Total Frustration With Adobe Support!

Question

Just a rant about current practices at Adobe......
Adobe's new flagship Photoshop CS4 Extended is hyped as the "Cat's Meow" of photo editing and graphics software. It has some of the most advanced features available including 3D, hardware rendering, advanced stacking, HDR, etc., etc., etc. It actually may be the most fantastic editing software anywhere! But, you can't prove it by me.... Not yet, and maybe not ever....
I can't install it! I have attempted to put it on two of my systems. One a Dell, the other a Gateway. Each has Win XP Home edition. After over six hours of install, uninstall, upgrade video drivers, download 814 megabyte files "twice," install Windows Service Pack 3, etc., etc., I finally called Adobe Support only to be totally disappointed with the non-support.
First, I am subjected to a lengthy wait listening to loud, bad, music loops. Next I'm connected to a "support" person, apparently in India or Pakistan with an accent making it very difficult to understand his "English." He wasn't at all interested in learning about "where" the installation had failed, but just wanted to shovel me off to download a "Windows Cleaner" and "CS4 Cleanup Script." He informed me that I may have to uninstall "ALL ADOBE PRODUCTS" before installing the CS4 Extended Trial.
Now the above statement is just plain stupid, especially from an Adobe representative! Try Adobe Flash, Photoshop versions 5, 7 and CS each complete with dozens of plug-ins, hundreds of actions, specialized settings, etc. How about Adobe Frame Maker with hundreds of projects, Adobe Quick Time, Adobe Encore, Adobe Premier, etc., etc., all with myriad data, plugins, etc. We're talking weeks of reinstall or a complete reinstall of the disk which would, of course, wipe out CS4 EXtended (if it were ever installed - LOL).
So after once again uninstalling the remnants of CS4, installing and running the Win cleanup and CS4 cleanup and reinstall of CS4 Extended - guess what? Yep, failed at exactly the same point - the installation of "Adobe Media Player."
I've wasted two days on simply trying to evaluate CS4 Extended. I've installed a service pack I didn't want or need. I've completely lost Flash thanks to the CS4 Cleanup script and still have no CS4 trial installation. I'm writing this while again listening to bad, loud music loops (for the past 45 minutes).
Listen up Adobe - I've spend many, many thousands of dollars with your company and deserve better treatment. Will I purchase CS4 Extended? It's not likely and becoming less likely with every bar of bad, loud, music loop. Do you actually want to sell your products? Then get some knowledgeable technical support people who can help sort out issues like this and make them available. Don't have some 1st level "support" dweeb who speaks the native language of the country where the support is to be given with an accent so strong that it's impossible for a native speaker to understand. Don't have someone who insults the intelligence of the potential customer with silly statements. In addition to the statement about possibly removing "all Adobe" software before the install, he make the mistake of telling me that this was only "Trial Software" an therefore not necessarily a "stable" and trouble free version. I had to remind him that Adobe states that you simply pay for then receive the unlock code and this "unstable" trial version becomes the "real" and "very expensive" CS4 release version! Give me a break already!!
End rant..... Beware. If you order CS4 maybe you should download the trial version first and be certain it will install and run on your system. I hope you have better luck than I've had.
Best regars,
Lin Evans
303-776-8897
[email protected]

Answer 1

Hi Marian,
Assuming Adobe actually "reads" the forum, I believe that my statement
was appropriate since there are few, if any, other viable ways of
actually getting the message to them. "Support" is terrible unless one
can get to second tier and that's only available usually "after" you
have spent your money and discovered the issues. It certainly has not
"always" been like this. In the old days one actually could speak with a
"technical" support person and didn't have to jump through the hoops
with inexperienced first tier people who know just enough to be
dangerous!  Of course it's more difficult in trying economic times and
taking support off-shore is common to a huge number of U.S. companies
with varying degrees of success.  I'm certain that many simple question
could be answered in such a fashion, but not all and though forums like
this are very helpful, users also frequently do not have all the
information necessary to help resolve technical issues.
It is indeed the "trial version" which I downloaded (twice) and with
which I'm having the problems. The solution offered on this forum did
indeed get CS4 Extended on my system. Unfortunately, without the Adobe
Media Player which may, or may not be of significant importance which is
yet to be determined.
Yes, I'm a user of  "many" Adobe Products since there has been an Adobe
company, and a user of Photoshop since the first release. My sole
purpose for CS4 Extended is for the 3D output. Otherwise CS works just
fine. I'm not really influenced by marketing, only interested in the 3D
output to video. I write tutorials and templates, for a presentation
slideshow software with which  I prepare image "objects" by using chroma
key software to create individual frames from video and animate as still
objects. Having a way to easily output cubes, cones, or other 3D
objects, etc., with chroma key green or blue backdrops is important to
me. CS4 Extended has this feature which I need, and I don't know of
other software presently available and which will fit into my workflow.
Photoshop CS works fine for the majority of my photo and graphic
manipulation, but it doesn't have this new and useful feature which I need.
I'm not upset with Adobe marketing - they actually pretty much advertise
truthfully in this case. Nothing which I've heard or seen from Marketing
at Adobe has really stretched the truth beyond credibility. I am upset
with Adobe's support service. It's gotten progressively worse over the
years and the arrogance has multiplied. There's an old saying which
somehow rings true here: you get what you pay for. One good technical
support person is worth half a dozen of what I'm seeing off-shore. They
are underpaid, inexperienced and generally (in my experience) short and
arrogant with potential customers. This isn't good for business. CS4
Extended is a comparatively expensive  investment and Adobe should go
out of their way to help facilitate the installation and use of their
trial versions. After all, that's what will eventually convince the
majority of people to buy or not.
Best regards,
Lin