Corporate Murica
The “El Capitan” is Not Yet Compatible With Your Device
By Joel Hladecek
I signed up with a certain VOIP company that rhymes with “Tragic Frak” – one of the few that requires a USB dongle (hereafter referred to as “the device”) which became totally dysfunctional upon updating my Macs to El Capitan. Hey, it happens, and a software update from the VOIP company would fix it. But I became annoyed that a full month after El Cap was officially released publicly, the company had still not even acknowledged, anywhere on their site, that their product would not work on Apple’s current, major OS, let alone whether an update was pending, or what to do if your device stopped working due to incompatibility.
Like other companies whose corporate values occasionally vacillate – this one is nevertheless feigning support in public forums (Twitter etc.), but not, say, on the company’s website or support pages, which is where concerned users will go first.
For it’s also at this website where the decision to click the BUY BUTTON happens. And naturally there is a risk that prospective customers might not click the buy button if say, one discovered that one’s OS was currently unsupported, or that the company appeared to be uncoordinated and ineffectual. Both of which appear to be true in this case, so we can’t have that.
Selfish, or weak, and sometimes both. Those are the only two root causes of every usability issue on the entire web.
Selfish, or weak, and sometimes both. Those are the only two root causes of every usability issue on the entire web.
“So”, the thinking goes, “we’re working as hard as we can on the update – it will be out, well, soon we hope please God, and it would sure be better to keep the product’s proposition appearing squeaky clean in the meantime, wouldn’t it? Why dirty the sales website with current compatibility problems? But let’s make a public show of being supportive on Twitter with those few agitated customers who publicly take us to task. And hopefully there won’t be many.”
When companies I’m engaged with provide poor customer service, and then do their best to limit their expense and exposure by being deceptive, virtually dead-ending feedback on their site or utilizing weak or insufficient support channels, in short, making my life more difficult, I enjoy rooting out any cost-center they may have (sales associates are fun to call because they ALWAYS answer the phone) and making them spend money or getting them to acknowledge their weakness.
Thus the following is my virtually unnecessary, but telling, web chat with a support representative from the afore mentioned VOIP company. To protect his identity, I’ll change the rep’s name to “Dickhead”:
Chat Window
Status: Connected
Dickhead: Hi, my name is Dickhead. How may I help you?
Joel: Hi Dickhead. I’m Joel, and I need some help! I carefully checked your site for any warnings or notices about upgrading OS X to El Capitan and found none (your information shows to have been updated very recently), so I naturally trusted that your product was current and I updated my system. Now my (DEVICE) no longer works. Is the OS seriously unsupported? Or is there some other issue I missed?
Dickhead: I see
Dickhead: Unfortunately The “El Capitan ” is not yet compatible with your device.
Joel:Oh no. It’s the el capitan’s “the el capitan’s” fault?
Dickhead: As of now we are still working on it to make the device be compatible on your “El Capitan “.
Joel:Why haven’t you warned users that your product isn’t current? That would have saved me. I depend on this service as my international phone (per your marketing). No one can reach me now.
Dickhead: Okay
Dickhead: Actually it it’s Because it is a newer Version of Mac So that our higher department will work on it for the devices will be compatible .
Joel:That doesn’t answer my question. Though I’m greatly reassured that your higher department will work on it. At the same time I’m a bit concerned that you didn’t say your “highest department” will work on it. But I take it that’s still better than the rest of your departments. Unless by “higher” you mean that they do drugs more often, which I find never helps when writing code – now that I think about it, that could explain the delay in the update. Do your other teams know that you refer to them as “lower”? Or is it “sober”?
Joel:Anyway, I must ask again, why haven’t you warned people who might buy your product – or who might update OS X – that the device will not work – since we have now established that you know it won’t?
Dickhead: I understand how you feel right now Joel , For us we are unexpected for the Upgrade of the OS of the Mac , So that we have to make some move also to make the devices to be compatible on the Newest Version .
Joel:So… I think you’re saying that you never expected Apple to upgrade OS X(?) Indeed that they upgraded it so suddenly that you could not possibly have been expected to maintain compatibility?But then, it’s been out for a month and Apple released a beta version of the OS to developers (like yourself) several months prior. So surely it’s stretching a bit to classify this entirely as “unexpected”. So why is there not at least a statement on your site that the device won’t work?
Dickhead: Okay
Joel:…? When is the update scheduled to be released?
Dickhead: As of now we do not have an exact time frame on it , But as soon as the Upate will be done you will know about it .
Joel: Well, that’s something. I’ll tell the people trying to call me. Oh wait – I don’t have a phone. So will you return the fees I paid for the time period that my phone has been made inoperable by your not keeping up with major OS updates? My device has been dysfunctional for one month to the day.
Dickhead: Unfortunately no .
Joel:… So you’re selling a defective product – but aren’t taking responsibility for that?
Dickhead: we are not selling a defective device the only Problem here is the compatibility of the device through your Mac .
Joel:Ah. Sorry. Ok, that makes more sense. So it works, but it’s incompatible, so it doesn’t work. Incidentally, on your FAQ under the specific question of Mac compatibility, you state: “YES. (THE VOIP DEVICE) is compatible with Intel-based Macs.” Had you added “…except for anyone running El Capitan which our dev team has been staring at stoned for 5 months” you would have saved me a serious headache. I should add that this specific FAQ answer shows that it was updated on Oct 16, 2015, more than two weeks after El Capitan was officially released – which itself followed 4 months of developer betas, which I assume you had access to. And I can find no other or contrary mention of the topic of OS X compatibility anywhere else on your site
Dickhead: I understand how you feel right now Joel .
Joel: Why is there no mention of the fact that your product is currently dysfunctional with the latest major release of OS X – anywhere on your site?
Dickhead: One moment please…
Dickhead: As per terms of service We reserve the right to modify the Services and Associated Software, temporarily or permanently, with or without notice or liability to you.
Joel: Whoa, Dude seriously? This… sounds like a last resort. When you took that “moment” did you like, have to get someone to turn a second key to launch that? But you know, bravo, very convenient term of service BTW! Setting aside the fact that it intimates you did this on purpose, it means you literally don’t have to provide a paying customer with, well, anything whatsoever, right? Sweet gig I guess. Hey, I know! That line should totally be on your home page under “Our Guarantee”. I bet everyone will buy your product then.
Dickhead: I believe that I have already provided you all the information needed; I would like to ask permission to end this conversation with you. Thank you.
Joel: Actually I
Dickhead has disconnected.
And who can blame him?
The post The “El Capitan” is Not Yet Compatible With Your Device appeared first on The Interactivist.
November 2, 2015 at 07:22PM
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