News

Coinbase Responds to Criticism: Set to Open New Portland Office with Focus on Customer Service

Georgi Georgiev | Jun 28, 2018 | 18:00

---

Following a barrage of heavy criticism for being widely underprepared in terms of customer service, Coinbase is set to open a new office in Portland that will be focused largely on customer support, compliance, finance, IT, and HR.

Failing Customer Support

Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the US, has been the object of heavy criticism recently, as its customer service has reportedly failed across the board.

Users of the exchange filed a total of 134 pages worth of complaints with the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), outlining an array of issues. Stemming from the fact that Coinbase was simply unprepared for its own rapid growth, complaints ran the gamut – from funds being lost along the way to people being unable to access their money – and, of course, frustratingly slow customer support.

A Coinbase spokesperson offered questionable explanations, indeed associating the issues to the company’s rampant expansion:

In 2017, the cryptocurrency space experienced a profound uptick in mainstream awareness and growth. […]  As part of that, consumer demand for our services increased by 40x and we experienced transaction volumes in November and December of that year that grew by 295 percent.

And while the exchange seemingly identified the reasons for the widespread frustration, it kept on expanding regardless. Despite these critical shortcomings, the company recently announced plans to open a new office in Japan, added a suite of products to facilitate institutional investments, and even took steps to become a fully SEC-regulated broker-dealer.

An Answer to the Criticism?

Signs of relief emerged, as the San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange announced its plans to open a new office in Portland this fall:

Talent is everywhere: we’re opening our newest office in #portland this fall. After exploring a variety of cities in the U.S., we were inspired by Portland’s innovative open-source and blockchain communities. https://t.co/XSTYrKfvVv

— Coinbase (@coinbase) June 28, 2018

It seems that the Coinbase is taking notes, as the new office will be focusing almost exclusively on customer support. The official announcement reads:

Our new Portland office will host a variety of business-related functions. We’re hiring right now for roles focused on customer support, finance, compliance, IT and HR, and we expect to add up to 100 new jobs to the local economy this year alone.

The company also explains that while it carefully evaluated a “variety of different U.S. cities”, Portland was chosen – among other reasons – due to the city’s talented local blockchain communities.

Do you think Coinbase’s new office will help the exchange solve its issues related to customer support? Don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments below!

Images courtesy of DepositPhotos