Absolutely Zero Support. Disappointing...

bluloo · Jan 22, 2007

User support experiences - from Nay to Yay!

Note: the title of this post was changed to reflect the response by Parallels support staff. Thank you for the reply to our issues.
(I cannot change the overall thread title)

Original thread follows below:

Hopefully others are faring better than I.

I have been having repeated crashes related to Parallels and ejecting shared drives (iPod, share from macbook Pro etc).

I've posted several times here and also sent multiple support requests complete with crash reports (KPs) over the past few weeks.

I have yet to receive a solution or an email response from support.

Today I uninstalled Parallels from my machine and haven't had a KP since.

It is disappointing to find this kind of support when I purchased the early beta as soon as it was available for purchase.

Perhaps Fusion will be better (or there will be a "fix" for my issues at some point).

cheers

jamesmcniff · Jan 22, 2007

I completely agree. I have been trying to get even an acknowledgement from Parallels on my USB problem for three weeks. My next step is to post my experiences (or lack of them) in every forum that I can find on he net. Amazing that a company in this day and age thinks that it will not be hurt by ignoring their customers...

ericchiu · Jan 22, 2007

take it easy bro.. im sure if u r paid subscribers u'll be better off.

drval · Jan 22, 2007

bluloo said:
Hopefully others are faring better than I.

I have been having repeated crashes related to Parallels and ejecting shared drives (iPod, share from macbook Pro etc).

I've posted several times here and also sent multiple support requests complete with crash reports (KPs) over the past few weeks.

I have yet to receive a solution or an email response from support.

Today I uninstalled Parallels from my machine and haven't had a KP since.

It is disappointing to find this kind of support when I purchased the early beta as soon as it was available for purchase.

Perhaps Fusion will be better (or there will be a "fix" for my issues at some point).

cheers

Did you send a note to beta@parallels.com? I've never NOT gotten a response from them using that address.

bluloo · Jan 23, 2007

I purchased the software as soon as the beta became available. (Does that make me a "paid subscriber"?).

Registered, paid users should receive at least a courtesy reply from support.
I've submitted multiple requests using the beta@parallels address and the web form support request. - no love.

Servicing what you sell is important, even if it's simply an acknowledgement of the issue.

cheers

ajwans · Jan 23, 2007

Couldn't agree more, the support is non-existent. I would switch to fusion in a second if
it wasn't just as beta as Parallels is. I have sent multiple messages to the support and
beta email addresses and have yet to get even an acknowledgement of the problem,
via email or in these support forums.

Not good enough, I have purchased a licence and I expect somebody should be at the
other end of the support emails.

andy

j0nkatz · Jan 23, 2007

I sent them a email support about my palm not working on Parallels and all I got back was a response saying "sorry not all USB devices supported". But at least I guess I did get a response back.

forgie · Jan 23, 2007

I've had timely responses back from Parallels both before and after buying in - I had some questions about poor USB latency which they answered quite honestly and quickly. I never seem to get the "brick wall response" from customer support people - maybe you guys were rude in your emails or something?

Maybe your emails went into the spam filter?

dkp · Jan 23, 2007

bluloo said:
I purchased the software as soon as the beta became available. (Does that make me a "paid subscriber"?).

Registered, paid users should receive at least a courtesy reply from support.
I've submitted multiple requests using the beta@parallels address and the web form support request. - no love.

Servicing what you sell is important, even if it's simply an acknowledgement of the issue.

cheers

If you are requesting support for the version you purchased, or for release 1970 then yes. If you are asking for support for the beta or RC versions then you are SOL. It's beta - it's broken. Your job is to tell them what doesn't work, their job is to fix it in the next release. There's absolutely no reason to expect a response from them regarding beta code.

chrisdressler · Jan 23, 2007

No Reponse from Beta Alias

I'm happy to hear that some of you always get a response back when you e-mail the beta e-mail alias, however I have not. I regularly submit bugs and suggestions to that e-mail alias and I have never once received an e-mail back. Even something as simple as an indication that "hey thanks, we got the message." would be nice.

I still continue to submit the bugs in the hopes that they will make the product better, but for all I know, these just go out into the ether somewhere...

echuck · Jan 23, 2007

I bought the official release (1970) and sent in a support request after a couple weeks of use. I avoided being rude in my message.

And I received no response at all.

My guess is that their product has gotten popular more quickly than they can currently handle. Too bad for us...

bluloo · Jan 23, 2007

dkp said:
If you are requesting support for the version you purchased, or for release 1970 then yes. If you are asking for support for the beta or RC versions then you are SOL. It's beta - it's broken. Your job is to tell them what doesn't work, their job is to fix it in the next release. There's absolutely no reason to expect a response from them regarding beta code.

I hadn't really thought about the "no response for betas" thing. You may be correct. If so it should be explicitly stated when you install the beta. Something along the lines of "NO SUPPORT WILL BE PROVIDED FOR BETA BUILDS. THIS INCLUDES REGISTERED USERS."

