The Current Score with Symantec Customer Support

I’ve written about my terrible customer service experience(s) with Symantec a couple of times already. I was hoping my previous post on the subject would be the last, but this thing is still unresolved. Here’s a time line for you:

• 11/28/2006 – I received a “Version Upgrade Notification” email from Symantec, including a PDF document a URL and Notification ID to be used to retrieve the new release of Backup Exec 11d Windows. I log into their licensing portal and input my information, only to get an error message saying “Your request cannot be processed. Please contact Symantec Customer Care”.
• Mid-December, 2006 – Chalking the previous experience up to a temporary glitch, I try logging in again to download the software update. No luck – I get the same error message.
• 12/22/2006 – I try logging in again and inputting my information, but get the same problem. I eventually find and call the Symantec “Customer Care” phone number (800.721.3934). The message says that hold times are in excess of 45 minutes due to high call volume regarding the “newly introduced Symantec Licensing portal”. I wait on hold for about 15 minutes before hanging up and going to Symantec MySupport to log an issue through the company’s online support system. This is where I have the experience I partially documented on a previous post.
• 01/12/2007 – Fed up with Symantec MySupport, I decide to wait on hold with “Customer Care” (800.721.3934). After waiting 1 1/2 hours to speak with a real person, I talk to a rep named Cordella. She takes a look at the account and says a new notification number needs to be issued to me, which will be sent out within the next week.
• 01/16/2007 – I receive an email from a Symantec employee named Ben regarding my blog post about the MySupport site. We talk on the phone for a few minutes regarding that experience, and he says to keep him in the loop regarding my support issue.
• 01/19/2007 – One week after speaking to Cordella, I still haven’t received my new notification number. I email Ben back, and he submits my issue into Symantec’s internal customer escalation system.
• 01/25/2007 – No word from Symantec support yet. I email Ben to check in again, and he quickly checks on the status of my request. Several minutes later, I receive a phone call from a Symantec employee named Mark, who is in charge of the internal customer escalation system. He says he’s forwarding my information to a manager in the licensing department and that I should expect a call from them shortly after he does so.
• 1/30/2007 – Still no word from Mark or the licensing department manager. I bug Ben again, and he forwards my email to one of the people involved with the customer escalation program.

So, that’s where the situation sits right now. Even Symantec’s internal problem escalation system isn’t bringing this thing to a resolution. If that’s the case, someone going through the normal support channels has practically no chance of getting their problem fixed.

I have to say that I really like Ben and think he’s genuinely interested in helping me and others out. He’s been extremely accessible and prompt whenever I send him an email. It’s the Symantec system that’s a problem. It squashes any chance of guys like him making a real difference. That’s what’s wrong with big businesses.