Re: Expiration of Designer Pro
@Kate
Seems you don't really read between the lines,though many were very blunt for getting the message across
You didn't communicate about the way you conducting the change in conditions and pricing to your customers.
You don't communicate about upcoming changes or developments but want to listen to us.
Didn't anybody tell you;communication is a two way street.
You don't value us as customers merely as numbers that buy your product.
And in the end you didn't show us anything that validates(read features vs pricing) your attidude by doing so.
Hans
Re: Expiration of Designer Pro
Ignoring leads to ignorance.
Acknowledgement leads to knowledge.
Be a good business and give the right discount to everybody when you put out your so called next big update.
Than and only than I'll consider Xara to be a business otherwise it's just a hobby factory in a backyard shed.
Hans
Re: Expiration of Designer Pro
Not wishing to start a new thread about this, but perhaps a poll of all TG members would be a good idea:
Something along the lines of Kate's post, with 3 options:
1 Return to a yearly upgrade model.
2 Move to a true subscription model.
3 Retain the Status Quo.
Let me start off with my vote:
+1 for number 1.
Re: Expiration of Designer Pro
Also +1 for number 1
Because that time I knew for what I paid, now I have extended the subscription for an additional year and having no idea, what I know is that the money gone from my bank account
Re: Expiration of Designer Pro
Sorry Bob but that doesn't do it for me
If Xara were more communicating about development and more engaging here at their forum.
And there would be more feature implementation during the 365 cycle,
I for one can live with the update service.
I just want the price validate development for the software products and not the extra's I now seem to be paying for,like free pics,templates,an online designer.
This time around I feel I'm paying for last years development and charging me more as before.
Hans
Re: Expiration of Designer Pro
Kate
there has been breakdown in communication
firstly this, from the update service info you linked to:
Quote:
...The copy(s) that you have installed at the time of expiry will continue to run indefinitely, BUT if you re-install on a new machine after the Update Service has expired then the new installation will fall back to the version you last purchased.
this caused all sorts of confusion
when my licence ran out, I installed the program on a notebook that had never had DPX365 installed before - I used the latest installer downloaded from xara.com, and it installed the latest version of the program. Given that, then far as I can see, when it says "fall back to the version you last purchased" what it means is your asset caches [galleries] are cleared - which they would be on a new computer of course, because they've never been downloaded there - I think that part of the U/S info was greatly mis-understood. All you need do is back up the galleries to a USB say whilst your licence is current, and you can then restore these later if necessary to a new machine
You will loose access to the online catalogue, and not be able to download new stuff in the design gallery - but this is the subscription part of your partial subscription model, I understand that [and so don't use the OCC]
I remember that quote causing much fur to bristle - it could have been put in a much better way
secondly - you put the price, including renewal before expiry, up 32/33% - that just does not square with what you said when you brought in the 365 model, so you should not have said it in the first place - ok hindsight is a wonderful thing but, having said it, I really don't think you should have upped the licence renewal before expiry price without contacting existing licence holders
this alone has cause much loss of goodwill...
-----------------
Also - thanks for the intention to consider upgrading P&G to a more pro base - I know you are busy, but that would be much appreciated
Re: Expiration of Designer Pro
I must confess to being annoyed by Kate's last post, just by this little snippet, which says it all really :-
"we no longer have the massive upturn in tickets and huge pressure on testing at the time of the annual release, when standards slipped as a consequence. Because we can spread testing and support more evenly thru the year, the net result is better testing and quicker support. If none of you have noticed that I confess I'm a bit disappointed!"
We are the customers, aren't customers king? If your staff are under such huge pressure, I assume that is because of workload and the timescale that was being worked under the system you have moved away from for your own convenience.
Do you honestly believe that this is a valid reason for the system you have decided to use in its place? Do you think that in any other business without this occasional dialogue with its customers that they would give a monkeys about the staff? What about the customers who don't visit TG, do you think they care what the staff have to do? Should we actually be grateful that you have chosen this business model for your own convenience and sod the customers?
Xara/Magix customers will eventually (perhaps sooner rather than later) move on to pastures new (Affinity Designer, perhaps?) and as the workload decreases as a result, you will have staff without stress (and probably without jobs as well).
I know that you probably think I am being a right pain-in-the-ass, but there are plenty like me who are at least mildly disconcerted with the way they have been treated. After a year of this current model very little (if any) substantial improvements have been made. Certainly not enough to warrant the current pricing. In plain English, it's daylight robbery.
Run a poll (along the lines suggested in my post # 103) and see how TG members feel about the state of affairs. Perhaps then the customers and the company can abide by a democratic decision. Let it run for a couple of months, say, so that those taking their holidays won't miss out on the opportunity to vote.
Bob.
Re: Expiration of Designer Pro
bob you missed out option four: don't give a damn you've already lost me >:)
sometimes you just have to let things go their own way; and go yours...
Re: Expiration of Designer Pro
Quote:
Originally Posted by
handrawn
bob you missed out option four: don't give a damn you've already lost me >:)
sometimes you just have to let things go their own way; and go yours...
;)
Re: Expiration of Designer Pro
Bob, calm, calm. My point about support was in response to the comment from hseiken about the 'always updating' model sometimes taking a toll on support and testing, at the customer's expense. In our case I'm confident that testing and support has improved because of the more even release schedule, to the benefit of customers. I was hoping that was one benefit we could at least all agree on!