Yep, sounds like a pretty jackass comment if all you read is that one sentence.Not that I don't believe you, but your definition of "attack" and "rude" might be different from mine. Could you point me at some of this behavior so I can read it for myself?One doesn't need to go out of their way to be rude, and then make excuses for it.
Compare and contrast Lone Wolf Development to Paizo, for a moment. Paizo's staff don't attack critics or displeased customers. Lone Wolf Development's staff does.
I believe that this post is one like he is refering to, which includes this line when pointing out one of the customer's mistakes:
"Do you have an initial clue about why the email might not have been seen or replied to?"
After digging through lots of info on our server, I found that you sent an email to "no-reply@lonewolfdevel.com" on the 16th (four days ago, not two weeks). In the email, you requested that your license be unlocked so you can activate it on a new computer only a month after activating it already. Do you have an initial clue about why the email might not have been seen or replied to?
So the guy sent an email to a no-reply address and then went to a public forum to kvetch about not getting a reply. Yeah, I can understand Rob being a little snippy about it. And that's all it was, a little snippy. It wasn't a deal where Rob was just biting the guys head off for no reason. Did he handle it perfectly? No, but guess what, we're all human and make mistakes.
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I also dislike that the company does not answer support questions by phone. While I do not expect a small press company to have a 24/7 support line, I do expect to be able to contact any company (including companies smaller than Lone Wolf) by phone during business hours.
While you may desire this, as someone who used to help run and manage a few businesses... I can tell you this is a rather unreasonable request to make of a niche recreational product. What other Pathfinder character generation software product do you know of that has this type of support?
On the other hand if it were a product or service in which you depended on for your livelihood, or if the customer base extended into the tens of thousands, then this would be reasonable.
If it's something that is a requirement for your purchase decision, by all means, go with a company that can meet those requirements... but I certainly can't think of a single one.
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I remember this thread. Honestly, I didn't read what he read as snippy at all at the time, but I can read it that way now. But if you are going to pull a quote from that thread, allow me to do the same:
As I complained when I didn't think I was receiving good service, I would be a hypocrite not to give Kudos when due. I received an email from Lone Wolf support today offering to refund the $10.00 that I had to spend for another license.
While I still hate the process, I no longer wonder if the company is out to fleece me. They have shown me that they are honorable.
In that thread, the "Plaintiff" essentially came to a public forum to accuse the company of trying to cheat him out of money, and when the owner came to try to clear it up, the anti-DRM guys swarmed him and accused him of all sorts of.. nonsense. Yeah, the guy got a little snippy, but I think he did pretty well under the circumstances. Keep in mind, Rob's a software guy at a tiny company, not a salesman, not a customer service rep, or a mind-reader. And in the end of that other thread, he addressed the customer's problem to the customer's satisfaction and frankly the guys attacking him and his company can go hang. They aren't customers, nor even potential customers. They were flat-out accusing the guy of being a thief and a scammer in a public forum.
Frankly, the Lone Wolf guys seem to do a great job at responding to posts on their own forums and at others, and take a personal interest in helping customers even outside of their own internal channels. I like that in a company, beit Paizo or Lone Wolf.
Yep, sounds like a pretty jackass comment if all you read is that one sentence.
Or you can read the whole thread, and all of the responses, and still feel the same way.
In that thread, the "Plaintiff" essentially came to a public forum to accuse the company of trying to cheat him out of money, and when the owner came to try to clear it up
Only AFTER going through "the proper channels" did he come here.
And in the end of that other thread, he addressed the customer's problem to the customer's satisfaction
And the entire thread wasn't just about that one customer's problem, it was about different chargen software.
and frankly the guys attacking him and his company can go hang. They aren't customers, nor even potential customers. They were flat-out accusing the guy of being a thief and a scammer in a public forum.
Really? Because, I participated in that thread. I didn't accuse him of being a thief or a scammer (nor did I see others doing so), and I'm pretty damned sure that I'm a potential customer, because I'm looking to buy some chargen software to replace all of the eTools stuff I bought ages ago.
Frankly, the Lone Wolf guys seem to do a great job at responding to posts on their own forums and at others, and take a personal interest in helping customers even outside of their own internal channels. I like that in a company, beit Paizo or Lone Wolf.
Frankly, I disagree, and while I know I'm a small fish in a really big pond here at Paizo, I'd like Paizo to know that I'd rather they partner with a different vendor. One who meets their level of customer service and performance - something I feel that Lone Wolf doesn't even come close to.
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On the other hand if it were a product or service in which you depended on for your livelihood, or if the customer base extended into the tens of thousands, then this would be reasonable.
LWD says they have 100,000 customers, which I would consider large enough.
Hey, I may be expecting too much of them, but I can call my local restaurant when I have a problem, I can call my FLGS when an order is late... it is really just something I expect form a company, to be reachable when there is a problem during reasonable hours.
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Frankly, I disagree, and while I know I'm a small fish in a really big pond here at Paizo, I'd like Paizo to know that I'd rather they partner with a different vendor. One who meets their level of customer service and performance - something I feel that Lone Wolf doesn't even come close to.
I've had outstanding customer service from Lone Wolf. The support emails I sent got answered promptly. Every question I've posted in their forums has been answered promptly. Everything from technical questions, to bug reports, to 'hey when are you going to support this?'. Add to that, Hero Lab is an outstanding product as well.
I'm not necessarily arguing that Lone Wolf's products should become 'official' Pathfinder products or the like. That's Paizo's business, not mine. I'm simply stating that as an actual customer, the company has been great for me.
(nor did I see others doing so)
I would have thought better about your post if this portion was not included. It makes it seem like you don't really know what was happening in the thread when I see a post right under your claiming that Lone Wolf was using the delay in activation/transferring to force the user to pay another $30 for a product they already owned. That the entire purpose of the DRM a scam to get money from customers this way.
And that the post seems to be a significant factor for a good chunk of the thread, so it wasn't like one could have just ignored one post and missed it.
Given my knowledge of the thread, I don't think that his actions were perfect, but I can't agree with the way to seem to be characterizing them.
Hey guys,
We're not enormous fans here at Paizo of cross-board or cross-company drama, so I'm going to close this thread.
Thanks!