VM Ware customer service

[ItsGeorgeTheGri]

This is what I posted on Facebook and Twitter. 

I asked all 1000+ of my friends to boycott VM Fusion because of a terrible experience with a crappy product and even worse customer support.  I asked for help in configuring my machine such that could run more than one application on it such as MS Office and Dragon Dictate.  The VMware rep told me if Windows was running then VM Fusion was doing its job and if I added other applications like MS Office (which is why I have Windows 7 in the first place) then I needed call MicroSoft of Apple.  Really?  So VM Fusion is telling its reps that the purpose of VM Fusion is support an OS only and another application is not worthy of customer support.  Then why buy VM Fusion when Boot Camp and Parallels say the opposite.

I am Tweeting this, Blogging it, and telling everyone I know exactly how VM Fusion treats its customers (paying customers at that).  And if VM Fusion doesn't take this serious, then look at what happened to Blockbuster video.  I'll help you out just in case they are too lazy to read up on it. Poor customer service is a virus.  It starts out unnoticeable but over time it causes you to close up your doors forever.

You may be protected from me on the outside, but your problem is internal, like cancer.  Good luck with that.   

[ColoradoMarmot]

You're wrong.  Boot camp, parallels, and Fusion all are about running an operating system.  If you call parallels for support on office, they'll tell you the same thing - call microsoft.

It'd be like calling a tire company because you need a oil change.  Yes the car runs on the tires, but the tire company doesn't support the car - the car company does.

[tjsoftworks]

I also must completely disagree with the poster ....

IMHO - VMWare support is by far the best tech support team in the industry right now for consumer level products ( i.e. VMWare Fusion )

If the Guest OS is installing properly and attaching to virtual devices, etc. then I believe that VMWare Fusion has done it's job.

Microsoft Office is clearly not an OS - it is clearly a Microsoft Product (application(s) ) intended to run in a working OS.

Problems installing an app ( series of apps ) in an OS is very very likely a question for Microsoft..... unless you got a very unusual VM tech support agent they go overboard to help but clearly cannot take on the job of Microsoft tech support.

I do not work for VMWare but my experience has very very positive. Only rarely have I had a complaint of any type with VMWare tech support.

I suggest you consider what the cost to VMWare the company if they were to take on all tech support for all possible application that are installed in all possible versions of all possible operating systems...... I don't think you can even calculate a number for that kind of tech support - it doesn't exist in any company anywhere.

There needs to be a limit and VMWare is pretty good at going the extra mile on doubtful cases.

Thus, reconsider you've reasons for thinking you have been wronged somehow and perhaps, give the forum the question you may have. Perhaps a knowledgable person will help you with your issue.

[WoodyZ]

give the forum the question you may have. Perhaps a knowledgable person will help you with your issue.

I read ItsGeorgeTheGrinch's post shortly after it was posted and immediately noticed it was the first and only post so frankly I take this to be nothing more then a Troll and if the individual was serious then they could/should have asked for community help.  Especially since it pretty obvious the level of support provided by the members of the Community has always been very good and in may cases better then what VMware itself provides (not that VMware doesn't do a good job too).

[jdmh]

I do think the original poster's expectations are unrealistic, but I do have an issue with the support process as well.

I've been a reasonably happy version 3 user, and have never had issues with support before (once I could get through to someone). I chose Fusion over Parallels because it seemed like it came out okay in a head-to-head comparison, and I was familiar with other VMWare products on other platforms.

However, I recently moved to Lion and so I decided upgrade to an evaluation version of Fusion 4.1.1.

I discovered numerous bugs, most just annoying, but at least one is serious. So I decide to go through the cumbersome support process only to find it was not available to me as an Evaluation user. wtf? I emailed sales to ask if this is really an intentional policy and get no reply. wtf? At least acknowledge the communication and tell me to piss off - then I'll know where I stand.

Forums are great, and the people that provide answers on them are doing others a great service. But IMHO, they are best suited to helping with usage questions, hints & tips, etc. When dealing with actual bugs, I want to be able to talk to an official support person. I want to make sure they have all the information they need to do a fix (after all, I am helping them debug the product). Also, it takes a lot of effort to report a bug properly, and forums are not particulary user friendly - it is a lot more work and usually a lot more time than just talking directly to a support person.

I understand that the company wants to leverage community support to reduce it's support costs, but it's taking the piss a bit when a large corporation is relying too much on the community for core support work. For open source products it probably makes sense (and I'll cut small companies a bit of slack), but when large corporations start doing it, it starts to feel like the community is being exploited.

Anyway, that's my gripe. If I can find the time and the patience, I'll try to find a couple of hours to report all the problems that I've experienced on the forums. Otherwise maybe I'll give Parallels another go. I wonder if their support is likely to be any better. Sigh.

[ColoradoMarmot]

It's far worse.