Why I Stopped Using Web Conferencing Software

Web conferencing software never works right

Web conferencing software sucks

Running a web hosting and design business frequently requires sharing content or looking at a website with your client. There are several tools to help accomplish this, including WebEx, join.me, GoToMeeting, Anymeeting, and FuzeMeeting.com.

The problem with almost all these services is that they never work when needed.

Every. Single. Time.

Consider this scenario that’s happened a hundred times to me and my clients:

  1. You talk with your client and realize that you need to look at the same document or website together.
  2. You schedule a meeting using your favorite premium web conferencing software.
  3. Your client receives the email but doesn’t install the software beforehand. That is understandable; I do it too. Technology should “just work,” and they can install it whenever they join the meeting, right?
  4. The meeting arrives, and everyone joins 2 minutes late due to an adjacent meeting, bio break, coffee run, etc.
  5. 5 more minutes pass. Your client finally finds the meeting invite and clicks on the link.
  6. Your client is presented with several boxes, and when each one pops up, they ask you if they should click it. SMH. Whatever it asks you, just click YES!
  7. They inevitably say, “It says I need to install Java,” or, “It says that I’m in the meeting, but I don’t see anything. Are you sharing?”
  8. 20 minutes have passed. At this point, everyone is frustrated, and you just manually tell each other what you’re looking at on the screen.

Be consistent

FuzeMeeting.com was very promising; however, like other web conferencing tools, it was missing a few features I needed.

Correction: I didn’t really need the extra features, but it’s essential to be consistent with clients. You can’t use four different tools for sharing documents, sharing screens, controlling their computer, and another for “quick meetings.”

It’s usually a miracle when you get one of them installed. Imagine telling them, “You’ll need to install this other tool for this meeting because I need to blah blah blah.”

Summary

In the end, I still don’t have a good solution. I currently use join.me, and it’s already failed 2 out of 3 times, so I won’t be renewing. I frequently need to control someone else’s screen, but tools like LogMeIn Rescue are too expensive for how little I need to use them.

What tools do you use to share documents or websites with your clients? Let us know in the comments!

Bonus phrases!

Here are some other phrases I’ve heard on web meetings. Feel free to share yours!

  • “I’m on a Mac. Is this compatible with Mac?”
  • “I have JavaScript enabled. Do I need Java too?”
  • “You sent me an email? I didn’t get it.”
  • “I don’t have a spam folder.”
  • “I clicked the link, and nothing happened.”
  • “A message popped up. What should I do?”
  • “It says ‘Name’. Should I enter my name?”

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