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STREAMLINES....Dead or Alive?

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    #31
    Peter, complete agreement...
    Especially about forgiveness of sins for the generous repaint policy and,
    ...there'd be no point SWReg offering the extended download if SLI/TS were going to hand out replacements when needed. It's a little like not taking out insurance on your home...
    I never buy the extended downloads, but I keep redundant backups, also all originals are stored offline, unplugged, on a couple of different media...that extends to all the payware I purchase. Periodically, offline stuff is updated. That includes the security codes for all merchandise - multiple backups there also.

    This method of working has saved my caboose, takes a little work - but it is worth it.
    Last edited by R. Steele; 03-22-2017, 00:44.
    Cheers, Gerry
    "A mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work if it is not open." Frank Zappa
    It's my railroad and I'll do what I want! Historically accurate attitude of US Railroad Barons.
    Forever, ridin' drag in railroad knowledge.
    Audi, Vide, Tace, Si Vis Vivere In Pace

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      #32
      Originally posted by R. Steele View Post
      I never buy the extended downloads, but I keep redundant backups, also all originals are stored offline, unplugged, on a couple of different media...that extends to all the payware I purchase. Periodically, offline stuff is updated. That includes the security codes for all merchandise - multiple backups there also.
      This, right here, should really be a personal standard for anyone that chooses to invest in payware content.


      As for TS/SLI's overall product quality, I've been quite impressed with the products that they have been putting out so far. Granted, though, it's not quite as good now as it was for me when I first discovered the reals of MSTS payware almost two years ago, and I've found myself making adjustment to various sound files and smoke/braking values, which can get really cumbersome the more I find something that seems the least bit off-putting to me. Then again, given the stuff I've had to deal with in the real world, this is a problem that I'm kind of happy to have.

      I sure wish I could say the same for their customer support. I submitted a support ticket for a question regarding the 1990's Southwest Chief Add-on (before all of their sets were consolidated) about some missing files for the activity included for their ATSF Seligman Sub route. It's been nearly 15 months, and I still haven't heard back from them. I'm sure I will find or make a fix for that problem by myself, but there comes a point where one shouldn't have to do that in the first place. I haven't needed to ask anything of BLW/ZT or DW, but from my own experience, a vendor like 3DTrains would surely serve as a good role model for TS's customer support.

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        #33
        Originally posted by eric View Post
        As for keycodes... those were emailed to you, so if you never delete emails, you'd still have them.
        Understood, but I think you missed the part where I mentioned the HDD crashed. A crashed HDD makes it hard to recover those types of e-mails, doesn't it? Or is there a way to recover that stuff without paying $$$ to some computer repair shop? Honest question, because there is stuff I wouldn't mind pulling off that HDD.

        I am normally very diligent in saving keycodes to a Word doc and backing up on an external HDD upon receipt, but one must have slipped through the cracks.

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          #34
          Originally posted by crstagg View Post
          No, Eric, it is not "fair." Just because SLI/TS uses SWREG that does not give them the right to ignore a customers request for help. At a minimum they should respond to his email with instructions on how to contact SWREG.
          This....just....this. Thank you!!!

          If they would have at least responded and told me that a.) I needed to contact SWREG and b.) how to do it, I would have been quite satisfied. Instead I ended up paying for the same set twice. Not a huge deal in terms of the dollars, but a bigger deal in terms of the principle of the matter.

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            #35
            Originally posted by kknobl View Post
            Understood, but I think you missed the part where I mentioned the HDD crashed. A crashed HDD makes it hard to recover those types of e-mails, doesn't it? Or is there a way to recover that stuff without paying $$$ to some computer repair shop? Honest question, because there is stuff I wouldn't mind pulling off that HDD.i

            I am normally very diligent in saving keycodes to a Word doc and backing up on an external HDD upon receipt, but one must have slipped through the cracks.
            If you're using a mail provider like Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo, you don't need to worry about hard drive. Just leave the emails in your inbox... I've yet to meet anyone who has exceeded their mailbox limit on those three providers.

            The bigger issue... you and others seem to be holding fellow hobbyists who sell their models to the same standard you would an Amazon or a another for-profit company... you're not paying for lifetime support, and might want to be a little more realistic in your expectations. I don't expect a warranty from something I buy on Craigslist or a garage sale... buying payware from an internet storefront is no different once you get past the initial sale.
            If you like what you see here at Trainsim.com, be it the discussions and knowledge in the forums, items saved in our library or the ongoing development of our TSRE Fork, I hope you'll consider a paid membership to help support keeping the site operating.... Thanks!

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              #36
              Eric,
              You and others seem to be hung-up on this remembering, loosing keycode business and ignoring problems like the one posted by Jstrukn (post #24).

