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SoliForum - 3D Printing Community → Solidoodle Discussion → Solidoodle Support Suggestion Box
If fixing the store is not under the control of customer service, who does control it? Im thinking the main reason not to fix the store is to still be able to collect money from people even if the item isnt on the shelf. That way no lost customers and more money for SD. It just creates a customer service nightmare.
Smitty
Not true on multiple levels. Between Google and our store system, it is actually quite easy to keep track of customer information. We are all tech heads, and verified linux nerds.
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These stories don't match.
It's just further proof that SD customer service lives in their own fantasy world. Simply *saying* you track all inquiries and *saying* that you read all emails doesn't make it so. *Saying* that your phone number is on the website won't make it magically appear.
If it's so easy to track this info as you say, why are you having so many issues? The Solidoodle Support Issues thread has multiple instances of people saying that they've received cut and paste responses from someone at support who quite obviously did not read the case history.
To say that a support ticket system would offer no improvement over the status quo is laughable.
solidoodlesupport wrote:Not true on multiple levels. Between Google and our store system, it is actually quite easy to keep track of customer information. We are all tech heads, and verified linux nerds.
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elmoret wrote:These stories don't match.
It's just further proof that SD customer service lives in their own fantasy world. Simply *saying* you track all inquiries and *saying* that you read all emails doesn't make it so. *Saying* that your phone number is on the website won't make it magically appear.
If it's so easy to track this info as you say, why are you having so many issues? The Solidoodle Support Issues thread has multiple instances of people saying that they've received cut and paste responses from someone at support who quite obviously did not read the case history.
To say that a support ticket system would offer no improvement over the status quo is laughable.
Mistakes do happen, but like with the printer itself most people have a good time most of the time. There is no reason to scrap an entire system just because we have had a small number of problems. We have tried ticket systems in the past, and they have not worked for our purposes.
I understand the frustration with similar looking e-mails. We do not use form e-mails, but some responses can seem a bit stale - we agree. We'll look into making sure everyone's needs are better addressed.
markulus wrote:solidoodlesupport wrote:Not true on multiple levels. Between Google and our store system, it is actually quite easy to keep track of customer information. We are all tech heads, and verified linux nerds.
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elmoret wrote:These stories don't match.
It's just further proof that SD customer service lives in their own fantasy world. Simply *saying* you track all inquiries and *saying* that you read all emails doesn't make it so. *Saying* that your phone number is on the website won't make it magically appear.
If it's so easy to track this info as you say, why are you having so many issues? The Solidoodle Support Issues thread has multiple instances of people saying that they've received cut and paste responses from someone at support who quite obviously did not read the case history.
To say that a support ticket system would offer no improvement over the status quo is laughable.
Mistakes do happen, but like with the printer itself most people have a good time most of the time. There is no reason to scrap an entire system just because we have had a small number of problems. We have tried ticket systems in the past, and they have not worked for our purposes.
I understand the frustration with similar looking e-mails. We do not use form e-mails, but some responses can seem a bit stale - we agree. We'll look into making sure everyone's needs are better addressed.
The whole support ticket system could be integrated right into your website and solve a bunch of your problems. Sorting to the proper individuals would happen automatically.
solidoodlesupport wrote:markulus wrote:...
It's just further proof that SD customer service lives in their own fantasy world. Simply *saying* you track all inquiries and *saying* that you read all emails doesn't make it so. *Saying* that your phone number is on the website won't make it magically appear.
If it's so easy to track this info as you say, why are you having so many issues? The Solidoodle Support Issues thread has multiple instances of people saying that they've received cut and paste responses from someone at support who quite obviously did not read the case history.
To say that a support ticket system would offer no improvement over the status quo is laughable.
Mistakes do happen, but like with the printer itself most people have a good time most of the time. There is no reason to scrap an entire system just because we have had a small number of problems. We have tried ticket systems in the past, and they have not worked for our purposes.
I understand the frustration with similar looking e-mails. We do not use form e-mails, but some responses can seem a bit stale - we agree. We'll look into making sure everyone's needs are better addressed.
The whole support ticket system could be integrated right into your website and solve a bunch of your problems. Sorting to the proper individuals would happen automatically.
We know this, because we've tried it. Ticket systems are great, and we might try one when we are slightly larger. For now, we are sticking with the current e-mail system.
I know you won't answer a question based on business decisions. But if you have a line in place to ship replacement parts, why not just adjust your inventory level until you don't have a line? Then you'd ship everyone's order out within a day or two. That's the only gripe I've had so far in my dealings was how long a replacement part took to ship causing me to be down for quite a while. It's not just a complaint though, by not having this streamlined, you're effectively forcing people to find alternative sources for your parts, so you're putting a huge dent in a small but significant portion of your potential sales. If that doesn't get attention all the way to the top I don't know what will.
My helpful suggestion. Get a different email host to eliminate the "sometimes our gmail loses emails, make sure you email us again if we don't respond".
