Does Cakewalk support actually exist anymore?

I have had a support request go unanswered for three weeks now (aside form the initial robo response, but that doesn't count).  I have been with Cakewalk since 2007, and one thing that has kept me a loyal customer and early adopter has been the exceptional level of support I have received the few times I needed it.  I have now waited three weeks and not heard from a real human being regarding my problem.  I have no idea if I am next in line, or if my request is just lost in space.  There is no feedback/update mechanism to know if any action is, or ever will be taken, on my support request.
 
And what other product on earth makes you wait three plus weeks before ever even speaking to a human being for support?  This is absurd and pretty insulting.  The lack of access to any email or phone contact almost makes it seem like Cakewalk is hiding from their customers.  Kinda fishy.
 
I posted a thread here in the problem reports section hoping I could receive some help.  Let me add, that's gotta be the lamest way to approach support.  Make your customers try to hash it out while someone from the company (maybe) occasionally chimes in.  Well, in my case, I posted, and got a reply from one of the Cakewalk folks, and from his line of questioning made it readily apparent that he didn't fully read my post,  Asking me if it could be factors I had already eliminated and asking questions my post had already answered.  So, absolutely no help.  When I pointed out that he didn't read the full post and therefor several of his questions weren't relevant, he never replied back,  So much for input from the company. 
 
I really don't have time to post on a forum and wait around for days to see if a proper response might just show up.  Hoping that another customer might magically be able to solve my problem is not a proper support mechanism, it is lazy and lame.  That is a total waste of my time.  I have a specific problem and want to talk to one person with an answer. Preferably a support tech, not another customer, and not a customer relations/ marketing type person.
 
Which brings me to the big question, what the heck is going on with support and the total lack thereof?  Is anyone actually getting through/ getting support, or at least a response from a human in that department?  Is everyone experiencing the same wait times or lack of response?  Is anyone else as pissed off as I am?
 
Should I start shopping for my next (actually supported) DAW?
 

Hi Michael,
 
I took a look into your case and it looks like your case hasn't been processed yet. We'll get back to you through your original case and close the duplicate cases you created. I think I found the thread you were referencing about the 64 DP issue. http://forum.cakewalk.com/m/tm.aspx?m=2922352
 
Is this also with tracks set to mono interleave? or is it happening with tracks set to stereo interleave as well?

While I share the bewilderment about the lack of support (and what that may or may not portend about the company's long-term viability), I disagree about the forum. Sure, now and then you get that kind of response. But I have found this forum to be one of the most helpful around. I know of only one other DAW that has the kind of forum support this place has. Some of them are legendary for having truly lousy forums. I have no idea why that is, but I suspect it may reflect how good the product is. A good product makes people enthusiastic. But I'm not sure how long the enthusisam will last at this point. Forum support should be an adjunct to company support. In its absence, it may be only a matter of time until the enthusiasm wanes. And that really would be a bad sign. In the meantime, I think you should work with the forum. Alienating these fine folks will only leave you with no support at all.

Hi Michael,
 
I did try working with the forum.  I posted my original problem a week ago and didn't receive a single response from a forum member.  The only reply I got was from a person at Cakewalk who didn't really read my post, so had nothing constructive to offer.  I replied to his questions anyway, but he never replied back.
 
Bear in mind, this isn't a "I can't get effects to assign" or "how do I integrate my interface" type post that I am sure some folks might have success with here.  It is a pretty esoteric concern.  Actually almost identical to a previous problem that Cakewalk acknowledged was an internal error.  Not a settings concern, not a routing conflict, not a gain problem, but a bug in the software.  So not something most anyone other than a developer would know how to address.
 
But deciding to give it a try here anyway, I did exhaustive research in the faq's, I searched the forums for past posts, and finding none existed specifically addressing this issue, I posted my original inquiry.  After a week, I still have not received a single suggestion on that thread.  So I don't see how that isn't working with the forum or alienating anyone along the line.
 
If I have done something wrong, or skipped a step that I am not aware of, please enlighten me.
 
Otherwise, this thread is about the lack of response from a company, and their perceived model of trying to let the forum take care of support for them.  That's not a slam on the forum, it is a criticism of the business model of the company.
 
I don't want to have to do an afternoon of searches before I post a question that sits for a week with no answers.  That's my beef against the company forcing us to use the forum in lieu of immediate support.  Not a criticism of the forum itself.

A month gone by without reply for a case here. A software support department should aim to get back to people within 48 or 72 hours, IMO.

Lance- 
 
thanks for the reply.  I must admit, it does feel a bit like you are saying tough luck. 
 
