PTC has not lost its way; they've lost everything

[KrisR]

I'm experiencing a great deal of frustration today.......I've had a BUSINESS CRITICAL support case in for ELEVEN days. It took two days to get me the NDA paperwork, only after I asked for it. It took another day after that to get log in info for the secure FTP site. I haven't heard back from the support tech since last Thursday.

I'm speechless, dumbfounded and astounded. I've used VAR's and support on other softwares.....NEVER has it been this bad.....NEVER. This is just LUDICRIOUS.

I copied Lyn Atkinson about this issue as well as Mark Hodges. I swear upon my heart that I will NEVER accept another position in any company that uses PTC products, nor will I ever recommend PTC to any company that I know.

I'm done with PTC. They have shown me nothing but poor and untimely support, with techs that do not know of what they speak, and cannot speak the English language so I can understand them. I am DONE. Stick a fork in me.

[KshetrabasiMaha]

Hi

This is not rare for PTC Support.

One of our Case got resolved after Almost two and half month.

There were more than 5 webex sessions.

But the case was resolved.

All depends how complecated the case is and who is handling the case.

Regards

K.Mahanta

[KrisR]

I really don't care if this is rare for PTC support, and please don't take my tone as directed towards you.

This IS rare from other tech support groups I have had the pleasure of working with. Once PTC realizes this, and realizes that customers will leave for better support as well as a company that listens to the users, they will be better off.

[KrisR]

So I get a call from a new tech........and he says he has this morning free to work on it.

NO reply from Mark, NO reply from Lyn and NO reply from Harish (tech support manager). No apology, no nothing.

I'm saying no too.

[DonRiley]

Keep the pressure on but take courage. Consider this though...I have scores (almost 30) of logged SPR's with another CAD company that have not been solved for more than one year. I can contact the VAR but they can't really solve it once it is listed as an SPR and I can't contact the CAD company directly. At least with PTC you can contact them directly.

Just remember that the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence...the well known CAD program I am using now is a nightmare for large assemblies and crashes on a regular basis, a problem that Pro/E does not have. No inspite of the shortcomings of tech support I would still take Creo any day.

Anyway take courage

[Patriot_1776]

I wouldn't take creo any day, but I'd take Pro/E.

[KrisR]

Don,

At the SPR point, your issue has been identified. Your part has been reviewed and while something is broken in the software, at least you know what's going on. You can establish a work around.

At the juncture at which I wrote this, I didn't know what was wrong or why it was taking so long to rectify it. I was up in the air......a proverbial river and no paddle.

I have looked at some of the SPR's for Pro and some have been outstanding for THREE YEARS. That's just nuts.

[DonRiley]

I understand what you mean about being at the SPR point. That said I have had calls where the VAR was unable to solve the problem and it took some time to get a response back from the CAD company that actually made the software. The call tracking and logging system that PTC has is vastly superior to the company I am thinking of.

I know that not all SPR's from either PTC or the other company get solved right away...I just say 2 years since most of my SPR's are at that age. I have some that I called in almost 6+ years ago that are still unsolved. I was told that the sqeaky wheel gets the grease so to speak and my particular SPR was not that common. Anyway if you have used other software besides PTC you have a good reference point be it positive or negative. I have used Pro/E/Creo since version 16 and at this point in time find it to be preferable over the nearest competition which I have only used for 3+ years. At this point there seem to be so many bugs in this software (not PTC software) that I don't report them much anymore...I have simply come to grips with the fact that it is buggy most of the time.

Cheers.

[KrisR]

Heard from Harry and Lyn. Lyn left voicemail at lunch and Harry via email. While I was offered the option of a bi-monthly phone call with Harry to discuss pending critical cases, I didn't feel this was prudent. I haven't put in that many tickets and it wouldn't have been a good use of my time.

[KrisR]

Heard from Paul Lenfest, VP of Worldwide Tech Support, this morning. He outlines some additional steps that can be taken to escalate a support case to get the resolution that you feel you deserve.

If you have a case that is not getting the resolution that you feel it should, follow these steps to escalate:

1. If emailing tech engineer, as to have their manager call/ email you
2. Call the toll free number, press zero, and enter case number. Ask operator to speak to the tech engineering manager for the tech engineer
3. Log on to the online support site, and in the “Call Tracker” log, there is an escalate button

He mentioned to me that it is very unusual for someone to publically express their dismay in PTC's tech support. I told him that MANY people are dismayed at it; they just do not make it known publically.

Folks, if you want change, you have to ask for it; demand it sometimes. I'm not one to have our company pay for a maintenance package and then receive inferior support. Take PTC to task if you feel that you are not getting what you need.

I also had an email from Mark Hodges this morning, stating that this would be taken up with the support management team and they would let me know the outcome.

[PaulLenfest]

Thanks, Kris. I also described these case escalation options in Mark Hodges' Voice of the Customer Blog last year along with additional details on how we respond to and use that feedback to improve:

http://communities.ptc.com/blogs/markhodges/2011/01/14/ptc-technical-support.

Kris, our team will also be following up with you in the next days on the specific cases you and I discussed on the phone this morning.

Paul Lenfest

[ptc-1589706]

Feel your pain Kris, had a similar experience on a minor issue. What amazed me that it took all of 3 minutes to fix our problem with 2 of those minutes being me re-explaining to a new support tech.

Historically speaking from my perspective only, PTC support has been great, this last episode sort of left me scratching my head.

