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Thread January 9, 2016 editorial: comments

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1 January 9, 2016 editorial: comments

How Supportive is Your Tech Support?

These days, being a recording musician requires not only musical and recording chops, you also need to be a tech wizard. Our systems are based around software, and typically we have a DAW from one company and plug-ins from others, and possibly drivers for our audio interface from yet another company. And that’s not to mention an operating system from another company, still (unless you’re using Apple Logic, in which case both DAW and OS are from the same developer). All these various pieces of code — digital “moving parts,” as it were — have to work in tandem, which, as you surely have experienced, doesn’t always happen.

When the code isn’t getting along, you get system crashes, which can be really disruptive, and can cause you to lose work unless you’re OCD about saving (speaking of preventing data loss, check out the story we published this week on backing up your data). When things get really bad, you might not even be able to get your session to load, or even your DAW to open. By necessity, we’ve all learned various ways to cope in these situations. We trash preferences, we restart the DAW or even the computer, we scour the internet for tips on how to fix our problem, and when things really get bad, we might even try reinstalling software. 

But sometimes, none of those steps work, and we have to turn to a software manufacturer’s tech support department. And here, we find very large differences from one company to the next. Some offer phone support, where you can reach a tech agent immediately. Others make you initiate your support request by email. The latter is annoying, because if you’re in the middle of a session, you don’t want to have to wait 24 hours to get a response. It’s understandable when it’s a small developer, but larger companies should all offer phone support.

And then there those developers that charge for tech support. As a Pro Tools user, I have to deal with one of those companies: Avid. As I’ve chronicled in previous columns, I recently decided to stick with Pro Tools, even after Avid imposed its subscription and annual upgrade fee model, because I’m very comfortable with the software and I really like the way it’s structured for recording, editing, and mixing. I caved in and paid the annual upgrade fee after Avid cut it in half for those willing to forego tech support. I figured that since I’ve usually been able to solve tech problems by doing research online, I could get by without paying for support. Well, I was wrong.

I’ve been having a problem with Pro Tools crashing every time I close out of a session, and no matter what I’ve tried, nothing fixes it. I’ve gotten to the point where I have to re-open Pro Tools virtually every time I open a session. So, I finally bit the bullet and ponied up the extra $99 for an annual support plan. I figured, at least if I’m paying for support, they’ll be very responsive. Wrong again.

I called the tech support line and, low and behold, it sounds as if Avid’s tech support has been outsourced to a country somewhere in Asia. This is the kind of thing I might expect from say, Hewlett Packard or Epson, but not a DAW developer. But Avid is a large, publicly traded company, so I guess I shouldn’t be so surprised. I’m happy that people are getting jobs in whatever country the tech support is located, but I would rather see those jobs stay here in the U.S. But I digress.

So I call tech support, and the guy on the other end takes my information and tells me that the “next available” tech support agent will call me back. Five hours later, I haven’t heard a thing, so I decide to call back. This time the person who answers is a tech support agent, and, to be fair, he spends a lot of time trying to diagnose the problem, and seems pretty knowledgeable. He speculates that it’s due to the drivers from my audio interface not being up to date. He says to try updating the drivers and to email him directly if the problem persists. So I update the drivers, but the problem persists. So I email him, and attach a crash log and a screenshot of the message that pops up when the crashes occur. That was two days ago, and I still haven’t gotten a response. For this I paid $99? 

What have your tech support experiences been like?

Show first post
11
Hi guys, I gave up on tech support on the phone years ago. Usually by the time I got any type of response, I found answers myself online in some forum ... like this site where people take the time to post their own personal experiences. I think most companies tech support teams feel too automated. Fair enough, somebody in some underdeveloped country or region gets a job. Good for them, but its just cheap labour for the companies, which doesn't really show any kind of aftermarket respect to their customers. To be honest, most of the people i`ve spoken to barely speak English, and most of them have never even had any personal experience with a computer of any kind. (except maybe their one hour training session when they get the job) It sounds harsh, but it`s true.

