Topic closed but not resolved through support

I had a thread open and I didnt respond in 6 days so they closed it. Funny when their response time is 3-5 business days. Great customer support. Luckily I was able to find the issue. A myriad of fingerprints inside the components of the machine that I found while cleaning it for the first time. Along with other assorted damage, I assume from initial assembly. #HorribleCustomerSupport #100MillionDollarCompany #DoesntEvenHaveAPhoneNumberToCall #Pathetic

They DO have a live Chat availability on the support page.
You need to access the support page during Pacific Time office hours though,

1 Like

Link to your thread or it didn’t happen.

2 Likes

Looks like this one: Not cutting all the way through Proofgrade

Having unresolved support tickets hanging around gums up the works. With 18,000 machines to support, that can add up to a LOT of threads they have to comb through to try to keep up with the people who are ready to participate in troubleshooting and resolving their issues. If you’re not concerned enough to check back on your ticket in a timely manner, they’re naturally going to assume you’re one of the many who open tickets and then ghost.

It’s not “horrible” customer support. It’s customer support being efficient so they can provide timely help to everyone.

4 Likes

So me responding in the same timeframe as them is ghosting them? Not sure how that works. If you think a 5 day turnaround time for a response is acceptable then I hope you never run a company. The problems I have could be resolved with a simple phone call I’m sure. Instead a thread has to be kept open for weeks to be able to have a basic back amd forth. What could take 30 minutes on the phone takes literal weeks. That seems not just inefficient but unnecessary. Especially for a company that makes so much money. Hell for a million bucks a year they could have a staff of 30 for these types of issues. If they worked basic 40 hour weeks they could help close to 80 people each. That’s 1200 issues resolved a week! And that’s at a million a year. Cut that by 75% and they are still resolving 400 issues a week! They have the resources, they just dont care.

Phone support takes a MUCH larger staff. Also, 1200 issues a week? I’m quite sure their current volume is far higher than that.

So when you wrote this post, what was your intent? Like what are you trying to get out of this?

It’s not like I don’t sympathize. I have my issues with GF support as well, but this post doesn’t seem to have a point?

I’m glad you cleaned your optics and found trouble. The cleaning step that was recommended to you… by everyone, both glowforge staff and helpful forumers alike… checking my notes from the start. Like 18 days ago.

If you’d followed that advice from the beginning, the entire rest of the thread would never have happened, as far as I can tell. I’m not sure you received bad support here, both official and unofficial.

Anyway. I’m glad you’re up and running. Let us know if you need something else beyond venting about whatever it is you were venting about … I really can’t tell.

5 Likes

Doubtful considering my issue took close to a month to “resolve”. The sentiment is echoed around the internet. Because some people have good experiences doesnt mean others dont. And I doubt that they have 30 staff members answering questions. I have seen plenty of threads that a staff member never even acknowledged. Luckily some of them at least got help from members of the community. How’s that acceptable customer care? Either way, this conversation isnt going anywhere. I had, and continue to have bad experiences with my faculty equipment and you think that that’s ok or that they cant improve on their support. Cheers.

Seems to me there is an issue with the settings for that particular material, not the machine. Yeah, they own that. There have been many reporting the same experience. For two years mine has been faultless with the proofgrade materials, and recently I experienced the same as you.
That tells me something has changed, I would think vendors as most likely.

Slow it down a bit. Before you move the material, check to see if it cut free. A piece of tape works well for that.
If you report the failure of the cut settings with their material they would likely credit you.

There are a lot of people who have had their issues with support, and that guy that just gave you a ration? Yeah - he’s first in that line. He has called the company out regarding their support with resolve, so he knows your pain.

His point stands. why are you here man? If you’re venting, that’s cool - we have all had those moments, just make it clear to us what the point of your post is.

3 Likes

I’ve asked about credit for wasted material as all I’ve ever used is proofgrade. What was supposed to be perfect cuts and engraved every time has been far from it. And as to why I’m here, um, this is their idea of support, they dont respond to emails and they dont have a phone number to call. So I’m here looking for help with my continued issues. Thats why I labeled it under problem and support. Because I have a problem and need support.

