I've been the sole sysadmin in my company for several years, managing a considerable number of on-prem servers and services. In the past five years, I've only contacted vendor support about ten times, primarily for server parts covered under maintenance agreements. Every time I requested on-site service, the techs arrived unprepared and inexperienced with our specific systems, leaving me to supervise their work and ultimately leading me to ask for just parts instead. Our setups are primarily Dell, and while we have both Dell and third-party service agreements, Dell's support has been particularly frustrating. Their call centers have poor audio quality, making communication difficult, so I've stopped reaching out altogether. When it comes to software support, I frequently find myself documenting issues in detail only to receive replies asking me to do steps I've already completed. It often feels like I'm wasting more time writing emails than it would take to troubleshoot the problems myself. Given all this, I've almost entirely stopped seeking support. What's the purpose of it if I always end up doing the work myself? Am I the only one experiencing this? Are there effective ways to improve vendor support?
5 Answers
You're definitely not alone in this. Many of us have similar experiences with vendors. It's often a pain dealing with their support, and sometimes it feels more like a liability to have them than an asset. In my case, we mainly use support for critical issues where we need documented evidence that we've contacted them in case something goes south. To be honest, I often fix most issues myself after trying to navigate their support maze.
Totally agree! It just feels like they aren't really invested in actually helping.
Honestly, I’ve given up on relying on support entirely for most software issues. I often start a ticket but usually solve it before they can respond. It feels like just keeping them in the loop helps me keep the SLA clock ticking. I just wish they had better processes to deal with real issues instead of basic troubleshooting.
That's smart! I do the same sometimes, just to make sure the clock keeps running.
Right? It's a race to see who can resolve things first.
I think much of this boils down to the contract you have. If you're a high-tier customer, you might get better support, but if not, you'll likely face the same issues you're experiencing. Honestly, I rarely turn to external support unless absolutely necessary. We've found in-house solutions work out better most of the time, especially with the quality of support becoming more hit-or-miss lately.
Agreed, it’s frustrating how much it feels like a gamble. Sometimes I’m just on my own.
Exactly! It's all about the priority level with these vendors. I wish there was a more consistent quality.
I've experienced a lot of the same. With hardware, I find that having spare parts on hand is way better than relying on vendor support. If you keep a good stash of parts, you can fix things much quicker yourself instead of waiting for techs who sometimes show up with the wrong gear. For critical systems, having a vendor around can be handy, but more often than not, we've been frustrated by the long wait times and the techs' lack of familiarity with our equipment.
Right? It's often just faster to DIY when you have the parts.
Exactly! I'd rather swap out a part myself than spend hours waiting for someone who isn't even sure what they're doing.
Given everything you’ve described, it seems to vary hugely between vendors. Some offer fantastic support, while others just don’t seem to get it. Building a relationship with your account manager can be key, as they can often help escalate tickets that are falling through the cracks. But wow, the overall support experience seems to be steadily going downhill lately.
Absolutely! It's shocking how inconsistent it can be.
Building those relationships is super important. Too many times I've felt like I'm yelling into the void otherwise.
That makes total sense. Some companies really just do the bare minimum when it comes to support. It's kind of sad when you think about it.