Corporate Murica<\/p>\n
The \u201cEl Capitan\u201d is Not Yet Compatible With Your Device<\/b>
\nBy Joel Hladecek<\/p>\n
I signed up with a certain VOIP company that rhymes with \u201cTragic Frak\u201d \u2013 one of the few that requires a USB dongle (hereafter referred to as \u201cthe device\u201d) which became totally dysfunctional upon updating my Macs to El Capitan. \u00a0Hey, it happens, and a software update from the VOIP company would\u00a0fix it. \u00a0But 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\u2019s\u00a0current, major OS, let alone whether an update was pending, or what to do if your device stopped working due to incompatibility.<\/p>\n
Like other companies whose corporate values\u00a0occasionally vacillate \u2013 this one\u00a0is nevertheless feigning support\u00a0in public forums (Twitter etc.), but\u00a0not, say, on the company\u2019s website or support pages, which is where concerned\u00a0users will go first.<\/p>\n
For it\u2019s also at this\u00a0website where the decision to click the BUY BUTTON\u00a0happens. \u00a0And naturally there is a risk that prospective customers might not click the buy button\u00a0if say, one discovered that one\u2019s\u00a0OS was currently unsupported, or that the company appeared to be\u00a0uncoordinated and ineffectual. Both of which appear to be\u00a0true in this case, so we can\u2019t have that.<\/p>\n
Selfish, or weak, and sometimes both. Those are the only two root causes of every usability issue\u00a0on the entire web.<\/p>\n
\nSelfish, or weak, and sometimes both. Those are the only two root causes of every usability issue\u00a0on the entire web.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\u201cSo\u201d, the thinking goes, \u201cwe\u2019re working as hard as we can on the update \u2013 it will be out, well, soon we hope please God, and it\u00a0would sure be\u00a0better to keep the product\u2019s proposition\u00a0appearing squeaky clean in the meantime, wouldn\u2019t it? Why dirty the sales website\u00a0with current compatibility problems? \u00a0But let\u2019s make a public\u00a0show of being supportive on Twitter with\u00a0those few agitated\u00a0customers who publicly\u00a0take us\u00a0to task. \u00a0And hopefully there\u00a0won\u2019t be many.\u201d<\/p>\n
When companies I\u2019m 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\u00a0support channels, in short,\u00a0making my life more difficult, I enjoy\u00a0rooting out any\u00a0cost-center they may have (sales associates are\u00a0fun to call because they ALWAYS answer the phone) and making them spend money or getting them to acknowledge their weakness.<\/p>\n
Thus the following is my virtually unnecessary, but telling, web chat with a support representative from the afore mentioned VOIP company. \u00a0To protect his identity, I\u2019ll change the rep\u2019s\u00a0name to \u201cDickhead\u201d:<\/p>\n
Chat Window<\/em><\/span>
Status: \u00a0Connected<\/em><\/span><\/p>\nDickhead:<\/em><\/strong> Hi, my name is Dickhead. How may I help you?<\/span><\/p>\n
Joel:<\/em><\/strong> Hi Dickhead. \u00a0I\u2019m Joel, and I need some help! \u00a0I 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\u00a0your product\u00a0was 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?<\/span><\/p>\n
Dickhead:<\/em><\/strong> I see<\/span>
Dickhead:<\/em><\/strong> Unfortunately The \u201cEl Capitan \u201d is not yet compatible with your device.<\/span><\/p>\nJoel:<\/em><\/strong>Oh no. \u00a0It\u2019s the el capitan\u2019s<\/ins>
\u201cthe el capitan\u2019s\u201d<\/del> fault? \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nDickhead:<\/em><\/strong> As of now we are still working on it to make the device be compatible on your \u201cEl Capitan \u201c.<\/span><\/p>\n
Joel:<\/em><\/strong>Why haven\u2019t\u00a0you warned users\u00a0that your product isn\u2019t\u00a0current? That would have saved me. I depend on this service as my international\u00a0phone (per your marketing). No one can reach me now.<\/span><\/p>\n
Dickhead:<\/em><\/strong> Okay<\/span>
Dickhead:<\/em><\/strong> Actually it it\u2019s Because it is a newer Version of Mac So that our higher department will work on it for the devices will be compatible .<\/span><\/p>\nJoel:<\/em><\/strong>That doesn\u2019t answer my question. \u00a0Though I\u2019m greatly reassured that your higher department will work on it. At the same time I\u2019m a bit concerned that you didn\u2019t say your \u201chighest department\u201d will work on it. But I take it that\u2019s still better than the rest of your departments. \u00a0Unless by \u201chigher\u201d you mean that they do\u00a0drugs more often, which I find never helps when\u00a0writing code\u00a0\u2013 now that I think about it, that could\u00a0explain the delay in the update. \u00a0Do your\u00a0other teams know\u00a0that you refer to\u00a0them as \u201clower\u201d? \u00a0Or is it \u201csober\u201d?<\/span>
