Change to product support

[Uncle Michael]

I think a bit more explanation of how product support will work would be helpful.

1. Do new users of HS get a limited time subscription to 'Priority Support'?
2. Will there be any distinction between a problem that is generated by lack of knowledge on the part of the user vs. a bug in the software?
3. Will non-subscribers be able to access the support forum to view but not post, or will non-subscribers not be able to view anything in the forum?
4. Will HST staff monitor the board more thoroughly than they have been? I've come to expect that a problem raised on the board will be greeted by Rupp with a suggestion to submit a Help Desk ticket because HST does not monitor the board. If monitoring will not increase, does that mean that non-subscription support is being delegated to the user community?

[rjh]

I will get you answers shortly, I have to check on a few things first.

[kenm]

First of all Thanks to Mike for starting the thread I meant to start yesterday.


To the HS guys, I think this is a good business move on your part as it aligns very well with other products I use and support.

A couple of comments (hopefully constructive):

1. I think the name of the support forum will be confusing to new users. It should be called something like "Priority (Paid) User Support Forum". As it is now, a new user would access the message board and try to post a question in the "User Support Forum" and find out they can't without paying first. I think this will lead to a "What? I have to PAY for support?" reaction by the new user.

2. I have mixed feelings on allowing read-only access to the paid forum. On one hand allowing it may reduce the number of issues in the non-subscription areas of the board but on the other-hand it may increase the number of parallel discussions in other areas where non-subscribers can post and make it harder to search and find solutions to problems. Does this make sense?

3. Priority (i.e. paid) support usually comes with an SLA (service level agreement). I don't see anything about response time, escalation levels, etc. in Rich's email nor on the subscription page.

Finally, I plan to support this monetarily as I do think it's a good business move.

Ken

[zimmer62]

The help desk has been a place where I've reported bugs, or problems with things not working the way they should. I've also done my share of troubleshooting to help the HST with a problem that might not be on just my end.

I don't mind paying for support if it's to help me, or hold my hand getting something setup if I don't want to take the time to learn it myself...

That being said I'm a little nervous about how things are going to be handled dealing with bugs, suggesting new features, open issues that don't pertain to an individual users (my) setup.

I'm also afraid posting to the forums with a problem, Rupp is just going to say, this has been covered in the payed support section, or post it in the payed support section. Or someone who has access to the paid support section is going to chime in with either the same answer, or an identical problem posted in two places will be troubleshot from two angles, one from the free support area by the community, and one from the HST support team.

I really need to know more before I can afford this "yearly" fee. I think in the past I used the help desk 5 to 10 times a year or less, I'm not sure this would justify a year's subscription price, when I find nearly the same answers in the forums and post to that nearly 5 to 10 times a week.

Where do I report possible bugs without paying.
Where do I suggest features for homeseer products.
How can I get involved in discussion with the developers to help understand why they took a particular direction with something, like using anthem for ajax instead of microsofts ajax? Insite on the direction they are heading? Best practice for developers of plug-ins, scripts etc.

Maybe in the future you could do some webcasts or a conference where more advanced topics could be discussed. I like the direction that support has been moving lately with more videos on how to do things etc, run with it if you can.

[rjh]

I updated the sticky post in the paid forum, and I believe I answered all of your questions. I want to keep all the information in one place as it may change over time as we obtain feedback.

We are planning more videos, we do think they are very helpful. We would like to do more webinars also.

[Gogs]

Interesting, this went completely over my head until I spotted this post and wondered what it was on about.

I wonder, if one raises a help desk ticket once in a blue moon there is not a lot of incentive to subscribe to the "Paid Forum". I have also known help desk tickets solve HS problems that this BBS could not.

Would it be too complicated to have a one question, one charge setup? Refundable of course if it turns out to be a HS fault.

What a shame, Rupp is going to have to change his catch phrase "Post a help desk ticket".

[rjh]

The purpose of the paid support is to offer you "as immediate as possible" support. We strive to answer questions as soon as they are posted. If you need quick support, this is the way to get it. If you need casual support, just post your question to the message board.

[Gogs]

The purpose of the paid support is to offer you "as immediate as possible" support. We strive to answer questions as soon as they are posted. If you need quick support, this is the way to get it. If you need casual support, just post your question to the message board.

I appreciate what you are saying and your approach Rich. It was not intended as criticism.

[thymer]

My only fear is that there could be significantly less folks wanting to help in the beta testing if you have to pay to get "reasonable" response times. Perhaps beta testers should get discount/free access to this new forum. We do spend our time to help in the development of this product.

[rjh]

My only fear is that there could be significantly less folks wanting to help in the beta testing if you have to pay to get "reasonable" response times. Perhaps beta testers should get discount/free access to this new forum. We do spend our time to help in the development of this product.

I will consider that. When we release beta software we regularly monitor forums related to the new software. For example, I am subscribed to the forum where HSTouch issues are posted, so I get notified immediately. The HomeSeer Beta forum is like this also. So we will keep with this approach. This also keeps users from reporting the same issues, which happens on the helpdesk since it is private.

[thymer]

i will consider that. When we release beta software we regularly monitor forums related to the new software. For example, i am subscribed to the forum where hstouch issues are posted, so i get notified immediately. The homeseer beta forum is like this also. So we will keep with this approach. This also keeps users from reporting the same issues, which happens on the helpdesk since it is private.

10-4

[rmasonjr]

If we get a message in our logs from HS saying to "Contact Support" - do we have to be on PAID support or not?

I have a message in my HS log saying to contact support, but not sure if I need to open a ticket, etc.

Thanks
Rob

[Rupp]

If we get a message in our logs from HS saying to "Contact Support" - do we have to be on PAID support or not?

I have a message in my HS log saying to contact support, but not sure if I need to open a ticket, etc.

Thanks
Rob

Please send these along to us via the help desk as usual.

[rmasonjr]

done.

[Gogs]

Please send these along to us via the help desk as usual.

I understood the plan was to shut down the "Help Desk" as we know it and replace it with either the "Paid Support" or post in the relevant forum!

If this is not the case what is the point of having a "Paid Support" desk?