Lambasted - I don't consider myself a "victim" but I did receive crummy customer service. Sending the EECB seemed to be a good way to get a response, and it worked (more on that later.) And why didn't I cancel the order? Well, they couldn't actually guarantee that they'd be able to cancel the order because they couldn't access all the details about the problem that was holding it up (and the CSRs apparently can't do refunds - that has to go through sales which is a whole other department. In fact, it was the sales department that told me I shouldn't have used the online ordering system so I had little faith in them to begin with.). Cancelling the order was only something they offered to try that "might" solve the problem. They even admitted there was a pretty good chance my card would end up getting charged twice if I cancelled the first order and made a new one. With about a 50/50 shot of success, I decided to stay the course.

For those suggesting piracy - Why didn't I choose that route? That may be a workable option for a casual user, but this was a corporate purchase, so not only do I not want to deal with potential technical problems that exist with an unauthorized copy but I'd prefer to not lose my job for using illegal software.

So, the good news is after sending the EECB, magically, someone was able to figure out the problem! Apparently there was an error when the card was processed - and no, it wasn't because my card was bad. After the error occurred, apparently the order just sat around waiting for someone to pay attention to it. ("It's an automated system," I was told, "when there are errors no one checks on those kinds of things.") But still, I have to wonder why my numerous calls did not prompt someone to dig deep enough to find the problem this person ultimately found. I'm sure she was no extra special genius - she probably just took enough time to look beyond the scripted answers in the CSR manual. Lo and behold, when someone was serious about finding out the problem they were able to process the card again and it went through just fine. Amazing.

To Adobe's credit, they did ultimately refund the expedited shipping I had paid, and called to apologize after FINALLY shipping the items, although the call didn't start out very much like an apology because the woman tried to again blame it on the computer - apparently no humans were responsible for my order slipping through the cracks even though I had called multiple times to get them to investigate the problem. She ultimately did apologize quite thoroughly and provided me with her contact info should I encounter future problems.

All I have to say is it's a shame it took more than two weeks and writing to every Adobe board member, PR person and the Consumerist to get someone interested in actually figuring out why my order was stalled.

amelia35

the_wiggle

I say again to all of you:

It was her fault for not canceling her order and buying elsewhere. If you want to put yourself in a position to be taken advantage of then it's your fault and problem when that endeavor is a success.

While "savvy" consumers are waiting two weeks to be ignored, the rest of us have purchased our software elsewhere and moved on with our lives.

I will not play the "what if" game. I live life in reality not supposition.

Man, I really have laugh at the inability of some people to think themselves out of a situation. It boggles my mind.

Lambasted

Would a download really help in this case either? Adobe would still need to process the order to send 3 licences. I am assuming (based on the letter) that they were having trouble processing the order, so it is questionable whether they would be able to process a license either, so after spending 20-30 hours downloading, you still don't have software that you can use beyond the 30 day trial period.

Rachacha

matto

thalia

chrisjames

"They're merely pointing out the fact that you are infinitely more likely to get the product from P2P or bittorrent than by actually buying the product legitimately."

What!? How can you be "infinitely more likely" to get a program by downloading some hacked up version instead of going and downloading it from the company or going and buying a cd? Have you ever used bittorrent? It's about a 15% chance that the torrent will actually work (enough seeds), be in your language and that the keygen won't be a virus. Whereas I can go to Adobe's site, buy the exact product that I need, click the download option for the delivery method, and be assured that I will have my software in about 20 minutes.

Or I can go to a store and buy the said product and have a CD and the manual and all that good stuff.

Plus it's legal to buy, and downloading via torrents is not.

jimv2000

Ok, I just looked. There's a little pulldown menu for delivery method where you can choose download or shipping. So why didn't she just go for the download and then not pay shipping and have her software in a few hours?

jimv2000

trujunglist

j4sk868

JennaBelle

If you can buy software directly from the manufacturer, that is the safest route to go for many reasons. None of which I should have to spell out to savvy consumerist readers.

david.c

Can't she just download the trial and purchase a license, though???????? That's instantaneous.

brettt

Though I'm currently out on paternity leave, if you want to send some of your order details (Adobe ID/e-mail address you registered with, date of order, contents of order) to me at jasonm"AT"adobe"DOT"com, I can have the right people look into this and let you know what's going on.

Best,

~j

*ps- I'm not a phone guy, so not the same Jason you already spoke with. :)

jasonm

There's a reason they have an online ordering system. It's so you can order your software...from them...online...

Why on earth would she re-submit the order? If I was in the same situation I would suspect that Adobe would charge me twice IF the order went through in the first place. If they can't find out why an order has not completed and shipped I have no faith that they would figure out why I was charged twice when following their suggestion.

Bottom line Adobe is making it hard, if not near impossible, to spend money buying their software directly from their online store.

fumducket

HeartBurnKid, creepy morbid freak

I'm not saying it's justified, but I understand.

HeartBurnKid, creepy morbid freak

If it's important enough to pay thousands of dollars for, it's important enough to pirate a copy and let them charge you on their own time, while you get back to work.

