BarryInMass Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 Hi - I am a new user for Home Designer Architect 2018. Overall I have been having a pretty good experience, but some things are confusing and frustrating. I am not tech-phobic, I work in research informatics; on the other hand, this is a big, complex app, and it seems some things may not have been thought of, and others may have been disabled in less expensive versions like mine - which sometimes leads to my being stuck, and not even knowing if something can be done, let alone how to get it done. Anyway, I submitted a ticket for a support question on the supplied website https://support.chiefarchitect.com/home over 24 hours ago. I tried to explain the issue clearly, and submitted screenshots of my design and what the trouble was, as well as of related system dialog settings. No answer and no acknowledgement so far. Is the support site actually alive? If so, is there any kind of acknowledged SLA - Service Level Agreement - specifying a time within which someone should at least take up a support case? Thanks, Barry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solver Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 24 hours is 1 day, and this is Monday, so support is working on things submitted from Friday evening until today. They normally respond within one to two days. There are 20,000 registered users on ChiefTalk, and over 14,000 here on HomeTalk. Imagine the workload if just a small fraction of these people contacted support. When you bought Home Designer, you did not buy help from support -- they are there for bug reports. Support is this forum -- user to user. I pay extra every year for enhanced support for Chief Premier, but it's not for tutoring. My advice is to post your questions/issues here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryInMass Posted February 27, 2018 Author Share Posted February 27, 2018 Thanks Eric - they do say on their marketing website that support is provided and there is even a support website. I provide support myself for numerous enterprise IT systems, and work with lots of vendors who do the same, and partner with our end user support team on anything that is appropriate. I think every product I work with or person I work with tries to help people that ask questions, certainly that's what I do, is I help the person solve an issue, whether it's configuration, code bugs, or explaining operation and giving tips. Not used to this "not my job" attitude that you say is the norm here, but okay, live and learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidJPotter Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 Home Designer Architectural retails for about $200.00. Whereas Chief Premier costs around $2,800.00 to buy and about $600.00 to maintain active Tech Support per year which I gladly pay for that support every year since 1995. Home Designer software is supported by built-in "Help Files", an easily accessible "Knowledge Base" of searchable help articles, I use it often when I need help, there is one for Home Designer and one for Chief Premier. Both Chief Premier and all Home Designer titles are supported by free video tutorials on all the tools that are available per title and are also searchable. There are several "YouTube Channels" devoted to Chief Premier, my channel is a little more Home Designer centric. These channels address specifically tendered end-user questions and are again searchable. I am in no position to say with impunity that Chief Architect Software support is the "best" around but it is rather stellar, in my opinion. The main factor is how willing you are to self-study and practice to teach yourself how to master the software and its tools, that is the make-break of competence. DJP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryInMass Posted February 27, 2018 Author Share Posted February 27, 2018 David, I am using those resources, and will continue to as long as I try to use this thing - you can see that I answered someone else here asking about saltbox roof creation by referencing a training video. You're being a lot more respectful than solver, which I appreciate, but you're basically saying the same thing - users of the HomeDesigner line shouldn't expect any support. I understand the basis of your statement - we paid less, so we should expect less. However, this company does actually claim that buyers of the HomeDesigner software line will get support in numerous sales materials, and they provide a website for us to submit tickets. I would say that if the only functioning "support" is e..g FAQ, reference literature (i.e. product documentation, not product support) and the generosity of other users in a forum, then they shouldn't make those claims, and they shouldn't provide the ticketing website. I believe they should only promise on the pre-sales end what they actually deliver on in the customer experience. Just be honest with customers, that's all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rapidnurse Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 I have never had any trouble with them responding, and very quickly. Never. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidJPotter Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 Being as apparently interested as you seem to be, please call Chief Architect Sales or Customer Support and ask them your pointed questions. Eric and I have always used Chief Premier as our primary applications and so my viewpoint and experience is based on that past track. I do know that numerous users of Home Designer software have said over and over that their "Tickets" (communications) are always answered in a timely and helpful fashion. Premium support is just that, you pay extra for it but please let Chief Inc, speak for itself. DJP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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