Starrsoft POOR cust svc

[SquierStrat]

hello. i was wondering if anyone has had bad experiences with Starrsofts customer service? a few months after the PSR 500 came out i bought a copy of WIN500. since messing up my old computer and having to get a new one, i lost my registration information. i have tried emailing win500@starrsoft.com 3 times and have not gotten 1 single reply. is that normal for this company? i really wish they had a phone number but i see no other contact info on the website so im stuck with email...... i started to think maybe they dont help people out who have had computer problems, maybe they're just trying to stick me with another $35 charge.... if thats the case theyre crazy, theres no way i am buying another product from them unless this gets resolved, then i also was thinking maybe its just their policy, to prevent "pirating", maybe they just dont give out registration info twice. if that was the case you would certainly think they could at least email me back acknowledging me and advising me of their policy. so yeah..... im pretty irritated at this point....

anyone else have problems with them?

 

[danieldad]

Yup, same problem here. Had flood in the shack...in the basement...big mess; lost some gear, as well as lots of paperwork, inc the Starr win96 data. Several emails to them , no joy. Heard this was thier reputation but was disappointed to find out this way. Won't do it again...basement shacks, files on the floor, or Starrsoft

 

[SquierStrat]

great. glad to hear that. i guess psredit is looking pretty good.....

 

[davidbond21]

From the Starrsoft registration page http://www.starrsoft.com/software/win500/Register.asp, the one where you have to click that you have acknowledged and agreed to the terms before being able to purchase a license.

When you register, you will be issued a unique key that will allow Win500 to run past its 30-day trial period. DO NOT LOSE THIS KEY. You will need it any time you wish to install Win500 (new computer, new operating system, computer crash, etc.). We do not re-issue registration keys apart from the initial email.

I'm not sure what is unclear about that, but every so often someone starts a thread complaining about exactly this problem.

 

[kevins669]

This has been discussed way too many times here. Don is very, very busy. He has disclaimers(as noted in a previous post) that you need to save that key.

How do you get your email? The best possible thing you can do is use Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo, etc. Make Microsoft or the others save your email for you!!!

I have restored my PC countless times, and needed that key. I just go to Hotmail and open up the Win500 one, the one Don said I MUST SAVE.

Be patient with him; it's not his fault you don't have a system in place to save the key (or, at the very least, have seent the countless threads about this). About the worst you can do is post negatively in a forum like this.

Anyway, even if you don't use one of those FREE email systems as your regular email provider, consider opening one just for the safekeping of important communications you want to save forever... and give Don a chance to get back to you - he may not be able to get the key for you, but he does put out some good software. Not to mention this is not his only job.

-- Kevin

 

[spooney]

hello. i was wondering if anyone has had bad experiences with Starrsofts customer service? a few months after the PSR 500 came out i bought a copy of WIN500. since messing up my old computer and having to get a new one, i lost my registration information. i have tried emailing win500@starrsoft.com 3 times and have not gotten 1 single reply. is that normal for this company? i really wish they had a phone number but i see no other contact info on the website so im stuck with email...... i started to think maybe they dont help people out who have had computer problems, maybe they're just trying to stick me with another $35 charge.... if thats the case theyre crazy, theres no way i am buying another product from them unless this gets resolved, then i also was thinking maybe its just their policy, to prevent "pirating", maybe they just dont give out registration info twice. if that was the case you would certainly think they could at least email me back acknowledging me and advising me of their policy. so yeah..... im pretty irritated at this point....

anyone else have problems with them?

Was your old hard drive destroyed where you cannot access the data on it? Your registration key is stored within the WIN500 program under the "HELP" tab.

 

[gmclam]

Keys

I wonder where these people keep the keys to their house, the keys to their car, their bank account information and anything else of value. Did the car dealer just give you another key to your automobile? Did the bank just tell you what your account number is?

