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  #1  
Old 03-29-2018, 07:27 PM
rus5 rus5 is offline
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Default Avid Screws Me Again - Support Contract

I've had two S6's (different models) and had to have the Master Module replaced in both of them (I've had 4 now, and 3 Automation Modules); fortunately while still under the included first year support plan. I keep hoping against hope that software development will finally pick up again. For those two reasons I have updated my support contract twice. The first time was a disaster. There was no web based method, no designated person to contact, no "You're about to expire, click this link" email from Avid, nothing. When I finally connected with someone at Avid who claimed that handling updates was their job, that person didn't even know what the price options were. Eventually they figured it out and did it.

This time after deciding on one more try I clicked the new link in my Avid account and got sent to la la land. And after trying various other things, posted a question about how to do it here on the DUC. This was WELL before the current one expired. An Avid person responded and told me I needed to do it though my dealer (what about the useless links? - nothing). I contacted my dealer and that day they contacted Avid about it. About two weeks later, the expiration date is approaching and nothing. I contact my dealer, they've been trying to reach their Avid contact person and he hasn't responded. They bug him again and finally he responds that he's been sick and will take care of it (can you get sick at your work for two weeks and not back up your job functions? I would last about 1 hour before I was canned).

More time goes by, the expiration date has arrived, it's still not updated, and I contact my dealer again who by this time is exasperated. They contact the person again - nothing - again - nothing, and this goes on for about another month. During this time, I have no coverage. If s/w is finally released, I have no license to get it. If another Master Module or Automation Module fails, I'm screwed. I've done everything I can to get this thing in place and Avid can NOT figure out how to even take my money.

FINALLY, over a month later, Avid figures out how to restart the support contract. BUT THEY PRE DATE IT TO THE ORIGINAL EXPIRATION DATE which is over a month of no coverage past. So I end up paying for more than a month of coverage that Avid was incapable of figuring out how to provide through what is quite literally STUNNING incompetence (you know, the same kind of incompetence that allows relentless -9173 errors to remain unfixed in Pro Tools for five straight years).

I contact my dealer and ask them to tell Avid to set my coverage start date to when Avid actually started it. Avid says, no. Just - no. No explanation, no excuses, no sense of responsibility, no understanding of how incompetent they are, no recognition of how dishonest that is and how famous they are across the planet for their dishonesty, nothing. Just "no". My dealer says, it's hopeless. They've been down this road with Avid before and that I just have to eat it. Avid is simply dishonest and that's that. Eat Avid screwing me YET again.

Last edited by rus5; 05-12-2018 at 03:55 AM.
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  #2  
Old 03-30-2018, 12:47 PM
hixonjames hixonjames is offline
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Default Re: Avid Screws Me Again - Support Contract

I had a similar experience trying to renew my support late last year. I contacted my dealer, and they took care of everything. Except every time I checked my products page, the M40 support was still expired. After a few weeks of that, I contacted my dealer, who forwarded me the string of emails showing that my coverage should be current.

I reached out to a contact I have at Avid, who was great about looking into it for me. Turns out, the avid employee who works with my dealer had done his/her job, but the person who was responsible for actually processing the renewal just... didn't... I guess.

I've never been able to understand why the S6 support cannot be renewed online like everything else. I'm sure there are reasons, but are they good reasons?
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Pro Tools | HDX 2019.5
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  #3  
Old 03-30-2018, 04:20 PM
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EddieJones EddieJones is online now
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Default Re: Avid Screws Me Again - Support Contract

Russ, I’m sorry for the delay and confusion with renewing support for your S6, this is not the norm. Firstly, I would like to apologise for us losing and not replying to Vintage Kings first email request for information on 1/11/18. They did reach out again on 2/2/18 to which we replied twice that same day with part numbers and pricing. Three weeks later, on the 2/23/18 we received the order from VK. I’m not sure why they told you we weren’t contacting them as we had, and we have no idea what the comments about being sick are about.
With reference to the support start date, this is correct, and I can assure you, your support has been active during this time had you needed it. If we had started the support later then there would have been a reinstatement fee.
Eddie
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Old 03-30-2018, 05:23 PM
rus5 rus5 is offline
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Default Re: Avid Screws Me Again - Support Contract

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Originally Posted by EddieJones View Post
Russ, I’m sorry for the delay and confusion with renewing support for your S6, this is not the norm. Firstly, I would like to apologise for us losing and not replying to Vintage Kings first email request for information on 1/11/18. They did reach out again on 2/2/18 to which we replied twice that same day with part numbers and pricing. Three weeks later, on the 2/23/18 we received the order from VK. I’m not sure why they told you we weren’t contacting them as we had, and we have no idea what the comments about being sick are about.
With reference to the support start date, this is correct, and I can assure you, your support has been active during this time had you needed it. If we had started the support later then there would have been a reinstatement fee.
Eddie
Hi Eddie, as always thanks for the reply. I never addressed any of this to you (or Jeff or...) because you guys aren't responsible for this function. I wish you were because there wouldn't have been a problem in the first place.

