blackxhost Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 I just want everyone to see my experience with the support staff here at WHMCS. First of all, I will explain what my problem was. I had setup whmcs on a linux computer and after a while decided to move it to a different linux computer. After doing this, I setup some packages and tested the order process. After clicking "Complete Order" it would just take you to a blank page and do nothing else, the payment would not go through. I involved WHMCS support and they asked for a administrator login to my whmcs install, which I provided. They logged in for about 5 minutes and then logged out. I had two clients waiting to purchase monthly subscriptions so I replied back to the support ticket that I had opened asking what was going on and how much longer it would be. I did not receive a reply back from them until 3 hours later, AFTER I threatened to cancel. After the support rep's reply, I asked to speak to the person in charge... this is where I start pasting the emails below... --------------------------- Hi, You are speaking to who is in charge - it's me! Andrew obviously was unable to resolve your issue so left it for somebody else. It's a very unusual issue, no error message, needs troubleshooting so we'll do that more tomorrow. Regards, Matt --------------------------- Me to WHMCompleteSol. The problem has been resolved by me. I deleted everything then installed whmcs all over again. Before doing so I exported the DB and then imported after the install was completed. If Andrew could not solve the problem and passed it on to someone else, I deserve to know, I lost 2 clients because of this. We're a brand new company and that already made us look bad. I know someone had to have seen my emails asking what the hell was going on, I only got a response when I threatened to cancel, what kind of support is that? --------------------------- Hi Tyler, I do think your expectations were unrealistic but apologise for any inconvenience caused. If reuploading solved the issue that would indicate it was a file missing so should have been getting an error with the display errors enabled. Regards, Matt ---------------------------- Me to WHMCompleteSol. If you think asking for information about what exactly is happening while you are troubleshooting my whmcs install, then I apologize for asking for such classified information. All I am trying to do is get what I paid for, I am sorry for asking for such support. From now on I will rely on 3rd party support. Sincerely, Tyler Ewald ---------------------------- As you can see, they think providing me with the information of what is happening and how much longer it will be before they figure something out is "unrealistic" and I lost two possible clients because of this which could have covered my monthly subscription to pay for WHMCS. I just hope they don't treat everyone like this... because, they have a great product, I think it's the best one out there. They just do not stand behind it in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asgard Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 While I understand why you're upset, I do think you were being a little unrealistic. Receiving a customer support reply within 3 hrs is actually excellent response time, and not something to be angry about. It's taken me more than a year of testing and trialling various new solutions before I started rolling WHMCS and Helm out and actually using it, and even then I'm expecting (and have encountered) problems and expect to encounter more. Moving software to a separate server and not having it work instantly is not unusual, I'd generally allow for several days to a week minimum before I'd expect to have everything running smoothly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickendippers Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 I have to agree, with any other software provider you could be waiting in excess of 24 working hours for even a 1st reply, WHMCS support is the best! Also, I'm not quite sure how you'll get 3rd party support. Perhaps you were rather nieve trying to take orders before the system was ready and tested? Anyway, it's all sorted now and I'm sure you'll find other customers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackxhost Posted March 30, 2008 Author Share Posted March 30, 2008 They had already contacted me for the initial support for my problem. They were already logged in and working on my problem and when I saw that they had logged out and were no longer doing anything is when I requested information on where they stood and what was happening. Instead, they assigned the ticket to someone else and not informing me of the situation. So, in my opinion, with them already responding to and working on my ticket, they should be able to answer the simple question of "Where do you stand with the troubleshooting?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isdoo Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 I am assuming this was yesterday or today? I think you had good service for a weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackxhost Posted March 30, 2008 Author Share Posted March 30, 2008 I don't think you all are getting the point... they were already working on my ticket and all I did was request information on where they stood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mylove4life Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 and anyway I think it was more a server issue then it was the script, I'm thinking a bad upload or something... and it's your fault anyway for even testing it 100% BEFORE making it live to clients, just shows you have a lot to learn, but it's cool and you learn from it and go on... right guys... we all did it.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