Anyways problem got solved after 3 days of escalation so I'm happy until the next problem arises.

[KrisR]

I heard from Paul yesterday, so I will update.

When calling in before 8AM EDT, there is no way to get to a PTC operator when you already have a case number assigned. You will have to wait until after 8 to press zero and reach an operator. PTC will address this when they do a phone upgrade in the next year or so. Their goal is to have the ability to reach an operator at any time of the day. They were unaware of the issue.

NDA paperwork being sent out to people that request it will be faster, as well as getting log in info for the secure PTC FTP site.

The amount of time taken to solve my critical case issue was unacceptable, both to me and the PTC staff. This has been addressed with the tech engineers.

Ability to understand the techs is an ongoing process, as they are tested and certified to be "understandable" before they are allowed to be in the phone cue. Some retraining has happened with some of the techs I have had for support cases.

All in all, I feel that PTC does want to know when things go wrong so they can be addressed. But THEY NEED TO KNOW. If you are unhappy with the support, escalate your issue and speak with a manager. In a previous post in this thread I laid out how that can happen. Please let PTC know.

[BrianMartin]

Hi Kris...

I completely feel your pain here. Nothing you said was out of line. Nothing you said was incorrect. The only difference between us... is that I love PTC products and I really don't want to use anything else. So I want to hammer this issue so the support gets better (at least to the level of other CAD software companies), not run away because support is so abismal.

I don't blame you for being ticked off. My best advice is the same I'd give for anyone having a problem in any facet of life. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. I personally don't like being "squeaky" but for a business critical issue, I'll do whatever it takes. Call them, write them, demand your call get elevated. Be a thorn in the side and you can usually get someone's attention.

I once wrote a scorching email that got so much attention, I started getting called from PTC executives. My letter made it to the top of the food chain. Ultimately my issues were heard... and today I'm in the same room as some of the people who responded to that barn burner of an email. Things CAN change. It's sad that we have to fight for that change as hard as we do... but you CAN make yourself heard.

Good luck... if there's anything I can do to help in a situation like this, please feel free to call or write. Sometimes, given my "employer", we have some back channels we can utilitze to get the proper phones ringing a bit faster than going through the normal methods. I'm here to help... don't be shy about asking!

Thanks!

-Brian

[KrisR]

Oh, I'm never shy... Thanks for the offer!

[ptc-4766099]

Oh Kris,

I know exactlly how you feel.

I have reluctantly switched from SolidWorks to Pro-E/Creo, or whatever it's called this week. I am sick of being routed to India EVERY time I call for Tech support. I worked thru a re-seller for tech support with S/W for ten years and alwys spoke to someone who spoke perfect english, and had issues resolved in <5 minutes.

People who like Pro-e talk about it being able to handle more difficult modeling. Who cares about that, if you can't even get the simplest things done easily.

Everything about Pro-e is painful... And if I wanted pain, I'd stick my head in a vice..

Still pullin my hair out with PTC

D

[rohit_rajan]

be carefull of what you speak David....we Indians are very proud off ourselves...do not blame it on us..and we surely speak much better english than you..if that is what you want to hear!...do not divert the topic of discussion....

and yes Pro/E is much better than solidworks..which is nothing but a glossy copy of Pro/E..!

[vzak]

+1 ... on both items 😉

[BrianMartin]

David,

In my last dozen or so calls to PTC, I have not been routed to India at all. In fact, this used to happen quite a bit but now I am clearly being routed to the United States. However, of course, PTC does have team members from all over the world so perhaps you've just dealt with some people with accents. This sometimes causes a bit of a communication hurdle but we live in a society where this is commonplace, right?

Depending upon where you get your customer support, you'll always have different results. You used to receive SolidWorks support through a reseller. That wasn't Dassault, that was another company, right? PTC has resellers, too. Some are wonderful... and a few are horrid. PTC Community is a wonderful place to receive answers fast and free. Many times the people here are faster than even PTC support... and sometimes we solve problems they can't.

Also... you're new to Creo. I'm sure you weren't always an ace at Solidworks. At some point you were still learning how the software thinks and acts. It sounds like you're in that same phase with Creo. Give it some time and come to consult with our resident experts if you have problems with PTC support. We may be able to help.

Good luck... and I hope more time under the hood will change your feelings about Creo.

Thanks!

-Brian

[Patriot_1776]

Hey David: Pain?? You want pain???? Try making a drawing in WF5/creo.......

On another topic, and this has nothing to do with creo per se, I've also been routed to India for tech support. Sometimes it was so hard to understand the guy that I just gave up and tried to fix the issue myself. Now, this is by no means isolated to PTC, as many companies do this. However, if it's frustrating there with other simple products, it's WAY more frustrating with a highly technical piece of software. I've also had good, legible, understandable service from PTC from India as well. My point is that tech support, for us English speakers (or any other language for that matter), should ALWAYS be 100% understandable, not hit or miss. That it should be a REQUIREMENT for the job to be extremely fluent in the language you are going to be providing tech support in.

[pimm]

I agree with what you say in regards to the importance of legibility on the other end of the phone. It isn't necessarily dependant of where the support is coming from; it has everything to do with mastery of the language. That should be very important when PTC hires support.

It is very difficult being on the phone with someone who you can not understand with a software that is hard to understand.

[Patriot_1776]

Exactly!

[ptc-1589706]

Hit the nail on the head!