Support is Poor
What is going on ? I can tell you I am getting very upset with the amount of time it is taking like weeks or more to get a reply. I did get a reply but I wonder if the support staff have changed out. Does anyone know what is going on.
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Hi,
The new company owner is focusing on sales, not on customer satisfaction.0 -
Did they sell C1 off how do we know this?
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Mark,
C1 support and the Phase family Camera and related software support Camera support are, quite logically in my opinion, now run on different systems and with different first line support people to reflect the different skill sets required. And, of course, the rather different usage markets of the Digital Back users.
The modern approach to support, in all markets, tends to be self help based on on-line FAQ (or Question and Answer if you prefer) data bases. This is the trend we can see for the dedicated Capture One support.
Depending on when you first created you Support requests you may or may not have been unlucky enough to be part of the backlog issue that resulted from the rather unfortunate events around the time of the V20 launch.
Either way you should be able to check the current status now you are signed in to the Community in order to pst in the new Forum.
At the top of the page you should see your name and a little down arrow beside it.
Click on that and you should see an option to review "My Activities".
Click on that the and the default options is most likely to be the display of "My Requests" which should show you your request history together with a current status indication.
Click on the link (blue as I see it) in the "Subject" column to access the full details.
If you don't see anything or if what you do see is not what you expected then either raise a new Request to ask what has happened (or add comments to existing requests of create follow-ups - your choice) or come back and tell us (as fellow users) and we might try to work out what might be happening.
If you created the cases in the previous system there may be nothing going on (unless they are about Phase Cameras or you are a Phase camera user). There was a message a few weeks ago about re-logging cases from the old system into the new system.
Depending on the subject of the Support Requests you may find it useful to run a search through the Support Community facilities. Take it form the Community landing page and it will search everywhere.
A lot of new articles have been added in recent times and perhaps you will find some answers to your questions. Obviously I can't be sure of that since I don;t know what the questions were ... but it may be worth taking a look anyway.
HTH.
Grant
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> C1 support and the Phase family Camera and related software support Camera support are, quite logically in my opinion, now run on different systems and with different first line support people to reflect the different skill sets required.
So, the customers using C1 for images shot with Phase One hardware need a different (better / first class / premium) support than those using C1 for images shot with other hardware ?
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They most likely need the support for the hardware, the onboard C1 in the latest backs, the camera systems adapted to Aerial Photography, in all its forms, and the additional software that supports it. For the Hardware users the software is just a necessary tool represent a small part of their investment were they to buy it separately - which many probably do anyway.
The Cultural Heritage users will have some significant investment in both cameras and other types of hardware and much of what they do will be somewhat industrial.
The skill sets for supporting users with the Hardware side of things are likely to require a different approach and a higher level of practical knowledge of the full range of Phase products - now including several revisions of Digital backs. They may also get a few questions about Capture One in general rather than specifically related to the Phase Hardware. I have no idea who might answer that but if I had invested significant sums in hardware and product training and was working with a client base wealthy enough to pay my business to fund the investment then yes, I would likely from time to time want to call on some some significant and widely knowledgable resource. Moreover my customer would expect me to have that sort of support available if I was selling them my services at a premium on the basis of the quality of result I, and my chosen hardware, could deliver.
It would not be very impressive if the client were to discover that the expert I needed was unavailable because they were dealing with a rash of questions about some very basic functionality that was covered in user guides that people never bothered to read.
Just for example.
It's not that it it should be better support but it seems reasonable to expect some sort of preference service since the financial commitment is some orders of magnitude greater.
Commercially, if shooting non Phase hardware, there is the Enterprise offering available. If I understand the offer correctly is it a software solution aimed at multi-user needs with an enhanced support option available - for a fee. That seems reasonable. Presumably those that opt for recognise the value it brings to them or, if they feel there is no value, they revert to a non-Enterprise licence.
I note that since the Enterprise option was introduced (previously Studio) and was given its own section on the forum, very few posts have appeared. Presumably the support is working or not required.
