[QUOTE=bartho;]Hello,
Issue reported to our bugs team.
regards,
Bernhard Bernsmann[/QUOTE]
Is this phrase meant to softly close a thread, or will we ever hear back about the status? I think that the translation is actually “Go away. If I pretend somebody cares about your problem then maybe you will stop posting”. Sorry Bernhard, I mean no offense saying this, I know you are trying to be helpful.
What happened to Thomas in the past two weeks? He was giving us really good status information, reproducing problems, offering suggestions, communicating to the development team and then the bugs got fixed. It looks like customer support is spiraling back down to its state 3 months ago. Its a shame.
Most of the customers of NetMake are in exactly the same business as NetMake is: We design, develop, market, sell and support software to paying customers.
One big difference between NetMake and customers like myself is probably best summed up by my company’s policy on Customer Service: [B]
We listen to our customers. They use our software every day in the real world, so they know the good and bad of it. Customers give us valuable feedback at no cost to us. They are not only our lifeblood, but valued members of our Design Team.[/B]
I need to give my customers better customer support and quicker response than they can get from my competitors, otherwise they will go someplace else. Maybe not today, because my product is the superior product today, but my competitors are working hard to have the superior software product. Being in the software business is much more than simply having a software product. Companies differentiate themselves in other ways. I could never, ever tell my customers “Issue reported to our bugs team.” and expect them to accept that as the last thing they ever hear about the problem. I would be creating an unhappy customer that will leave as soon as a viable alternative exists.
Put very simply:
good customer support = customer loyalty;
customer loyalty = more sales;
When a software product is initially being developed, it evolves as the brainchild of the developers. They know what it is that they have envisioned, and they set about creating that product. However, post-release development, enhancements, feature evolution, etc. are all driven by the market. That is the purpose of the existence of Product Managers. They keep their fingers on the pulse of the marketplace, compare features to the competition, encourage feedback from their major and most experienced customers and using all of this information, they create a roadmap for the future of the product. This cannot be done in a vacuum. Letting developers establish the roadmap of a product based upon what they “feel like working on” is a major mistake. They are employees, they are not paying customers. Prioritization of the product roadmap must include customer feedback, otherwise you end up with a “really cool” widget that nobody wants to buy.
I would really love to see a chart of ScriptCase sales over the past few years. I would bet a month’s pay that somebody is concerned about increasing the level of sales at this point. Is it such a big secret that customer satisfaction drives sales?
Aducom spent time and energy setting up a Mantis site to track the status of bugs (in English). Nobody from NetMake participates. This forum also has very little participation from NetMake.
I really have to ask, does senior management at NetMake have any idea of the serious level of customer dissatisfaction and the potential backlash? I cannot believe that senior management is totally incompetent, so I must conclude that they are simply unaware of the customer dissatisfaction.
In closing let me say that I think that ScriptCase is potentially a stellar product. I also think that NetMake has the potential to be a stellar company. The only thing needed for these two things to achieve their potential is a change of priorities by someone who cares.
Sorry if I have rambled on, but I depend on Scriptcase. Just as I would be upset if the performance of my electricity supplier was less than adequate. I depend on them as well, not just for my company’s success, but the success of all of my employees. Keep in mind, NetMake, that your actions affect the lives of many thousands of people in far-flung countries.
Dave