Computer backups are another issue. If there is data on your computer that you care about - YOU NEED TO BACK IT UP!!!! And backups are only effective when they are kept at a SEPARATE LOCATION. You can store a back up are your parents', your childrens' or otherwise a bank safe deposit box. That way after a disaster you can get everything (as far as data goes) back into working order. I'd be shocked if the only software you have a key for is WIN500. All Microsoft & Windows products have keys these days as well.

 

[SquierStrat]

well i stand corrected on the whole liscense agreement thing. i did completely overlook that. And all of my email was saved, on my hard drive, i use a program similar to outlook express for my email. and we reformatted my hard drive in an attempt to fix the computer, so everythings gone

even with the liscense agreement you would think the guy could at least email me and point that out instead of leaving me hanging, checking my email everyday waiting for a reply....

that is still poor customer service

 

[TedTed]

I don't care if he is busy or not, he runs a commercial business and should take care of his customers not ignore them. It is poor customer service and WINxxx buyers should be aware but there are alternatives, other software vendors will replace your lost key at no charge.

 

[DesertRatt]

For the money I paid, I think Win500 is an excellent product. I feel that Don has always been willing to help those that are willing to help themselves. Like others have pointed out. The email that is sent initially upon purchase is not very cryptic about the BUYERS's responsibilities. I don't think Don should be flamed for not responding to something the buyer should have already known or could have known with a little effort. The REGISTER($35.00) link ( Win500: Management, Monitoring, and Control Software for the GRE PSR-500/600 Digital Scanners )also repeats the same terms and conditions contained in the email. I think it is unrealistic to expect Don to respond to every single email for $35.00. That is why there is an entire forum dedicated to STARRSOFT software.

Look at what Microsoft charges for its junk. Their overpriced products suck and they have left us hanging since DOS. That is by far a bigger injustice than paying $35.00 for software that works and not getting a response to an email. I understand your frustration due to the inconvience your personal disaster has caused you. But please don't attack someone that has made imeasurable contributions to our hobby because of it.

 

[pliquett]

I guess I was lucky my computer crashed and when I got my new laptop I didn't have the information for either WIN97 or WIN500. I downloaded the software and since it was a new computer I was able to use these on a 30 free trial. I e-mail Don with as much information as I could remember about when I purchased and how I paid and the e-mail I used and within a day he e-mailed me both registration keys. He is also very helpful on alot of the forums and is knowlegable on the scanners as well. I'm sure it is an oversite or computer issue and not a customer service issue.

 

[SCPD]

I'm going to have to side with the OP on this issue. That is indeed, poor customer service.

I use lots of registered shareware programs, and most all the support systems offer a way to retrieve a lost key. SB-Software, YtunnelPro and others come to mind. It is not difficult for some sites to do this, why is it so difficult for StarrSoft? Or is just a refusal to be accomodating to customers?

It'd be like losing your license plate on your car, and going to DMV to get a new one. What is their response going to be? You lost it? You're screwed. Didn't you read the terms and conditions? No, that's just not going to happen, is it?

Accidents happens. Computers and hard drives die. Homes burn down. Just where is a person to keep all the registration information they accumulate? As pointed out, fires in homes happen, and in a fire a person can lose everything. Are you telling me, that if I lost everything I own in a home fire, and needed a key for my StarrSoft software, that Don would be a twit and say "tough break?, but sorry, you're screwed?" God, I would hope not, as that would definatly be a mark against any company doing business with customers.

There is no sure solution to it, but I don't think Don is being very good towards customers when he sends one key request to a person, but not to another.

 

[SquierStrat]

Are you telling me, that if I lost everything I own in a home fire, and needed a key for my StarrSoft software, that Don would be a twit and say "tough break?, but sorry, you're screwed?"

no. he wouldnt say anything, he would just ignore you until you gave up.

but I don't think Don is being very good towards customers when he sends one key request to a person, but not to another.

lol, yeah, i got kinda pissed when i read that.

 

[fmon]

Maybe Don has replied but your server has blocked his reply or as PSREdit states "Please be sure to add this address to your address book or SPAM filter whitelist so that your registration email does not get detected as SPAM.."

In 7 years of Winxx(x) software use, this user has never had a problem because my server doesn't block his replies.

