He has a point about them not answering their phone. I've called dozens of times before and never once have I ever spoken to someone. Always goes to the voicemail. If they work with or do work for big companies like Microsoft, Asus, etc... then they shouldn't have a problem hiring enough staff to answer the phones. At least switchboard or something. I order from the net constantly and have never experienced this with any other site, even the most rinky-dink cheap sites. I'm a business owner myself and I know that turns off a lot of business. I, for instance, was so excited about all the products Stardock has to offer that when my husband asked what I wanted for my aniversary gift, I told him I wanted just about every single program they have. I was surprised when he told me to go ahead and order them all. So for two days straight I tried to call, over and over, it was rediculous. I wanted to call because I wanted to get the cd versions on all of them and the link for the desktop ultimate cd order didn't work online. Plus I had a few questions, I just wanted to be able to speak to a human being. After two days of calling over and over between 9-4, both on weekdays and not one time of getting through, I was very frustrated. I still wanted the products though, so I decided to go ahead and just try to order one of them online, went through all the usual steps, then after I gave my c.c. it just went back to the original page. No confirmation, order #, nothing. I've been religiously checking my email and I'm pretty sure it didn't go through. That was a few days ago. By the way, I've also left plenty of messages when I've called and yes, gave my name and number. I'm so completely disqusted at this point I don't know if I should even bother wasting anymore of our time trying to hunt down stardock to GIVE them a bunch of money. Personally, I think it's just a horrible reflection on their customer service. Whether it annoys you or not, I think u have it backwards. The businesses are suppose to compete for the customer's money, the customer shouldn't have to have this kind of difficulty. Yes, the high demands of todays customers are pretty darn tough, but if you don't keep up with the competition, you will ultimately lose. Sad, but that's just life and how the world is today. Can't take the heat, then get out of the kitchen. It's already been proven that a customer will go elsewhere simply because of their experience with a particular company. After all, speaking as a would-have-been customer, I was prepared to purchase just about every software product that stardock is currently offering because I was literally in awe of all the things I could do with all of it. However, once I realized that if I needed to speak to someone, it would be...well, so far by experience impossible, my excitement and desire for the products has since dwindled. It may just be a matter of opinion, but I learned very quickly that keeping my customers, even the cranky ones happy, to the best of my ability, has paid off. Seriously though, being able to speak to someone on the phone is a very basic expected thing from all customers. Come on, that is completely validated! Customers don't want to hear your excuses, they simply don't care! That's just reality. BTW, customer satisfaction is key, within reason of course, you never leave a customer unhappy. If they feel that they have been somehow inconvenienced or mistreated, etc...closing the deal/sale then, by only giving them what they have already purchased, will NOT restore their confidence in you. It's then that you have to go above and beyond by giving them something extra that will, in their mind, makeup for their negative experience, therefor allowing you to regain their trust in your customer service and also restore, within them, the desire to remain YOUR customer rather than just moving on to the next company.
My opnion is that individuals who require such instant service from their purchase of a $20 program should choose not to purchase from Stardock.
As soon as someone calls us on the phone, any profit that there was on a $20 program is lost.
I'm afraid it is you that has things backwards. The customer / developer relationship is a relationship of equals. You trade your money for our product that we've produced. We do provide a pretty considerable level of free support but instant free phone support is not one of that. Other companies who need this pay hundreds of thousands of dollars a year for that kind of service. It is certainly not going to be available for free on a $20 purchase.
If individuals such as yourself and the original poster simply chose to never purchase anything from us again, we would be better off. Please keep that in mind.
I'm not trying to be rude or mean. I am just trying to help you and others undrestand that there is a difference between purchasing something from a manufacturer (Stardock) and from a retailer (Best Buy). When you're buying something from us, it is strictly a trade (money for product).
I had a lot to say, quickly...besides, it's a post not a formal document. I'm amazed @ the lack of maturity and business sense! Complaining about customers in plain site of where they can read it, not exactly smart practice, lol.
Well as someone who complains about customers all the time but yet manages to have a $20+ million company I think I would say that being critical of difficult consumers is not bad business sense. Any user who thinks that the relationship between us and them isn't a relationship of equals should not purchase from us.
-Brad Wardell, President & CEO, Stardock Corp.
