Service Select Support - Add a Ticketing System

[E|FA]

Support requests made via https://customers.vectorworks.net/support -> Support Request -> Get Support button are a black box.  Other than a notice on the refreshed page saying that the message went through, there is no way to confirm that it did, there's no confirmation email sent, no case number, no way to update the support request, nothing.  Most other support websites offer some form of ticketing system, or at least an email confirmation.  This should be general practice for all support & bug report submissions, but even more so for a paid system like Service Select.

 

I understand that I might not get an instantaneous response, but even an acknowledgement of receipt (even an automated one), would be greatly appreciated.

Edited March 18, 2022 by E|FA
typo

[jblock]

Hi @E|FAwe actually do use a ticketing system and you should get an automated reply when submitting a support request from the customer portal. I will investigate why you seem to be having problems. If you email our technical support team directly at tech@vectorworks.net, do you receive an automated reply with a case number?

Thanks!

[E|FA]

@jblock I just emailed and did receive an automated reply with a case number.

 

I suggest you fix the Support Request button, AND add a note to it saying that if you don't get an automated response with a case number that you should try submitting via email.  A broken support system doesn't offer a lot of confidence.

Edited March 21, 2022 by E|FA

[jblock]

@E|FAThanks for confirming. As I said in my previous post, I am investigating why the automated response is not working with the Support Request form and working on a fix.

 

Thanks

[E|FA]

Email to tech@vectorworks.net:

• Automated response: yes
• Actual support: no

[Zsombor]

I'm also disappointed about this service. I've sent couple of requests, without any reply for some of them! Without a confirmation letter I cannot refer to the case.

[Kevin McAllister]

I've submitted things and never heard back. I'm not sure how "Service Select" differs from "Bug Submit". I've had much better results from "Bug Submit" even though it doesn't cc you with your submission (another big oversight).

 

Kevin

 

[ParkerJames]

Ya--I spent good money for it. Disappointing it is.

I want a refund.

🙂

[E|FA]

My submitted issue was eventually attended to, though slowly, and possibly because I contacted the sales rep I work with.  In the end, I solved it myself and posted the solution in another thread.  My original wishlist request that started this thread is still relevant - there should be an online tracking system for support requests & bug submissions.

Edited April 18, 2022 by E|FA

[E|FA]

In a related thread, please vote for a ticketing system for bug reports:

 

 

[E|FA]

Connecting related Wishlist threads:

 

 

[rDesign]

On 3/22/2022 at 11:13 AM, jblock said:

@E|FAThanks for confirming. As I said in my previous post, I am investigating why the automated response is not working with the Support Request form and working on a fix.

 

Thanks

 

@jblock Following up on your post from March 22, I just reported two bugs from my VSS Customer Portal: I didn't get any automated email response that my bugs have been received. All I get is the banner at the top of the page saying that "Your request has been sent to the support team. They will reply to you as soon as possible." Other than that, no recognition of having been received. 

 

This really needs to be fixed ASAP. Right now reporting bugs to Vw feels like sending them to File 13 (a.k.a. the trash can). 

[E|FA]

@jblock I'm posting here as it is the more relevant thread, regarding:

Until the backend is repaired can you please manually send an email response to each & every bug submittal and service request.  It would also be nice if someone sent a confirmation email to all past submittals that were not replied to. 

Edited September 27, 2022 by E|FA

[E|FA]

@jblock Bug submitted earlier today.  No response or confirmation...

[Jeff Prince]

On 10/13/2022 at 1:00 PM, E|FA said:

@jblock Bug submitted earlier today.  No response or confirmation...

Thanks for your continuing efforts to raise awareness of this issue.

[line-weight]

This lack of ticketing/tracking system is one of the main reasons I generally refuse to waste my time submitting bugs or emailing tech support. Instead I generally post my issues on here, where even if no one from Vectorworks can help, at least some other users might.

 

There are various other services I use, that I pay a lot less for than I do for my Vectorworks licence.

 

For example, the software that runs my website, or my web hosting company. An enquiry gets ticketed, and I get a recorded string of communication with someone helping sort out my problem. Sometimes it gets switched between people, presumably because they work in shifts, but it all happens under a single ticket number. Sometimes it's via a live chat system, sometimes email. Either way, it all gets recorded somewhere that I can access, and there is a definitive point at which the ticket is deemed closed. Sometimes after an extended discussion there's a conclusion that in fact there's a bug in the software that needs to be fixed, and I don't necessarily get to track that, but I am at least reassured that someone has looked at it closely and recognised there's an issue.

 

Then there's my internet provider. They actually have a user forum (a bit like this) where you are actively directed to as a way of solving problems. If you start an enquiry there, it's nearly always replied to by a staff member, if it's not answered by other users. And sometimes, (if some specific details of your account are needed to sort things out) they will initiate a conversation with you by DM.

 

If VW wants to move further towards the "software as a service" world they need to up their game.

 

As well as adopting a ticketing system they could have a more formalised approach to the forums. It's always greatly appreciated when a VW employee engages in a thread here, but it doesn't happen in a consistent way. As has been requested many times before - there should be at least one person whose specific job it is, to monitor everything being asked on the forums, and direct things to the right people. Of course, the actual software engineers should be using their time to do the engineering, not administer the forums, but surely they can only benefit from being made aware of discussions about stuff they are working on.

