Adobe Has HORRIBLE customer support

I can't comment about your specific problem because I know nothing about it but in future if you want to use Adobe products for a short period (defined as less than or equal to 30 days) then you should consider downloading a trial version.  The trial version software is a full version that does everything a product is supposed to do.  I hope you can pass this tip to your students who may want to work from home to do their homework and coursework.

Hope this helps.

I've seen some really STUPID posts in my time, and usually I hold my tongue, but Philipp, yours merits special mention.

It should be deleted forthwith as an egregious violation of the rules (both being SPAM and promoting illegal activity).  Moderator, while you're deleting that one, kill mine too please.

-Noel

Just in case: Noel, you were not answering Phillip here, but someone whose name begins with "rakete..." and whose message was deleted (but yours hasn't).

Thanks Claudio. No that was not me than gave that comment.  He signed his post with Philipp. I've never spelled my name in that way in the almost 63 I've been living.

I would never recommend someone to do an illegal activity.  Despite my thinking software in general, cost too much and not supported enough. I still bite the bullet and purchase what I need.

Well, it would seem that I may be in need of new reading glasses...

I still appreciate the support. whether you need glasses or not. All people eventually need glasses as they get older. Or the get arm extenders so they don't have to.

You are so right about the terrible customer support !!!!  So RUDE.  I was just disconnected 3 times. 

Adobe C/S, and T/S, were not always that way. At one time, I rated them at about the # 2 position, up near the old WordPerfect (back in the pre-Corel, Orem, UT days). Man, that was just flat great support!!!!

As you say, T/S, at least, was outsourced, and things seemed to have gone downhill. Fortunately for me, I have not had to use either T/S, or C/S during recent times. However, from reading of others' plights, it does seem to be pretty bad. Not THAT long ago, Adobe's upper-management (cannot recall the person now), issued a public statement, that Adobe would be addressing the support issues, and working to improve things. With some programs, it appears that positive changes HAVE been made, though obviously not with all products. Premiere Pro is one such programs, with improving T/S.

I still maintain that the product forums are better than most T/S interactions will likely be. Now, get into licensing, etc., and one needs to contact C/S, as most forum members cannot do much more than parrot what they have read, as most of us, have never had any licensing problems.

Sorry that you have had bad encounters.

Hunt

Bill Hunt wrote:

 

Not THAT long ago, Adobe's upper-management (cannot recall the person now), issued a public statement, that Adobe would be addressing the support issues, and working to improve things.

That would be the widely cited "Open Letter to Adobe Customers" by Lambert Walsh, VP Technical Services back in Sep 2009.

http://blogs.adobe.com/acom/2009/09/repairing_adobes_customer_serv.html

Meet him (and other Adobe staff) in this 3 min promotional video discussing their "Customer Listening Post"

http://blogs.adobe.com/adobelife/2011/06/29/standing-in-the-shoes-of-our-customers/

Much ado about nothings. Just a lot of hot air.

Believe me, I never watch those videos for the content.

To me, they're promotional fluff with little traction in the real world and zero effect on my workflow and purchasing decisions.

I occasionally like to put a face to a name at Adobe, that's all.

John,

Thank you for that link. I thought that I had it bookmarked, but could not readily find it.

Appreciated,

Hunt

C2T2 I apologize for the difficulties you have experienced with your use of the subscription edition.  We currently only offer monthly and annual subscription plans.  If you or anyone else would like to cancel your subscription prior to the next billing period you can do so by accessing the My Adobe feature of our website - https://www.adobe.com/account.html.  Once you are logged in you will want to select My Subscriptions and Services to manage your subscription.

In regards to processing your request for a refund you will need to work with our support team.  For the best assistance, I recommend our chat support at http://adobe.ly/yxj0t6.  Our chat representatives can provide a personalized experience to resolve the issue you have described.

I must agree that Adobe support lacks any support as well as good Customer Service.  I just finished with a live chat with Customer Support.  I was given links to follow to go to a Public Forum for help.  I was not able to find what I needed with the links so when the CS person asked if I needed anything else, I typed that I needed help.  Eventually, I flat asked if he/she was refusing to help and the answer was "yes".  I saved a copy of the conversation to send to Adobe with a complaint regarding this, but can't even find a way to file a complaint.  I guess if you make it impossible to file a complaint then Adobe can pretend there are no problems.

If you tell us what product you need help with, someone can guide you to the right forum.  Very often the forum users can provide more help with technical problems than Adobe customer support.

Pat,

I second your suggestion. Over the years, I have found that so long as one is not needing direct assistance on installation issues (many can be fixed easily in the forum), or something to do with S/N's, licensing or Activation, the forum folk are usually more helpful, and quicker.

Many of the T/S folk might know (or have a script) Adobe software in general, but if you need help with, say Premiere Pro, then the forum folk, actually use, and know the program. I have seen few problems, where the OP followed the suggestions 100%, that could not be resolved by the product forum.

Good luck to Frustrated,

Hunt

The "problem" is that we "helpful users" do tend to offer pretty helpful support, so it's no surprise that the telephone support people often send people to the forums.

But there really should be a policy against doing that.

Not that I want to help fewer folks but c'mon, think about it, Adobe:  Officially telling your customers to go ask other customers for help?  What do you REALLY think that looks like to people?  Don't be daft.

It's time for Adobe to hire some good old fashioned native language speakers.  Send the users in India to India tech support.  Send the users in the US to US tech support.  And don't try to minimize the cost, but rather maximize the quality!

-Noel

Noel,

I will respectfully disagree here.

Now, it would be great if Adobe could hire experts in all of its products, and route each call to the appropriate expert. However, I just do not see that happening, at least any time soon. This problem can be greatly exacerbated, if a user has a full suite, and is having problems with more than one program in it.

Now, I have been using, and participating in the Adobe forums, from the days, when they were ONLY available via NNTP - before what we know as the Internet, was even born, I also did use ARPANET way, way back before that. Whether it is for an Adobe product, or another, I have found that the user-to-user (that term is now absent) forums offer better support. Almost everyone there does actually use the product(s).

It used to be much more simple, back when companies, like WordPerfect made only one product. You always got an expert on the phone. However, even back then, if one needed to "write a printer driver," the call might get transferred to the desk across the office, to the "Printer Wizard."

Personally, I am a very big fan of user forums. The only thing that I would possibly have placed above them, would have been a well-written, printed manual, but that is a thing of the past.

As I have mentioned in some other threads on T/S, and the product forums, most, that I frequent, have the addition of an Adobe presence, which is so greatly appreciated, as those employee contributors know what's under the hood, and when we, mere users, run out of ideas, they can often step in - then the OP, plus many of us, learn something new.

Imagine if Adobe were to relocate Chris Cox, and relegate him to answering the phone for simple user calls?

I want him busy in development, and then, if he has any spare time, helping out in the PS forum.

I understand where you are coming from, but just disagree. That, however, does not mean that Adobe could not do a better job.

Just my observations,

Hunt

>> I want him busy in development, and then, if he has any spare time, helping out in the PS forum.

Me too!   And what is this "spare time" of which you speak?

Well, I was just holding my tongue, firmly in my cheek, and hopeing that you had, just a bit of that...

Thanks for your continued contributions, though I do not know how you manage to do it. Same for Todd Kopriva, in the Premiere group.

Hunt