Aug 28 2009
Adobe Tech Support Letter
Occasionally, when I answer tech support questions for attendees in classes or seminars, they thank me twice: once, for solving their questions, and again for saving them from dealing with Adobe tech support. Citing long holds, repeated handoffs to other support personnel, undecipherable accents, and unsatisfactory results, they’d ask, “Can we just call you instead?” I caution them that I can’t answer everything, but tell them I’ll try. Because of my long loyalty to Adobe, I apologize for their experience, telling them that I’m sure their experience is rare and that they shouldn’t hold it against Adobe.
But the increasing frequency of such complaints has left me wondering if declining tech support quality could be a trend at the Big Red A. Since I’m quite fond of Adobe, that’s distressing.
Now, it seems, there’s some confirmation of my clients’ complaints, as well as some hope that those complaints are being addressed. On the main Adobe support page, there’s a brief message from Lambert Walsh, VP of Technical services. It reads, in part:
Adobe is committed to providing the most advanced, innovative products and services in the world. Recently, however, our customers have experienced a level of service that is inconsistent with what they expect and deserve. This is unacceptable and we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused. We are working diligently to resolve these issues.
Lambert’s full letter is available here as a PDF.
I understand how tough it is to provide comprehensive tech support; I provide support for Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Acrobat, and general printing issues for my clients and seminar attendees, and it can take some digging to solve their problems. For me, the rewards are that my client’s life now runs more smoothly, and that I often learn new things as a result.
Given the mile-long list of Adobe products, I can’t imagine the challenge involved in finding knowledgeable personnel to field the ocean of tech-support calls. From installation and activation issues to unique weird conflicts (and user proclivities), it has to be a nightmare. I don’t envy Mr. Walsh!