It seems a bit silly when you read it in black and white though.

Semantics aside, perhaps you do have a point (though I beta test multiple applications and am in regular contact with the devs regarding stability issues). Something to think about when using Parallels perhaps.

Based on the feedback posted here, it seems that support may be hit or miss, assuming that SPAM filtering is not to blame for an apparent lack of communication.

cheers

Stevamundo · Jan 23, 2007

dkp is right, unfortunately betas are NOT supported by Parallels.

jkneen · Jan 23, 2007

Why would anyone install a beta and expect to get support? Surely if decide to install a beta you expect to take a risk?

bluloo · Jan 23, 2007

jkneen said:
Why would anyone install a beta and expect to get support? Surely if decide to install a beta you expect to take a risk?

That is likely better addressed to the myriad other software developers who work with beta testers to improve their products by maintaining an open dialogue.

This is especially relevant when an RC1 candidate is posted and users report significant issues absent in the previous GM release.

Yes, I do agree that the user is taking a risk when using any beta. Let's be clear, the risk isn't the issue.

The issue is the lack of response when requesting support, especially when you are a paid, registered user.

I have no great beef with Parallels. When the app again becomes usable for me, I will very likely reinstall it.

I am quite happy that it works for most others. It is a tremendous concept and the app has some awesome features (I love coherence mode!).

As a secondary note, user testing is central to eliminating bugs from beta builds. All things being equal, ignoring your base of beta testers isn't going to help provide a better product.

Many have reported a lack of support for issues related to the first GM release as well.

Again, the issue isn't that beta testers should receive full support or that there should be zero risk.

The issue is that all paid, registered users are entitled to at least some level of support.

cheers

drval · Jan 23, 2007

Have you actually posted your note, your issue, directly to parallels via:

beta@parallels.com?

That is the proper place if you want/expect to get a direct response FROM Parallels.

bluloo said:
That is likely better addressed to the myriad other software developers who work with beta testers to improve their products by maintaining an open dialogue.

This is especially relevant when an RC1 candidate is posted and users report significant issues absent in the previous GM release.

Yes, I do agree that the user is taking a risk when using any beta. Let's be clear, the risk isn't the issue.

The issue is the lack of response when requesting support, especially when you are a paid, registered user.

I have no great beef with Parallels. When the app again becomes usable for me, I will very likely reinstall it.

I am quite happy that it works for most others. It is a tremendous concept and the app has some awesome features (I love coherence mode!).

As a secondary note, user testing is central to eliminating bugs from beta builds. All things being equal, ignoring your base of beta testers isn't going to help provide a better product.

Many have reported a lack of support for issues related to the first GM release as well.

Again, the issue isn't that beta testers should receive full support or that there should be zero risk.

The issue is that all paid, registered users are entitled to at least some level of support.

cheers

dlundh · Jan 23, 2007

I'm a registered customer. I tried to get help via the web form (which specifically states you can expect a reply within 3 business days) but have yet to recieve any sort of reply whatsoever.

I'm moving to VMWare as soon as Fusion moves out of beta, and yes, I have sent an email to that effect to Parallels. I can't rely on a product that has no support structure in place and I'm delivering that message to anyone who's willing to listen. I think the poor (non-existant) support will really bite them in the ass.

Oh well. I guess I should be happy it was "just" $80 to learn this lesson.

drval · Jan 23, 2007

dlundh said:
I'm a registered customer. I tried to get help via the web form (which specifically states you can expect a reply within 3 business days) but have yet to recieve any sort of reply whatsoever.

I'm moving to VMWare as soon as Fusion moves out of beta, and yes, I have sent an email to that effect to Parallels. I can't rely on a product that has no support structure in place and I'm delivering that message to anyone who's willing to listen. I think the poor (non-existant) support will really bite them in the ass.

Oh well. I guess I should be happy it was "just" $80 to learn this lesson.

Can you point me to the message that contains your issue? Or can you repost it here. I'll forward it to beta@parallels and see if that generates any reply. If you've already decided to make that move you may not be that interested in actually getting any response that would allow you to use Paralles; however, others here might be every interested in seeing what the response would be.

It could be a real help to those who do want to use Parallels and have experienced whatever problem it was that you encountered.

unused_user_name · Jan 23, 2007

This seems to be a reoccuring theme?

Maybe a manager at Parallels should assign someone in engineering to watch over the forums?

They could use a good PR person who knows the tech behind their product.

drval · Jan 24, 2007

unused_user_name said:
This seems to be a reoccuring theme?

Maybe a manager at Parallels should assign someone in engineering to watch over the forums?

They could use a good PR person who knows the tech behind their product.

Perhaps -- and/or people could read the release notes, understand the difference between beta, RC and official releases, as well as direct specific, unanswered issues/bugs to the address indicated BY Paralles to use for such purposes: viz:

beta@parallels.com