I guess it's because I don't follow quite follow the reason given.  You say you "have been forced to keep our support staff small due to hiring constraints", yet the webpage is currently looking to hire for a marketing position.  How the heck does a company hire more to people to try to sell a product they aren't keeping up with support on?  I am sorry, but if the company has a dime to hire a single person, why is it marketing and not support?  Again, I am not inferring that I hold you responsible for these decisions.  I realize that's the role of some higher up mucky muck.  But in a rhetorical sense I am asking you, how in the world does that make sense?
 
And as I noted above, I just got an email from someone in support.  But that's only because of my many, many complaints and finally using a public shaming to get results.  What about the user above "tnipe" that says they have waited a month with no reply?  When are they going to be helped?
 
Honestly I have the luxury of my recording studio being a small part of my overall business.  But I still have had to force a client to wait three weeks on a project without resolution because of this issue.  I am ready to scrap the mix and redo it from the ground up just to get it out the door.  Serious wasted time.  If I were a full time studio and hadn't heard back from support in a month, like tnipe above, I would already be purchasing Pro Tools or something else by now and never look back.  How can you tell that person the company is looking to hire more marketing folks to make more money, but you have to just keep waiting if something goes wrong because we can't hire more support?  That seems like a greedy corporate move, the exact opposite of the small company feel that drew me to Cakewalk in the first place.

Audioicon
I fairness and I should say I am one of the most critical of Cakewalk and companies in general but Support across the board are almost non-existent for most companies and forums have taken over.

You have to live with it. 

 
You are correct this isn't just about Cakewalk. In general, people want to pay the lowest price possible. They don't always consider the practical implications of paying lower prices. For example I avoid the self-checkout machines in grocery stores because I would prefer to see humans employed. But it's a losing battle. Stores that used to have a dozen lanes with checkout people and baggers still have the dozen lanes...handled by maybe one person, or two people when it's really busy. It's probably small comfort to the unemployed checkout people that they're paying a dollar less for groceries.
 
I think the future is no support from manufacturers, but instead, for-profit companies dedicated solely to support. Another possibility is companies turning support into a profit center, and charging for support past the first 90 days. This is becoming more and more common. It discourages frivolous complaints, and pays for additional staffing. 
 
Then again, banks want you to do everything online or at ATMs so they can get rid of tellers. Now pay attention because our menus have changed recently. If you disagree with me, press 1. If you agree, press 2. Para espanol, oprima 3. To access the forum directory, press 4. To speak to a customer representative, press 5. Your estimated wait time is 1 hour, 46 minutes. Have a nice day!
 

I have called tech support over the years! and it was great getting to instantly talk to someone who really helped. but the last time I called in like 2014 and the guy sounded...  NO COMMENT! Well I came here that night! and never left even though I was bullied, badgered and even ban & blocked several time that 1st night/ year? lol
many here hate me! but I know more then many of them, lol ;) so I'm here to help if I can! and I still need help sometimes... 
 
This is the best place for Cakewalk tech help! and BTW this help has very little to do with Cakewalk employees. 
Smart move for Cakewalk to find needed self centered people to work for free as tech support. lol
maybe me as well.... Now that my kids are older... :) lol
Really! Just look here and ask! No one cares if Cakewalk has no real tech support anymore. if that is even true!
 
 
 

michaelnuzum
Anderton- I can't imagine this is a case of paying the lowest price possible.  I have pretty much bought Cakewalk's top of the line offerings, in the biggest package, often with lots of extras and add-ons, going back for a full decade now.  I have sunk a good bit of money in their company.  So not a matter of being a low budget consumer here.

 
I said "in general." It doesn't matter what you pay as an individual, it matters what the marketplace as a whole pays. Before Logic was bought by a company that now has $200,000,000,000 in the bank, it sold for $999. Cubase wasn't far behind, it was 650 pounds sterling in 2007...I guess that was around $999 at that time as well. Yet the cost of developing software has not really gone down due to more complex computers, tighter wages, more types of systems to be tested, higher taxes, etc. The kind of revenue companies used to make allowed for spending more money on things like...support, and marketing people to sell more programs so there's the money to pay support people. 
 
 

I even mentioned above that I would be willing to consider a pay for support model.  But until that day arrives, and Cakewalk claims to still be offering support, I find it offensive when there is no follow through.
 
Also, I have used support only a handful of times in ten years, and not for "how do I plug in my whatever" type problems.  Definitely not one to qualify for the "frivolous complaints" category.

 
Please don't take what I say personally. There is no question companies get frivolous complaints. Even in this forum, some people ask questions that could be solved in under a minute with Google.
 
'

If they aren't gonna offer support, if it is the future, as you say, then they need to take the link down!  Don't dangle the potential of assistance that will never come, that's just nonsense.
 

They are offering support, and a lot of people's problems are being handled. It seems unreasonable that some users would want to shut down support for all users because their particular requests were not handled to their satisfaction.
 
