Forum: SDL Trados support
Topic: Studio 2015 - licensing nightmare revisited
Poster: Tomasz Poplawski
Post title: Thanks but...
First of all, let me thank you again for solving the issue quickly and efficiently, and whatever I am going to write does not diminish my gratitude in any way.
However, I have to take issue with some of your remarks, and let me preface it with the following statement:
I am rooting for success of your company for many reasons, I have used SDLX and Trados, and then Studio for almost 20 years, and I hate it every time my client tells me "I can't deal with these people anymore, they are arrogant, expensive, and unresponsive" - and announces a switch to another tool, cheaper, usually less advanced but apparently, better supported. Unfortunately, that has happened many times. It forced me to work in a less than optimal environment and/or purchase new software.
And I am afraid I see why people run away. You write "The support teams have always worked Mon-Fri, and this is normally enough." I beg to differ, especially in relation to the basic access to a piece of software that, by accepting my money, SDL promised to made available to me.
First, there is a fairness argument: I didn't spend my money on your expensive software to have access on it only when you see fit, the implied promise was that I could use it when I need it.
Then, one look into the Kudoz section would tell you that translators do not work Monday through Friday, 9 to 5. Actually, many project managers habitually assign jobs just before the end of the day on Friday, with Monday morning delivery date. Of course, nobody forces a translator to accept such slavery - but these are often attractive offers, and frankly, people don't mind because working over a weekend, it is often a good choice for freelancers - either because they have days jobs, are busy with driving kids to school and violin practice, or they prefer taking a day off when the weather/snow/surf/wind is good. In other words, your assertion that M-F support is sufficient does not reflect the reality of your customers' world.
I came upon another example of that curiously 20th century attitude while talking to the main SDL tech guru sent to a recent American Translators Association conference. Studio didn't - and still doesn't - work well with higher resolution laptop screens. Some icons become microscopic, some buttons disappear, and some screens, like language selection for the project, show overlapped lines, really ugly. In response, the guru pulled out his ancient looking IBM and suggested that 1280x768 res should be sufficient so what's the problem. Thanks God, he didn't recommend coming back to a typewriter.
Then you seemed to imply that I didn't do what SDL recommends in all your customer messaging. But when you look closely here, you see that I followed the instructions as written:
"Should you require licensing (reset) help.
[url removed]
For other NONE PSMA covered support queries please use our free SDL Communtity Forum
[url removed] "
Because I needed the licensing help, I clicked on the first link. If you want people to use the second link for licensing issues as well, perhaps you should change the quoted message, or indicate that the second link is monitored over the weekend, while the first one is not?
In your last response, you also revealed something that was not made clear to me when I was enticed to spend money on your upgrade:
"All versions prior to Studio 2015 had a self service option where you could reset your own license. 2015 introduced a new licensing system and the self service option has not been implemented yet."
Frankly, had I known it, I would have been very hesitant to upgrade, for the reason that should be very clear in the light of our exchange. I think this wass less than upfront of SDL.
Finally, may I ask why the company that makes such a big thing about being global doesn't have any support based in the American time zones? Is your Western hemisphere market too small?