blog: customer support blues

[peregryne]

sorry about all these gripers Nikos - I've had nothing but good support the few times I've had questions about x2.  I recently paid to upgrade to 2.0, and it was as simple as I could have wanted.  hopefully you'll get some windsurfing in soon.

[Tuxman]

What exactly is missing, nikos?

[fastlane]

lol @ right hand .. dog comment on blog post.  :P

[Caveatrob]

Clearly - and this is not a shot at Nikos - he is not a writer, documenter, or Help specialist.

That said - I see a definite need for clear instructions, how-to's, and general information aimed at the customers he's targeting with his app.

While I'm all about community help in the forums, I think it's fair for an author of a paid application to pay for help doing these types of documents, screencasts, FAQs, and quick references.

A giganimous document isn't usable or sufficient.

Again - this isn't a slam on Nikos - it's a business decision many developers of great software need to make in order to reach customers. Many, many good things are lost when direction and communication aren't clear.

I'd also much rather see Nikos spend his time enhancing and updating the product than trying to create help or documentation.

Think about hiring a help guy...


Rob

[Caveatrob]

PS - I'd edit the blog post to include these excerpts, but instead of snarky responses, I'd provide alternative ways the upset clients should have responded. It's something I teach my students.

For example:

"I will leave negative feedback if all my codes don't work!!!"

Better:

"Hi, I'm having trouble with (such and such specific code) that worked in 1.8 but doesn't seem to work in the new version. Can you recommend a workaround or solution? I've included technical details below.

I'm very happy with your product and I would love to continue to support you as you make newer and better versions. I look forward to being able to upgrade and restore my existing customizations.

Sincerely,

Not a douchebag
(technical details follow)

[rcogan]

I just downloaded the upgrade, installed it, clicked on Yes to proceed with the license check, entered my email and then I received the registration key. I copied it, went to Help/Activate, pasted in the key and all went well. This was simple as could be and worked without a hitch. Good job!