Here's a follow-up to yesterday's post.
I called the sales department at Symantec about my problem installing Symantec Backup. I told the rep that we've been using their backup product for ages, and explained my connundrum... that I had planned on buying the new version of Symantec backup, but couldn't get the product to install in order to do a thorough evaluation... that I couldn't find the answer on their internet site... that I couldn't talk to a live support rep until I had bought the product, and that I wouldn't buy the product until I had successfully evaluated the program. He offered to get me a courtesy support call, and also recommended that I call my Value-Added Reseller for support. I told the sales rep that I'd call the VAR for support first, and would contact him for the courtesy support call if the VAR couldn't help.
My VAR was CompuCom. I fired off an email to them, explaining my predicament, and asked if they could help -- already knowing that I could get assistance. In effect, this as much a test of CompuCom's commitment to me as a customer as it was a quest for support. A couple of hours later, I got an email back from CompuCom saying -- and I quote -- "I feel your pain. Symantec won't help you unless you've already bought their product." Based on the response, I don't think the CompuCom rep even tried to help me out.
So I called the Symantec rep back and told him my story. He called his bosses and had a courtesy support call arranged for me within a half hour. Within another half hour, I received a call-back from a live support rep at Symantec -- despite the fact that I told them up front that my issue wasn't a high-priority issue. A half hour after that, the problem was fixed. This support rep knew his job!
I fired an email off to my CompuCom rep, and told her that I got the support I needed. Without coming out and saying that she was lazy and incompetent, I told her that I don't think she went to any lengths to get me the help I needed, and informed her that I'd be purchasing my licenses through another reseller. And I sent this email off as I was walking out the door for the weekend. I hope it made her weekend. (Evil Grin.)
As we speak, I am now testing the backups on my new network, and so far everything is working far better than my old solution on my old network. Unless something goes drastically wrong, I am fully confident that I'll be buying several backup licenses from Symantec. So far, I'd say that the newest version of Symantec's Backup software is everything the marketing blurbs say it is, and I'd recommend it to anyone who's in the market for a backup solution.
There are several morals to this story...
-A little persistance on the part of the customer pays off.
-Being good to potential customers pays.
-Taking customers for granted is a sure-fire way to drive them away.
I called the sales department at Symantec about my problem installing Symantec Backup. I told the rep that we've been using their backup product for ages, and explained my connundrum... that I had planned on buying the new version of Symantec backup, but couldn't get the product to install in order to do a thorough evaluation... that I couldn't find the answer on their internet site... that I couldn't talk to a live support rep until I had bought the product, and that I wouldn't buy the product until I had successfully evaluated the program. He offered to get me a courtesy support call, and also recommended that I call my Value-Added Reseller for support. I told the sales rep that I'd call the VAR for support first, and would contact him for the courtesy support call if the VAR couldn't help.
My VAR was CompuCom. I fired off an email to them, explaining my predicament, and asked if they could help -- already knowing that I could get assistance. In effect, this as much a test of CompuCom's commitment to me as a customer as it was a quest for support. A couple of hours later, I got an email back from CompuCom saying -- and I quote -- "I feel your pain. Symantec won't help you unless you've already bought their product." Based on the response, I don't think the CompuCom rep even tried to help me out.
So I called the Symantec rep back and told him my story. He called his bosses and had a courtesy support call arranged for me within a half hour. Within another half hour, I received a call-back from a live support rep at Symantec -- despite the fact that I told them up front that my issue wasn't a high-priority issue. A half hour after that, the problem was fixed. This support rep knew his job!
I fired an email off to my CompuCom rep, and told her that I got the support I needed. Without coming out and saying that she was lazy and incompetent, I told her that I don't think she went to any lengths to get me the help I needed, and informed her that I'd be purchasing my licenses through another reseller. And I sent this email off as I was walking out the door for the weekend. I hope it made her weekend. (Evil Grin.)
As we speak, I am now testing the backups on my new network, and so far everything is working far better than my old solution on my old network. Unless something goes drastically wrong, I am fully confident that I'll be buying several backup licenses from Symantec. So far, I'd say that the newest version of Symantec's Backup software is everything the marketing blurbs say it is, and I'd recommend it to anyone who's in the market for a backup solution.
There are several morals to this story...
-A little persistance on the part of the customer pays off.
-Being good to potential customers pays.
-Taking customers for granted is a sure-fire way to drive them away.
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