I Asked Engineers About Platform Support. They're Annoyed.

If this newsletter landed in your spam or promotions folder, move it to primary to make sure you actually see next week's post! On Gmail, click the three dots in the top right corner, select "Move," and click "Primary".

Remember your worst customer support experience? The one that still makes your eye twitch?

Last week I posted something on LinkedIn that apparently unleashed 20+ years of pent-up engineering rage about platform support.

I admitted that my first job at a VC-funded company was customer support and that I didn't know the answer to a single question. Not one. Neither did anyone else on the team.

We'd never actually used the product in production. But there we were, the "expert support team."

The kicker? I said nothing's changed in 20 years. Except now they just offer no support at all.

Holy shit, did that strike a nerve.

The Post That Opened the Floodgates

I explained why I bought Gigalixir, to build the opposite of everything I hated as a corporate engineer. To prove that a $500-5000/month platform doesn't have to have garbage support.

But here's what really got me...

The Stories That Made Me Angry All Over Again

From a Series B CTO: "Our platform went down during investor demo day. Support responded 14 hours later asking if we'd 'tried restarting.' We lost the round."

From a healthcare startup lead: "Paid $3k/month for 'priority support.' Still took 72 hours to get an engineer that specialized in Kubernetes to write us back."

From an ex-support engineer at a major platform: "My training was 'close tickets fast.' Actually solving problems meant you fell behind quota."

That last one? That was almost me 21 years ago. Except I stayed in tech and eventually said "F this, I'll buy companies and run them right."

Why Nothing Changes (And Everything's Getting Worse)

Here's what engineers shared:

The VC Math Problem: Your $2k/month subscription means nothing when they just raised $100M. You're not the customer, you're a growth metric for their next pitch deck.

The Incentive Disaster: Support agents with no equity, no bonuses for actual solutions, measured only on tickets closed. Meanwhile, executives burn days perfecting slides instead of products.

The Final Insult: They can run like this forever because VC money papers over every failure. Until it doesn't, and they disappear overnight with your data.

What Hit Different About Our Approach

I shared how we handled a DDoS attack six months ago. Instead of corporate speak, we wrote: "Yeah, it's a bit of a zoo right now, but we're mitigating it. Hang tight..."

The response that got me?

"First time in 15 years a platform admitted something was actually wrong. The honesty made me LESS panicked, not more."

That shouldn't be revolutionary. But apparently treating engineers like adults who can handle the truth is.

The Revolution Nobody Saw Coming

Here's what the comments revealed: There's a mass exodus happening from big platforms to smaller, specialized providers. Not for features. Not for price.

For respect.

Engineers are choosing platforms where:

• Actual engineers answer support tickets

• Someone knows their name and their stack

• Problems get solved, not tickets closed

• The company needs them as much as they need the company

The bootstrapped difference? When we lose you, I personally make less money tomorrow. Try getting that alignment from someone burning VC cash.

Let's Keep This Going

My LinkedIn post was just the beginning. I'm collecting these stories for something bigger, a real report on the state of engineering customer support in 2025.

Got a support horror story that still makes you mad? Hit reply and tell me.

Still paying thousands for support that doesn't know your tech stack? Share it.

Switched platforms because of bad support? I want to know why.

Because the only way this industry changes is if we stop accepting "enterprise support" that's neither enterprise nor support.

Your platform should work as hard as you do. Period.

-Michael

P.S. Yeah, I own Gigalixir. No, this isn't a pitch. This is about fixing an industry that treats paying customers like annoyances. Though if you're tired of explaining what Elixir is to support agents making $18/hour, you know where to find us.

Want to see the LinkedIn post that started this conversation? Check it out here →

Forward this to that colleague who's still traumatized by their last platform support experience. Tell them they're not alone.

📬My Newsletters (Pick What Fits You Best):

🧠 Frewsletter – The full playbook.

Sharing everything (even the financials) about acquiring, exiting, and operating sub-$5M SaaS businesses.

→ Great for portfolio builders, operators & acquisition junkies.

💎 [Premium available]

🏁 Founder Exits – Built something great? Let’s sell it.

Insights for founders & entrepreneurs who are preparing to sell (or just thinking about it).

→ Strategy, timing, and what buyers really look for.

👨‍💻 Dev Driven Acquisitions – For technical folks buying businesses.

Practical advice for engineers, devs & IT pros entering the world of business acquisition.

→ Less fluff, more code-friendly dealmaking.

If you enjoyed this newsletter, or think there’s an Acquirer who could benefit, why not share it?