^ That has nothing to do with the email host.
It's like telling the student who says "my dog ate my homework" to get a new dog, and expecting a different result next time...
^ That has nothing to do with the email host.
It's like telling the student who says "my dog ate my homework" to get a new dog, and expecting a different result next time...
No I'm telling them to get a cat instead
Frankly, "Gmail ate your message" is baloney.
If your inbound support requests are getting filtered as spam, then someone's job needs to include at least daily scanning of the spam folder for legitimate email, and then "not spam" and "move to inbox" them. If the company's using Apps or Docs or whatever it's marketed as currently, look into disabling or adjusting sensitivity of the spam filtering on the support address only.
If they're going to trash, you need to identify the person who's deleting them.
Frankly, "Gmail ate your message" is baloney.
If your inbound support requests are getting filtered as spam, then someone's job needs to include at least daily scanning of the spam folder for legitimate email, and then "not spam" and "move to inbox" them. If the company's using Apps or Docs or whatever it's marketed as currently, look into disabling or adjusting sensitivity of the spam filtering on the support address only.
If they're going to trash, you need to identify the person who's deleting them.
We're not that silly.
If you weren't around for it, we went on a long witch hunt with Google trying to get this resolved. We asked our customer base on several occasion for the headers of lost e-mails. In total we received 2. That's it.
While there are continual claims that e-mails are lost, we have not found one customer with a verifiable "lost" e-mail. We're working with a small body of evidence, so it is entirely possible that e-mails were in fact lost. Google essentially told us that they could not help us unless we got proof that the e-mail went out in the first place. We would love to see those e-mail headers, or other proof of lost e-mails. If you have e-mails that Solidoodle never replied to, please let Solidoodle know immediately! I'd be happy to tell you all what we find out.
The e-mails were not in the trash or in the spam folders as some have snarkily implied. I welcome any single person who had a "lost" e-mail to contact us with the header of the lost e-mail. This will substantiate the problem, and let us fix it with Google.
Most cases of the "Solidoodle lost my e-mail" problem are actually cases of "Solidoodle took a little longer than I expected to reply to me." Now, that is a problem I can fix very easily.
Now, that is a problem I can fix very easily.
If the solution is so simple, why has it taken over a year?
Well, I got a chance to test out support's new policies sooner than I thought.
Just got my SD3. I've used it for 45 minutes, extruder fan will not run. I've verified it spins freely by hand and there is 12v at the header on the main board.
Email sent, April 10th. Let's see how it goes.
Update: They got back to me, told me to reverse polarity on the connection, that sometimes it is assembled incorrectly. I asked why this isn't checked during the first print. Reply: "Good question"
Mid print, the bed heater failed:
Nice.
I've been evaluating 3d Printers and this is most amateur i've come across. Solidoodle support has no idea what they're doing. They can't build a consistently functioning product. Let along support it...
elmoret wrote:Well, I got a chance to test out support's new policies sooner than I thought.
Just got my SD3. I've used it for 45 minutes, extruder fan will not run. I've verified it spins freely by hand and there is 12v at the header on the main board.
Email sent, April 10th. Let's see how it goes.
Update: They got back to me, told me to reverse polarity on the connection, that sometimes it is assembled incorrectly. I asked why this isn't checked during the first print. Reply: "Good question"
Mid print, the bed heater failed:
Nice.
well...thats not good
Now we know what happens when you run it over 87
well...thats not good
They can throw a new heater in the box with the extruder fan 
Here's a couple suggestions,
1. Have better QC so there's less reasons for people to complain.
2. Don't get pissed off at customers.
3. Fix your shit when it's clearly your fault.
4. Don't post threads asking how to make things better just to make people think you are doing something.
People have complained about the same things over and over from day one, so this whole thread is a bunch of BS.
Note: I am no longer a Solidoodle fan or supporter due to their crappy customer service and their shit policies. Thanks guys!
With replies like this. There is clearly a problem at solidoodle. This is amateur hour on the support desk. We already know its amateur hour in the design and manufacturing departments. Please stop giving your money to these scammers.
What experience does solidoodle support have with Customer Support and or electronics any formal training besides saying they're linux nerds? really that's your qualification... get someone else to vouch for these jokers...
With replies like this. There is clearly a problem at solidoodle. This is amateur hour on the support desk. We already know its amateur hour in the design and manufacturing departments. Please stop giving your money to these scammers.
What experience does solidoodle support have with Customer Support and or electronics any formal training besides saying they're linux nerds? really that's your qualification... get someone else to vouch for these jokers...
Sorry, those comments belong in the various other threads dedicated to angry rants; this one is for constructive feedback.
