I recently set up a wiki for one of my clients using PBWiki. I’ve never used PBWiki before, but my friend and Web wiz, Amber, recommended the service. So far, setting up the wiki was a breeze, and I’m looking forward to watching my colleagues use it to collaborate on a project.

PBWiki only is free to a certain point and then you have to pay to upgrade for additional features. The paid version seemed like a worthwhile investment, so I clicked to upgrade with a credit card in hand. That’s when I hit a major roadblock: the site notified me that in order to set up the account, I had to call an 800 number.

A phone call to purchase a Web service? To me, this was a serious offense. If you are not yet with me, compare this to ordering take out and the restaurant forgetting to include utensils. It’s an essential part of an online service, particularly a Web 2.0 service, to offer everything online. Honestly, if I hadn’t already been working on the wiki using the free account, I would have bailed and moved on to the next wiki service provider.

I share this story for two reasons. First, if you are communicating online, you must consider your target audience and their preferred method of communication. If your target is a blogger or savvy Internet user, never, ever expect us to pick up a phone. It’s just unnatural. I don’t even call my friends on the phone (I use sms, facebook or twitter), so why would I want to call a company rep?

Second, bloggers share opinions. In this case, I told 74 followers on Twitter and countless lurkers, “Just set up a pbwiki for a client. Works great but u actually have to CALL someone (ewww) to upgrade.” That was then shared with my 63 friends on Facebook and readers of my Tumblelog. Instantly using my cell phone, I vented my frustration and shared my experience with everyone I know and even more people I don’t know.

It could have ended there, but the folks at PBWiki recognize the opportunities of monitoring and participating in the blogosphere. Using Google Alerts to track mentions of “PBWiki,” the company found my blog post and quickly sent me an e-mail to address the concern. Kudos to PBWiki for getting this very right. A friendly e-mail from their Chief Marketing Officer goes a long way in showing that they care about my business and think that my opinion matters. That sure makes me feel good as a customer, and now I’m blogging about it. What an easy way to smooth things over and create an advocate for the company.