The two companies are unrelated, Acronis and Canon.
The services and my reasons for calling them are also unrelated.
Acronis Details
Last week I filled up a backup drive on my computer. I ordered a new WD RAID external backup, 28 TB (but really mirrored 14 TB).
There was no setup instructions in the box so I went online and discovered, incorrectly, that Acronis (my computer backup software) does not work with RAID.
Acronis has a support number. I called it. Instead of having to go into a queue or answering a dozen questions I actually talked to a live person within 10 seconds. That person instructed me that the version I have does indeed work with RAID.
He was a low level person who could not answer the rest of my technical questions so he suggested online chat. Once again I connected almost instantly.
That person asked if I have Team Viewer (I do). He then asked if he could take control of my computer remotely. He did, then set me up on the backup schedule I want, formatted the WD drive because it did not seem to be initialized correctly, created a recovery disk then started the backups.
His name is Sujoy. When I asked, he told me he was from India. I asked if the name had a meaning.
I then asked if it was possible to turn off WiFi backups. I have an ethernet connection and I do not want to use WiFi?
Why?
Because I ran up $400 phone bills twice when Acronis backups kicked in when I was on the road and tethered to my phone. My photo images are huge.
Sujoy showed me how to turn off WiFi.
So, yes, I am a happy Acronis customer. I have a RAID backup and my backup to the cloud, a new complete backup, is running now.
I only have 18 days remaining to finish the backup. Yes, that’s how long backing up 1.5TB to the cloud takes.
I am very much looking forward to 5G.
Canon Details
Canon is another company with exemplary service.
I have a number of products, cameras, lenses, and printers. Twice I had difficulty setting up my EOS 5 Mark IV to do something and twice I was connected right away with a real live person quickly.
I have called in for service repairs as well. Same story.
You get a live person, quickly, and they are very helpful. The Canon service specialists know their products.
Worst in Class ATT
I can bitch about worst in class ATT for hours, and how damn near impossible it is get a live person, then when you do only to discover you are talking to someone in the wrong department who then cannot even get you connected to right person without going through another 10 minutes of automated software AI BS.
But I will cut that line of thought short in praise of two companies that have great products and great service.
Easy to Bitch, Hard to Praise
It’s easy to bitch but hard to take the time to praise. Cheers to Acronis and Canon.
Addendum
I Emailed Acronis and immediately received this reply.
Wow.
Mike “Mish” Shedlock
I’ll throw AT&T a bone too – when I have an issue I just go to an actual AT&T store (not an ‘authorized dealer’) and while there is usually a bit of a wait for service, it’s not terrible and the folks in person typically do a great job taking care of my issue. I realize that’s not practical for everyone, but for anyone within a reasonable drive to a physical store, nothing beats “in person” service.
I switched from AT&T for my landline and Internet service at the end of 2013 to a local company. I am still paying less in 2019 than I was for AT&T (in 2013) and the service people are a pleasure to deal with. No runarounds, no surprise extra charges on my monthly bill and no problems dealing with employees who speak English with a heavy accent.
I’ve had it with att. Problem is being rural I have been limited to them in my particular area but I think things have changed. I’ve needed to make some changes on my att plan for months that I cant make online and i’ve put them off just to avoid having to go to their outlet which is like having teeth pulled out. I don’t even want to say how much a month i’m paying. I kinda held on to them to avoid the hassle of changing in hopes competition would drive down the price. Nothing doing. I can’t imagine people not leaving them in droves. I finally did, however, cancel my att landline as its been fuzzy for YEARS and everytime I call them they say it’s on my end. Then a service guy shows up and play with the thing across the street for awhile and it’s crystal clear. Couple weeks later back to fuzz. Also, it’s always the same guy that comes and he’s a total jackass. I really wish ATT would just go belly up.
Also, I have to go with unlimited plans due to living in a rural area as it’s what I use for internet service. The other option is another $100 monthly bill for whatever internet service is currently the thing out here. I don’t really want to try anymore as my rooftop is starting to look like a used satellite parking lot. Everything is 10x more difficult out here and can’t ever seem to find anyone to do the job right regardless of what it is. No one ever tidys up the cords, no one ever wants run a line to a remote poll instead of screw crap to my rooftop, etc etc etc.
