Avid Customer Service Complaints - page 2

We pay Big $ for AVID pro support on several different products. It used to be pretty good and I had many support techs work with me through issues. Lately, I cannot get anyone to even answer the phone. Sometimes after long waits, I get someone not technical to answer my call and start a support case, with a promise that someone will call me back. No one ever calls back, but after many hours delay, someone emails basic information and asks for more details about the issue. After numerous attempts to explain the issue via email, I get basic information (most I am already aware of) and a copy of the manual. What ever happened to talking to a technician who could work with you through the problem or connect into the system and resolve the issue? What are we paying this large sum of money for? I get better support for free from other companies.

I talked for days with avid about why I couldn't renew my pro tools subscription. I had paid for it days before but there was no place to enter the code. The guys on the phone kept insisting it was because I let the subscription expire. When I proved through my computer, and then the technician took over my mouse and checked that my subscription did indeed say it wasn't expired yet, the story changed. Now they were saying it was because I wasn't a student. Whatever came up, there was no desire to help me at all. They just kept coming up with a different excuse why I needed to spend more money. I felt like I was getting shaken down by thugs.

When requesting customer support to get my original product download code, I had to pay a transfer of ownership fee, which I might add, they charged Australian GST on the purchase despite the legislation for this to commence was still two weeks away, so 10% extra was simply tax fraud. Aside from this, after paying, two weeks on and I've had two one line replies, but still the issue remains unfixed. I have never experienced worst customer service, including dealing with government departments.

After having trouble with Sibelius not activating I contacted Avid support. I spoke to someone with basic but good enough English who said the problem might be that billing failed and I need to update my details but I'll open up a case for you. Thinking I was getting the right help, I waited.

4AM IN THE MORNING, they send through one email saying Billing failed and you have to update your card details. I'm now closing this case. The second email came through confirming the case was closed.

When I woke at 6am to find these emails I was furious! Purely because there was no conversation or confirmation from my side that billing was/wasn't the problem. And the fact of the matter ... I WAS BILLED, I PAID for the month in question and I PAY using PayPal ...

I tried emailing back even though the case was closed, I heard nothing for 48 hours. So I went online and tried to get someone to talk to me through that. I opened up a new case and waited. I got a reply, a very rude one telling me that it's a duplicate case and we're closing it as a solution was provided through the previous case, moving on. "MOVING ON" were his exact words ...

Even after sending through the explanation that the problem they said was not the problem at all ... I'm done with AVID!

Absolute garbage! Worst customer service ever! There is none unless you PAY for it, and then it still sucks. They send you a code when you register your product, that is only good for 60 days. They wont even answer your call without this code. They also cancelled use of TSL 1.0 which requires me to upgrade my Mac OS just to use certain portions of the site. This in turn requires me to upgrade my Pro Tools. Gee, I wonder who is giving kickbacks to who here, Apple or Avid? As mad as they have made me, I now understand homicidal impulse.

Avid Sibelius Customer Care (Or lack thereof).
SCF has 3 multi-seat licenses for Sibelius. Total of 15 licenses. Last year I managed to get the contact information upgraded and get the link to download the installer for our 11 new macs, though I remember it was a long process.
Now it's time for me to gather the information to submit the budget to upgrade, so I need to speak to someone at Avid sales to get a price quote.
1) I called the Avid Sales number. You pass through 3 or 4 levels of menus, each time ringing through to another menu.
2) The sales rep led me through the steps to purchase the software upgrade directly from their website. Thought I was done.
3) I was trying to figure out how to add all 3 of the upgrades I needed to the checkout cart when the Sibelius sales rep called me back.
4) Because these are multi-seat licenses, they cannot be purchased or upgraded through Avid. They are managed by a reseller. So the rep gave me the page on their website for contacting a reseller.
5) I called a reseller which is just another Avid customer service chain of menus. Upon getting a real person they informed me they I had selected Pro-Tools support from the menu but would create a support case for the Sibelius team and they would call me back.
6) I tried the reseller again, this time choosing different menu choices to get to a sales rep. I ended up getting the same rep, even though it was a different menu choice!
7) I waited for someone to respond to the case created by the ProTools rep.
8) A rep from Avid Sibelius group called me and told me that they couldn't help me because I had to complete this through a reseller. I interrupted him and explained that the reseller said they couldn't help me and had created the case which he was calling about! So he explained that he would email me instructions for upgrading out 5-seat licenses through a reseller and that I should have received those instructions during the first call.
9) I did NOT receive the instructions after about 20 minutes, but I DID receive 2 emails from Avid. One states that my case was closed and the other is asking me to take a survey about my customer service experience!
I STILL do not have any answers nor even a path to follow to BUY an upgrade. Do they not want the money? Is this not the most ridiculous case of poor customer support you've ever heard??!