generic Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 you have been in business 4 months http://whois.domaintools.com/blackxhost.com and have 13 clients, http://whois.webhosting.info/blackxhost.com give us a break... I lost two possible clients You should have your business up and running and had already tested it out before you take on clients with a new billing system... the only person to blame is yourself. What you showed us with the support tickets looks perfectly acceptable to the rest of us. Just give it some time, when you get 15 clients and start receiving a few support requests yourself, you will understand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackxhost Posted March 30, 2008 Author Share Posted March 30, 2008 To generic: When you're a small business, two possible clients is a VERY BIG THING. So losing two is losing a big profit loss for us, I really do not understand what you're trying to say with: give us a break... And as for testing... I followed directions from support on how to transfer to another server. Also... when you said I will understand once I get support tickets myself... I already do and no matter what, I would NEVER reply with "I do think your expectations were unreal." I don't know... I've just always agreed with the business term of "The customer is always right." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apollo1 Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 When you're a small business, two possible clients is a VERY BIG THING. So losing two is losing a big profit loss for us, I really do not understand what you're trying to say with: You make it sound like these 2 clients will ruin you. How big was their purchase going to be? $5 per month hosting? It's not like you are a jeweller and they came to you to buy diamonds or something. Take it easy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickendippers Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 The customer may always be right, but not when they start bitching and moaning after 3 hours on a weekend. I still don't understand why after 3 hours you required an update on what was happening? Your issue had been passed onto someone else to fix - why would you need to know who was doing the fixing? I think you need to take some time, get everything setup and running, customise your WHMCS installation (using the default skin doesn't look professional) and not be in such a rush to sign up customers. If you're not satisfied with WHMCS' support then you'll have to code your own billing+support system, because none of the off-the-shelf solutions provide better! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesli Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 When making any changes or upgrades to your billing software or, indeed, anything that has to do with the purchase path, always test the living daylights out of it before deploying it "live". That should be the norm whether you're a small business, medium business, or great big huge business. The staff of WHMCS does not work exclusively for any of us. Thus it's not realistic to expect instant responses to all support tickets and responses, as if they were your exclusive employees and had no responsibilities to anyone else. Sure, it would be nice if they had had the bandwidth to let you know what was going on every step of the way; but that's not a realistic expectation. And if something like this ever happens again (and if you stay in business longer than 10 years, it probably will), just contact those customers and have them sign up using Paypal or something similar-ish. Or set up their accounts and tell them you'll bill them when you've got a resolution to the problem - and then when you do invoice them, include a deadline for payment before account suspension. Communicate that clearly to these clients, so that you know and they know exactly what's going on - but so that they're not balked in getting their sites set up, and you're not balked out of future potential revenue. It's a special situation. It's flying by the seat of your pants. It's called adapting to emergency situations. It's life running your own business. It sucks, you'll love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handsonwebhosting Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 I think this thread probably needs to be locked The issue shouldn't be so much that the client is new to the business but that the client wasn't being updated on the status of an issue. A 3 hour window, or even a 6 hour window in most cases is not a very long time, so expecting real time updates is not something that you'll experience in the industry. For the most part a 12-24 hour response time is what you'll likely see. As for being new in the business, we've all been there. I do think that a lesson has been learned in this situation and you will hopefully be able to adapt on the next event. If you have clients coming to you and you can't run the billing system, then you need to be able to just manually setup the account and then trust that you can invoice them later. I have never dealt with a customer who would leave us before signing up because our automated system wasn't working. I've used a dozen or more billing systems in the years I've been in this business and a half dozen live chat and helpdesk systems. You'll be hard pressed to find anything on the market that operates the way WHMCS does, and I'm grateful that I am here. Prior to moving from ModernBill to WHMCS I had tested WHMCS for almost 3 months. I STILL find myself setting up little minor parts such as the dedicated servers section, but that's because i have an entirely separate system setup and I'm just looking to integrate. If you are still a client of WHMCS you will appreciate the program more than you know. If you've already left to another product I wish you luck. Learning to adapt, as Lesli put it, will be something that you will need to learn if you wish to survive in ANY business. My hopes are that you become a successful competitor in the web hosting business, but if a 3 hour window without an update is too long of a time frame to wait for general support, you will want to hire a slew of on site/on call programmers for the future issues that will arise - and they will arise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PPH Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 I have to completely disagree with your assesment of support from the WHMCS team and Matt in particular. The problems you incurred where of your own making and the loss of any customers that may have resulted would have been solely in your hands. And then to expect hand holding while your ticket was looked into is expecting far to much. The software works and nothing should ever be relied upon until at least minimal testing has been done to ensure it works before relying on it for a support, billing and ordering system. Just my $.02 that I am sure most others would agree with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petemartin Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 You rushed a major change into a live system and then you're critical of Matt and the team? Sounds like a failure to plan ahead on your part, I don't think you'll get much sympathy here. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackxhost Posted March 31, 2008 Author Share Posted March 31, 2008 I'm not trying to get sympathy, I'm simply sharing my experience with and opinion about support. I do agree with the people that have said I rushed into this... I did. The only thing I'm upset about is, a support tech was working on my situation and stopped then went to another ticket. All I was asking for was an update on the progress to which I did not receive. Is it so hard to update a client by submitting a reply back to the ticket he's working on saying that he was not able to resolve and that he's passing it to another tech? