Why would a company have a customer support policy that states they will answer your questions in 48 business hours? The company is Avid and particularly their Pinnacle product group. By the way, I'm pretty sure that Avid has a great reputation in the industry. I don't know if Pinnacle enjoys that rep but let's assume they do.
I bought some new video editing software last week after calling the company's sales department and asking some questions about their products. I wanted to make sure I got exactly what I needed because I didn't want to end up going down the road of software and hardware compatibility hell. Well, I ended up there anyway and I've wasted hours trying to make something work that probably isn't going to work because it needs another device to work.
Which brings me to their support. I could have opted for a chat but having already had a chat with their sales group and finding out they sold me the wrong thing, I was in no mood for a chat. I wanted an answer in writing with a solution. And, I wanted it yesterday. Well, actually two days ago but since I bought the software on Friday, I was out of luck since the weekend isn't considered business days.
But, that's not true. I checked. Avid is still are willing to sell you anything on the weekend. No waiting. Which kind of sounds like their business is all about them. Not you and me.
That doesn't make them a bad company. It just means they aren't any different from lots of other companies. They aren't extraordinary. And, that's too bad because I've read some good things about their products. Well, at least their high-end products used by Emmy and Oscar winning people.
Taking good care of the guy who spent less than $100 on a home video software package probably isn't considered good business when it comes to dollars and cents. I mean how much more am I likely to spend with them?
That's the beauty of the web. They have no idea.
I could be an 18 year old kid who will grow up to be the next Spielberg.
I might be married to the decision maker who is about to make a major editing suite product decision.
I might be a major investor checking them out by going in the customer door.
Whoever I am - I'll remember how I was treated when I did business with them.
And, I bet you'll remember this story too.
What kind of stories are your customers telling people?
You never know, man. Best to be nice to the little people, right? :D
Great post.
Posted by: Megan M. | November 03, 2009 at 09:27 AM
Their sad email response was right out of a support manual. The person who
answered my email could not put together a grammatically correct sentence
which leads me to believe my support is (just as was the sales support)
coming from offshore. I had already found the same page as they sent me and
it does not fix the problem.
Avid Video has a real customer service problem.
Posted by: Bob Poole | November 03, 2009 at 09:56 AM