We get tech calls all the time for stuff we don't make. Customers think owning a license for our software entitles them to free support on everything.
I know it's a common problem for every company which provides free tech support on their product.
But what really steams me is that other manufacturers in our industry actually foist their tech calls onto us. It's bad enough when the customer is actually using our product with theirs. Even if the problem isn't with our product, there's at least the fact that the customer is trying to use our product.
But today, I got a call from a customer who owns our product, but wasn't using it when he ran into a problem...
Me: What can I help you with?
Caller: I'm having trouble getting [Software Product C] to work well with [Hardware Device A].
Me: OK. Do you have [the product we make] open?
Caller: No.
Me: [Software Product C] and [Hardware Device A] are both made by [Inept]. This is [Awesome Software]. You'll need to contact [Inept] for support with their products.
Caller: So the scripts you guys wrote for [Software Product C] don't work on [Hardware Device A]?
Me: No. We wrote those scripts to make only our own product work better with [Software Product C]. It's up to other manufacturers and [Inept] to work out scripts for their products.
Caller: Well I called [Inept] and they told me you wrote the scripts and to call you about the problem.
Me: I'm sorry, but we don't support [Inept] products unless you are having trouble using them with our product.
Caller: So you won't even try?
Me: I can send you through to Carl, in case he has some insight I don't, but it sounds to me like you'll have to contact [Inept]. One moment, please...[transferred].
If this was the only call of that sort, I'd think the customer was lying about trying [Inept] and being told to call us. But [Inept] foists their tech support onto us all the time. I don't know what to do about it either. Unlike the above example, it's often not clear that which company's product is causing the issue, so we can't just say "no" most of the time. [Inept] just won't even try. Jerks. :angry:
I know it's a common problem for every company which provides free tech support on their product.
But what really steams me is that other manufacturers in our industry actually foist their tech calls onto us. It's bad enough when the customer is actually using our product with theirs. Even if the problem isn't with our product, there's at least the fact that the customer is trying to use our product.
But today, I got a call from a customer who owns our product, but wasn't using it when he ran into a problem...
Me: What can I help you with?
Caller: I'm having trouble getting [Software Product C] to work well with [Hardware Device A].
Me: OK. Do you have [the product we make] open?
Caller: No.
Me: [Software Product C] and [Hardware Device A] are both made by [Inept]. This is [Awesome Software]. You'll need to contact [Inept] for support with their products.
Caller: So the scripts you guys wrote for [Software Product C] don't work on [Hardware Device A]?
Me: No. We wrote those scripts to make only our own product work better with [Software Product C]. It's up to other manufacturers and [Inept] to work out scripts for their products.
Caller: Well I called [Inept] and they told me you wrote the scripts and to call you about the problem.
Me: I'm sorry, but we don't support [Inept] products unless you are having trouble using them with our product.
Caller: So you won't even try?
Me: I can send you through to Carl, in case he has some insight I don't, but it sounds to me like you'll have to contact [Inept]. One moment, please...[transferred].
If this was the only call of that sort, I'd think the customer was lying about trying [Inept] and being told to call us. But [Inept] foists their tech support onto us all the time. I don't know what to do about it either. Unlike the above example, it's often not clear that which company's product is causing the issue, so we can't just say "no" most of the time. [Inept] just won't even try. Jerks. :angry:
Comment