When vendors don't live up to expectations

What do you do when vendors show poor support skills, blog about it of course!

We noticed yesterday a problem with our accounting software, Versys Legal Insight, that apparently started after a recent update. I did testing and poking around and isolated the problem to something to do with the recent update.

In the evening, I emailed one of the support people that I work with often about the problem and also stated that we shouldn't get charged for work done to fix a problem with their software and got a most unexpected response. I gave the timeline of the issue and thought that I had made my case fairly well.

In response, I got a very long, very defensive email that basically amounted to "our system works as it should and couldn't possibly cause the problem you specified, oh and since it's your fault, you'll definitely be billed for this".

Needless to say, I was not pleased. We originally paid tens of thousands of dollars on the software and have paid thousands of dollars annually for our maintenance contract (support not included) only to have to constantly hear "you are the only customer having that problem" or "it can't be our system at fault because that's not how it was designed to work".

I used to think that the service we got was great, but that was before I learned that we got charged for just about every call we make to them. With our old controller, I didn't see the bills so was left with the mistaken impression that our maintenance contract covered support as well, however this veil of ignorance was lifted when our new controller started in March.

Since I've found this out, I've started learning as much as possible about the accounting system to reduce the amount of calls we make to the vendor. We were literally getting nickeled and dimed for every question that the new controller had about the system. So now instead of making the experience good for a new user, she feels frustrated by the system and by the support because they can't or won't provide reports as she wants them.

If you were an accounting services or software firm, what's the one person other than the owner of a company that you'd want to have happy? You'd think that it was the head of accounting, no? Apparently, not Versys.

I actually wrote about a similar situation that we had with T-Mobile about a month ago. I sort of understand it coming from a large company like T-Mobile that probably has a hard time finding and keeping highly qualified support personnel in tier-1 slots. But to get similar treatment from a small vendor with relatively quality people? Unacceptable. I don't like this sort of thing in either case.

I'm not saying that I'm perfect, because I'm not, but I have never told a user "your system is the only one having the problem" or "must be your problem because our systems work." When someone comes to me with a problem, I do my utmost to resolve it and if it's on a system outside our network, I do everything I can to make sure that it isn't one of our systems and to isolate the issue to systems outside my domain. Even then, I do whatever I can to help the user resolve the issue with the people on the other end.

In short, I try to give my users and my customers the highest possible quality of service. That's my job. It's what I am paid to do.

We should expect the same from our vendors. And vendors should understand that customers can walk at any time and take a steady stream of revenue with them. Vendor support people should NEVER get defensive with their customers and should do what it takes to make things right. If their software is not operating to specs, they should eat the cost of fixing the problem (hmm, how about that one Microsoft?).

Why is it OK for companies to charge their customers for structural problems with their software? Is it the customer's fault that you built your database so that it can get corrupted for no reason? No, and they shouldn't be responsible for fixing your mistakes.

In short, make the customer happy. Do what it takes. Go the extra mile. There are business that have succeeded with this sort of business plan and yeah it's hard, but so what. Do you think my job is easy? Or anyone else's for that matter? No. And things are only getting harder and more complicated.

Companies should be in business to create happy customers that are happy to pay for their services. They shouldn't be in business just to create revenue streams. They do this by providing services to customers that save them time and have value.

Making a customer prove that your system is broken before you even bother to check doesn't save the customer time and certainly doesn't save them money when you charge them for work that you should have done in the first place.

I am a blogger and not just a revenue stream or "influential user". This gives me a voice (however small it may be). Anyone else can have the same voice if they choose to. Vendors should remember that when they deal with their customers after the sale.

After all without customers, where would any business be?