Customer Support Issue

[webbyradio]

I have an issue I PM'd a couple of people here on and the only ones who took the time to respond were Micha and Alex. So to them I thank you. That isn't to say I don't appreciate the fact the support team has a huge workload on their hands with the new release out and having to deal with customer issues at the the same. And I'm also aware the disparity between the amount of time it takes support to members who have paid to those running the free trial and it makes sense.

But anyhow one to my issue, back in January I purchased a pro license, which I mistakenly thought was the pro-squared special, Tech support clarified my error and what happened was I meant to purchase the two for one product and instead just purchased the single site Pro license.

Anyway they cleared that up, no problem, as I'm planning on purchasing a developers license right after the New Year sometime. But I purchased Vivvo for a couple of personal projects I was hoping to launch last year. However; due to a number serious health issue with a family member and my work load at the TV station I work for began to pile up. I soon realized I had to put my projects on the back burner until things settled. 10 months later things have finally calmed down and I now have time to get started.

When I purchased Vivvo the first version I got was 4.2 shortly thereafter 4.03 came out, So I downloaded 4.02, 4.03 plus 4.03 patch. Initially I was just going to install 4.02, then use the patch, but since 4.03 pro was also a full install I dumped 4.02 and kept 4.03. But because other things took precedent over my personal project, when I finally get around to finally installing Vivvo (Last week) I come to realize the zip file for 4.03 is corrupted.

So then I go to my Vivvo account, and so I can download a new copy of 4.03. Only I find out I can't do this because my subscription expired while I was away.:(

I then email support and tell them my problem and ask if they could please email me a clean zipped copy of the version I have that is now useless to me, since I figured they wouldn't grant me access to my control panel where there were other newer version, that I hadn't renewed my subscription for. But I thought it was reasonable to ask for the version I had already PAID for.

It seems I was wrong, I was told they were sorry about what had happened but under the Support SLA Terms they could not provide me with any Updated or Upgrades without having renewed my subscription so therefore they would not grant me access or send me anything.

Now I realize I could just pay the $85 bucks and be done with it, but to be honest I have money tied up on other projects, so even $85 at the moment is a little tough, at least for a couple of weeks, when a finished project finally pays out, but i really believe it's the principle of the matter. I didn't want to be given access I didn't pay for, I just wanted a clean copy of the version I did Pay for.

Am I being unreasonable? If I'm wrong then I can accept that and move on. However, I also hold licenses for PHP MYDirectory and Helios Event Calendar, both are really great scripts and they also run fee based support subscription. However, when and if your support subscription expires, you still have access to all versions, modules, updates, patches, etc that were released prior to your subscription running out.

Other than this issue, I think Vivvo's a really great script, I'm part of a Dev Team parent company that owns our TV station and initially we wanted corporate to let us use and modify Vivvo as we thought it was robust enough to utilize and build on. But they wanted us to go with Drupal, which aside from the learning curve it was was great and we're pretty proud of the end result. But they did let me purchase a standard license for a satellite website, we'll be launching after the New Year.

Any insight or assistance in this situation would be greatly appreciated, as I'm feeling a little peeved that I paid $295, but now I have no software, unless I renew my subscription just to get the version I already paid for. I know 4.04 is already out, but does anyone see my point?

[casca]

I have an issue I PM'd a couple of people here on and the only ones who took the time to respond were Micha and Alex. So to them I thank you. That isn't to say I don't appreciate the fact the support team has a huge workload on their hands with the new release out and having to deal with customer issues at the the same. And I'm also aware the disparity between the amount of time it takes support to members who have paid to those running the free trial and it makes sense.


Micha and Alex are some of the support staff at Vivvo. You were helped directly by not one but TWO Vivvo support people and you think that was a poor response? Hmm....


When I purchased Vivvo the first version I got was 4.2 shortly thereafter 4.03 came out, So I downloaded 4.02, 4.03 plus 4.03 patch. Initially I was just going to install 4.02, then use the patch, but since 4.03 pro was also a full install I dumped 4.02 and kept 4.03. But because other things took precedent over my personal project, when I finally get around to finally installing Vivvo (Last week) I come to realize the zip file for 4.03 is corrupted.

So then I go to my Vivvo account, and so I can download a new copy of 4.03. Only I find out I can't do this because my subscription expired while I was away.:(


That's how they make their money, which is how we get the good support we get. No offense or anything as I'm just another customer, but you don't expect them to do the stuff they do for free do you? I'd much rather pay for a support bump then have to pay a whole new fee everytime a new version comes out. I understand you had some personal issues, we all do, and it all burns our time counter for support. It's fair. I got Vivvo, got married, went on a long vacation/honeymoon and came back with 45 days subtracted from my support. However, come renewal time I'll be happy to pay for my renewal.