On a more positive note, what I find best is to send an email, as detailed as possible about the issue. I mean as technical as possible, explaining your complete hardware and software setup, signal chain etc. Usually the tech support guys aren`t experienced enough to deal with it, so the email is forwarded around and around, within the company, leaving a digital parer-trail so to speak, and up the ladder until it reaches the company propellerhead, who is only too happy to embrace the issue!
12
I feel your pain. Tech support in general is a pain in the ass. You have to figure it out
yourself or you're screwed. Tech support. What a joke.

\\
13
Quote:
Tech support in general is a pain in the ass. You have to figure it out
yourself or you're screwed

It's ironic, considering that with the complexity of software these days, and all the interactions between software of different companies that has become normal in our setups, we've never needed tech support more. Yes, there's a lot of info online, but, as I have found with my Pro Tools debacle, there isn't always information specific enough to your system and its particular combinations of processor, third party hardware and software. Finding a solution sometimes requires an expert on your DAW, who can actually troubleshoot the problem.
14
Quote:
On a more positive note, what I find best is to send an email, as detailed as possible about the issue. I mean as technical as possible, explaining your complete hardware and software setup, signal chain etc. Usually the tech support guys aren`t experienced enough to deal with it, so the email is forwarded around and around, within the company, leaving a digital parer-trail so to speak, and up the ladder until it reaches the company propellerhead, who is only too happy to embrace the issue!

Good suggestion. Of course, you have to be willing or able to wait days for a solution, which isn't always practical.
15
Clarification of my post
Quote:
In Steinberg I have never had the chance to get any luck. Once I needed their support and I am still expecting their answer.

Maybe in my aforementioned post I did not clarify that Steinberg's policy is to redirect the problems to the local representatives. That's why I didn't get any answer from the central office od the company once, when I had an issue and send them directly an e mail. And also that's why we have excellent support: due to the fact that in our country the representative solves all the problems locally. If every user of Cubase had to solve the problems internationally (through the mother company website) then the support will become too crowdie. The tunneling of the requests locally and the excellent local representative are the solution and the cause of "happy and reliable clients".
16
People still use Pro tools? With all the other DAWs out there with great Plug-ins, support, and affordability. I just will never understand why people still use this way over priced, antiquated non supported dinosaur... But I do feel your pain. It happens to all DAWs Just not only Pro Tools....
17
Quote:
I just will never understand why people still use this way over priced, antiquated non supported dinosaur...

Most commercial albums and film soundtracks are recorded in Pro Tools. It's the industry standard in the pro audio world. I grant you that it's not the best deal around as DAWs go. There are plenty of others that offer more features for less money. But different DAWs appeal to different people. What I like about Pro Tools is its superb interface for mixing and editing audio. I have tried many DAWs, and I find that for the kind of music I do (lots of live instruments, not that much MIDI), that Pro Tools' is the DAW I can work most efficiently in.
Quote:
But I do feel your pain. It happens to all DAWs Just not only Pro Tools....

Of course. Most DAWs, because of their complex and multifaceted nature — and due to all the interaction with third-party hardware and plug-ins — suffer from instability at times. But not all tech support is equal. Some companies obviously put more emphasis on customer service than others. Sadly for us Pro Tools users, Avid doesn't seem to be one of those companies.
18
got similar problems as AVID don't understand that we have very few towns left in British Columbia left with home delivery we have to put both (house and po box if we wish to get our mail) ,so when i placed an order for an iLok2 the order was promptly deleted by their idiot techs leaving no choice but to go to our Canadian Long&mcQuade online access totally putting the brakes on the session i was trying to finish up for cd release
19
Quote:
their idiot techs leaving no choice but to go to our Canadian Long&mcQuade online access totally putting the brakes on the session i was trying to finish up for cd release

Sorry to hear about that. I totally sympathize. Avid has become too big, and is more beholden to its stockholders than it's customers. That, I'm afraid is the crux of it. The result is outsourced and substandard tech support, and way too much bureaucracy.
20

spot on !