I have also been in touch with their sales director on their poor standards in addressing currencies for non EU/USA customers. Responses were in true Propellerhead fashion. "Oh we have been told by people in your country that they would prefer USD over Euro". Load. Of. Crap. Who are these people you're consulting with on matters of currency ?
However, an email discussion that took place earlier in the year surely takes the cake for absolute short-sightedness, nonsensical logic, and reeks of simply not giving a damn about their job to even bother speaking to someone about potential sales. If the easy answer is 'No', then I can be damned sure many Propellerhead support staff are going to exercise their apathy.
I wrote to them to discuss the mechanics of owning multiple licenses. Early next year I will have a requirement for 5 purchases, which will grow to at least 10 versions, (plus a couple of specific RE's for each) for outsourced staff tools. As these would remain assets to my business, not the individuals using them, I would be the administrator, and as staff come and go, I would simply reset the passwords, and reallocate the licence to another user. Much as with any other commercial software.
Sounds good for them, hey - 10 licences for commercial purposes, RE sales, brand exposure in a professional services field..... not so good according to the zombie who answered my email (Names have been omitted, because they're as bad as each other).
He proceeded to tell me that sharing accounts is not allowed.
I wonder how much time he spent actually thinking about the question. There is no sharing of accounts, they would all be owned by one party. That is, my business. What makes it even more ridiculous is that we can freely transfer licences between users (without RE's) as people buy and sell. Yet for me, of whom there would never be any ownership transfer, I'm told this rubbish.
I went into further detail by reply, in the hope that someone may actually read my requirements properly. It was eventually referred to someone else who took the classic 'watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat' approach to customer service, then suggested I buy some educational licences ! What on earth!? I did not indicate that I was part of a school or similar institution, in fact I was quite clear that this was for commercial purposes.
But the fun times don't end there. I was then referred to third party resellers in the USA. Um, what the hell?! I want to buy 10 licences, directly from the developers, and they shoo me out the door with advice that's just plain wrong.
Personally, I would fire staff if they took such a lazy, disinterested approach to representing my business. Time and time again, to give whatever stupid answer they feel, thus MISINFORMING clients, is a reputation killer. Same goes with technical support (it's always my fault apparently) as with customer service, the email exchanges eventually dry up, and when they run out of answers and simply stop engaging.
So what am I left to do? I truly want everyone to be on the Reason platform, because it's my own software of choice and I can write detailed SOP's, provide training and support on Reason, instead of learning a new DAW. Yet Propellerhead don't want my business ! 10 licences, 10 Selig Gain, 10 Selig Leveler, 10 EQ RE's of some description and that would just be for starters.
But no... I'll have to learn Reaper instead, and pay someone to build some stock FX chains.
The days of shithouse service and support are coming to an end. While it's become the norm of sorts, the trend is back on the customer experience. I have a few 'software as service' licences, and some of them excel at follow up, correct answers, going that extra mile, providing outstanding online documentation and a user community forum. I recently started using XERO accounting software, and am paying twice as much as I could have, by going with another solution. Why? Because professional colleagues have all raved about their service. There is significant value in this right alongside the software's ease of use.
Apple also nail it for customer service. My 70 year old mother called me recently wanting advice on buying a smartphone. She's aware of the big two, being Apple iPhone & Samsung Galaxy, and I proceeded to tell her that for whatever she's going to need it for, one is more or less the same as the other. (I did warn her to take an Apple devotee's comments with a grain of salt though, being the fervent nature of fanboys. ) A short time later, I pondered a little more, called back and suggested she might want to get an iPhone. Now, I'm not an iPhone owner and never have been. Yet I have listened to people's positive stories of returning broken phones and getting a new one, no questions asked, the Apple Helpdesk, which sounds world class, and other operating principals that set them apart. And for my dear old Mum, that was the statement that sold her on an iPhone. She's going to pay more for a phone that does pretty much the same thing as a Galaxy, simply because word-of mouth praise is circulating.
Not sure if anyone has a monthly Google Apps for Work subscription, but here's another company that offer extraordinary support. Right this minute as I type this, I could go online, get a code, make a phone call and be onto a Google helpdesk staff member within minutes. That's right ! Talking to Google ! Their follow up and customer nurturing is so strong that their courtesy calls are often annoying ! All for a measly $10/month per user.
Think also about lifetime value, as any self respecting company should. The lifetime value I represent to Google will always be capped at $10/month. As a could based platform, there will never be upgrades. In fact, I'm considering dropping down to the $5/month/user plan, but I will still get the same access to phone support. What do Propellerhead do? Sure they have vaguely considered the upsell through introducing third party RE's, but that's it. At what point do they think ignoring customers with a multi-sell potential is good business practice. With an ethically questionable, but fairly reliable model of NFR plugins, they need to keep people in the net, and they need to be catching more people in this net, to oblige them into remaining active customers. They sure won't do it my employing staff whose greatest skill is apathy.
As with recommendations, in the past I have pointed people to Reason, primarily so I could help them learn. These days however, I tend to suggest new musicians try some of the other options out there, and their lite versions. This becomes a hidden loss to Propellerhead, as they are losing customers before they even get through the gate. While it's not a lot, I have helped three people get started this year. Al of them have a high disposable income, and would think nothing of dropping $100 at a time on RE's. In fact, one of these people has already spend over $1k on VST's since getting into the hobby. The *only* person I have recommended Reason to this year is one person, and that was with future training, collaborating and jamming in mind (ie to be compatible with my software).
Therefore, the dimwit who last communicated with me about the multi licence question has lost his employer my 10 licences and 30 RE's, but thousands of dollars in 2016 in my recommendations to avoid the company. Lifetime value loss? $10,000 wouldn't be a stretch. A loss that starts with me, expressing my dissatisfaction with their poor customer interactions. Being that high-disposable income earners tend to know other high disposable income earners, and personal endorsements being powerful organic marketing, these guys are going to be telling their friends about Cubase and Protools, and Reason will never be uttered. Bad luck Propellerhead how many of these cases can you sustain if you are to remain competitive and profitable. Wake up and think about WHERE and WHY your business now needs to rely on petty point rollouts and spam mail campaigns to turn over a buck.
What are these people paid to do if not operate in the company's best interest? 3/4 of the team need to be fired, and some proper management (current ones are just as useless as their staff) needs to be looking at the service levels, or perish into oblivion.
There's a reason companies like Apple & Google are leaders in the technology industry, it's service excellence existing right alongside their products. I don't know if Propellerheads will ever break out of their nickle & dime mentality if they can't even be at a point of 'acceptable', let alone 'exceptional'.
I'm of no doubt that the hoards of "Props can do no wrong" devotees will chime in claiming that their cherished software gods are above reproach. And good for you! If you haven't been subject to the lousy service, then you're lucky. The old forum was filled with people who would beg to differ. In fact, I cannot recall one single other company that I have heard/read so much dissatisfaction about, from their customers.
12.7.4 | MacBook Pro (16”, 2021), OS Sonoma, M1 Max, 4TB SSD, 64GB RAM | quality instruments & gear
. They normally find a way to take your money it is the after support that sucks nine out of ten times 
50% of Props staff are super cool !
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