 

And, from a commercial point of view, isn't it to VW's benefit if potential new users look at the forums and see that there is an active and consistent engagement with problems.

 

Actually most people are pretty tolerant of things not being perfect if they feel that problems are recognised and being worked on. It's largely the frustration of shouting into the void, whilst your productivity is hammered by software that isn't working as you want it to, that brings the rage on.

[line-weight]

Oh, and this thread is a classic example of inconsistent engagement:

 

Day 1: issue raised

Day 4: VW employee responds

Day 5: VW employee acknowledges problem exists and says it will be worked on

Days 6-91: further posts from users

Day 149: user confirms problem still exists, attempts to ping VW employee without success

Day 195: another unsuccessful attempt to ping VW employee

Day 211: again, user confirms problem still exists, attempts to ping VW employee without success

 

Please can I be clear I am absolutely not trying to have a go at @jblock here, whose job I'm sure requires him to keep on top of all sorts of things that are not keeping an eye on user forum notifications.

 

But if there were someone whose job it was to keep an eye on the forums, then they could not only update and respond to threads like this, but behind the scenes make the contact with the necessary people, in order to make those responses.

[Art V]

7 minutes ago, line-weight said:

And, from a commercial point of view, isn't it to VW's benefit if potential new users look at the forums and see that there is an active and consistent engagement with problems.

 

Actually most people are pretty tolerant of things not being perfect if they feel that problems are recognised and being worked on. It's largely the frustration of shouting into the void, whilst your productivity is hammered by software that isn't working as you want it to, that brings the rage on.

Totally agree with this, this forum really needs someone like Jim Wilson who was basically a single focal contact point between users and VW inc. who you could contact for follow up etc. When he left VW inc. I was wondering if there would be anyone stepping into his (very big) shoes to continue what he did, alas that didn't really happen.

 

No matter how well the current team is trying to respond, as you mentioned it is/feels a bit haphazard and inconsistent for the end users of VW and occasionally it gives more of a can't do than a can do/will try impression.

 

Once you go SaaS you really need a good support framework on the forum showing the company is having at least someone dedicated on fixing issues/answering questions or directing people towards the correction direction to solve it themselves if possible if you want to attract new/potential users, otherwise the comments filled with frustration, disappointment etc. may deter new/potential users from trying VW which would be a shame imho.

 

The other part is good CAD documentation, there was still quite a bit of useful/essential information missing with quite a few topics in the help documentation that would enable people to actually get something achieved instead of a general description of a feature or command but not telling how to actually use it to make it work. This issue is not unique to Vectorworks though, it's the same with a lot of other software where at some point you just get stuck because there is some essential bit of information missing in the documentaion/help files.

[Art V]

35 minutes ago, line-weight said:

Day 1: issue raised

Day 4: VW employee responds

Day 5: VW employee acknowledges problem exists and says it will be worked on

Days 6-91: further posts from users

Day 149: user confirms problem still exists, attempts to ping VW employee without success

Day 195: another unsuccessful attempt to ping VW employee

Day 211: again, user confirms problem still exists, attempts to ping VW employee without success

Not to bash VW people/support, but this is a stark difference with the support from my other CAD program that I am currently using as my main CAD, which does offer subscription as an option next to the perpetual licenses.

When I file a support request with my current CAD program (whether it is a bug report or a how to question), I have to indicate which version I am using, the OS and what kind of issue it is, e.g. Bug report, feature request etc., and which functionality it is about (e.g. 2D drafting, 3D modelling, Mechanical, BIM etc.) and the support request will be automatically routed to the right person. In the case of a bug report it will be directed to one of the developers for that kind of issue/functionality (e.g. a BIM issue will be directed to a developer working on the BIM part and not to one involved with general 3D modelling). It may take up to two working days depending on time differences etc. but you will get contacted by an actual developer who will stay in touch until either the issue has been solved if it is something on the user's end or when you will get informed that this needs to be taken up by the developer team to solve. With more major issues it is not uncommon to get an e-mail after a while to let you know the issue has been fixed, or the feature has been implemented and that it will be included in the upcoming update/upgrade (or SP in case of VW).

 

With VW bug filing throughout the website you're more often than not left in the dark if anything will be done, how and when etc. Maybe the above support system is what could be implemented now that they are SaaS only to remediate a lot of the frustation on end users part. Some of it is already there when filing a bug, but the rest feels like it is missing, with the exception of occasionally being contacted by support to provide further info. The local distributor's support is way more like described above but if it needs developer involvement it turns into a black hole where you can only hope that it will be taken up by the developers.

Edited October 16, 2022 by Art V

[line-weight]

18 minutes ago, Art V said:

Totally agree with this, this forum really needs someone like Jim Wilson who was basically a single focal contact point between users and VW inc. who you could contact for follow up etc. When he left VW inc. I was wondering if there would be anyone stepping into his (very big) shoes to continue what he did, alas that didn't really happen.

