Symantec, please listen about when we try and call support:

[Randy_Blasik]

First and foremost your main menu, when calling: (800) 342-0652 is misleading in that we must Dial 1 to enter support for 11d. If you listen to the menu option it says "To recieve support on former veritas products Press 1." 11d is now a Symantec product and not a former Veritas Product. Backup Exec 10 is a former veritas product. I'd dial 1 for help on any version of Backup Exec below 10 and 4 to recieve Enterprise support on 11d.

I dialed option 4 for "Enterprise support waited on hold for 20 minutes only to be told I was in the wrong "que" and was forwarded to the correct "que" to wait on hold for another 20 minutes.

My next gripe comes because you guys make me wait on hold for 20+ minutes only to speak with a glorified receptionist, who takes my name and number and always says: "A tech will call you back within 2 hours"! Couldn't that have been done earlier in the process avoiding me wasting my time on hold?

Waiting longer than 10 minutes on hold, I assume I'm going to be speaking with a tech because anything less would be absurd don't you agree?

[Mui_McEntire]

I had the same horrible experience with the Symantec Support. Except I didn't even get anybody to answer the phone after 30+ minutes. Do the Symantec Support really exist? My colleague who had better luck after trying and trying got the same experience as you. They told him they would call back. When they called back, he was out of office, and they closed the case. Now I tried to reopen the case, and wasting hours try to reach them with no luck.

[Sean_Pappalardo]

Geez between this and the continuous backup problems I (and many others) have with the software, it seems Symantec is too big for its britches and has bitten off more than it can chew trying to pick up Veritas. I wish Symantec left Veritas alone and would just stick to security software.

Veritas was awesome when it was Veritas. Hopefully Symantec will spin it off.

[Eric_Sabo_2]

I would have to agree the last time I call Symantec it took for ever just to get a person to put my call into the routing system, then from there, I didn't get a call back until I pushed the issue.

[oracle_8202]

In my opinion their security software is not all that great either.

[Dennis_Thornton]

Good news! You don't have to call support. You can use the DirectAssist portal and do your support requests electronically. No more long waits on hold. My last case via DirectAssist only took a month to complete. :(

Be prepared to answer questions you prevously answered in your case.

[Kevin_Mast]

It's hard enough finding how to get support. I alway received topnotch support when it was Veritas. I think if this keeps up it will make my decision to find a new backup solution a lot easier.

[kowl_gai]

you guys hit the money. I have justed waited 2 hours and hung up because I could not get a live person.
last tiem I was told someone would get back to me in 2 hours....
it took them at least a day.


is this enterprise support?
wow. good job! I dont want to know what home users think......

[Yan_Thung_Seng]

yeah, 2 hour long wait, 2 hour of checking remotely. The answer was it has been an known issue no solution at the moment. Please wait the patch to release. Can I close the case?

[Keith_Langmead]

The last time I tried to get any support from Symantec I didn't anywhere at all, no call back no nothing!

In the end I tried speaking to Dell support (who'd supplied the server with BEWS installed on it), and Microsoft support (since it was a problem with IDR which uses Microsofts tech), and in both cases got loads and loads of help. They returned calls, phoned me for updates, provided DDI's and engineers names to make follow ups easier the works.

Now admitted it helped that the company I was with at the time was a MS gold certified partner, but still I expected both Dell and Microsoft to say that it was a problem with the Symantec software, and to contact them direct, which realistically it was, and I think they would have been well within their rights to have done so.

It's a sad state of affairs when you get better support from a 3rd party who has no obligation to help, than from the company who wrote the software.

[Dennis_Thornton]

I'm having a problem right now and I could call support.


Only I know it will take forever to resolve, I'll have to answer questions I've already answered, and finally, after burning off hours of my time, the final solution will be uninstall and reinstall.

Hmmm...
What's worse, a root canal or calling symantec support.

[Randy_Blasik]

When getting a hold of a Tech he explained there were different tiers of a support contract.

I bought backup Exec 11d in its early stages and I'm not sure who fouled up Symantec or my software rep but I guess there's supposed to be the ability to pay for a higher level of support right off the bat when purchasing the software. I'll be scarcastic here and say: Maybe that information is clearly indicated in the Liscense Portal, LoL!!!. You are supposed to zap right into level 2 or higher Techs with this contract. This wasn't an option for me as my software rep never told me, in fact never even presented support levels but just included support in the pricing. So either Symantec never informed my software rep OR my software rep assumed I wouldn't need the higher support. Either way I'm feeling the mistake now.

Also when I call into Symantec someone tells me a tech will call me within two hours, I would have to say thats a Premuim service don't you think? So if I never spoke with a good informative tech and I called all the time and heard they'd call me back within two hours, even though they never do, I'd just go on assuming they were always busy and not thinking if I paid more they'd respond faster (silly me).

[Mark_Lavallee]

It only took 2 hours for a call back?!?! Wow it takes them like 15 to call me.

[Roger_Sager]

Hi everyone.....

We are in Sydney (Australia) and I thought I was the only one that found that Symantec support for BackupExec & CPS stinks....hanging on the phone waiting to contact support with or without a Case ID can take up to 1 hour...listening to that same music over and over on speak phone gets extremely boring...and to get an engineer to ring you back in 2 hours is a joke. I have found out that pressing option '9' to preserve your place/call in the queue doesn't work either.....but wait...there is something you each can do....

If you're all fed up, then do what I did...email the top bloke and complain directly to him > Gregory Hughes greg_hughes@symantec.com ...he is in charge of world wide support. It is useless complainting to the call centre, as they understand, but can't really do anything...go to the top!!!

If more customers do that, then maybe they will finally get the message loud and clear. After all, like you ...we pay plenty for their product and support...so put pressure on the top as that preverbal stuff rolls down hill very well.
Cheers and good luck...
Roger

[Joshua_Small]

Hi Roger,

Did emailing him actually get anywhere?

I'm interested in the outcome of this, as I'm sure is anyone who's ever tried to get support.

[Randy_Blasik]

I wanted to give an update to you all:


Since placing my support calls and posting this on the forum Symantec took my issues as a priority. They had a higher level Tech call me back which truly helped. I�m finally getting decent backups after the elevated support.

I�d like to mention that they recognized I had been having issues since Jan 5, 2007. It did however take them until beginning of this week (March of 2007) to solve a lot of my issues which in my opinion is way too long considering we�re talking about a backup solution.

I do look at this as a positive step forward for Symantec though I wouldn�t say they are out of the doghouse just yet. It�s nice to know they are listening to us on this forum and actually trying to improve these issues.

My advice to those who are having issues and need support is to be patient and persistent.

My advice to Symantec is PLEASE learn from these mistakes. Nothing is worse when you install a software package as important as a backup solution, have issues and cannot receive immediate support. I think I can speak for everyone in this forum when I say it�s an Admin�s worst nightmare.

[Roger_Sager]

Hi Joshua...

Well the result of me emailing Greg Hughes was...my complaint on this and other contacting support issues was...

It must have come down the chain of command and eventually hit the support here in Sydney.... a lovely fellow by the name of Mark Evans, Director,
Technical Services ASIA Pacific...rang me...listened to my problems...he then tried to ring support and got the same poor response...he rang me back...filled me in on what he experienced...and then he wrote up a report and I think it will find its way to the top...

I put up with poor response in ringing support for about 5 months...before I spat the dummy...
.
So if more people email the boss, then the people at the top of Symantec will finally find out the problem we have at the front line....instead of watching their bank balances.

A bit of a harsh critic...but enough was enough for me. Sorry if I offended anyone...
Roger