vintagevibe
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No tech support AND no Customer/Sales support?
I know there is now no technical but apparently there is no customer service support either. I’ve called the main Cakewalk number for three days now and all I get is an “all circuits are busy” recording. Really hard to believe. So is there no way to contact Cakewalk? Are they going out of business?
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Roo Stercogburn
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Re: No tech support AND no Customer/Sales support?
2016/08/25 05:45:31
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It may not make you feel any better but you are not alone.
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DJ Darkside
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Re: No tech support AND no Customer/Sales support?
2016/08/25 10:09:18
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Mark Liebrand DJ Darkside 2001-20xx www.djdarkside.com ------------------------------------------------------- Running: Windows 10 64 bit, Sonar Platinum, Ableton Live, Novation Impulse, Native Instruments Maschine, a few mics, 1963 Fender Strat, a Fender Jazz Bass and some secret weapons... EQ and Compression.
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Anderton
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Re: No tech support AND no Customer/Sales support?
2016/08/25 10:43:20
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☄ Helpfulby Klaus 2016/08/25 12:02:33
vintagevibe
I know there is now no technical but apparently there is no customer service support either. That's wrong; there is technical/customer support. The problem is there is not enough of it. Issues are being addressed on a priority basis, e.g., registration issues get priority so people can use their software. So is there no way to contact Cakewalk? Please refer to this link on the "contact support" page. Are they going out of business? The problem was failing to plan for success, not a lack of success. Cakewalk misjudged the support issue by not planning adequately for the influx of new users from the lifetime updates, people transitioning from other programs who had questions about how to do functions in SONAR they did in other programs, and the number of inquiries regarding the Mac version. It also complicates matters that many users construe support as answering "how-to" questions (e.g., "how do I get a good guitar sound out of TH3?"), which is not support's job. People have now been hired to supplement support and are coming on board in literally a few days; more hires are being submitted for approval. The silver lining is the same success that led to a lack of support has provided the funds to hire more support people. Anyone who has followed the post-acquistiion Cakewalk realizes the focus is on the long term, not the short term. When the support problem metastasized, there were three options: 1. Charge for support past a certain free period, which is pretty standard these days. This also might discourage those people who tie up support with basic questions that are answered in the FAQs, or show up as the top hit on a search. 2. Fire everyone, outsource support to Asia, and save a bunch of money. 3. Build up US-based support with full-time employees who are very familiar with SONAR and work out of the Cakewalk offices. (1) would turn support into a profit center; there's nothing wrong with that, but Cakewalk would prefer not to go down that route. (2) would be a short-term solution that would quiet the "where's the support" people, but IMHO Cakewalk was wise to choose (3), and trade off a short-term black eye for long-term quality support. (Note that there are other elements being put in place to improve support, not just more employees. These will roll out in the weeks and months ahead.) Finally, it would be helpful if people posting about support issues would explain what those issues are instead of just complaining they're not getting support, as many problems are being solved in the forums. The forum is good at taking care of "how to" questions, but also, many customer support issues are solved here as well because either others have experienced the same issue and found the solution from Cakewalk, or more complex issues have been passed along to people at Cakewalk whose job is not support, but can deal with emergency cases as needed. For example Noel Borthwick, Cakewalk's CTO, has responded to many support issues in this forum. The forum is the only way to get his attention as he is involved in development, not spending his time monitoring the support queue. Joey Adams, who is also not in support, has solved many issues mentioned the forums as well, as has Ryan Munnis. However for them to solve any issues, they need to know what the issues are.
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Sanderxpander
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Re: No tech support AND no Customer/Sales support?
2016/08/25 12:21:05
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I was under the impression that support is indeed for "paying" customers, as in, those with a current membership. That's kind of your number 1, it's pretty disappointing that there isn't even enough support for those people. Especially as, presumably, before this all started there was enough support for everyone, membership or not.
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pwalpwal
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Re: No tech support AND no Customer/Sales support?
2016/08/25 12:50:56
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it dates back to before the "big announcement" too, let's hope it really does get sorted soon!
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DJ Darkside
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Re: No tech support AND no Customer/Sales support?