Remember, I am no longer employed by Cakewalk's parent company. No one ever put me up to say things anyway, and they still don't. I look at what happens to the industry as a whole. There are exceptions in terms of support, like Waves (although people complain about them, too) but by and large, I think you would find it instructive to search on [name of software company] bad support customer service 
 
I'm not going to name names, but I just searched on the above. Based on customer comments, the top five highest-grossing music software companies in the world all have horrible customer service and support. Do they? I don't think so. But I do think they probably haven't handled some issues to some people's satisfaction, those people are unhappy, and they make it known that they are. That's fine, but again, shutting down all support because some people aren't happy with it makes no sense to me.

I've been a Cakewalk customer since the early 90s. This isn't a "cathartic rant" as Bruce put it, but I've watched the complaints about support grow consistently over the last few years. Fortunately for me, I've had few problems, and for the most part I've been able to solve them through the forum.
 
That being said.... I've documented two clear bugs in the software, and I've been waiting for two years for even an acknowledgment that the problems exist. TWO YEARS.
 
Neither are show-stoppers in the sense that they will cause projects to crash, but both will bite you on the tuchus if you're not aware of them. One of 'em caused me giant headaches until I figured out what was going on, and now I'm forced to go through a tedious and awkward workaround on a daily basis.
 
I wish I had a positive suggestion...I don't usually chime in just to beat up on someone, but it's got to be said. As a company, Cakewalk really needs to figure out how to address this problem - not just in terms of keeping up with incoming support requests, but also to adequately address long-standing issues that have gotten lost in the pile.

michaelnuzum
Audioicon-  I refuse to just live with it. 
 
I have used Cakewalk for ten years now and only needed support maybe three or four times.  Every time in the past, my problem was handled by a real person in no more than two or three days.  That was part of what kept me a loyal customer.  I don't care how good or bad other companies are.  Cakewalk used to be exceptional, I am noting and lamenting the change specific to this company compared to past performance.
 
If there is a page that says "click here for support", I expect a response within a reasonable window.  Until the day they take that link down, I will expect support if I need it.  Until they explicitly state all support will be handled by the forum, I will expect support to reply.
 
I know some other companies are moving to paid support, and I would be willing to go with that if it meant getting help in a more reasonable amount of time. But being ignored for weeks is not a business model I support. 

My friend:
I am not trying to devalue your problems and I am sorry if my statement appeared that way.
What I attempted to convey is that majority of companies have two types of support:

1. Bad Support
2. No Support at all

Let's take Samsung for example: I bought a Samsung View, when I contacted Samsung support, the person speaking with me did not know what the product was. In My opinion, Samsung has the worst Customer Support period. Yes, someone answered but the help was useless.

To save myself the headache and from going grey or bald, (hear dyes or Bosely are expensive) :).
I simply rely on communities, this Forum, Harmony Central, Gear Slutz and many more.

I think, and as you may already know, companies are scaling back support due to cost but most importantly, due to the proliferation of technology. You will find fast support by Googling than contacting a person and I think companies are beginning to say, "do we really need support?" Especially if there is a need to cut down on expenditure.

Your problems are valid but what you are experiencing is nothing proprietary or exclusive to Cakewalk, try calling Honey Well for example.

Hope you are able to solve the issue.

If Cakewalk can't handle the support load that's ok. Between the forums, pm's and the like, we have a community that will try to help. But to keep this real, Cakewalk needs to get their Sonar documentation and online demos current, and keep them current. The reference manual is way out of date. How can you tell folks "hey, RTFM" if the manual is out of date and contains errors. Give us the right tools and we'll help ourselves.

The online help is up to date, but the latest reference manual (~2000 pgs) is dated 2016 and has no mention of ripple edit and others. I D/L the help files every update, so this is about the big PDF reference manual. Hope that clarifies.

ampfixer
 How can you tell folks "hey, RTFM" if the manual is out of date and contains errors. Give us the right tools and we'll help ourselves.

Do not confuse the SONAR Reference Guide with the local help file. Yes, this month the Reference Guide was updated. The web-based and local help files are updated with the same frequency. The Reference Guide is not. It has been this way ever since Cakewalk started maintain all three documents.

Generally, when you make use of official technical support, you are dumping your problem onto someone else and making it their problem, whereas with peer support you are asking for ideas and suggestions to help you solve the problem yourself. I believe that a quick-responding tech support team should be available to deal with issues in the "dumping" category, i.e. those relating to purchasing, downloading and installing. For everything beyond that, you need to think it out for yourself and find help wherever you can. And there is plently of help available, including the Ref Guide, help file, videos and of course this forum. Anyway, no disrespect to the guys at CW tech support, but I don't believe that they could offer better solutions to your problems than you could find elsewhere.

Bug reporting has been mentioned in this thread, but that should be treated as a separate issue, i.e nothing to do with tech support.