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zorro67 Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 I have to agree, with any other software provider you could be waiting in excess of 24 working hours for even a 1st reply, WHMCS support is the best! Also, I'm not quite sure how you'll get 3rd party support. Perhaps you were rather nieve trying to take orders before the system was ready and tested? Anyway, it's all sorted now and I'm sure you'll find other customers Have to agree with CD. But please take my comments not as criticism, but the opportunity to learn from experience If you were expecting to have customers order without having tested the process yourself MULTIPLE TIMES then you are simply asking for trouble. Also, to have your customers lined up ready to purchase without a fallback position says something about your a) state of customer-readiness, and b) your ability to liaise with your client. If i had a client lining up to process, and they have a problem, I ask them to call me. Sometimes the problem isn't the vehicle, its the 'nut holding the wheel' (not that i would EVER say that to a customer). Remember, the software is even less familiar to them than it is to you. if they can't fill in all the required infromation, or they get an error message that they don't understand, the of course they'll get frustrated. Its how you prepare for that possible frustration that makes the difference between you being an order taker, and being a professional. So adjust your expectations, have a fallback position, and an exit strategy, don't rely completely on the technology and TALK to your customers; they'll appreciate this more than anything And by the way, i have had nothing but the highest level of professionalism from the WHMCS support staff. I don't work for them, but I have been in business for 20+years, so i know a thing or two about service, and the lack of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zorro67 Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 I think this thread probably needs to be locked The issue shouldn't be so much that the client is new to the business but that the client wasn't being updated on the status of an issue. A 3 hour window, or even a 6 hour window in most cases is not a very long time, so expecting real time updates is not something that you'll experience in the industry. For the most part a 12-24 hour response time is what you'll likely see. have to disagree on this point, on the basis that this is a great opporuntity for those new in the business to get a real understanding of some of the pitfalls of being in business, and for some of us 'old hands' to give the youngsters the wisdom of our experience. Quote "If bu##sh#t were money, I'd be a millionaire. Well i'm a millionaire" Richard Prior, Brewster's Millions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HostworX Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 Firstly, you obviously havent used other products like modern bill or the likes, I have the most respect for the WHM staff who give superb support compared to other companies who take days. If you converted to WHMCS on a live production system without testing your system first then you have no one else to point at other than yourself.. Secondly, the issue you are referring to where you get a blank page after the transaction is due to settings you have made when setting up the gateway, you most likely included a ' or some character similar to that, I had a similar situation but after going through the settings correctly all was sorted out. Double check your settings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MACscr Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 blackxhost sounds like one of those nightmare customers that i have no problem firing. I hate people that rush to judgment, threaten to cancel, then post on the forums. The issue was completely server side as well, aka "your fault". While Andrew should have sent an update that about the situation, it was completely ridiculous to for you to get so bent out of shape after only 3 hours. Your not going to find another script with better support than WHMCS unless your willing to pay bucko bucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyberneticos Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 WHMCS support is not the typical "How may I help you" support. They cut to the chase. This can seem shocking at first,. and I've had my quarrels with Matt, but at the end what he wants the same thing I want; things to work, and they always end up working, and we are very happy with our move to WHMCS. I agree with most posters. Usually WHMCS support is LIGHTNING FAST, uncomparable with many similar products' support. And 3hrs is lightning fast. Patience is a virtue. Understanding too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
railto Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 seeing as everyone else is commenting on this, i have had numerous problems with many different billing/support/livehelp/automation systems in the few short years that i have been hosting, the support that i got from whmcs was unreal, it was fast and accurate, even at crazy times like 1am on a saturday morning when i first found out about whmcs and had a question that i needed answered before i even tried to test, the support here is great, and if you are prepared to offer support times with responses in less than 3 hours at the weekends then i guess you will have a lot of sleepless nights Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zorro67 Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 Patience is a virtue. Understanding too. yes, but liquor is quicker. <Attempted brevity and lightening of mood> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bear Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 As I've seen so many times, it's not the support itself, or the time it takes that's the question, it's communication. Certainly, it would have been a good thing to have the first person working on the ticket update the customer when it needed escalation, but that didn't happen this time. Lesson learned, I'd assume. Over all the support is fast and accurate, with issues getting resolution in a timely manner, seemingly regardless of day of the week, or even time of day. There are bound to be a few here and there that aren't quite as fast or don't quite resolve the issue on the first try. This has all been said now, so it's probably all right to end the thread. </thread> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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