2016/08/25 15:43:34
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It's besides the point if there is technical support but it is very limited. The issue is, that some of us rely on Sonar to make money and without being able to contact support to discuss our technical issues we are loosing out. Its a bit unfair to us long time Sonar users. They need to sort out their Technical Support department PRONTO!!!
They take our money each month without failure and if we are late, they drop us into DEMO world. But when we have support issues, we have to wait months.
Mark Liebrand DJ Darkside 2001-20xx www.djdarkside.com ------------------------------------------------------- Running: Windows 10 64 bit, Sonar Platinum, Ableton Live, Novation Impulse, Native Instruments Maschine, a few mics, 1963 Fender Strat, a Fender Jazz Bass and some secret weapons... EQ and Compression.
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Sanderxpander
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Re: No tech support AND no Customer/Sales support?
2016/08/25 16:06:45
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I wonder if they couldn't skip updates/development for a month and purely catch up on support... But I suppose Gibson wouldn't allow them to.
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stevec
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Re: No tech support AND no Customer/Sales support?
2016/08/25 16:13:12
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I'm trying to picture all developers doing nothing but support instead for a period of time, but the image just won't stick.  (PS... I've worked in support at a fairly large software company for almost 19 years - development and support are often worlds apart in skill-set, workflow and presentation)
SteveC https://soundcloud.com/steve-cocchi http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=39163 SONAR Platinum x64, Intel Q9300 (2.5Ghz), Asus P5N-D, Win7 x64 SP1, 8GB RAM, 1TB internal + ESATA + USB Backup HDDs, ATI Radeon HD5450 1GB RAM + dual ViewSonic VA2431wm Monitors; Focusrite 18i6 (ASIO); Komplete 9, Melodyne Studio 4, Ozone 7 Advanced, Rapture Pro, GPO5, Valhalla Plate, MJUC comp, MDynamic EQ, lots of other freebie VST plugins, synths and Kontakt libraries
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vintagevibe
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Re: No tech support AND no Customer/Sales support?
2016/08/25 17:38:03
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Anderton
For example Noel Borthwick, Cakewalk's CTO, has responded to many support issues in this forum. The forum is the only way to get his attention as he is involved in development, not spending his time monitoring the support queue. Joey Adams, who is also not in support, has solved many issues mentioned the forums as well, as has Ryan Munnis. However for them to solve any issues, they need to know what the issues are.
Who is in charge of customer/sales support? Why can't I call them?
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Anderton
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Re: No tech support AND no Customer/Sales support?
2016/08/25 20:37:19
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DJ Darkside
It's besides the point if there is technical support but it is very limited. The issue is, that some of us rely on Sonar to make money and without being able to contact support to discuss our technical issues we are loosing out. Its a bit unfair to us long time Sonar users. They need to sort out their Technical Support department PRONTO!!! VintagevibeWho is in charge of customer/sales support? Why can't I call them? To repeat: Finally, it would be helpful if people posting about support issues would explain what those issues are instead of just complaining they're not getting support, as many problems are being solved in the forums. The forum is good at taking care of "how to" questions, but also, many customer support issues are solved here as well because either others have experienced the same issue and found the solution from Cakewalk, or more complex issues have been passed along to people at Cakewalk whose job is not support, but can deal with emergency cases as needed. The problem isn't that you can't get support. The problem is for now, it's difficult to get support through traditional means. However there are other options. It's your choice whether or not to avail yourselves of them. If you want a solution to a technical issue, start by stating the technical issue that needs a solution. Then good things can happen. P.S. And if you actually are interested in finding a solution, then start a separate thread so it doesn't get lost in this one, which most people are probably ignoring by now.
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Anderton
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Re: No tech support AND no Customer/Sales support?
2016/08/25 21:04:15
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Sanderxpander
I wonder if they couldn't skip updates/development for a month and purely catch up on support... But I suppose Gibson wouldn't allow them to.