The fact is, Avid screwed this up. Avid has been totally incompetent in handling support contracts from the beginning and still is. This is just another example of it. It's been almost five years since the S6 (and support contracts) were announced Eddie! And if the last software release had occurred during this time, I would not have had access to it. I'm sorry but I do not believe you that Avid would have supported me had hardware failed during this time. That is simply not Avid. It IS Eddie Jones (and Jeff and ...), I know YOU would have if it were up to you, but just like the absence of adequate s/w development resources, that wouldn't be within your control. It is absolutely dishonest for Avid to charge its customers for a product it did not provide - in this case, coverage for over a month. It just doesn't get more simple or obvious than that. And the idea that Avid is trying to speak in terms of "reinstatement fees" when their customer had to jump through hoops for weeks to get them to take money for this contract is absurd. Avid is stealing this money, plain and simple. They've done the like forever and this is just them at it again. If they slid their hand in my pocket at an airport and stole my wallet it wouldn't be any more dishonest than this is.

Still, thank you as always for being so considerate as to try to help.
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  #5  
Old 03-30-2018, 06:20 PM
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EddieJones EddieJones is online now
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Default Re: Avid Screws Me Again - Support Contract

Russ, I'm sorry you feel that way and I wouldn't defend Avid if it were true. (in fact, I wouldn't want to work here either) I'm the Product Manager so I do have the authority to say that, yes you were supported during that time and it is in no one's interest not to. If you had a module go down it would have been replaced and if new software were available and it wasn't in your MyAvid account, you would have been given a link and a tempory code. I know sometimes we mess up but I can assure you that it's not intentional and in most cases doesn't happen. We have over 2000 S6's out in the field now and sure a few System ID's get mixed up or support dates are entered wrong but the majority are not.
The current support costs, fees and dates were instigated by me. Originally they followed my predecessors rule in that not only did you get charged a fee if you were late in renewing, it was also backdated. We scrapped that and now give the customer a choice, pay a reinstatement fee or have the support continue from when it ended. Without the fee, customers would just wait until a module failed and then take out support.
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Old 03-30-2018, 06:35 PM
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EddieJones EddieJones is online now
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Default Re: Avid Screws Me Again - Support Contract

I'll be at NAB a week on Monday if you go to that show ?
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  #7  
Old 03-30-2018, 07:18 PM
rus5 rus5 is offline
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Default Re: Avid Screws Me Again - Support Contract

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Originally Posted by EddieJones View Post
I'll be at NAB a week on Monday if you go to that show ?
Hi Eddie, thanks for the response again. CRAP about NAB though !! I won't be there. But I looked for you at NAMM in January and though I couldn't find you I got someone at Avid to promise they would tell you I was looking for you and say "hi" for me. I hope they did.

Well, I don't want to argue with you. Least of all you. But I want to say one simple, overarching thing. I started trying my hardest to get Avid to reinstate my support contract WAY before it expired. Avid "told me" (via the app manager and my Avid account) to do that using a link that, like so much of Avid, doesn't work. Then Avid told me - because their renew function doesn't work - that I had to work around their system not working. At that point, Avid is responsible for ANYTHING that happens from there. Period. Avid screwed up and Avid is responsible.

The rest is going to be "he said she said". VK describes what happened quite differently than your sources and that is perfectly consistent with my usual experience with Avid. Avid finally started my support contract a month late due to their incompetence and charged me for over a month it did not provide. AVID is responsible for that. It was the result of AVID'S incompetence and Avid is now not taking responsibility for it. It is as simple as that. Ultimately, there is absolutely nothing more to it than that.

On a completely other note, I'm very happy to learn you could have and would have bailed me out had the need arisen. I wouldn't have even THOUGHT to ask you to. Because I could clearly see on my account page and in my app manager that my support contract had expired. Eddie, again, it's as simple as that.
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Old 03-30-2018, 07:48 PM
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EddieJones EddieJones is online now
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Default Re: Avid Screws Me Again - Support Contract

I would like to fix the notification issue going nowhere, I actually don't know much about it but can certainly look at it and make any improvements. Are you talking about a notice that pops up at the top of your account page, like this image ?

I did review all the emails from CS and VK before replying to you so am pretty sure of the facts, but let's move forward and make sure this doesn't happen again.
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  #9  
Old 03-30-2018, 08:37 PM
rus5 rus5 is offline
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Default Re: Avid Screws Me Again - Support Contract

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Originally Posted by EddieJones View Post
I would like to fix the notification issue going nowhere, I actually don't know much about it but can certainly look at it and make any improvements. Are you talking about a notice that pops up at the top of your account page, like this image ?

I did review all the emails from CS and VK before replying to you so am pretty sure of the facts, but let's move forward and make sure this doesn't happen again.
Hi Eddie, thanks as always for the response. Very much appreciated.

Just to be clear, my point doesn't even depend on what happened with VK. Avid was already responsible for me not getting the contract in time by that point. But I don't want this all to start sounding like I'm blaming you personally so I'll just leave it at what I've said already.

So yeah, I don't have a link now since my contract is finally in place but this looks like what I remember. I also remember something similar in my app manager and it threw "warning" notifications on my computer too. I'm not positive I didn't get emails with a link that didn't work as well because I think I remember thinking that was new since last time but I wouldn't swear to that. I tried the link(s) several times, over several days (maybe even a couple of weeks) thinking the server might just be screwed up. Also, I used three different computers but they all were running the current MacOS so... I wish I had anticipated this and saved some screen shots but I didn't. Let me know if I can help or test anything for you. Also, I want to PM you about something off-line so please check that when you can (but not over your weekend!!).
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