Kinda like Gas, pay more, get less!! Adobe raises cost of Creative Suite tech support from $249.00, to $1600.00
So today we bring up the topic of tech support. Many of us, who know the Adobe Creative Suite like the back of our mouse, may not think about support that much. The fact is however that Adobe support gives customers (especially ones who are in the learning stages) a lifeline to help them avoid countless hours of stress attempting to figure out small little nuances of the program they are working in. A quick call to Adobe support and problems like this can often be solved in minutes.
A year and a half ago some buyers would choose adobe over Macromedia because to put it simple Macromedia robbed us blind for support, and Adobe offered a year of support for the entire creative suite for around $250.00. Sure it was an expense, but well worth it if you often found yourself stumped when trying to solve a problem. I myself made good use of support when I was learning Go Live, and though it should not be described as perfect, it was a good overall experience, and a valuable resource. I even knew some support reps by name.
Today the scene has changed, and we find that there is no longer Macromedia. It seems that it makes things easier for Adobe now that there is a lack of competition. Virtually none to be exact. So in a gesture of “growth” Adobe has decided to take up where Macromedia left off. For the new Adobe, the wave of the future is to… ROB YOU BLIND FOR SUPPORT.
That’s right, no more gestures of care for the customer. Adobe is growing and they have decided that customer service some second to profit. Sure they charge a high price for their software, and we pay it. Because it’s good! But when a company like Adobe takes advantage of the fact that they no longer have to compete, lowers their level of customer care, and charges thru the nose for support, that they should make readily available to persons buying their expensive software. WE HAVE A PROBLEM!
How much is it? Well now at Adobe you can pay per instance for support at only 39.00 a pop. Or you can buy 5 incidents for just $175.00. Then there’s the silver (core) level of support that gives you a year of unlimited support for the entire Creative Suite for a mere $1600.00. There’s also a Gold level of support that apparently gives uh.. more support ( perhaps 1600.00 gives you only half support) What if you only have one application? Say Photoshop. Well in that case you can get single application support for one Adobe product for a mere 1200.00. Who knows maybe by the time CS4 comes out, they’ll require our firstborn child!
That’s actually not all. In other parts of the company Adobe has been cutting some corners by starting to use offshore call centers. Many of us have already had the experience of calling Adobe customer service and getting a representative who can barley speak your language, and does not even begin to know what you want, or what their talking about. Do we have anything against those in other Countries? Certainly not! But the fact is that most offshore call centers have representatives who don’t really know what their doing, and simply read answers off a computer. Hey Adobe! We can do a Google search too duh. Have you thought of giving real service 100% of the time
So what do we do? Well in actuality there’s not a whole lot we can do to make a change. But Adobe better remember that they got where they are by making a good product, and pleasing customers. If they start to fail at that there will always be someone else who picks up the slack and starts taking away their customers. Hopefully Adobe will get a clue soon, and start fixing things for the better. But as it stands now it seems that we pay more to get less… Kinda like something else we know. So next time you call Adobe at (800) 833-0687 don’t forget to complain a little. It can go a long way.
PPS
[tags]adobe, support, cs3, price, arm, leg, increase, photoshop[/tags] Gavin Seim 2007
I think you are glossing over an important point in your article. I agree their pricing structure is rather lop-sided but you also have to remember the number of products in the Adobe line-up, particularly in the Creative Suite, has gotten quite large. $1200 support for Photoshop alone probably doesn’t make sense, but $1600 for a Premium Suite or the Master Collection might be understandable. CS2 Premium had five apps (Ps, Id, Il, Gl, Ac) plus ancillaries. If you have one of the CS3 Premium suites you would have a similar number and Master Collection doubles it.
How many times does the average user need to talk to someone? The Adobe website says “regularly” for the Silver support option. I have only been using CS since 2005 and the issues I’ve had didn’t require a phone call. I could get my answers via the Adobe User Forums or books or other websites.
I think Adobe targets their support to professionals, people using their apps and suites to get their job done. People willing to pay $1500-$2500 for software are likely to want/need the quicker response time. Not saying they are right, just I think that’s where their mindset is. And Adobe isn’t unique. Microsoft, Apple, and other companies charge for priority access for support.