Actinic Support

[dave_finlayson]

maybe as new items are added to the knowledgebase a notification could be sent out

The Knowledge base does have RSS feeds for Most Recently Added and Most Popular Entries.

[RuralWeb]

Knowledge base does have RSS feeds

There you go - shows how much I look in there

[Jarvis]

...maybe as new items are added to the knowledgebase a notification could be sent out. It would keep people upto date and encourage its use...

This has already been covered.

[cbarling]

We're looking at the ability to search the Knowledge Base from within the software for a future release.

Chris

[oldcelt]

In view of the fee charged for support I really think that an 0800 number would be fair. It seems unresonable to charge a large support fee and then continue to rake in profits from support phone calls.

[leehack]

An 0845 number cost them as they have to be subsidised, you don't make money from an 0845 number.

[oldcelt]

An 0845 number cost them as they have to be subsidised, you don't make money from an 0845 number.

Oh, sorry - I thought a small percentage still went to the subscriber although not as much as an 0900 number. I guess I was wrong.

However, many people (me included) now have broadband/telephone deals which include free calls to UK geographic numbers. Why can't we call one of those?

[Chunkford]

In view of the fee charged for support I really think that an 0800 number would be fair. It seems unresonable to charge a large support fee and then continue to rake in profits from support phone calls.

i used to work for a well know computer company that offered freephone support.
The problem that i saw though was people were all too quickly picking up the phone and asking the silliest questions possible
e.g. Customer: The computer doesn't turn on.
Tech: Have u plugged the power cable in
Customer: Ummm do u mean this black cable
u get the idea....
The point is, this sort of problem would have been addressed if the customer looked through the documentation. Because the support was freephone they saw that as the easy option, so in turn taking up tech supports time when they could have answered calls that were really needed.

[Darren B]

An 0845 number cost them as they have to be subsidised, you don't make money from an 0845 number.

I have a couple of 0845 number and it does not cost us a penny, thats not to say some companies dont charge.

I prefer national numbers as my calls to these are now free, sort of defeats to point of having a lo-call number for your customers, mind money can be made from having one of these numbers, i think 0870 are the ones for making pennies per minute.

[leehack]

Oh, sorry - I thought a small percentage still went to the subscriber although not as much as an 0900 number. I guess I was wrong.

However, many people (me included) now have broadband/telephone deals which include free calls to UK geographic numbers. Why can't we call one of those?

You are thinking of 0870 numbers Ken, which are non-geographic and from which you do make a profit. With 0845 numbers, you pay for a local rate call fee and they pay the difference between the local fee and what the actual fee should be. As a guideline, (I was in telecomms some years ago) costs used to be pretty close to the last 2 digits of the prefix, so an 08(70) used to cost you 7p per min and an 08(45) was 4.5p per min.

With pre-paid mobile deals all over the place, an 03 number is what you want to be offering ideally as an 0800, 0845 or 0870 are all useless to a pre-paid mobile package.

The 09 numbers are the premium rates where you either call expensive support services or listen to some German sheila performing fellatio on the postman.

[oldcelt]

Thanks Lee.

A normal geographic number, however, would give me free telephone access.

Ken

[leehack]

Definitely yes if you get free calls to either 01 or 02 prefixes.

I always advise nowadays providing both the 0845/0870 and the resultant number it diverts to, so people can choose which to ring. However little the cost, it's always annoying ringing a freephone number but actually being charged.

[Duncan Rounding]

03 numbers are the answer now. They are included in mobile free call minutes and have no revenue share.

All businesses should move over to these if they wish to maintain a nationwide appearance and yet not push additional charges on to callers.

[Darren B]

03 sheesh another one. Mind i have a new London number which is 0203 seems a little odd as they are 0207 & 0208 i would have thought 0209 would be next as this is already a dedicated london area.

All to confusing for me as i said, as long as i dont pick up any bills for these number it suits me

[nileshpa]

I had kept quiet upto now but not any more. I called up Actinic support today and waited in queue starting at queue position 4. By the time I got to the front (25 mins later) and hear a faint voice, the line drops off. Not happy at all. Rang again & got at the back of the queue to wait again. Its not the first time this has happened to me nor to other Actinic Support Customers.

I acknowlege and appreciate what Chris Barling posted recently on the forum about bringing support back to UK and staff changes. I do understand that Chris & his team are working hard to resolve these issues. Unfortunately, from Actinic Users point of view, its their front door for their business and they need to ensure that is kept open to allow business to flow. No-one likes to be kept hanging on the phone for 25 mins or so and for me, it keeps me away from the shop floor.

Not saying I don't like Actinic. Been using it for 18 months or so and I have grown to like it, v9.0.2 been an exception. However, something needs to be done & fast, especially for support cover customers. Can we not get someone to answer the phone withinin a minute or so & if they can solve it then fine. Else, note down the details & get support to call back ASAP. Also, if Actinic cannot provide an 0800 number for support , can we not have a landline number. This is better than 0844 number as we have subscribed to free calls to 01 & 02 numbers via our phone company.

I'm been suffering from frequent V9.0.2. crashes since June & have waited patiently for V9.0.3 to arrive. At present, everyone knows its coming but no-one knows when. Just hoping it will solve all our problems.

Chris - We've already paid a hefty price to buy the product (I've got Actinic Business) and are also paying quite a bit for support. Sort it out please before Actinic start losing customers.

Nilesh

BTW- I'm giving myself till the end of the year. Whats the odds of seeing V9.0.3 come out by then?