Joel:<\/em><\/strong>Anyway,\u00a0\u00a0I must ask again, why haven\u2019t you warned people who might buy your product \u2013 or who might update OS X \u2013 that the device\u00a0will not work\u00a0\u2013 since we have now established that you know it won\u2019t?<\/span><\/p>\nDickhead:<\/em><\/strong> 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 .<\/span><\/p>\n
Joel:<\/em><\/strong>So\u2026\u00a0<\/span>I think you\u2019re saying that you never\u00a0expected Apple to upgrade\u00a0OS X(?) Indeed that\u00a0they upgraded it\u00a0so suddenly that you could not possibly have been expected to maintain compatibility?<\/span>But then, it\u2019s been out for a month and Apple released a beta version of the OS to developers (like yourself) several months prior. So surely it\u2019s stretching a bit to classify this\u00a0entirely\u00a0as \u00a0\u201cunexpected\u201d. So why is there not at least a statement\u00a0on your site that the device won\u2019t work?<\/span><\/p>\n
Dickhead<\/strong>:<\/em> Okay<\/span><\/p>\n
Joel:<\/em><\/strong>\u2026? \u00a0When is the update scheduled to be released?<\/span><\/p>\n
Dickhead:<\/em><\/strong> 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 .<\/span><\/p>\n
Joel:<\/em><\/strong> Well, that\u2019s something. I\u2019ll tell the people trying to call me. Oh wait \u2013 I don\u2019t have a phone. \u00a0So will you return the fees I paid for the time period that my phone\u00a0has been made inoperable by your not keeping up with major OS updates? My device has been\u00a0dysfunctional for one month to the day.<\/span><\/p>\n
Dickhead:<\/em><\/strong> Unfortunately no .<\/span><\/p>\n
Joel:<\/em><\/strong>\u2026 \u00a0<\/span>So you\u2019re selling a defective product \u2013 but aren\u2019t taking responsibility for that?<\/span><\/p>\n
Dickhead:<\/em><\/strong> we are not selling a defective device the only Problem here is the compatibility of the device through your Mac .<\/span><\/p>\n
Joel:<\/em><\/strong>Ah. Sorry. \u00a0Ok, that makes more sense. \u00a0So it works, but it\u2019s incompatible, so it doesn\u2019t work. Incidentally, on your FAQ under the specific question of Mac compatibility, you state: \u201cYES. (THE VOIP DEVICE) is compatible with Intel-based Macs.\u201d Had you added \u201c\u2026except for anyone running El Capitan which our dev team has been staring at stoned for 5 months\u201d you would have saved me a serious headache.\u00a0I should add that\u00a0this\u00a0specific FAQ answer shows that it\u00a0was updated on Oct\u00a016, 2015, more than two weeks after El Capitan was officially released \u2013 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<\/span><\/p>\n
Dickhead:<\/em><\/strong> I understand how you feel right now Joel .<\/span><\/p>\n
Joel:<\/strong> Why is there no mention of the fact that your product is currently dysfunctional with\u00a0the latest major release of OS X \u2013 anywhere on your site?<\/span><\/p>\n
Dickhead:<\/em><\/strong> One moment please\u2026<\/span>
Dickhead:<\/em><\/strong> 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.<\/span><\/p>\nJoel:<\/em><\/strong> Whoa, Dude seriously? \u00a0This\u2026 sounds like a last resort.\u00a0When you took that \u201cmoment\u201d did you like, have to get someone to turn\u00a0a second key to launch\u00a0that? But you know, bravo, very convenient term of service BTW! Setting aside the fact that it intimates you did this\u00a0on purpose, it means you literally don\u2019t have to provide a paying customer with, well, anything whatsoever, right? Sweet gig I guess. Hey,\u00a0I know!\u00a0\u00a0That line should totally be on your home page under \u201cOur Guarantee\u201d. \u00a0I bet everyone will buy your product\u00a0then.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
Dickhead:<\/em><\/strong> 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.<\/span><\/p>\n
Joel:<\/em><\/strong> Actually I\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
Dickhead has disconnected.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n
And who can blame him?<\/p>\n
The post The \u201cEl Capitan\u201d is Not Yet Compatible With Your Device<\/a> appeared first on The Interactivist<\/a>.<\/p>\n
November 2, 2015 at 07:22PM
\nvia The Interactivist http:\/\/ift.tt\/1SLSimH<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Corporate Murica The \u201cEl Capitan\u201d is Not Yet Compatible With Your Device By Joel Hladecek I signed up with a certain VOIP company that rhymes with \u201cTragic Frak\u201d \u2013 one of the few that requires a USB dongle (hereafter referred … Continue reading