              To summarize his post:
              - He bought the Mactier CP Trainset from SLI/TrainSimulations
              - He found errors, then found that there was a patch.
              - He downloaded the patch. But what he did not state was the patch download was from http://www.trainsimulations.net/downloads.html
              not from SWREG. Also on the download page is this statement "Please Note: You will be required to enter the keycode you received with your original purchase before installing this update."
              - He found that his keycode would not work to install the patch
              - He sent TWO emails to SLI/TrainSimulations asking for help and received no replies.

              And you think it is "unfair" to state that SI/TrainSimulations' product support is non-existant? BS

              Jstrukn needs help installing the Macatier Trainset patch. Who is going to help him?
              Charles

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                #37
                When it comes to keycodes, I always do a copy of the entire code (from the email), and paste (into the installer form), I don't ever re-type it out manually. That generally avoids errors of reading a O as a 0 and the like.
                My Open Rails videos https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClc...1kBPO2A/videos

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                  #38
                  Originally posted by eric View Post
                  If you're using a mail provider like Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo, you don't need to worry about hard drive. Just leave the emails in your inbox... I've yet to meet anyone who has exceeded their mailbox limit on those three providers.

                  The bigger issue... you and others seem to be holding fellow hobbyists who sell their models to the same standard you would an Amazon or a another for-profit company... you're not paying for lifetime support, and might want to be a little more realistic in your expectations. I don't expect a warranty from something I buy on Craigslist or a garage sale... buying payware from an internet storefront is no different once you get past the initial sale.
                  I guess I am missing the point as to why this is such a huge issue for you. I simply made a comment that I too have had similar experiences with customer service being non-existent at SLI/TS. My primary e-mail address is one that I've had since 1999 - and its none of the providers you mention.

                  I don't want to change it for reasons of my own.

                  And I just have to beg one favor of you. Can you explain how in the world is expecting a simple one or two sentence "You need to contact SWREG. You can do so through XYZ." expecting too much? If they are charging a fee for a product or service, they should be held to some kind of reasonable standard with respect to customer service. I am *not* saying I need or think lifetime product support is a reasonable expectation. I get that it's a hobby, but once you start taking money from people, it is a business and with that goes some reasonable expectation of reasonably responsive support. Pure and simple.

                  The bottom line is this: once they take my money, I am entitled to reasonable expectations of product accuracy, reliability, and at least a modicum of customer support. I guess you're telling me "buyer beware" when it comes to SLI/TS. That's fine. I only buy their products on sale anyway. Guess I will have to stop altogether. Thanks for the advice!

                  As for the Craiglist analogy, I understand what you're saying, but in that case there are major differences:
                  1.) You can closely view/inspect the product you want to buy. If it's not as advertised, are you going to buy it? Probably not. Therefore, after-sale support becomes a moot topic. There was no sale.

                  2.) We do NOT have the luxury of doing that when buying through a "virtual storefront." We can guestimate from the pictures that the vendor posts, but regardless the decision is made based upon need or want. However, there are many intangibles that go along with software that the buyer has no way of knowing about prior to purchase.
                  Last edited by kknobl; 03-22-2017, 19:07.

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                    #39
                    STREAMLINES....Dead or Alive?

                    It's hardly a big deal to me. I'm just offering an opinion as to why your expectations aren't being met.

                    They're a couple of guys who might combined might make a couple hundred a year from an internet storefront to monitor. I'm not surprised they don't monitor an email address 24/7. They probably don't monitor it at all.

                    The one-man shops like Marc, Scott, Gaetan, Rick, and Ian are more likely to respond because they own their respective brands. SLI/TS is more of a collective, where ownership and accountability aren't as clear.

                    I still buy their stuff from time to time, but having worked in ecommerce before (and considered using SWREG myself as a storefront), I know to go to SWREG instead of the developers if there's an issue with a purchase.




                    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
                    If you like what you see here at Trainsim.com, be it the discussions and knowledge in the forums, items saved in our library or the ongoing development of our TSRE Fork, I hope you'll consider a paid membership to help support keeping the site operating.... Thanks!

                    Comment


                      #40
                      Originally posted by eric View Post
                      It's hardly a big deal to me. I'm just offering an opinion as to why your expectations aren't being met.

                      They're a couple of guys who might combined might make a couple hundred a year from an internet storefront to monitor. I'm not surprised they don't monitor an email address 24/7. They probably don't monitor it at all.

                      The one-man shops like Marc, Scott, Gaetan, Rick, and Ian are more likely to respond because they own their respective brands. SLI/TS is more of a collective, where ownership and accountability aren't as clear.

                      I still buy their stuff from time to time, but having worked in ecommerce before (and considered using SWREG myself as a storefront), I know to go to SWREG instead of the developers if there's an issue with a purchase.




                      Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
                      I understand what you're saying...what I will never understand (though do admire) the boundless determination to take up for SLI/TS and rationalize their poor customer support. Corporate setup is not an excuse for poor customer service. If no one is going to respond to the e-mail, why not just close it off? At least folks will know from the outset not to expect after-sale support.

