Bad Support. Really Bad. Amazingly Bad

ajasonajason Registered Users Posts: 3 Beginner grinner
edited September 28, 2005 in SmugMug Support
I've had a serious problem with the pricing for my galleries. This has been happening for almost 1 month (since I signed up). I have asked and asked for support in getting this fixed but it still does not work. Yes, I (usually) get speedy emails saying that the problem is being "looked into", etc. And one telling me that it was referred to an engineer -- but it still has not been fixed. I was told a week ago that it was fixed but that it would not actually work " for a week or so" -- but it wasn't. My last email was not even replied to (24 hours ago).

I have the "Pro" level and when I set my printing prices to zero, all the images are still available for purchase at the default price. When I have all zeros except for a few sizes which are marked up, nothing changes: ALL the images are still available at default prices -- including the ones I have marked up. Please note that this problem is not caused by a faulty setup -- SM has confirmed to me that everything is setup properly and that there is something broken somewhere.

I'm amazed at two things: First, that I seem to the only person in the history of SM to have ever had this problem. (I have no customized code or anything special; can't imagine why it happened only to me). Second that SM -- in spite of it's reputation for great tech support -- has been uninterested in fixing this serious problem. I can't publicize my galleries until this is fixed.

I am posting this here in desperation. The only reason I haven't left to another site is because I keep thinking it will be fixed and because I'm reluctant to go through another setup learning curve somewhere else.

Comments

  • BenBen Vanilla Admin Posts: 513 SmugMug Employee
    edited September 27, 2005
    ajason wrote:
    I've had a serious problem with the pricing for my galleries. This has been happening for almost 1 month (since I signed up). I have asked and asked for support in getting this fixed but it still does not work. Yes, I (usually) get speedy emails saying that the problem is being "looked into", etc. And one telling me that it was referred to an engineer -- but it still has not been fixed. I was told a week ago that it was fixed but that it would not actually work " for a week or so" -- but it wasn't. My last email was not even replied to (24 hours ago).

    I have the "Pro" level and when I set my printing prices to zero, all the images are still available for purchase at the default price. When I have all zeros except for a few sizes which are marked up, nothing changes: ALL the images are still available at default prices -- including the ones I have marked up. Please note that this problem is not caused by a faulty setup -- SM has confirmed to me that everything is setup properly and that there is something broken somewhere.

    I'm amazed at two things: First, that I seem to the only person in the history of SM to have ever had this problem. (I have no customized code or anything special; can't imagine why it happened only to me). Second that SM -- in spite of it's reputation for great tech support -- has been uninterested in fixing this serious problem. I can't publicize my galleries until this is fixed.

    I am posting this here in desperation. The only reason I haven't left to another site is because I keep thinking it will be fixed and because I'm reluctant to go through another setup learning curve somewhere else.
    Hi Alex,

    I am so sorry you have had such a bad experience. So far everything we have told you has been 100% honest. We could have sugar coated it to try and stall for time, but we try and be up front about the problem. You have a very unique problem (as far as I am aware, it is the only one we have ever seen), and to this date I am still not entirely sure I understand what it was. We looked into it, confirmed there was indeed a problem... and passed it right along to the engineers.

    I was informed fairly quickly that the problem was identified and fixed on their end. As with all changes to our code, we do thorough testing before releasing it to the live site. I had hoped I had made it clear that it wasn't something we could just slip out without doing extensive testing to make sure that we don't break several thousand Pro pricing schemes to fix one. This fix will go out in the next feature push we do. We had hoped it would be by now, but we are still working on a few things to get ready for it. As you can see from the blog, we haven't had any recent pushes:
    http://blogs.smugmug.com/release-notes/

    It isn't that we are ignoring your fix, it is simply that we cannot push it without breaking the site. I am terribly sorry for the inconvenience, I know how frustrating it must be to not know when it will be fixed.

    I didn't see your most recent email that went unanswered, so I must not have been working when it came in. I will refrain from commenting on why it didn't get answered... but I would be shocked if it was something malicious. We answer all emails, regardless of whether we have a good answer for it or not! We have tried to keep you informed of exactly what is going on from our end.