Not boring at all. Great service is a huge factor in how I choose products. I called Hertz the other day and found it worse than you describe At&T. On the flip side, I had problems connecting to Mish’s site. Mish spent a few days trying to fix and eventually called me at home. I was honored and will never forget that. Good service should be rewarded with allegiance to the brand, and companies with bad service do not deserve (and will eventually lose) their customers. Simple formula.
while reading all this I can only think to myself what a increasingly fckn complicated world we re living in ….and this is merely the beginning, they say …hopefully not of the end …
Good customer service is rare, and I learned why when I used to do tech support work long ago (software and hardware). Most companies view support as a waste since the actual financial transaction of product purchase has already transpired. People used to argue that companies with good service would topple those without, until they realized that if everyone provides crummy service they can all cut costs without consequence.
The quality of staff I worked with varied, but some of the guys were really good. We were handicapped by almost total lack of communication with developers and a too-heavy workload, which made us push people away as quickly as possible rather than answering every question. Basically, we were good with everyday stuff we had procedures for, and lousy with everything else. The reward for solving a difficult problem was more than offset by penalties for taking too long an any one issue. Nobody cared if you documented something rare and complicated, because how often would it be used?
My experience ended about 15 years ago and I wouldn’t recommend that line of work to anyone unless they’re desperate for a gig. If anything it’s probably gotten worse since then!
Well, now I’m feeling guilty about not saying thanks to someone else…you. I’ve been using your Woodstock, Illinois Opera House photo as backgrounder on my screens for several months now. It never comes on that I don’t enjoy it and think of you keeping those three parking spaces empty, across from a Starbuck’s no less, until the light was right. Thanks!
I saw Dizzy Gillespie perform at the Woodstock Opera House in 1992. He was barely able to perform and died soon after. We were very glad we had a “last chance” to see him perform with his famous bent trumpet, which came about as the result of accidental damage but later he had his trumpets made that way.
Great story. Funny how the mind applies forgiving filters for the legends. We saw Pavarotti in Denver on his final tour, couldn’t have been near his best, but he was…
Since it’s a “boring” topic 🙂
For the record. I really enjoy your blog. Been following you for years in various places.Me and Clyde at Lake McDonald Lodge where Clyde and his mate Bonnie live.
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-tL44fQX/0/3dd35e56/S/i-tL44fQX-S.jpg
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-wr6RB88/0/b4307910/S/i-wr6RB88-S.jpg
Clyde.
I’ve been photographing Clyde for 7 years now.
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-QqpHrQk/0/648ae916/S/i-QqpHrQk-S.jpg
i can’t differentiate if its a raven or a crow. 🙂
my guess (search) it is raven , my reason looking at the picture, they travel in pairs, and the beak.
Reminds of this crow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flU0rDDGtHU
Don’t care what type it is, they are cool, unless you get on their bad side…which I did once…and suffered for years afterwards…
Thanks for sharing those pictures
I meant where was he when you spoke to him? An office in India or Switzerland. Not America I assume?
I believe India.
I forgot to add this was 8:00PM (Chicago) and I was surprised to get service that hour at all.
But I do not know for sure, where he was at the time
he’s undoubtedly in bangalore
ATT is terrible. As is Comcast. But I’ve had success using this website: ceoemail.com. They have emails for an astonishing number of corp CEOs. ATT and Comcast apparently have elite customer service reps who respond with respect and actually will work on a problem for you when you email their CEOs. I got ATT to reduce my monthly wireless bill and also got useful response from Comcast. Give it a try. If you use it, donate a couple of bucks to the guy who runs it to help it stay alive.
Sujoy from India
Was Sujoy in Switzerland? If so, that would explain a lot, to me anyway, for your good service.
Good to know.
I have similarly had TWO excellent experiences recently with Verizon – it varied and I was worried as they were “downsizing” some employees.. In the first case a tabled decided to use my hotspot data instead of wifi, but they added data to my plan so I could go on my trip without worry. The second involved a billing problem which was fixed (they still need to fix their website, and you still need to argue with the robot. Also Chase gave me a good experience on some small questions.
14 TB will be filled in no time, I’m sure.