Oct 10, 2016
Posted by Saknika in Life & Musings | 0 Comments
Tech Support: Will you just f*&%#ing call me!?
So t work, I think I may have encountered the most frustrating form of tech support ever, and in turn, the most frustrating tech support guy. EVER.
Our main program at work is Corel Draw. Maybe four months ago we finally decided to upgrade from X4 (14) to X8 (18). It’s a pretty big transition, but it really needed to be done because a fresh install of Windows 10 would not allow for X4 to be installed (but if you used the auto update from a previous version to 10, it would work, go figure).
One of the things we have to do with Corel is export artwork (a .cdr file) to be an .eps file, so that our machines can run them. Mainly the printers. That, and to send files to other manufacturers when we have to outsource certain services.
With X4, there was never an issue. Things exported to .eps without issue, and we had no complaints.
With X8 however, the .eps files are getting all discombobulated. Where one object has a fill and an outline, now suddenly they’re two separate objects (one for the fill, one for the outline). It will flip the object upside-down and backwards. And just generally messes the file up. Which is no good. And it was happening on multiple computers. But only in X8 (we still have some computers running X4, due to a lack of time to get them all switched over).
So I was given the task of contacting tech support to sort this out. This issue has the potential to cost us customers and business.
Well, there is no phone number for tech support. So I popped up the chat window. He then opened an email support ticket for me (which I could have done myself), told me he couldn’t help because I didn’t have that, and said goodbye.
So now I have an email chat going. First he confirmed the issue, over 24hrs after the initial ticket was sent in (Corel promises a response in 24hrs or less). Then, after some questions, he asked me to save a file that would give him computer info (it ended with 32, you find it in the run command and save it), and to run a diagnostics thing and send him that file too. Which I did, from my computer, because it’s having the issue as well.
His response? Oh, your computer that’s running Windows 8 is not compatible. The only compatible versions are 7, 8.1, and 10. I questioned this, because why would it skip over 8 for compatibility? His answer? It just does.
So I told him that it’s happening on multiple computers, most of which are running 10. So he asked for the same information from one of those computers. I get it for him and send it along.
The weekend passes by.
Today, he comes back and tells me that the Windows 10 computer has been running for a week (Michelle doesn’t typically restart her computer, so no surprise there), so clearly a reboot is in order to free up some memory. Then he tells me that mine has the issue of an outdated version of Internet Explorer!
Woah, wait a minute here. My OS already supposedly isn’t compatible, why does it matter if a shitty web browser isn’t either? I ask him this, twice, to no avail. He just keeps repeating that I need to update the web browser. Will not tell me how it affects the export to .eps function what-so-ever. Furthermore, won’t tell me why this matters more than my supposed OS incompatibility.
I also questioned the fact that a reboot of a computer would fix the issue, considering that it’s happening on multiple systems, and most of them have not been running that long. I, personally, shut my computer down every night so that alone should rule out a memory issue. He was also talking about updating Internet Explorer on Windows 10, but ceased that when I questioned it because IE has been revamped into something else, and with a fresh install of 10, it should be up-to-date.
So as far as I can tell, they don’t have a solution. It’s been five days (three if you don’t include the weekend), and the best solution they have come up with is “Upgrade your browser on the incompatible OS” and “Restart the computer running Windows 10”. SERIOUSLY!?
It really, really makes me fill like this guy is just fucking incompetent. Of course, if they’d just let me CALL THEM we could probably sort this out in a matter of hours, at most.
Likely, there’s a bug in the program (we downloaded it and it can be updated with patches, of which we’re current on) and it needs to be worked out. Which is fine, it happens, but just fucking tell me that. This is just utter bullshit as far as I can tell, and I really want to pour water on this tech support guy’s keyboard. UGH!