                      What I might suggest is that since you're familiar with the workings of e-commerce storefronts such as SWREG, you can perhaps post a sticky so that folks can have a better shot at having issues addressed when purchasing though one of these storefronts.

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                        #41
                        Update on my post of March 21st
                        I took the advice I received here in this forum and contacted SWREG concerning my issue with purchasing the CP Mactier Train Set from TrainSimulations. There response was to contact them directly at there support site which I had already done. I sent requests for assistance every day from 23rd to 27 th with no reply from them. Contacted SWREG again yesterday and let them know I wanted a refund because I consider this to be fraud. They sent an email to TS and told them to reply to my concerns and to send them at SWREG a copy of our communication. I do not expect a reply but I will now wait a week and then I am going to push SWREG on the matter again. I will post the results here either way.

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                          #42
                          Originally posted by jstrukn View Post
                          Update on my post of March 21st
                          I took the advice I received here in this forum and contacted SWREG concerning my issue with purchasing the CP Mactier Train Set from TrainSimulations. There response was to contact them directly at there support site which I had already done. I sent requests for assistance every day from 23rd to 27 th with no reply from them. Contacted SWREG again yesterday and let them know I wanted a refund because I consider this to be fraud. They sent an email to TS and told them to reply to my concerns and to send them at SWREG a copy of our communication. I do not expect a reply but I will now wait a week and then I am going to push SWREG on the matter again. I will post the results here either way.
                          Incredibly sad, especially since some involved with SLI/TS float around on these forums from time to time. You'd think they'd want to reach out to you to try to make it right. Even if their e-mail address is unmonitored as some suggest, they can't claim to be in the dark about it since it has been posted here.

                          At this point, I would pursue a refund. The lack of answers/response from the vendor is absolutely unacceptable. Best of luck to you.

                          Comment


                            #43
                            Originally posted by kknobl View Post
                            Incredibly sad, especially since some involved with SLI/TS float around on these forums from time to time. You'd think they'd want to reach out to you to try to make it right. Even if their e-mail address is unmonitored as some suggest, they can't claim to be in the dark about it since it has been posted here.

                            At this point, I would pursue a refund. The lack of answers/response from the vendor is absolutely unacceptable. Best of luck to you.
                            I agree. I said earlier in this thread that I didn't blame them for not responding to requests for replacements given the option exists for people to use the extended download service, but in the case jstrukn highlights, it's really poor. Surely someone checks the email address occasionally and I doubt they'd feel any happier about not getting something they paid for than jstrukn or anyone else in that position would. Hopefully it is quickly rectified in a proper and decent manner.

                            Edit: Just a thought, and probably not a very good one jstrukn.... I noticed you said you bought the route and trainset... are you using the correct code? I remember they had something like the CP Mactier trainset & then the CP Mactier Evolution set at one point back on the old site? I can't see either of those on the new site, so I'm wondering if they've added them together to make up the set you bought. If so, do they still have separate product keys and have you tried both? Whilst I recognise not everyone is as silly as me (fortunately) I do recall having a frustrating few minutes with product codes at one point... possibly trying to reinstall BNSF Seligman using ATSF Seligman's code or mixing up another similar set anyway. Just a thought....
                            Last edited by ossie; 03-29-2017, 00:53.
                            Cheers!
                            Pete



                            https://flic.kr/ps/3eahXD

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                              #44
                              Originally posted by ossie View Post
                              I remember they had something like the CP Mactier trainset & then the CP Mactier Evolution set at one point back on the old site? I can't see either of those on the new site, so I'm wondering if they've added them together to make up the set you bought.
                              They are Pete. They included the CP Evolution set with the Canadian Pacific Mactier Route set. It is part of the bonus features when you look at the features tab for the route/set.



                              Where I am confused is where the poster here said that "Can't download patch because it won't accept my product purchase key." You don't need the keycode to download the patch. To run the patch, yes you do. That must be what he meant.

                              Just a quick note to him. If he is doing "Copy & Paste" for putting in the keycode. Make sure there is no spaces before the first or after the last characters. Spaces are picked up as characters when putting in keycodes. I did this mistake myself a few times.
                              - Mark -

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                                #45
                                Originally posted by MMSS View Post
                                They are Pete. They included the CP Evolution set with the Canadian Pacific Mactier Route set. It is part of the bonus features when you look at the features tab for the route/set.



                                Where I am confused is where the poster here said that "Can't download patch because it won't accept my product purchase key." You don't need the keycode to download the patch. To run the patch, yes you do. That must be what he meant.

                                Just a quick note to him. If he is doing "Copy & Paste" for putting in the keycode. Make sure there is no spaces before the first or after the last characters. Spaces are picked up as characters when putting in keycodes. I did this mistake myself a few times.
                                Some users use the term "download" for the term "install" and the SLI web clearly states the keycode is required.
                                Charles

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