Don't feel like you got cheated, you paid for 4.02 a year ago and there have been major improvements. So major that the new 4.1 could probably be called 5.0 and no one would have raised an eyebrow. You returned a year later to a much better product, that can be only good news.



I then email support and tell them my problem and ask if they could please email me a clean zipped copy of the version I have that is now useless to me, since I figured they wouldn't grant me access to my control panel where there were other newer version, that I hadn't renewed my subscription for. But I thought it was reasonable to ask for the version I had already PAID for.

It seems I was wrong, I was told they were sorry about what had happened but under the Support SLA Terms they could not provide me with any Updated or Upgrades without having renewed my subscription so therefore they would not grant me access or send me anything.



It is only fair to the other people with issues. After all if they let you get freebee access then they have to let me have 45 days back because I had a huge event happen in my life, and so on and so forth. I'm sorry you had personal issues, but it wouldn't be fair to the rest of us that have to abide by the licensing regardless of personal issue.



Now I realize I could just pay the $85 bucks and be done with it, but to be honest I have money tied up on other projects, so even $85 at the moment is a little tough, at least for a couple of weeks, when a finished project finally pays out, but i really believe it's the principle of the matter. I didn't want to be given access I didn't pay for, I just wanted a clean copy of the version I did Pay for.

Am I being unreasonable? If I'm wrong then I can accept that and move on. However, I also hold licenses for PHP MYDirectory and Helios Event Calendar, both are really great scripts and they also run fee based support subscription. However, when and if your support subscription expires, you still have access to all versions, modules, updates, patches, etc that were released prior to your subscription running out.


Yes because you paid for access to their resources for a set period of time. It was incumbent upon you to download the software and store it if you wanted to secure your rights to that version. It's a lot like going to the all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet, walking in, you pay the lady at the counter and then stroll down the isles of food looking at all the wonderful goodness. You sit down, have a conversation with some patrons and then leave because you got a phone call that your kid got in a fight in school. You go to the school straighten things out and come back the next day. You explain to the Chinese lady that took your money the day before that you had to leave before you could eat all the food you could eat. She'd say "You go now, you cause trouble, you pay twice or you leave".



Other than this issue, I think Vivvo's a really great script, I'm part of a Dev Team parent company that owns our TV station and initially we wanted corporate to let us use and modify Vivvo as we thought it was robust enough to utilize and build on. But they wanted us to go with Drupal, which aside from the learning curve it was was great and we're pretty proud of the end result. But they did let me purchase a standard license for a satellite website, we'll be launching after the New Year.

Any insight or assistance in this situation would be greatly appreciated, as I'm feeling a little peeved that I paid $295, but now I have no software, unless I renew my subscription just to get the version I already paid for. I know 4.04 is already out, but does anyone see my point?

As I said man it just wouldn't be fair to the rest of the world that pays the $85. It's cheap, wait a few weeks and pay it. I do feel your pain don't get me wrong it sucks, but you can't reasonably tell me that you didn't have time to download it in 6 months regardless of the issue you had. There was some point in that 6 months when you were relaxing and doing nothing where you could have logged in and downloaded what you needed. Your lack of planning caused the issue and you are trying to share the responsibility with the Vivvo team. It's all good and I understand I myself handle things like that on occasion. But it doesn't make it right :)

P.S. Drupal isn't half the news system Vivvo without a _LOT_ of work.

[webbyradio]

Casca,

I realize that Alex and Micah are part of the support team and I'm glad they responded and they both referred the matter over to the Help Desk, even though I had already created a ticket and neither of them thought my request was unreasonable or at least they hadn't expressed that to me. Also thank you for responding and you make some excellent points.

However, I think I mentioned this above, but maybe I didn't explain myself properly, I am not asking for freebie access, I asked if they could email me a clean uncorrupted copy of 4.03, it came out before my subscription ended and I downloaded it after It came out but well before my subscription ended.

Also my not being able to come around had less to do with poor time management, and more to do with the daunting task of helping my wife and mother-in law take care of my father-in law, his condition got so bad we needed to move in with them, there were a lot of other factors related to this, but essentially we spent a year helping to take care of him and help them with bills. Secondly, I'm not dismissing the notion that no one else here works hard or has a full schedule. But I work for a TV station where I sometimes put in 10-20 hours a day, sometimes more, even when I was home I had work I had to take home, because there were family things to take care of, 2 kids to help with homework, the father in-law...etc. So the free time I did have was to spend with my wife and two children. So it was about priorities, not poor time management.