 

[fmon]

Sorry bout duplicate post, though only clicked send once but it took a few minutes to finish.

 

[Ghstwolf62]

I think the last poster has a good idea and that it's you check that emails from him are being allowed in. I know that not even being a customer and he responded rapidly to my inquiries and even when I didn't choose his software in the end he was still very gracious and kind in dealings with him. I don't know him at all other than through those emails and on posts but he doesn't seem like he'd be the type to do something of that nature IMO

 

[kevins669]

It'd be like losing your license plate on your car, and going to DMV to get a new one. What is their response going to be? You lost it? You're screwed. Didn't you read the terms and conditions? No, that's just not going to happen, is it?

No, that is not what will happen. The DMV has a policy that they WILL replace your plate. Don has a polic that he will NOT.

Are you telling me, that if I lost everything I own in a home fire, and needed a key for my StarrSoft software, that Don would be a twit and say "tough break?, but sorry, you're screwed?"

No, he would not tell you anything - as you should not ask. You understood that he does not provide replacement keys. End of story.

There is no sure solution to it, but I don't think Don is being very good towards customers when he sends one key request to a person, but not to another.

Yes, there is a solution. Store the important stuff in a FREE email account, such as Hotmail.


Here's the deal. Do I think Don should have an automatic system for retrieving keys? Probably so. But he does not. Someone who buys his software knows this full well when purchasing. So now who's problem should it be. He does not issue replacement keys, just like he does not sell oil filters. If you sent him an email, or two, or heaven forbid a third email (which by this point would probably include some rude comments), do you think he would be replying? No. He does not sell oil filters.

We have absolutely no idea what the OP said in his emails, or how many times he sent one to Don. Maybe the guy that got his key was very nice about it. Who knows.

This kind of thing really, really, bothers me. Come one guys, geez. You knew it in advance, now you want to say it's not your fault.

Bad customer service, maybe. Starting a negative thread about someone, however, is the absolute worst way to get results.

I have no personal tie to Don, other than I bought his product, he is always receptive to my feedback, and he contrtibutes a lot here.

-- Kevin

 

[rvictor]

Seems to me that this is real simple.

Is he legally obligated to provide a replacement code? No.

If a company can write complex software can it develop a system to retrieve lost codes? Of course.

Is it good customer relations to not provide a replacement code when most others do? No.

Is it good customer relations to not answer emails even if you aren't going to provide the replacement code? No.

Would I knowingly deal with a company with such a policy? No.

When I'm thinking of ordering something on line from an unknown company, I often read their return policy to get a feel for what their attitude is toward their customers. If the policy has lots of unnecessary hurdles, high restocking fees, and a generally arbitrary attitude, I don't deal with the company. Thirteen years of enforcing consumer protection laws taught me that a firm's attitude toward its customers is a pretty good indication of whether you will end up happy or frustrated.

YMMV

73
Dick

 

[captaincraig44]

Typical. It's never your own fault is it?
Don's a great guy with a great product and if you're capable of some simple precautions and following instructions, there never would be an issue.
BTW, I tried all the PSR programming software and WIN-500 is far and away the easiest, most versatile of them all. Don will respond to your request eventually, but, rightfully so, it's not a priority for him. He's fulfilled his part of the deal.

 

[JoeyC]

You can be the nicest, sweetest, most generous merchant, employee, public servant on the planet, but there will ALWAYS be leaches out there expecting and demanding more out of you and more than happy to talk trash about you should you not give in. The old saying that the customer is always right is certainly not true. The customer is most often always right, but there will always be a few that feel they are superior to the general public, take exception to rules and policies and expect special handling for their not-so-special situations.

If you purchased software and acknowledged the conditions of ownership before purchasing, thats it. Don owes no one any special treatment. Will he lose a customer or two? Probably, but as is the case in all business, this is a small price you pay for not being taken advantage of, walked over, and generally run out of business because you can't afford all the special luxuries that some customers feel they are entitled to. There are plenty of responsible customers out there!