I am trying to ask one simple question about an order and I can't get an answer what so ever. I have a client waiting for me to receive my product but no answer. I am so mad! Just waiting and waiting. Can't talk to anyone! Customer NO SERVICE! SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I opened a case with Avid, spoke to someone with decent but limited English, who verified that I have the proper generation iLok by asking me to pull it out of the USB and give the #. When I plugged it back in, the error message "magically" went away. Unfortunately a few sessions later, the exact same error message came back and now there is NO WAY to contact someone for support except to PAY $50 for a phone call, or buy a yearly plan for $100 which allows ONE phone call a month! This is a problem with AVID'S software (or hardware, still undetermined if it's the iLok or the software- definitely not my computer).

Highway robbery. I've NEVER bought a product that fails and had to PAY someone to talk about it. Pro Tools 11 is an amazing program, but there is NO ONE with WORSE customer service than Avid's.

Avid has the worst online support I have ever experienced. I purchased the $ 99.00 "Support Plan" for my new Pro Tools 12 software. I am accustomed to a paid support plan including a person who can "support" me when I call the help phone number. Their system appears to be that when a costumer calls, they get a person on the phone who can then create a "ticket" for the case. Then they route the "ticket" to the correct department. The customer is told they will be getting a call back. This was my experience. I then received an email that morning. The email read that "the next available resource" would be contacting me. Four and a half hours later, someone called me back. By that time I was not with my phone and missed the call.
I then scheduled another call back at 8:00 a.m. two days in advance. The email responce I received, was to "allow a 1-2 hour window for the call back". This 8:00 call back was for this morning. It is now going on 1:00 p.m. and I have still not received a call back. I will try to call the phone number again and set up a new "ticket." This is "paid tech support?" YOU MUST BE KIDDING!!
Terrible Support Plan. A person is much better off googling their problem on YouTube!!

Bull. the "live person" procedure only gets you a recording demanding you enter some code. The ONLY thing you can get through the number is a third party "support" operatio in the Phillipines whose operators, qwhile I assume understand English in some literal way, do not understand English well enough to understand any kind of idea beyond the simplest.

I renewed my 12-month Upgrade subscription for Pro Tools only to find out that it expires 8 months after my purchase date. After emailing Avid's "support," again, and again, and again, and again... I'm still requesting a refund as they clearly don't know what they're doing and have yet to provide me with an intelligent answer or resolution. They ignored my issue and focused on a random piece of information in my email. The world must be outsourcing, because these support systems are almost always clueless. Pretty pathetic.

40 minutes on hold then transferred to a repeating
recorded message in Japanese (I think).
3 days in a row they have been unable to answer their
telephones inside an hour.

I requested tech support because my Avid software doesn't work at all with my Avid hardware. I still haven't heard back from them after two full working days.

September 2015 Apple released its last OS X, El Capitan. Avid's Fast Track Ultra 8R was not compatible. Difficult to achieve mail contacts with Avid and threads in their communities site made them reply that they are working on new drivers and now, 4 months later, they stated that they stop supporting the product (with final sale date 2/11/2013 and final end of support date 2/1//2018) with new OS X drivers, based on a note in their statement that drivers for some products may be provided after the final sale date. Conclusions for Avid are yours... Mine is that this "company" should not keep on deceiving us. My sympathy to the guy that bought their product on 2/1//2013, and now, just 2 years later, he can't use it anymore on a Mac with El Capitan installed. They even consult us to downgrade our OS X. This is their advice and respect towards their customers...

