Stiffed By Customer Service

John_Logan wrote on 11/12/2002, 10:45 AM
I was thrilled to see a release date for cda5. I'm one of the people who wants to have an actual cd copy of the program. It doesn't ship until December the beta expires before then. I asked if my beta copy could be extended until the cd ships, which sounds like a reasonable request to me. I was told no that we always do business this way. This sounds like the kind of answer you would get from those wonderful folks up in redmond. After all of the hard work that has gone into this program how about putting a little effort into keeping the people that pay for this stuff happy. Just to be clear, I'm ready to pay right now.

Comments

CDM wrote on 11/12/2002, 10:56 AM
did you ask if you could buy the downloadable version and then get the CD when it ships?

John_Logan wrote on 11/12/2002, 11:02 AM
I went through this same crap when I bought vegas. They did offer to sell me vegas twice a while back when I bought vegas. I ended up waiting for the shipping version which was actually older then the downloaded test version that was sitting on my hard drive.
CDM wrote on 11/12/2002, 11:24 AM
why don't you download? It'll always be the most up-to-date. It doesn't surprise me - they have to wait for the cd's to actually get mass-produced. The cd-master for CD Arch only went out 2 days ago... it takes time. Be lucky you can actually buy the downloadable version now at a discount. The cd version doesn't come with a full manual anyway. Plus, you can just make a cd-r of the downloaded file as a backup once you get it.
SonyDennis wrote on 11/12/2002, 11:28 AM
We don't currently have a solution in place for this, but I'll discuss it with the engineering manager. Perhaps there is a way to issue a temporary serial number when you buy the boxed version that you can use with the downloaded version until your box arrives with the real serial number.
///d@
AlienFarms wrote on 11/12/2002, 8:12 PM
I don't understand why this is a difficult problem. The answer is to offer those who choose the downloadable product the chance to purchase a "white box" package for an additional $40. The package would include the CD, manual, and all the product ads and license info that comes with the boxed version. The difference being that the "white box" has no serial number enclosed. That way the customer can register and use the software right away and have the rest shipped as soon as it is available.
Ted_H wrote on 11/13/2002, 3:19 PM
Who said it was difficult? :-)

We've got a solution in place now, so if you need it right away, but you still want the package, call us at 1-800-577-6642 to place the order.

Ted