Meanwhile the new support system is starting to come together with many articles, some old and reformatted, many new or revised, in order to offer 24/7 self help.
I am usually sceptical of such approaches based on real world experiences. However in this case and especially in recent days the integration of the Support Portal (Community) seems to be coming together quite well. Searches that were hit and miss in the old forum can now produce many results, usually very relevant to the terms used in the search, from across the range of Support resources. All in just a few seconds.
I'm beginning to be impressed.
Better still users can comment on the articles ad with luck most comments will be enhancing in some way. The Articles are being revised quite frequently which I take as a good sign for the future and the quality of the content.
A simple query phrase - and I have tried a few - will usually result in very relevant offerings from the Forum, the FAQ articles, the on-line User Guide, the Tutorials section and, where appropriate, the Webinar archive. I do not recall that being anywhere close to possible from one system in earlier times (other than if using Google and ploughing through a lot of other irrelevant "finds".)
We can also follow our support cases, more easily access our posts, our replies, our comments on articles and manage what we are following from a simple list.
And we now have a public Features Request section of the forum, just like people have been suggesting for some time.
Personally I am much happier thinking that I may be easily able to find some answers or guidance to my question or problem when it crops up at 11pm on a Friday night. That the information available might improve over time as the new system beds in is a bonus. Indeed its real success would be the elimination of the need for Support Cases together with a reduction of question posed on the forum because people are easily able to find the information or stimulus of understanding they need on line within a few minutes of phrasing a question. (Even better if that could be achieved in multiple languages.)
But for the fiasco of the V20 Pre-Marketing outcome - which seemed to be good intention that went bad through some unfortunate wording, a slight lack of full explanation and one or two systems problems - I suspect we might be several weeks further along the self service support path by now and seeing additional benefits.
I don't doubt that there are improvements for the portal yet to be suggested. So let us suggest them.
The Community Portal will not by itself resolve the issues that third parties so often manage to present as surprise gifts - a trick that most of them seem to be learning. from each other.
I think there are a few features that could be beneficially added. Also a few that we might think we need - but don't really. Time and usage will guide us about that impression.
Much as one can assume that one gets value from something like support by using it and interacting with people to obtain that value it is likely much better value if one does not have to take up one's own time and the time of other people, on a one to one basis, to ask questions and get answers. For difficult and complicated stuff - maybe it's the only way. For everyday queries of regular activities - personal hand holding by support staff should not be necessary - or at least not more than once per question (in an ideal world) before the answer or guidance becomes available via searching the web site.
If we get close to that objective this will have been a significant benefit to all users and therefore a quality service delivered at a good price - or at least a good price for those that can and do make use of the service.
Grant
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Thanks for the above info Grant. It is good to see that the support site is being enhanced and improved. However, i am currently in a situation where the support site simply does not cover my issue and I have had to raise a separate support request. I have to agree with the Mark however that compared to the past where I have occasionally (actually rarely ) needed support it has been quick and thorough.
My recent experience is quite the reverse, it has been slow in the extreme with weeks passing by before an initial response, but more frustratingly, once a response is received and the issue progressed, everything suddenly goes quiet again. While technical support can be a difficult and challenging job dealing with customers of various skill and knowledge, for the first time I am also experiencing support who simply will not listen to the actual problem I am having. I am being given links and references to a support material that simply has little if anything to do with my issue. It therefore makes me think that some of the support staff simply don't have the knowledge and training to be of much help. On two occasions, I have have asked a very specific question of "where is the backup folder, that what was automatically created during the upgrade, located? Both times that one simple question has been ignored, thus my comment about not listening and potentially not knowing.
I am not bitter and twisted about the support but I am giving feedback that the current level of support is significantly less and worse than what I have experienced in the past.
Regards, Levin
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Levin, I'm with you.
Support is very very slow on response, and doesn't do what I say to replicate the issue: they continue to postpone and finally say that a new version is available. I try the new version but the bug is still here. And then they become quiet again
Very disappointing
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