Back on topic:
I really think a ticket system is a necessity, to echo others on this thread. I don't think the size of your company is the issue. It has to do with organizing the problems effectively and reliably. On my two occasions dealing with support, there were obvious problems with switching representatives, losing track of what issues had been dealt with, and contacting related personnel. For example, I requested an upgrade to the heated bed platform, and asked to confirm that the upgrade was in order, and I was told "yes you're all set to go", and a few weeks later received the basic model. It was also missing the spool holder completely. The problem was most likely that in reviewing the long email thread, the tech support person just lost track of what had been discussed and thought I was asking about the generic status of my order.
In another instance, I had an item shipped to me twice because the original support tech was not the one who followed up on the email later. So the other apparently looked back at the emails and thought that an item was missing from my order, although it had clearly been shipped earlier (visible in another chain of emails). Obviously I am not complaining about this, I am just pointing out a symptom of this problem.
It is just good practice to add more formality to the support system, and it will build up valuable experience and reputation for Solidoodle in the future. Better to start soon than to attempt transitioning to such a system when you have thousands, instead of hundreds, of emails daily.
This. ^^
Ticket system. I've had the person change and not read it. I've also had two spools of filament sent because of a similar issue. That one should have been good for me (but instead was the dodgy black) but it is definitely more expensive for Solidoodle.
That makes unhappy customers AND lost revenue.
I can agree that there seems to be a lack of continuity in the support department. I get an e-mail from one person, I reply, I get an e-mail from somebody else asking me exactly what I just answered in the previous e-mail. I was told they would be sending me a heater, I e-mailed back right away, not a heater, I shipped the entire hot end back and listed the individual parts in the assembly that I had shipped them. No problem they e-mailed me back, we'll be sending you a new hot end, I got a heater. I was repeatedly asked for the tracking number of my return shipment. If a ticket number was issued and all the e-mails included this number the e-mails could be kept together and READ before another CSR sends a response that has already been covered... Am I beating a dead horse here? I still love my SD3 and am having a blast with it.
TiM
We know this, because we've tried it. Ticket systems are great, and we might try one when we are slightly larger. For now, we are sticking with the current e-mail system.
There's a chair-to-keyboard interface problem somewhere at SD. I hope the owners find it soon and root it out before it sinks the whole company.
If you're going to sell a product that requires as much operator intervention as the SD while making the ease-of-use claims that you do, you better invest HEAVILY in the customer support side of your business. Get someone in charge who actually knows what they are doing because whoever is running that (side)show right now is putting everyone else's job in jeopardy.
I had a good idea of what I was getting into when I made my purchase. I have a degree in mech eng and I work in the robotics field so none of the hardware and software elements in the SD are particularly new to me. Not everyone has my background and level of comfort. If I could walk down the street to the corner store and get myself a new hotend that fits the SD I would. The customer support experience with SD is simply maddening as many people here have echoed. Yet they insist nothing is wrong.
As things stand, everyone who buys an SD is initially dependent on you for parts when they fail. And the failure rates are very high (even 90% out of box printing as has been suggested is unacceptable in nearly every industry). Putting the wrong people in charge of that relationship is going to burn the company badly in the end.
I like the idea of a rush option, but I know it's a capital intensive option. It takes a lot of cash to secure that inventory and store it for so long, and design changes are an absolute killer when they create shelves of obsolete parts.
You guys need some really innovative thinking to find out how you can service the community of people who are investing time and energy into your product. There's nothing special or patentable in the SD. Sooner or later other products will come along that will offer a better value proposition than SD, and there's a good chance that someone else will actually have their shit together on the support side as well.
elmoret wrote:Well, I got a chance to test out support's new policies sooner than I thought.
Just got my SD3. I've used it for 45 minutes, extruder fan will not run. I've verified it spins freely by hand and there is 12v at the header on the main board.
Email sent, April 10th. Let's see how it goes.
Update: They got back to me, told me to reverse polarity on the connection, that sometimes it is assembled incorrectly. I asked why this isn't checked during the first print. Reply: "Good question"
Mid print, the bed heater failed:
Nice.
Yep. We agree, it's ridiculous that it even made it out of the building. However, I should say that it's great that mentioned it. We are here to help fix the problem.
Here's a couple suggestions,
1. Have better QC so there's less reasons for people to complain.
2. Don't get pissed off at customers.
3. Fix your shit when it's clearly your fault.
4. Don't post threads asking how to make things better just to make people think you are doing something.
People have complained about the same things over and over from day one, so this whole thread is a bunch of BS.Note: I am no longer a Solidoodle fan or supporter due to their crappy customer service and their shit policies. Thanks guys!
1. Great suggestion!
As part of a wider effort to reassure folks about QC issues we will sending reports to folks with broken parts after we receive the damaged parts in the mail. It has been suggested that we reveal some of our QC practices (which are actually fairly extensive.) We might make some of that available as well.
However, do remember support isn't the QC department, and we are simply in the position of making suggestions.
2. I don't recall ever getting angry with a customer. Did this ever happen to you?
3. Of course! We fix everyone's printer. No one goes without repair.
4. We are trying to make constructive efforts at improving support. We have made good on improvements in many departments, and this is just another.
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