Promethean Support

[Otter]

When I called it was when we upgraded to the version 3 software and had some problems. It was a very pleasant experience on the phone as the rep was very chatty and nice.

 

One concern: we heard that all production will move to China now, so please don't move the call desk to Asia too! Had too many problems on the phone with the overseas Dell folk.

[StuartC]

On the whole we don't have too many issues with our promethean kit.

 

We have somewhere around 20'ish boards installed and in use daily.

 

Most teachers use their laptops to connect and apart from a couple of the very first ones installed they all use usb connection to the board with no problem.

 

The biggest issue we've had is ActivStudio 2 running really slowy which is believed to be down to AV software and now we've changed it will have to check that again.

 

We've had a couple of psu's go faulty but they were replaced by promethean who even sent a spare one.

 

Installation wise we normally use our preferred local supplier/installer who do a fantastic job, the other year we had some promethean installers, or could just be contractors that change their t-shirts depending on who they work for and that wasn't good.

 

The guys were only interested in leaving middle of the afternoon so they could drive home and one of them drilled into a bespoke desk top which resulted in promethean having to pay for the replacement.

 

Ben

 

For slowdown caused by AV software I say that if you add the files:

 

2057AS3PE.a3l

Profilepath.ini

Settings.ini

 

in folder c:\documents and settings\%username%\my documents\Activstudio 3\ to an exclude then it should help. Obviously they are slightly different names and in a different folder for AS2 but you'll see them if you take a look.

[StuartC]

When I called it was when we upgraded to the version 3 software and had some problems. It was a very pleasant experience on the phone as the rep was very chatty and nice.

 

One concern: we heard that all production will move to China now, so please don't move the call desk to Asia too! Had too many problems on the phone with the overseas Dell folk.

 

Thanks Otter. Yes all production is moving to China this year. Our guys over there have been making about 3 quarters of our stuff over the last 2 years, primarily for countries outside of the EU.

 

We currently have a support center there for Asia/Pacific regions, we also have a call center in Atlanta for the Americas. The team we have offering support from Blackburn to Europe, Middle East and Africa will be staying put, and will actually be expanded. So no worries on that front.

[bossman]

Well that would explain a lot of things as the production has nearly all gone to china so will the quality control and I fear things will only get worse in my opinion.

I worked 26 years in the rag trade when all the manufacturing of clothing went out to china and surrounding countries just for profit making. As a result M&S saw a decline in clothes sales worldwide as a result of poor quality control I do hope this will not be the same of Promethean.

[StuartC]

Well that would explain a lot of things as the production has nearly all gone to china so will the quality control and I fear things will only get worse in my opinion.

I worked 26 years in the rag trade when all the manufacturing of clothing went out to china and surrounding countries just for profit making. As a result M&S saw a decline in clothes sales worldwide as a result of poor quality control I do hope this will not be the same of Promethean.

 

 

and as we all know, british built cars were the best in history

 

Seriously though, our China plant is already making everything for use outside of Europe, and a fair bit inside Europe too. We've not had big problems I'm aware of with anything made by China.

[Geoff]

To be fair to the Chinese and their production capabilities, they will makes things as cheaply or as high quality as you want. It's really down to what you specify when you contract the factory and what materials you provide to make the finished goods with.

 

Basically, GIGO applies.

[StuartC]

To be fair to the Chinese and their production capabilities, they will makes things as cheaply or as high quality as you want. It's really down to what you specify when you contract the factory and what materials you provide to make the finished goods with.

 

Basically, GIGO applies.

 

I completely agree, I've heard of some funny stories of things coming from China wrong (not Promethean, before I get shot) because something wasn't specified on the drawing. They do things precisely as they are drawn. So if anything from China is rubbish then it's probably because someone in Blackburn used the wrong line thickness

[ICT_GUY]

I have had two issues.

One was with the installers, to do with the way the speaker wire were terminated (read left with 3 inches of bare wire hanging out the back of each conection).

 

And with the quality of the Sanyo projectors, all of which have had to be deep cleaned and will need replacing before the end of next year (approx 3 - 4 years life span).

 

Technical support is usually quick and accurate.

 

Updates to the software happen often and are free.

 

Pens are cheap if you buy 10 (£40 each, 10 for £100!)

 

Replacement Nibs are free.

[markrobinson]

Promethean have worked with Edugeek to set up a Manufacturer support section.

 

Some of these comments are old - but with the new section we hope to have all the latest downloads and relevant information for those supporting Promethean Products only a click or two away.

 

http://www.edugeek.net/?pageid=mfs_promethean_index

 

There are also dedicated forum areas.

 

Do let us know if it is working out and offering what you need.

 

I personally work on the Product Strategy and futures side of Promethean so I am also interested in your ideas and observations about technology in the classrooms you support.