Confusing Customer Support

[OldSchoolNinja]

Gentlemen,

Forgive me but I seem to have missed the boat on customer support for my two recently purchased Corel products. The Corel web site refers users to these forums for assistance with Corel products. I had assumed that these boards were run and staffed by Corel customer service but that appears not to be the case. I have tried to follow the procedures outlined for accessing support but it seems to be a never ending cul de sac. Many links are broken and some areas of the forums are off limits because I don't have permission to access them though I am registered. Other posts are locked and many of them are very old. There doesn't seem to be a great deal on VSPX5 on the forums which isn't surprising as I assume it's a new product. Given that it seems that these forums are not particulalrly helpful in my case. I cannot find any contact information directly to Corel customer service or technicians.

Please don't get me wrong, forums and FAQs can be very useful tools but I simply not finding any answers here. Most likely I have missed a link or something to "real" customer support. It is getting a bit frustrating. I appreciate the job the moderators do and I know it's not easy. My point is if I buy a new car and have questions/concerns/issues with it I go back to the dealer that I bought it from. I don't go online to forums or to a guy don't the street that has the same car and ask them to help me resolve my issues. Am I missing something here because on the surface it seems that's what is happening.

My apologies if I am mistaken and have missed something along the way. I've spent alot of time trying to understand this system and I still don't.

Sincerely,

Old School Ninja

[BrianCee]

Much of what you say is true and complaints regarding Corel customer support often appear in these forums, the only thing I can do in that respect is refer you to this web page :- http://www.corel.com/corel/pages/index.jsp?pgid=800034

which offers links to technical support and a link to tell Corel what you think of that support.

As you have noticed - although Corel provide the hosting for these forums no one from Corel posts here in an official capacity, we do have one or two employees posting in their own time - we are not even sure any officials read these forums. One Corel employee drops in regularly and changes the banner advert at the top but we do not know who he is or what his function in Corel is - probably in marketing.

As for the majority of us we are all unpaid and do it because we think VideoStudio is an excellent programme despite customer support and want people to use it and enjoy it as much as we do..

I am a little concerned about your comment regarding the forums though - what areas specifically do you think exist that you cannot access you should be able to access all public areas without problem.

I also cannot understand your comment about references to VSX5 - there are hundreds of posts regarding X5 which is now approaching one year old - there are also hundreds of posts about previous versions many of which apply to X5 as well.

Very very few topics are locked - it is not something we do specifically - usually only for announcements etc that we do not want general posts added to - and occasionally if a duplicate post has been made which for various reasons cannot be deleted or moved.

If you could be specific about areas of the forums that you have problems with I will do what I can to sort them.

[OldSchoolNinja]

Brian,

Thank you for your response and explanation. I really have tried (and always do) to follow all forum rules. That usually means reading through the rather dry forum rules etc but I do it. This is where I ran into my first denial - Web Board Rules. It still says I do not have the permissions required to read any of the posts. That was the one that really stuck out as it was the first one I went to. There were others but to be honest I was navigating throughout the site and cannot recall the other three or four specifically.

Your answer explains a lot and I think I see the problem here. In my humble opinion the Corel home page definitely gives the impression that these boards are "officially" supported by Corel and virtually any issues can be raised with Corel here. This puts the admins in the frying pan as it were because I think most people come here with that impression that you ARE Corel support. In reality these forums are basically fellow user and enthusiast forums and that's great. People can learn a lot here as far as tips/techniques for their creations and some common minor issues but I still don't think the average person would consider that "official" Corel support.

My point is Brian I think you guys probably deal with alot of heat you shouldn't have to. It would be nice if Corel made it clear that these forums are not "official" support nor are they customer service in any way. I think it all boils down to a matter of expectations. Now that I know the situation I understand the plusses and minuses of these forums. I just wish you guys didn't get as much negativity as you do. A big salute to you and the other admins who try and help in spite of the dynamic. I do plan on coming back for some tips and tricks in VSPX5 - it is a pretty awesome program.

