Are Impero Support alive?

[CHM-ITServices]

Just wondered if anyone has spoken to Impero over the past couple of days? I have tried to phone at least 10 times and just keep getting through to a very annoying voicemail and i have also opened a support ticket and had no response in over 36 hours - very strange and poor.

[WithoutMotive]

I've always emailed Impero Support and they've always been quite responsive. 36 hours seems a little strange.

[CHM-ITServices]

I've only had the software since January and i still haven't managed to have it 100% working, i'm losing patience with it. Funnily enough, i couldn't get them off the phone when they wanted to sell it to me.

[6Foot2]

I tried to contact them on Monday when I got the E-Mail invitation to upgrade. When I called I got the answerphone so I E-Mailed them my request. I got no answer. I posted my 'frustration' in this thread:

 

Link: Impero 5105 - Slow Network

 

My issue was sorted just after lunch. It seems that @Dan_Impero did some work in the background.

 

[WithoutMotive]

If anyone is going to the ANME meeting tomorrow, Impero are hosting a User Forum in the afternoon. I think support may be brought up.

[mb2k01]

I'm left wondering if they are operating over capacity after their BETT stand this year. Very showy and attracting a lot of people.

Perhaps more orders and new sites in such a short time that their support can't handle the initial queries / issues which new sites often face?

Add to that the fact that the latest two revisions seem to have broken some functionality, I'm guessing they are extra busy with that too... not that this should be our (the customer) problems really.

[CHM-ITServices]

I'm left wondering if they are operating over capacity after their BETT stand this year. Very showy and attracting a lot of people.

Perhaps more orders and new sites in such a short time that their support can't handle the initial queries / issues which new sites often face?

Add to that the fact that the latest two revisions seem to have broken some functionality, I'm guessing they are extra busy with that too... not that this should be our (the customer) problems really.

 

Couldn't agree more - they were very flashy at BETT. I just think that regardless of the issue (even if there software stopped working completely) ignoring all support streams is just unacceptable - answer the phones and let people know! I would be far less annoyed if i knew someone was dealing with it and if it takes 2 weeks and i'm updated during that time, then so-be-it!!

[mb2k01]

Couldn't agree more - they were very flashy at BETT. I just think that regardless of the issue (even if there software stopped working completely) ignoring all support streams is just unacceptable - answer the phones and let people know! I would be far less annoyed if i knew someone was dealing with it and if it takes 2 weeks and i'm updated during that time, then so-be-it!!

 

Absolutely!

[Dan_Impero]

Hi @mb2k01 and @Jam_lane,

 

The demand for our support team has increased in recent months, and as you mentioned a combination of product updates and new customers has contributed to this. Our support team traditionally received very good feedback for response times and unfortunately due to this increased demand it has been a challenge to keep up with the speed of response that was previously experienced.

 

I can assure you that all support team members are working extremely hard to get through the ticket queue as fast as possible. I can also inform you that 3 additional support staff will be joining the team over the next couple of weeks, which should help us to answer more phone calls in real time and deliver the response time that our customers have come to expect. In addition, we are looking at options for our phone system to potentially provide better visibility of the wait time - though of course the additional staff should help to achieve a minimal or zero wait time too.

 

I can only apologise that you are not experiencing the service levels you expect, and reiterate that we are making changes to accommodate the increased demand.

 

Kind regards,

Daniel

[NokiX]

Hi @mb2k01 and @Jam_lane,

 

The demand for our support team has increased in recent months, and as you mentioned a combination of product updates and new customers has contributed to this. Our support team traditionally received very good feedback for response times and unfortunately due to this increased demand it has been a challenge to keep up with the speed of response that was previously experienced.

 

I can assure you that all support team members are working extremely hard to get through the ticket queue as fast as possible. I can also inform you that 3 additional support staff will be joining the team over the next couple of weeks, which should help us to answer more phone calls in real time and deliver the response time that our customers have come to expect. In addition, we are looking at options for our phone system to potentially provide better visibility of the wait time - though of course the additional staff should help to achieve a minimal or zero wait time too.

