes exchange, they will do well. I understand that the exchange is much further down the road map, but I'm sure that they're watching what both good and bad actors do, and learning from everything so that the DNotes exchange will benefit from this industry experience.
It is very demanding and costly to build a top notch exchange. We are committed to build our own and do it right. It will cost $ millions and may take a little longer. But that is a vital component of our fully integrated system. If I have my way, we will have the best customer services - something annoying lacking in our industry.
I also agree with what wiser has to say about customer support:
Good customer service is an absolute necessity, but tough to keep up with when you're growing rapidly. I think you have to over-hire tech support reps and consider it good when at times some of them are standing around doing nothing.
The great thing about the current labour market is that it is now so very easy to maintain a dormant workforce and outsource during peak times. The trick is already having in place a system for sorting and allocating tasks to the appropriate skill level. But even that can be largely automated now.
As for insightful comment by R-J-F recognising the value of moving with the times and trying things now even though they failed before:
In the new paradigm, if it didn't work yesterday, chances are it will tomorrow and that brings up the elephant in the room, accepting change as a good thing and making the most of it. Those who can do that will not only survive but thrive. Embrace new ideas and technology or perish. But above all else, don't be afraid to try a new way of doing things, it just might work better than you expect.
I'd like to plug that directly into R-J-F's later comment:
"I can't help thinking what things might have been if we had less engineers and more marketing people who understood the customer relationship and the need for a live voice at the other end of the phone. " And suggest that with AI doing a great job of sorting types of issues and getting better at suggesting tech support responses, that some blended solution might soon be the most efficient way of meeting sudden peaks in customer support demands.
But whether it is security, or the voice of customer support, I believe the best way to approach all business decisions is remain focused on the desired outcome. Is it the voice they need to hear, or is it being able to instantly get the exact solution to their particular needs? Is top level security what is required, or do customers really just want to never lose their investment? DNotes Vault having access to matching funds is an example of thinking outside the box when determining security solutions that ensure customers will never lose. And if they continue with this outcome-focused approach when designing their exchange, it could really bring meeting customer needs to a whole new level.
