I had seen a note at the end of October that Autodesk would be ending telephone support for its customers who pay for an annual maintenance subscription. With today's announcement from Hagerman & Company, we now know why:Hagerman & Company, Inc. to Provide Autodesk Subscription Gold Support.
Available only to Autodesk subscription customers, the Autodesk Subscription Gold Support program offers customers the following benefits:
* Toll free telephone support Monday-Friday during normal business hours (8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in all U.S. time zones).
* Direct access to qualified technicians with target three-minute maximum hold time.
* Target two-hour maximum response time.
* Up to four named callers.
* Local language support.
(I wonder if "all U.S. time zones" includes Hawaii?)
I assume Gold status costs more, although pricing is not mentioned. Should you chose to renew your subscription, it seems that you now pay the same for less service, or pay more for similar service. It also appears that Autodesk is moving its support expense to dealers:
As part of this new authorization, Hagerman & Company was required by Autodesk to meet personnel, facility, performance and infrastructure criteria consistent with industry best practices in technical support.
Platinum Support [PDF] adds:
* Telephone support 24 hours a day, five days a week.
* Seven-days-a-week support for an extra fee.
* One-hour response time.
* At least one Autodesk technical account manager at Autodesk.
* Quarterly status reporting.
Prices for the two new levels are not yet posted as of this date.
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