 

I can only apologise that you are not experiencing the service levels you expect, and reiterate that we are making changes to accommodate the increased demand.

 

Kind regards,

Daniel

 

I suggest putting this on the support portal and even just a simple message on the phone system saying you have a bit of a backlog of support requests since without the communication it makes dealing with the product extremely frustrating but at least if this message was made clear in the support portal people wouldn't have the expectation of getting an immediate response.

[Dan_Impero]

I suggest putting this on the support portal and even just a simple message on the phone system saying you have a bit of a backlog of support requests since without the communication it makes dealing with the product extremely frustrating but at least if this message was made clear in the support portal people wouldn't have the expectation of getting an immediate response.

 

Thanks for the suggestion @NokiX. We have updated the scrolling notification bar within the Customer Portal with a message relating to the backlog of tickets. I hope this makes things a little clearer. We are working hard to clear the backlog so that the wait time is reduced, and I'm sorry if you have experienced frustrations with contacting us. Please let me know if you have any outstanding tickets you would like me to check up on.

 

Thanks,

Daniel

[WithoutMotive]

An interesting and, I think, productive User Forum with Impero yesterday at the ANME meeting.

The Forum began with an immediate apology which showed that Impero were aware of the overall upset that their customers were experiencing at the moment. It was acknowledged that their support was under pressure and steps were being taken to alleviate that pressure and address the communication with customers and support response time, as well as resolution of issues.

The users that were present didn't hold back in putting forward the problems with the product itself as of the recent versions as well as the current cost of the product.

It looked like Impero were taking all of this on board and I hope that, with enough users making a noise, something will be done to address any issues quickly and professionally.

 

Essentially, Impero is a great product and, as a long time user, I don't particularly want to move away from them.

[smithson83]

Their Support is alive, I can vouch for this, just received an email back from them...

 

Hi,

Unfortunately scheduled reports are bugged in 5210, it's a known issue and our developers are working to fix it in the upcoming release

Thanks

 

Ok, useful... thanks for the detailed and personal response...

[6Foot2]

Their Support is alive, I can vouch for this, just received an email back from them...

 

Hi, Unfortunately scheduled reports are bugged in 5210, it's a known issue and our developers are working to fix it in the upcoming release

Thanks

 

Ok, useful... thanks for the detailed and personal response...

 

I have had a similar response from the helpdesk after calling and leaving a message yesterday:

 

...Thank you for contacting Impero support. We're sorry you weren't able to speak to us on the phone, but we have picked up your voicemail and opened a case entitled Voicemail : Issues adding new machines since upgrade for your request. One of our customer service representatives will contact you as soon as possible.

 

Should you need to follow up on this case, please contact us with the following reference: ***-*****-******. We will do our best to resolve your query as soon as possible.

 

Kind regards,

 

The Impero team...

[smithson83]

Just wanted to Publicly say thanks to Impero for following up on my, possibly overly snotty, email (and gripe on here).

Just had a call, he guy was very polite and apologetic for the current situation. They have employed extra people, and hope to resolve the current problems asap.

 

So Thank You, and I wait in hope...

[Dan_Impero]

@smithson83, apologies you didn’t find our initial response satisfactory. I believe that Mic Sanderson, our new support manager, has just spoken with you on the phone and I appreciate your public thanks following the call.

 

@DaveP, the message you received yesterday is an automated response sent when we have been unable to take your call in a reasonable time frame and so you’ve been forwarded to voicemail. The purpose of the email is to make you aware a case has been logged and that we’ll respond as soon as possible, so you don’t need spend further time on hold waiting for us. We will be in touch as soon as possible to resolve the case.

 

We had a new support manager join us this week and he’s currently getting acquainted with the team and the business. Over the next couple of weeks we will send some support news to all of our customers which will give an update of upcoming changes and improvements to support, while also sharing the successes of the team. Please keep an eye out for the email.