You suppose wrong, for two reasons. 1. Cakewalk is an independent division that sets its own priorities. The only involvement Gibson has had in the support issue is processing the new hires through Gibson's HR department. 2. The skill set for devs and support people is completely different. Many of the "support" issues people have don't relate to technical support at all, but things like not being able to register; and it takes someone who can poke around the system and find they're using a different email than the one they used to register in order to solve the problem, or that they didn't follow directions properly and backed themselves into a corner where things have to be canceled and started over again. Someone coding a multiband compressor doesn't know that stuff.  As SteveC pointed out, "I've worked in support at a fairly large software company for almost 19 years - development and support are often worlds apart in skill-set, workflow and presentation."
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rtucker55
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Re: No tech support AND no Customer/Sales support?
2016/08/25 21:29:41
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With all due respect,
If someone at Cakewalk would just, sign-up to take the ball and, make it a priority to get this support thing fixed all these threads and posts about lack of support would stop.
Would that not make the most sense? Give your Customers the support they signed up for when they purchased the product. This really is getting old hearing the same excuses and not seeing any movement...
I really struggle to believe that a company like Cakewalk can't put a working phone support system back in-place. It worked for years before.
Purrrfect Audio DAW here. Wow!...
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Anderton
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Re: No tech support AND no Customer/Sales support?
2016/08/25 22:07:40
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rtucker55
If someone at Cakewalk would just, sign-up to take the ball and, make it a priority to get this support thing fixed all these threads and posts about lack of support would stop.
If it was really that simple, Cakewalk would have done it already. Anyone who thinks Cakewalk doesn't realize this is a serious problem that needs fixing has paid zero attention to the statements from various Cakewalk staffers and the statement on the support page. One more time: - The current staff was inadequate to handle an increased level of support.
- Cakewalk started job postings for support people.
- Cakewalk sifted through resumes, scheduled interviews, pushed budget items around, and eventually found people who they felt could do the job.
- These people will be in Cakewalk's offices within the next few days. Hopefully they're fast learners.
The simplest solution would be to do what most other companies have done: Fire everyone, pocket the money, and outsource support. Or, be like other companies that give 90 days of free support, then charge $99 per incident for phone support. That would satisfy those whose only interest is an expedient solution. If that's really what people want, it's the easiest path by far for Cakewalk - so encourage them to do it, they'll save a lot of money. But as I said before: Cakewalk would prefer to build up US-based support with full-time employees who are very familiar with SONAR and work out of the Cakewalk offices. The company would prefer to trade off a short-term black eye for long-term quality support. (Note that there are other elements being put in place to improve support, not just more employees. These will roll out in the weeks and months ahead.) Everyone talks about keeping jobs in the US. Cakewalk is actually trying to do it. Maybe that's their mistake, and they should simply fold and do what other companies do...who by the way, get TONS of complaints about support...
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rtucker55
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Re: No tech support AND no Customer/Sales support?
2016/08/25 23:26:46
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Regardless of your explanation, if it was a priority, it would not take 5 months and counting.
Purrrfect Audio DAW here. Wow!...
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hue
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Re: No tech support AND no Customer/Sales support?
2016/08/26 00:21:01
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still waiting for meaningful support myself.................................................
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vintagevibe
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Re: No tech support AND no Customer/Sales support?
2016/08/26 00:47:18
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My understanding was that they had no technical support but is it the case that no one can even call the front office for help with a purchase?
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pilutiful
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Re: No tech support AND no Customer/Sales support?
2016/08/26 03:38:52
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I have now e-mailed Cakewalk three time because I'm being charged twice every month. Not one answer   It's getting ridiculous. EDIT: after my post Cakewalk have responded, and refunds have been made for the double charges. As suspected, I had somehow double subscription.
post edited by pilutiful - 2016/08/29 04:21:39
SONAR Professional 2017.06 (Win 10 64-bit) Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 Yamaha HS7
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DJ Darkside
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Re: No tech support AND no Customer/Sales support?
2016/08/26 06:35:49
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Anderton
To repeat:
Finally, it would be helpful if people posting about support issues would explain what those issues are instead of just complaining they're not getting support, as many problems are being solved in the forums. The forum is good at taking care of "how to" questions, but also, many customer support issues are solved here as well because either others have experienced the same issue and found the solution from Cakewalk, or more complex issues have been passed along to people at Cakewalk whose job is not support, but can deal with emergency cases as needed.