 

Yup, It was asked for at the time.

 

 

[line-weight]

4 minutes ago, Art V said:

Not to bash VW people/support, but this is a stark difference with the support from my other CAD program that I am currently using as my main CAD, which does offer subscription as an option next to the perpetual licenses.

When I file a support request with my current CAD program (whether it is a bug report or a how to question), I have to indicate which version I am using, the OS and what kind of issue it is, e.g. Bug report, feature request etc., and which functionality it is about (e.g. 2D drafting, 3D modelling, Mechanical, BIM etc.) and the support request will be automatically routed to the right person. In the case of a bug report it will be directed to one of the developers for that kind of issue/functionality (e.g. a BIM issue will be directed to a developer working on the BIM part and not to one involved with general 3D modelling). It may take up to two working days depening on time differences etc. but you will get contacted by a developer who will stay in touch until either the issue has been solved if it is something on the user's end or when you will get informed that this needs to be taken up by the developer team to solve. With more major issues it is not uncommong to get an e-mail after a while to let you know the issue has been fixed, or the feature has been implemented and that it will be included in the upcoming update (or SP in case of VW).

 

With VW bug filing you're more often than not left in the dark if anything will be done, how and when etc. Maybe the above support system is what could be implemented now that they are SaaS only to remediate a lot of the frustation on end users part. Some of it is already there when filing a bug, but the rest feels like it is missing, with the exception of occasionally being contacted by support to provide further info. The local distributor's support is way more like described above but if it needs developer involvement it turns into a black hole where you can only hope that it will be taken up by the developers.

 

just to be clear ... what I was describing there in terms of days from issue being raised was the response on this particular forum thread. rather than an interaction with tech support or bug submission.

[Art V]

2 hours ago, line-weight said:

just to be clear ... what I was describing there in terms of days from issue being raised was the response on this particular forum thread. rather than an interaction with tech support or bug submission.

Yes, but once the employee lets you know it is a bug or whatever that development needs to work on it turns into an informal bug report and it should have follow up. In my case as described with the support system of my current CAD program, the support request will at some point get closed as something that requires deveopment but... I can at any time reopen that ticket to add more information or to ask about the status of the issue and will get a response within a reasonable timeframe. That is something that I've always felt to be a bit missing with the VW online bug report system.

 

There should be a similar option on the forum that should generate a "required" reply from either the person you talked with on the forum or from someone else from VW to inform back to you about the status etc. in case that is possible. Otoh there should also be some system to prevent that option to be "abused" by impatient people causing the developer to be flooded with status update requests.

Edited October 16, 2022 by Art V
typo correction

[line-weight]

6 minutes ago, Art V said:

Yes, but once the employee lets you know it is a bug or whatever that development needs to work on it turns into an informal bug report and it should have follow up.

 

yes agreed.

 

And an employee on the forum saying "please file this as a bug submit" (which does happen here) isn't good enough. It shouldn't be the paying customer's job, if they've already given all the necessary info on a forum thread.

 

Of course one of the big plus-points about forum threads - for users and software companies alike - is that someone with a similar problem might be able to find the relevant thread, and solve their problem straight away, without needing to bother anyone for official support. In that way a well managed forum can supplement documentation and fill in gaps that might exist in it.

 

This also could benefit from more active forum management - for example, merging threads that duplicate discussions, even splitting off discussions that are useful but off-topic, into a new thread with an appropriate title. Re-naming poorly titled threads so they are easier to find in search results. Having well defined sub-categories and moving threads into them, if they are posted in an inappropriate one.

 

I post on some discussion forums which are just interest groups - no commercial entity involved - but where the moderators are pretty proactive in doing all the above. Sometimes it borders on over-policing but it does make it much easier to find information in searches.

[Art V]

1 hour ago, line-weight said:

And an employee on the forum saying "please file this as a bug submit" (which does happen here) isn't good enough. It shouldn't be the paying customer's job, if they've already given all the necessary info on a forum thread.

On the Rhino3D forum the company employee moderaters will file a bug themselves into McNeel's bug tracking system, mention that on the discussion thread and provide a bug tracking number which is also a link to a page with the bug description as they have filed it in their system. If necessary they'll request you to send the problem file if needed.

 

Otoh I can understand why they may ask you to file a bug report yourself if their system asks you for additional details (like I described for my other CAD program) with the option to attach files without either having to post them on the forum or use temporary upload links with the theoretical possibility that it gets attached to the wrong bug report, then it is more efficient to do it that way as things will then get properly registered etc. into their bug tracking system and may provide a more efficient way for follow-up etc. It's just that this extra advantage for follow up seems to be underused by VW, at least for the online bugreporting on the VW website. It is a bit better when done trough the local distributor's website as the local distributor is more likely to do some follow-up.

[rDesign]

@jblock Bug submitted earlier today (2 Nov. 2022) through my VSS Customer Portal: I did not receive any automated response or confirmation.

Edited November 2, 2022 by rDesign
tagged @jblock

[jblock]

@rDesignyes, we received your request in our ticketing system and will respond as soon as possible. The automated response is still not working the way we want it to for support tickets submitted via Customer Portal.