 

Kind regards,

Daniel

[6Foot2]

...@DaveP, the message you received yesterday is an automated response sent when we have been unable to take your call in a reasonable time frame and so you’ve been forwarded to voicemail. The purpose of the email is to make you aware a case has been logged and that we’ll respond as soon as possible, so you don’t need spend further time on hold waiting for us. We will be in touch as soon as possible to resolve the case...

@Dan_Impero: My reply was not intended to be criticising Impero's support. I wanted to let other Edugeek users know that I had also [as well as @smithson83] received a reply from Impero when I had placed a request for help. Apologies if it came over as less than supportive.

 

DaveP.

[CHM-ITServices]

I have also had my issue resolved and Impero is back and functioning like the product i bought. It did take for me to publicly call them out on Twitter but to their credit they did respond and a support person did get in touch within a few hours.

 

Just a shame that it took this level of public slating for them to sit up and take note. Hopefully they have learnt and will continue to improve.

 

Fair play to them for acknowledging their faults, onwards and upwards!

[Boredguy]

Well they seem alive to me.

Thought I'd log a web support call to release the new version ready for the beginning of April and within 10 minutes I had a reply saying the licence was updated and how to download the files.

[Dan_Impero]

@Dan_Impero: My reply was not intended to be criticising Impero's support. I wanted to let other Edugeek users know that I had also [as well as @smithson83] received a reply from Impero when I had placed a request for help. Apologies if it came over as less than supportive.

 

DaveP.

 

Hi @DaveP,

 

Not a problem at all - just wanted to clarify the purpose of the email you received, as the voicemail acknowledgement email is a new process we've recently introduced. Glad to see that it's working in practice.

 

Thanks,

Daniel

[Dan_Impero]

I have also had my issue resolved and Impero is back and functioning like the product i bought. It did take for me to publicly call them out on Twitter but to their credit they did respond and a support person did get in touch within a few hours.

 

Just a shame that it took this level of public slating for them to sit up and take note. Hopefully they have learnt and will continue to improve.

 

Fair play to them for acknowledging their faults, onwards and upwards!

 

Hi @Jam_lane,

 

Glad to hear things are getting better for you. We certainly don't want customers to have to resort to social media to get a response - as you've hopefully seen in other posts we've been exceptionally busy lately and have taken measures to improve the situation (including additional staff), which should only increase the speed of response in the coming weeks.

 

Thanks,

Daniel

[Primus]

Have to say as someone considering Impero this is not looking good.

 

Your product is very expensive and yet your support is being roundly criticised - if you're going to charge premium prices then your support had better be good.

 

I was already concerned as to how expensive Impero is, this does nothing for you!

[Dan_Impero]

Have to say as someone considering Impero this is not looking good.

 

Your product is very expensive and yet your support is being roundly criticised - if you're going to charge premium prices then your support had better be good.

 

I was already concerned as to how expensive Impero is, this does nothing for you!

 

Hi @Primus,

 

We had a new support manager join us this week, Mic Sanderson, and I'd be happy to introduce you to him to help put your mind at rest. If you'd like to speak with him please email me your contact details to [email protected] and I'll ask him to give you a call.

 

Kind regards,

Daniel

[WithoutMotive]

Have to say as someone considering Impero this is not looking good.

 

Your product is very expensive and yet your support is being roundly criticised - if you're going to charge premium prices then your support had better be good.

 

I was already concerned as to how expensive Impero is, this does nothing for you!

Stick around. Impero have heard and are actively putting things in place to improve things. They realise they're not in customers' (or potential customers') good books at the moment so they're keen to turn things around.

[round2it]

why so many support calls? problem with the product? (and I totally agree with the comment earlier about not being able to get them off the phone when they are trying to sell the product, for me I have now told the receptionist to say I am not available as they are like a dog with a bone if you show any interest in the product.)

 

On a positive not it is good that they are listening to existing customers.