    I have gone ahead and made your account a lifetime free pro account for your troubles, but unfortunately the answer is still the same regarding the problem. We are waiting on finishing testing and polishing the other features slated to go out... hopefully it is soon! Sorry for all the trouble.

    -Ben

    PS- While looking at your site just now, I noticed your banner was set to dimensions other than the native resolution of the image you were linking. This caused it to be stretched and pixelated. I corrected the dimensions so it should display properly now... though you can change it back it you prefer!
    Smug since 2003
  • DavidTODavidTO Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 19,160 Major grins
    edited September 27, 2005
    Wow. Now I'm kind of jealous. I don't even have a pro account.
    Moderator Emeritus
    Dgrin FAQ | Me | Workshops
  • JohnRJohnR Registered Users Posts: 732 Major grins
    edited September 27, 2005
    Lifetime free pro account?? :jawdrop

    Very nice!
    <--goes to see if I can find a problem with mine! :D
  • flyingpylonflyingpylon Registered Users Posts: 260 Major grins
    edited September 27, 2005
    The squeaky wheel really does get the grease.
  • BaldyBaldy Registered Users, Super Moderators Posts: 2,853 moderator
    edited September 27, 2005
    flyingpylon wrote:
    The squeaky wheel really does get the grease.
    Well, actually.... We have to confess to giving up on some squeaky wheels and ignoring them when it became clear we couldn't do anything to please them and they were drawing resources from other customers.


    This is a case where he really had a unique problem and we were stopping him from selling prints.
    My Smug Mug
  • ajasonajason Registered Users Posts: 3 Beginner grinner
    edited September 28, 2005
    Gosh.
    Hi Ben,

    Thank you very much. For both your candid and genuine reply and for your most generous and unexpected "compensation."

    I expected an argument of some sort in which my complaint would be deconstructed and deflected with the usual corporate defensive prattle. I appreciate your apology and explanation because you really spoke to me. And the life-time membership just about knocked me from my chair.

    I can see that you and SM really care about making things right.

    Thank you,

    Alex

    Ben wrote:
    Hi Alex,

    I am so sorry you have had such a bad experience. So far everything we have told you has been 100% honest. We could have sugar coated it to try and stall for time, but we try and be up front about the problem. You have a very unique problem (as far as I am aware, it is the only one we have ever seen), and to this date I am still not entirely sure I understand what it was. We looked into it, confirmed there was indeed a problem... and passed it right along to the engineers.

    I was informed fairly quickly that the problem was identified and fixed on their end. As with all changes to our code, we do thorough testing before releasing it to the live site. I had hoped I had made it clear that it wasn't something we could just slip out without doing extensive testing to make sure that we don't break several thousand Pro pricing schemes to fix one. This fix will go out in the next feature push we do. We had hoped it would be by now, but we are still working on a few things to get ready for it. As you can see from the blog, we haven't had any recent pushes:
    http://blogs.smugmug.com/release-notes/

    It isn't that we are ignoring your fix, it is simply that we cannot push it without breaking the site. I am terribly sorry for the inconvenience, I know how frustrating it must be to not know when it will be fixed.

    I didn't see your most recent email that went unanswered, so I must not have been working when it came in. I will refrain from commenting on why it didn't get answered... but I would be shocked if it was something malicious. We answer all emails, regardless of whether we have a good answer for it or not! We have tried to keep you informed of exactly what is going on from our end.

    I have gone ahead and made your account a lifetime free pro account for your troubles, but unfortunately the answer is still the same regarding the problem. We are waiting on finishing testing and polishing the other features slated to go out... hopefully it is soon! Sorry for all the trouble.

    -Ben

    PS- While looking at your site just now, I noticed your banner was set to dimensions other than the native resolution of the image you were linking. This caused it to be stretched and pixelated. I corrected the dimensions so it should display properly now... though you can change it back it you prefer!
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