Mr. Gunn

sysak

;)

bandia

Nobody is justifying anything. They're merely pointing out the fact that you are infinitely more likely to get the product from P2P or bittorrent than by actually buying the product legitimately.

And one last thing, infringing copyright is not stealing. DOWLING v. UNITED STATES, 473 U.S. 207 (1985)

Imafish

MrBill38

Because if the CSR's can't determine why the original order hasn't shipped, what's there to inspire any confidence in Amy that they'll be able to cancel it and stop it from eventually shipping?

shocker

@Chongo: The customer's need is not enough to get a company to react, especially not CSRs. They couldn't care less about anyone's need, and rightfully so. You must compensate yourself for your need. Place orders early, through proper businesses and proper channels, and follow up regularly and aggressively to make sure the product is delivered as ordered and on time. Be prepared to pay extra for premium service; that's business.

chrisjames

davere

But you would think that with that kind of markup, Adobe would do everything to NOT lose a sale.

Syd

I downloaded a trial copy of Acrobat Professional and, just before its expiration, they sent me a 15% off online coupon.

I went online to order it and the coupon didn't work. I called customer service and got passed from CS to Sales to Online Sales. Sales was extremely helpful and offered the 15% discount, but would have to ship the product. I was out of town and wanted it for a project I was working on so I said no, hoping to get either a license key to activate my trial copy or a new download. Online sales said that they couldn't help me - the coupon failure was a technical problem and not their issue. They could not provide me with anything other than a full price download. I had to talk to Customer Service.

After each of the different departments sent me back and forth among each other several times - all disavowing ownership of the issue - I went to Amazon and bought it retail, for slightly less than Adobe was offering with the coupon, but had to wait for shipment.

The interesting thing is that two different guys in Sales told me that they would transfer me to Online Sales, because it was their area, but that I was unlikely to get what I wanted. In their experience every customer who dealt with Online Sales ended up dissatisfied.

ExGC

Would anyone on here be surprised if the day after she canceled and reordered they decided to fill the original order and ended up charging her double?

JeffMc

BugMeNot2

quixiotic

mikells43

I know from experience in the design industry you need to be as current as possible with your software or else you look like a fool when you go back to your client and say "Hey, can you save that in legacy format?" and thats IF there even is an option to save down (cough cough indesign cough)

Time is money for some ya'll

Chongo

Say you're at a grocery store, and you go up to a cashier with your cart full of groceries. The cashier then proceeds to ring up your cart, and only after scanning everything, says "Oh, whoops! I don't know how to complete your purchase, nor am I willing to get anyone over here to show me how to complete your purchase! Don't worry, I'll just put everything back into your cart and you'll have to go to the wait in line again for that cashier over there and try again. There's even a slight chance that the other casher can't complete the transaction, too. Sorry!"

Would you not be pissed? And that's just for a cart full of groceries, this is for a $2,600 order, something Adobe should not take so lightly.

Christopher

When an offline version will appear, users like me, will favor it over Microsoft's, because we have access to good online customer service. Something Microsoft lacks.

Victo

Most people will find alternatives to the product, by going to different brands.

And some with just find a pirate copy, so they can make the schedule, since the legal copy never arrived on time.

Victo

brentholio

Either they have a crappy online ordering system or their reps need additional training (or BOTH). Either way, I personally wouldn't authorize them to take ANOTHER $2,600 from my credit card. Based on her experience to date, why should she assume that their Sales reps are any more competent than their Customer Service reps or their online system?

camman68

Several times I've ordered an out-of-stock, backorder item with the promise of ship date. And several times, I have been left waiting because the item was never shipped. Oh well, they didn't charge my card so other than being disappointed at not getting the merchandise I wanted, no harm, no foul. I do not write Consumerist to blast the company for not sending me that lovely blouse I so wanted to wear.

Lambasted

sprocket79

Just a hint from someone who's been there.

sprocket79

She orders online and her order didn't go through. Her card wasn't charged so she wasn't out any money. Customer service gives her advice to cancel the order and try again. Instead of following that advice, she "theorizes" that its just better to wait two weeks for someone to get back to her. When they don't, it's more calls, more letters. Then she's mad because they wasted her time. She goes through all of this instead of canceling her order and buying the software somewhere else. End result: She wasted her own time.

Perhaps I missed it but I did not read any compelling reason why she had to use that particular site to purchase her software when there are a zillion other places to get it. It's not like they took her money and were holding onto it; they hadn't even charged her yet.

Really. What's the complaint here? If a store has online ordering issues, I take my money and buy elsewhere. Or I call customer service and order over the phone.

Lambasted

CaliforniaCajun

Thank you, Theresa. Truer words were never spoken.

Amy should give Amazon a try, or Sprysoft.com if she's .edu eligible. She'll pay less and get much better customer service.

Amy, if you insist on dealing with Adobe, try posting a comment on John Nack's blog. He seems to love the attention:

[blogs.adobe.com]

Imaginary_Friend

mantari

Pay 3K and get nothing.

Or get something for nothing.

It very, very sad.

Victo