Also I’ll add that I shouldn’t have to change anything to get proper cuts and engraved. I’ve seen too many times where people change their settings and things go wrong. How about they address their issues and give their customers what they paid for? Especially when paying a premium for their branded materials. All I ask is for efficient support and a product that works as advertised. I’ll reiterate that because you, or others, have good experiences doesnt mean everyone does. There are tons of people who have horrible experiences and dont get any help. I wont just play nice and keep my mouth shut like most. $6k is a lot for a machine that doesnt work properly. And I have a stack of about $75 worth of wasted Proofgrade materials to show for it.

Point of the post is that my issue isnt resolved and this is where we go for support. My other thread was closed because I took too long to respond. Apparently not responding withing their time frame is acceptable. Cleaning wasnt helpful, I just notated that I did it and found issues that were there from the factory. No other way for fingerprints and other damage to get into the machine. No other way to get the issue resolved than to start a new thread. Pretty simple. Life gets busy working multiple full time jobs. Sure would be easy if I could set some time away and pick up a phone and get my issue resolved in an hour or so instead of going back and forth for literal weeks. Go ahead and check notes. Would you also like my email log in so you can check my email and see the unanswered emails? :v:

Good luck finding 30 semi-quality tech support specialists to work for minimum wage/$12hr in Seattle (assuming the low end of a 1.4x employee cost to salary multiple).

3 Likes

My figure was based on $15 an hour. And they dont need to be tech experts. I know half a dozen that are savvy enough and looking for work. Hell, there are people on this forum that know enough to be able to do it. Most of the issues are basic. They just need basic troubleshooting that can be done by almost anyone who isnt a complete idiot. Then, the bigger issues can be handled by the specialists and engineers. Seems like basic business operations to me.

I’m confused by this. Are you actually advocating for minimum wage for an entire team to troubleshoot complicated technical equipment? The members on the forum who “know enough to do it” are all professionals in their respective fields who are long past their minimum wage days. Doctors, engineers, designers, artists and more.
You’ve also completely forgotten about “fringe”, the costs for an employee beyond salary (benefits, etc). It’s typically 25-42%.
I sympathize with your dilemma but your math is seriously unrealistic.

4 Likes

HELP!
I am not good at photo shop & would like to PAY ANYONE who is willing to design ONE (1) custom draftwood template for my company!!

We would also like to pay someone to edit or add to an EXISTING GLOWFORGE TEMPLATE!
PLEASE ANYONE!

If you want folks to see your message, you need to create a new posting in the Everything Else section for it.

1 Like

No, I’m suggesting people make double the federally mandated minimum wage, https://www.dol.gov/whd/minwage/america.htm . Also as I suggested up above thisnwouldbt be for engineers or otherwise specially trained individuals. I’m suggering that some people who are merely tech savvy and can guide someone through basic troubleshooting, like quite a few people on this forum who have no formal training, could do this job. I’m not talking about people who use thisachine that are experts in their field. Im talking about people who are smart enough to pick up on things. More serious issue would be handled by the engineers and specialists who I’m sure would make more. Also, nowhere did I say that would be the pay forever. There could absolutely be a raise schedule to get people to however much they think is fair. I’d like to point out that while additional costs for employees are more than just their wage I’m not talking about starting a business from scratch. I’m simply adding to an already existing company. Costs wouldnt go up that much, unemployment insurance, health insurance, workmanship comp, and a list of others would go up but not at the same rate as the original employees cost. The only significant cost that doesnt change per employee is health/vision/dental costs. And while I think that should he given to employees it’s not guaranteed so I didnt factor it in.

This thread wasnt about math, it was about me having an issue and it not being resolved. I presented a possible solution based on simple math that I did while sitting on the couch googling hownto fix my problem because this tech support isnt helping and all I’ve gotten on this thread is people being critical because I’m not sugar coating my experience with this machine and company.

Not once has anyone asked WHAT my problem is or offer solutions to help me fix it. Great group here. Thanks!

WA’s minimum wage is $12/hour (which the DOL link you tossed out clearly states) and there’s an active movement to raise it to $15 in the city of Seattle where GF HQ is.

You stated at the top of this thread that you figured out your original support problem and did not ask a new question.

2 Likes