The pro license I purchased was for a personal project, so until we were able to find a full time nurse for my father in-law and settle most of their bad debt, it took a back seat. I also mentioned that I also purchased a standard license for the station I work for, this is for an Ecco site we're doing, I also have 4.03 for that license, but that zip file was fine, so I had every reason to believe my pro version would be fine as well.

Unfortunately the Ecco site also took a back seat because we had to fast-track our development on our Drupal based CMS (I agree with you on the assessment that Vivvo is a much better out of the box experience, but when you have a former Dev from MTV in Corporate, who just so happens that MTV runs their site on Drupal and he's telling the powers that be, that's the way to go. Well we do what we have to do.) We were also tasked with developing an in house video clipping and video feed system. Again I would have preferred something out of the box, but the people we're currently contracted with had way to much control over our content and the video service was down 60% of the time. So our parent company requested us to come up with something, we would actually own the rights to. In the end we developed a framework that would work with a feed system designed by a company named Volicon. So the clip editing software we actually own, since we developed it, but the hardware is by volicon.

Anyway suffice it to say, these past 8 months or so have been crazy, but again I'm not and was not asking anyone to give me free access. I'm also aware that 4.1 is the latest big release. But I did pay for 4.02 and I did download 4.03 after it came out, I then dumped 4.02 because I had 4.03, but when I finally had the opportunity to unzip the file and install the software was when I realized a bunch of the files were corrupted. So I did take the opportunity to download and secure my license to 4.03, but it was damaged.

So I am only asking that they email me a copy of 4.03, so I can at least get something in place to show my sponsors. 4.1 RC1 isn't a stable release yet, It's still 4.04 right? In any event, I'm not trying to step on anyone's toes nor am I asking for special treatment. My request was based in part from my experiences with Helios Event calendar and PHP MY Directory, they offer similar support packages and if your subscription happens to expire you can still at least have access to the last release that came out during your paid subscription, and any paid modules or plug-in you paid for. Subsequent releases you have to renew your subscription, before you can download anything.

Let me give you a scenario I saw one guy using Helios go through, he had been running Helios Event Calendar for about a little over a year. His hosting company is having tons of technical issues, so he decides to backup his site and migrate over to a new hosting company. The new company helps with the migration and restores his database and then realizes his site is full of corrupted files, then realized his original software had been accidentally deleted. He goes to his account on Helios and freaks because he realizes he forgot to renew his subscription. But because he holds an active license, he can still download the last stable release he paid for. No harm no foul, he got to restore his site and renew when he was ready. How did the company lose money? He only got what he paid for, because his access was restricted. In another similar incident a club owner also using Helios couldn't access his account, he emailed support and they verified his information and license, then emailed him the copy he requested.

I realize Helios is not Spoonlabs, but my request seemed reasonable to me. Again I love Vivvo and will continue to use it; I was just asking if they could send me a clean uncorrupted copy of the version I paid for. That's all, I'm not trying to cheat or steal from anyone.

[casca]

That's cool man, I understand there were a lot of issues at play and you had a corrupt copy of the software. I didn't mean to sound like I didn't have any sympathy for the situation, in fact I do - I'm probably a little more cranky today than usual I quit Coffee :( (And I'm having some site issues lol, completely unrelated to Vivvo though)

[webbyradio]

It's okay I have those days alot too. I was just told the company who leases us the CMS for our stations' website has dropped the ball again, so the next couple of weeks are going to crazy since we now have to start installing all of the video clipping equipment into our network and get 300 devsites up and running for our sister stations to access to prep their sites for re-launch....:eek: ASAP originally we had until December 19th.

Anyway on the Vivvo side I was just frustrated my pro copy was corrupted :( I'm still waiting to see what Support has to say. If the Vivvo site I'm setting up for the station was the pro version, there wouldn't be an issue, I'd just use the corresponding license for each site. But sadly it's only the Standard license..

Congratulations on getting Married :) Very cool!

[Alex]

So then I go to my Vivvo account, and so I can download a new copy of 4.03. Only I find out I can't do this because my subscription expired while I was away.:(

I truly believe our business policy is very honest and straightforward. As long as you have valid license subscription, you're available to download assets from your client area. As simple as that.

