Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia that is largely edited and written by volunteers. Wikipedia is free to use and is one of the most visited websites in the world. It is not surprising, then, that Wikipedia gets lots of requests for customer service each and every day. It should be noted, however, that Wikipedia does not offer phone-based customer service and users are generally expected to utilize self-help methods, such as reading site documentation or connecting with other users and volunteers, instead of relying on professional support representatives.
Why Do People Contact Wikipedia Customer Support?
People contact Wikipedia customer support for a range of reasons, including:
Getting information about how to use the site
Reporting article inaccuracies
Reporting intellectual property violations
Reporting inappropriate use of the site, such as bullying or harassment
Technical support and troubleshooting
Best Practices for Contacting Wikipedia Customer Service
As a free online service that is largely operated by volunteers, Wikipedia does not offer comprehensive customer service. As a user of the site, you are asked to review online content that can help you understand how Wikipedia works. There are user forums, such as the teahouse, a live help channel and a helpdesk section, that you can access to get help with many issues. Wikipedia also has email addresses to which you can submit concerns. You will want to review the "Contact us" articles on the Wikipedia website to learn which email address is best suited to your needs.
If you do submit an email to Wikipedia, be prepared to state your concern clearly, concisely and politely. In addition, also be prepared to submit supporting documentation, such as screenshots, evidence of intellectual property violations, or police reports.
Make note of when you send your email to Wikipedia. This will give you a realistic idea of when you can expect to receive a response.
How do Consumers Feel About Contacting Wikipedia Customer Service?
Many users of Wikipedia are unhappy that comprehensive customer service is not available. Many people would appreciate the opportunity to engage in a real-time conversation with a customer support professional. At the same time, users also understand that Wikipedia is a free service that cannot afford to operate a call center. Because most customer service is provided by volunteers, the quality of support can vary and it may take some time for someone to resolve a concern.
What Kind of Issues can a Wikipedia Customer Service Representative Resolve?
Wikipedia's customer service team can resolve many common issues, including answering questions about site operations, providing troubleshooting and technical support, addressing intellectual property violations, resolving disputes about content and clarifying Wikipedia policies.
What Can't Be Resolved by Contacting Wikipedia Customer Service?
Because of the fact that most customer services provided by Wikipedia volunteers, users should be aware that they may not get a lot of handholding when it comes to technical support and troubleshooting. If they are having difficulty using the service on a particular device, a volunteer may be able to suggest a workaround, but ultimately it is up to the user to find a device that is compatible with Wikipedia.
Disputes between users are something that periodically occur and are usually resolved by other volunteers. Disputes over content are usually best handled by contacting an article's editors and discussing the matter with them.
What Should You Do If You Have an Unsuccessful Conversation with Wikipedia?
If you have contacted Wikipedia regarding an issue and are unhappy with the response you have received, take a deep breath. With some persistence, you may be able to get your issue resolved.
First, review your initial communication. It may be that you left out pertinent information or sent it to the wrong email address, or volunteer team.
Second, try responding to the communication that you received. Note where you think the response was inadequate and clarify any points that you think you did not make properly in your first request for help.
Continue to bring your issue to the attention of other volunteers through either email or in one of Wikipedia's community forums. You may be able to attract the attention of someone who is in a position to understand your concern and address it.
You came here to see Wikipedia's phone number, the real-time current wait on hold and a way to skip right through the phone lines to get right to a Wikipedia agent. There's good news and bad on that: the bad news is that they don't have a phone number, but the good is that we do know how to contact Wikipedia anyways and help you with your issue. Over the last 18 months, 1,692 customers like you have come in search of a phone number for Wikipedia and helped us confirm they don't have one. Common reasons that people try to call Wikipedia customer support department include Setup service, Service problem, Cancel service, Change plan, Overcharge/Strange charge and other customer service issues. Rather than trying to call Wikipedia first, consider describing your issue first; from that we may be able to recommend an optimal way to contact them via email or web or twitter. Unfortunately, right now Wikipedia doesn't have any phone numbers. It's not always clear what is the best way to talk to Wikipedia representatives, so we started compiling this information built from suggestions from the customer community. Please keep sharing your experiences so we can continue to improve this free resource.
GetHuman provides tools and information to over 50 million customers per year in effort to make customer service easier and faster. We don't know a phone number for Wikipedia, but for large companies that do have them, we provide real-time current wait on hold, tools for skipping the hold music altogether, reminders for when the call center opens, and much more. We are able to provide secrets and the best tools by getting feedback from you and rest of our customer community, and by sourcing some of those secrets and tips from Wikipedia customers like yourself.
GetHuman does not provide call center services or customer support operations for Wikipedia. The two organizations are not related. GetHuman builds free tools and shares information to help customers of companies like Wikipedia. For large companies that includes tools such as our GetHuman Phone, which allows you to call a company but skip the part where you wait on the line to get a live human rep. We continue to work on these tools to help customers like you (and ourselves!) navigate the messy phone menus, hold times, and confusion with customer service. As long as you keep sharing it with your friends and loved ones, we'll keep doing it.