Sincerely,

Old School Ninja

[canuck]

Where does its state that you do "not have the permissions required to read any of the posts"?
Obviously you have permission since you read Brian's post

[BrianCee]

Thank you for your response and explanation. I really have tried (and always do) to follow all forum rules. That usually means reading through the rather dry forum rules etc but I do it. This is where I ran into my first denial - Web Board Rules. It still says I do not have the permissions required to read any of the posts. That was the one that really stuck out as it was the first one I went to. There were others but to be honest I was navigating throughout the site and cannot recall the other three or four specifically.

Perhaps you could take a screen shot or at least be specific about when you get the denial - because even as a non-registered guest visitor on my wifes computer I can read every single post - certainly all the ones in the Web Board Rules rules.


Anyone else having problems reading any posts as a registered and logged in user ?

[OldSchoolNinja]

Brian,

See attached. If that's too small - here is the text pasted:

Web Board Rules
Please read and abide by the rules listed here

You do not have the required permissions to read topics within this forum. Jump to: Select a forum ------------------ Important Information - New members please read Contacting Admin and new Account Activation Procedures Web Board Rules Please Read This Before Posting & FAQ's Promotions Corel Information Popular Products VideoStudio MovieFactory 7 SE Paint Shop Pro AfterShot Pro General Questions & Getting Started Bugs & Suggestions Tips, Tricks, and Results AfterShot Pro Plugins DVD MovieFactory Motion Studio 3D WinDVD PhotoImpact DVD Workshop Other Corel Software Photo Explorer Photo Express MediaStudio Pro Corel Digital Studio 2010 GIF Animator & Web Utilities CD&DVD Picture Show Cool 3D / Cool 3DPS General Discussion General Information & Downloads Member's Samples VIDEO & DVD Forum Chat IMAGING Microsoft Vista / Windows 7 Corel Forums Web Ring Forum Tutorials VIDEO Product Tutorials DVD Product Tutorials IMAGING & WEB Product Tutorials COMBINATION Photography Class Competitions Competition
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Hope this helps,

Old School Ninja

[canuck]

Ok, I now see what you mean.

I also get the "you don't have permission .." when I click on the "Web Forum Rules"

[canuck]

Thank you for your response and explanation. I really have tried (and always do) to follow all forum rules. That usually means reading through the rather dry forum rules etc but I do it. This is where I ran into my first denial - Web Board Rules. It still says I do not have the permissions required to read any of the posts. That was the one that really stuck out as it was the first one I went to. There were others but to be honest I was navigating throughout the site and cannot recall the other three or four specifically.

Perhaps you could take a screen shot or at least be specific about when you get the denial - because even as a non-registered guest visitor on my wifes computer I can read every single post - certainly all the ones in the Web Board Rules rules.


Anyone else having problems reading any posts as a registered and logged in user ?

I get the same "don't have permission" message as "oldNinja" when I click on the "Web Forum Rules" forum.

[canuck]

Thank you for your response and explanation. I really have tried (and always do) to follow all forum rules. That usually means reading through the rather dry forum rules etc but I do it. This is where I ran into my first denial - Web Board Rules. It still says I do not have the permissions required to read any of the posts. That was the one that really stuck out as it was the first one I went to. There were others but to be honest I was navigating throughout the site and cannot recall the other three or four specifically.

Perhaps you could take a screen shot or at least be specific about when you get the denial - because even as a non-registered guest visitor on my wifes computer I can read every single post - certainly all the ones in the Web Board Rules rules.


Anyone else having problems reading any posts as a registered and logged in user ?

Yes I get the same message as oldNinja

[BrianCee]

I'll have a look at the permissions for that topic


EDIT - OK I've reset the permissions - I don't know what happened there but as far as I can tell it is working as it should now - if you could check it out and let me know I'd be grateful.

My apologies for the confusion and thank you for raising the issue.


Thank you

[OldSchoolNinja]

Brian,

It works now I appreciate your help. If this is the worst of my problems I consider myself a lucky man. BTW I did manage to contact Corel CS through the link you provided and they are assisting me in resolving my issue. Mnay thanks.

To Canuck - It's Old SCHOOL Ninja not OLD Ninja

Sincerely,

Od School Ninja

[canuck]

Brian, it is working for me also.

Old School Ninja, sorry about the "Old Ninja"
BTW, I am not the only one making an error. I notice you signed your post as "Od School Ninja"