Drake Support

[Lee B]

Drake Support will be open from Noon until 6:00 PM EST on Sunday, April 14th.

This is a big indicator that the Drake family is no longer in charge.

[Catherine]

I also note is is very limited in time, and only for the day before the due date. They are also asking people only to call in with time-sensitive issues rather than general questions.

[Abby Normal]

Some people call support for some of the dumbest reasons, and both tie up the lines and increase costs for the software company. I hope the software companies can flag those users and make them a lower priority. I wish the software would only allow you to call 5 or so times, and then you have to pay per call for additional support. That would make these inconsiderate people think twice about calling for dumb .

[Catherine]

Maybe institute a per-call fee, so you try hard yourself before calling. Even a small fee of $1 to $5 per call would make a lot of folks look things up themselves first.

[Medlin Software, Dennis]

For me.

A dollar fee does not prevent calls for things not in my realm of support. It anything, it makes the process worse, as those who pay expect to monopolize my time, even beyond what they paid for. They do not like hearing no, that is not anything to do with my software - but I cannot refund you because you still called and took my time.

The reality is, again for me, email is the only fair method, and workable. Anything I could answer over the phone is rare, and well documented already, and the other issues usually require images, backups, or a written-out reply (so it can be followed properly).

Then there is the fairness.  Should somebody who calls jump the line of those who write, and how much to charge for that effect.

[Medlin Software, Dennis]

I do get emails with things like (literally) "Help", "I cannot print", or "How do I pay my taxes". Over the years, I have built a custom automated reply system for the most common messages.

I do track those who seem to ask excessive questions. They are thankfully few, and often indicate no experience or training ahead of time (with payroll processing) and will usually end up with a refund and a suggestion to hire out their payroll until they can get trained.

Back when our customer count was beginning to grow, we could take orders on the phone and manually input them, we would spend time on the phone with most, but it actually was a detriment if one considers the time spent per customer and what our time costs (either to replace, or in lost productivity with other tasks). I am not saying support is a money loser, but the best use of support budget is preventing the contact in the first place by programming skills, FAQ, proactive emails, etc. It is also the best for the customer, as no customer (well, not those one should keep) asks for help before spending time trying to figure it out themselves and are likely at a low simmer (at least) when they reach out.