The problem isn't that you can't get support. The problem is for now, it's difficult to get support through traditional means. However there are other options. It's your choice whether or not to avail yourselves of them.
If you want a solution to a technical issue, start by stating the technical issue that needs a solution. Then good things can happen.
P.S. And if you actually are interested in finding a solution, then start a separate thread so it doesn't get lost in this one, which most people are probably ignoring by now.
Personally, I have put my issues on the forum and got back a lot of great feedback but nothing helped. The title of this post is 'No Tech Support and no Customer Sales support.' So, with that in mind, it was a discussion in regards to that. We are sharing our frustrations and stories about no getting support, which what the post was intended for. Regardless of what anyone says, it is unacceptable what Cakewalk is doing. I work in a quality based role at my job and part of what I do is deliver service to our clients. If there is a compliant, we deal with it promptly as the customer purchased a product from us a expects support. With a customer complaint we are expected to investigate the complaint, provide technical details into the complaint and some sort of solution / resolution to the complaint within 1 week of receiving the complaint. We are a large firm providing product to sites across the world. It would not be bad business practice to tell out customers that we have a large volume of complaints and we will get to them 'some day.' What does that say about the product? Cakewalk needs to resolve these issues with current clients to learn how to better their software for the future. It doesn't help developing an application and continuously selling it adding potential for more complaints. Resolve what is outstanding and develop afterwards for the better of everyone. Very unfair practice.
Mark Liebrand DJ Darkside 2001-20xx www.djdarkside.com ------------------------------------------------------- Running: Windows 10 64 bit, Sonar Platinum, Ableton Live, Novation Impulse, Native Instruments Maschine, a few mics, 1963 Fender Strat, a Fender Jazz Bass and some secret weapons... EQ and Compression.
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JonD
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Re: No tech support AND no Customer/Sales support?
2016/08/26 10:54:58
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It's hard to understand how there are people with registration or payment problems still waiting weeks for a response. I don't care if the backlog is hundreds of callers. If it were me running the show, I'd authorize 2 or 3 employees to work enough overtime to take care of this backlog. The average registration issue should take minutes to resolve. (Tech support is a whole other matter, but that's why I'd concentrate on payment and registration problems first). There are also probably a backlog of folks trying to get in on the Sonar Plat lifetime deal and running into problems. If these aren't resolved soon, the deal expires in a few days and they're out of luck. Again, what are the priorities...? 
post edited by JonD - 2016/08/26 11:17:57
SonarPlat/CWbBL, Win 10 Pro, i7 2600K, Asus P8Z68 Deluxe, 16GB DDR3, Radeon HD5450, TC Electronic Impact Twin, Kawai MP11 Piano, Event ALP Monitors, Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro, Too Many Plugins, My lucky hat.
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Sanderxpander
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Re: No tech support AND no Customer/Sales support?
2016/08/26 12:15:15
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Things like that are what make me suspicious about the answers we're given. With honest apologies to any CW person working his/her ass off to solve the situation. I've basically thrown in my lot with CW too so I really hope they get through this. Clearly it's bad press for them, whoevers fault it is.
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Briankw
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Re: No tech support AND no Customer/Sales support?
2016/08/26 13:50:42
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I understand everyone’s frustration; I haven’t been able to experience the last 2 upgrades. And what really got frustrating is I was in the middle of a project that had to be finished by the 18th of this month. So when I tried installing the previous upgrade back in June, it would not install, this failed installation started messing with my activation. I finally got Sonar back stable enough to finish our project, but with no tech support it’s very frustrating. I’ve been with cakewalk for many years and really do like there product, and in the past tech support was very helpful. But paying for lifetime updates is the last thing I’m considering to do. My subscription is up in January 2017. I’ve paid for something that I can’t use at the moment. So for the ones who are sharing your frustrations I see nothing wrong with it, hope that cakewalk will straighten up these issues soon…….
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vintagevibe
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Re: No tech support AND no Customer/Sales support?