Btw, here's my moan :)

I just re-installed my PC (FarCry2 came out, so I had to do a little upgrade :p), and went to my online BitDefender account to download the software, since I have another 52 days of subscription left (out of 365). After 25 minutes of total surprise that I just can't find anything else to download but free trial of 2009 version, I took out my wallet, paid $29 for new version and then realized the following.

If your order contains downloadable software and you have not purchased our Extended Download Service (EDS) (https://store.digitalriver.com/DRHM/servlet/ControllerServlet?Action=DisplayExtendedDownloadSe rviceInformationPage&SiteID=defender&Locale=en_US&ThemeID=516300&Env=BASE), you have 30 days to download your purchase. After you download we suggest you save a copy of the downloaded file on an external drive, CD, DVD, or some other storage medium in the event you have computer problems or the downloaded file becomes damaged or corrupt.
Huh? So, if I want to be able to download my version online for more than 30 days, I need to pay more money !? Sweet...

Bottom line, we're the good guys here :D

[casca]

I truly believe our business policy is very honest and straightforward. As long as you have valid license subscription, you're available to download assets from your client area. As simple as that.

Btw, here's my moan :)

I just re-installed my PC (FarCry2 came out, so I had to do a little upgrade :p), and went to my online BitDefender account to download the software, since I have another 52 days of subscription left (out of 365). After 25 minutes of total surprise that I just can't find anything else to download but free trial of 2009 version, I took out my wallet, paid $29 for new version and then realized the following.
Huh? So, if I want to be able to download my version online for more than 30 days, I need to pay additional money... Sweet...

Bottom line, we're the good guys here :D

Man Alex next time send me an email/PM I get all that stuff free (legal) and could have shipped to you directly from the manufacturer (in exchange for some help now and again muahaha!)

[Micha]

Man Alex next time send me an email/PM I get all that stuff free (legal) and could have shipped to you directly from the manufacturer (in exchange for some help now and again muahaha!)

:D Ok, man, I'll make you a deal, I'll give you Alex's phone number for Adobe CS4.
I think it's a fair deal, I mean, you can call him 24/7, i know the guy, he just LOVES to work :D

[casca]

:D Ok, man, I'll make you a deal, I'll give you Alex's phone number for Adobe CS4.
I think it's a fair deal, I mean, you can call him 24/7, i know the guy, he just LOVES to work :D

LOL don't play with me Micha I'll have a copy of CS4 for PC or MAC your choice over there faster than you can order another beer.

[webbyradio]

I truly believe our business policy is very honest and straightforward. As long as you have valid license subscription, you're available to download assets from your client area. As simple as that.

Btw, here's my moan :)

I just re-installed my PC (FarCry2 came out, so I had to do a little upgrade :p), and went to my online BitDefender account to download the software, since I have another 52 days of subscription left (out of 365). After 25 minutes of total surprise that I just can't find anything else to download but free trial of 2009 version, I took out my wallet, paid $29 for new version and then realized the following.
Huh? So, if I want to be able to download my version online for more than 30 days, I need to pay more money !? Sweet...

Bottom line, we're the good guys here :D

Alex,
Thanks for responding, but I don't think I said anything to the effect that your business policy was somehow dishonest, at least that was not my intention and I know I never said you were the bad guys. What I was trying to get at, was that I was only trying to obtain an uncorrupted copy of 4.03, which is what I paid for. Not any of the releases that came after my subscription had run out. I did not think my request was unreasonable, other scripts I use for different projects, accommodate for such issues. In fact as I stated before, they allow access to versions and other related releases that came out during your subscription period, even after it has expired. For new versions plug ins, etc. you have to renew your subscription.

Anyhow, while I'm a little disappointed with the outcome and the fact that I think my request was misunderstood, as I was somehow asking for free access, when I only wanted a clean copy of what I had already paid for.

Anyway I don't want to sound like a broken record, it's over and done with. Thanks to a friend who also recently purchased Vivvo, was gracious enough to email me a clean copy of 4.03, which is what I needed and paid for :)

[thirdpole]

I'm just another customer.



the way you freak around, attack and bully helpless customer doesn't make me feel you are customer. I rather think you are professional cyber gangster hired by Vivvo to attack customer to make it looks like attack was by customer to customer than vivvo to customer so humilated and frighten customer keep their mouth shut.

However, I do not think vivvo will hire you to do that. vivvo people are very nice and helpful as per my experience. I have been rude to them many times but they have responded me with smile. I am grateful to them.

May be vivvo enemy hired you to attack vivvo customer? I have gone through many of your post and most of them are negatave to thread starter. People start thread with hope that they will get some answer, not that someone will come and offend them.