I just had a new hard drive installed. Restored my system from a Time Machine Backup, and everything runs great, except, Sibelius 6 won't open. I'm getting an error message, "M-Audio General MIDI Module data not found. Please run the app in the General MIDI Module Data folder and re-start the plug-in". No info on where this General MIDI Module Data folder might be found... And I've searched all over for it.

So, I try to contact AVID to get an answer. Nothing in the knowledge base. But I can't even send an email ticket without purchasing a ONE TIME support package for $30.00 bucks... For an EMAIL Support Ticket!!!! Hello?!?! How crappy is that?

I accidentally purchased the $600 Pro Tools 12 and not Pro Tools 12 HD. I've been trying to return for an exchange. Three days already and no one helping me resolve this issue. VERY frustrating. Long hold times and no one to help.

Dear Neil and AVID President Louis Hernandez, Jr.,



I have a major complaint with Avid. I am trying to direct this to the above parties, but you might also be able to help me. How do I get this letter to Neil and Mr. Hernandez, Jr., Tel #?



We purchased both Pro Tools and Sibelius through your client Sweetwater. They are charging $99 for an upgrade to Pro Tools 12.



I can certainly understand if we are just getting more features we should have to pay. But I bought my current Mac because the previous Mac was not compatible with Pro Tools.

Now Pro Tools 11 is not compatible with El Capitan OS on my Mac. So I don't believe it is right that I have to pay more to upgrade when 11 should be compatible.

Sweet water said I would have to take that up with Avid. We are going to have the same issue with Sibelius which we purchased..



All I am asking for is upgrades for both Pro Tools 12 and what upgrade I would need for Sibelius.



I would think that Avid and Apple would not want to suffer public relations and bad press nightmare. But there were a host of Pro Tools users who had the same issues.

I also realize that issues happen. But I do not think it is fair that I have to be punished for issues not of my making.



We had a number recall issues on our Nissan car, also not our fault. Nissan replaced the parts and paid for the labor. We did not.

Imagine the news stories that would come out if Nissan refused to pay the cost of recall issues, and face the reports to better business bureau, etc.



Similarly, I believe Avid should do the same! Even your website states:

"Avid is committed to improving your Avid.com experience"



So here is your perfect opportunity to improve our experience.



Tragically, we had no warning until right in the middle costly recording sessions.



I look forward to your prompt reply!



Sincerely,



James Sundquist

Avid should not be doing business. No order fulfillment, lousy support.

Never seen anything like this. No order fulfillment for over a month. I can never reach "customer service" on the phone. This company took my money and ran. That is theft, plain and simple. I am looking now at making a criminal complaint against this company. It may not get my money back, but it may save someone else from losing theirs. This company should be ashamed of themselves.

So I ordered a book for the university and they sent me a different one. They have no customer service phone number. It took about 2 weeks of emailing back and forth to get them to send a shipping label do I can send it back. I sent it back and they did not refund me. I called heir headquarters to see if someone could help me and they transferred me to someone to help. the person "George" just hang up on me. I called him again, and he just ignored the call.

----------------------------->>>>>>>>>>>>>>PROTOOLS FIRST wont run, 2015-08-26
ILOC failure has blocked it, absolutely no help on website, what a pile of crap,
it said auth successfully deposited, BUTT protools says ilok not valid or something like that,
so after MONTHS of waiting for this software, IT DOESN'T WORK AND I CANNOT FIND ANY HELP
TO GET IT WORKING, I FOUND SIMILAR [UN]SUCCESS WITH SIBELIUS, so after wasting all this time and
resource it is back to 'Finale' and 'soundforge'. AVID HAS MADE A MESS OF ALL IT GRABS UP.

I don't know about anyone else, but a 48 hour turnaround time on technical issues is unacceptable. Super frustrated by an inability to contact anyone - the dead end support lines drive me crazy. Highly inadequate.

Avid is the worst edting company Ive ever had to deal with. There customer service people are incompetent and unreliable. They are actually make my problems with their faulty product even worse. If it wasnt mandatory for me to use it in school I would never ever use thier product.

Avid has terrible customer support. You can't even contact them by email. Their phone hours are very limited. They are completely unavailable. Their website is impossible to find anything on. They just take your money and run.

the worst service, i just paid for a monthly subscription and they continue to charge me one month more. I can't speak with somebody by phone. they stole my money.