2016/08/26 14:05:08
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Anderton
DJ Darkside
It's besides the point if there is technical support but it is very limited. The issue is, that some of us rely on Sonar to make money and without being able to contact support to discuss our technical issues we are loosing out. Its a bit unfair to us long time Sonar users. They need to sort out their Technical Support department PRONTO!!!
VintagevibeWho is in charge of customer/sales support? Why can't I call them?
To repeat:
Finally, it would be helpful if people posting about support issues would explain what those issues are instead of just complaining they're not getting support, as many problems are being solved in the forums. The forum is good at taking care of "how to" questions, but also, many customer support issues are solved here as well because either others have experienced the same issue and found the solution from Cakewalk, or more complex issues have been passed along to people at Cakewalk whose job is not support, but can deal with emergency cases as needed.
The problem isn't that you can't get support. The problem is for now, it's difficult to get support through traditional means. However there are other options. It's your choice whether or not to avail yourselves of them.
If you want a solution to a technical issue, start by stating the technical issue that needs a solution. Then good things can happen.
P.S. And if you actually are interested in finding a solution, then start a separate thread so it doesn't get lost in this one, which most people are probably ignoring by now.
I'm not sure you understand. You keep talking about technical support but that is not what I need. Cakewalk made me an offer but when I follow the links all the way to where I put in my CC# it shows the wrong price for my offer. Here are my questions: 1) Who has the ability to work with customer accounts and how can I contact them? 2) Why is it that I cannot call ANY Cakewalk number? I get an "All circuits busy" recording on 617-423-9004. This should have nothing to do with Technical Support.
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scook
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Re: No tech support AND no Customer/Sales support?
2016/08/26 14:31:29
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While there were pricing issues when the promotion was introduced, the store seems to have the pricing correct now. I have seen several threads where users thought they qualified for the $99 price tier when actually the correct price of $199 was shown in the store. Could this be the question you have too?
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vintagevibe
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Re: No tech support AND no Customer/Sales support?
2016/08/26 14:41:56
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scook
While there were pricing issues when the promotion was introduced, the store seems to have the pricing correct now. I have seen several threads where users thought they qualified for the $99 price tier when actually the correct price of $199 was shown in the store. Could this be the question you have too?
They have sent me several offers for $99 but it always shows $199 in the store.
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scook
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Re: No tech support AND no Customer/Sales support?
2016/08/26 14:47:00
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In your case, to qualify for the $99 upgrade required upgrading to SONAR Platinum last year and renewing in 2016 using the one-time payment plan. Did you make those two purchases? If not, the upgrade to lifetime updates is $199.
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vintagevibe
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Re: No tech support AND no Customer/Sales support?
2016/08/26 14:59:11
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scook
In your case, to qualify for the $99 upgrade required upgrading to SONAR Platinum last year and renewing in 2016 using the one-time payment plan. Did you make those two purchases? If not, the upgrade to lifetime updates is $199.
I am eligible for $99.
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scook
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Re: No tech support AND no Customer/Sales support?
2016/08/26 15:13:36
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If this is the case, the problem is a store issue. I am moving this thread to that area. Have you attempted to PM one of the staff or email pre-sales?
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vintagevibe
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Re: No tech support AND no Customer/Sales support?
2016/08/26 15:37:13
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scook
If this is the case, the problem is a store issue. I am moving this thread to that area. Have you attempted to PM one of the staff or email pre-sales?
Please do not move this to the Store forum. This is not only about the store. It is also about contacting Cakewalk in general. I have emailed all the proper support lines and received no response.
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Anderton
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Re: No tech support AND no Customer/Sales support?
2016/08/26 15:42:14
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vintagevibe
scook
If this is the case, the problem is a store issue. I am moving this thread to that area. Have you attempted to PM one of the staff or email pre-sales?
Please do not move this to the Store forum. This is not only about the store. It is also about contacting Cakewalk in general. I have emailed all the proper support lines and received no response.
People monitoring the forums for store issues will not look in a SONAR forum. scook was right to move it. As to not understanding what you wanted, your thread title mentioned a lack of Tech support as well as Customer support. So I addressed the tech support part.
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