MOTU phone support? Can you ever get it?

[BradLyons]

I will chime in here, this is ridiculous. I bought the 828mk3 and an Echo AudioFire4 at the same time from a place that offered a generous return policy, knowing I could return either one within 45 days. After more than 2 weeks of trying -- and failing -- to get through to motu tech support, I boxed the damned thing up and was ready to return it and kiss motu off. As a last resort I called early the next morning and got through to speak with Mike who was incredibly patient and tremendously helpful. Wow... what a conundrum -- motu has a great unit with tremendous flexibility, great tech support WHEN YOU CAN GET THROUGH WHICH IS ALMOST NEVER.. Echo has a great product but with much less flexibility, however each time I called tech support they cheerfully answered my questions -- even before I purchased the unit. NOTE- I DID NOT NEED TO BE REGISTERED WITH A PRODUCT SERIAL NUMBER TO SPEAK WITH ECHO TECH SUPPORT.

I decided to keep the motu unit and return the AudioFire4 simply because of the numerous features of the unit, and mainly due to Mike's very helpful feedback. At least he proved it was *possible* to get tech support.

Today I have a couple of questions and have been speed-dialing Motu tech support for 2 1/2 hrs on and off, and am getting a constant busy signal. I have tried about 80 times. I am convinced they take the phone off the hook. Unacceptable.

So kudos to the Motu tech support guys - especially Mike who is knowledgeable and supportive.

Motu makes a great product. But I will not recommend it to anyone until they increase tech support. A constant busy signal is simply unacceptable.

Or you could make sure the retailer you purchase a product from provides their own in-house professional support instead of relying on other sources.....

[James Steele]

Or you could make sure the retailer you purchase a product from provides their own in-house professional support instead of relying on other sources.....

Why gosh, Brad! Do you suppose you might know of a retailer that does provide their own in-house professional support?

[davedempsey]

Brad?

Couldn't resist!

[kassonica]

Someone mention BRAD

[BradLyons]

LOL well, I wasn't saying it for that reason....honestly. Here's my thing..... as a consumer myself, and I'll speak outside of the audio recording industry because well--I do have my own connections in this business, I don't buy with the mentality of who has the lowest price, who has the best return policy, the cheapest shipping or free shipping, etc. BEFORE I will purchase something of value to me, I first need to be sold on WHOM I'm buying it from. It's about building business relationships, not just purchasing. When I have a problem or issue, there is someone that knows and understands me---who is working for me, to help me out. Whether I'm purchasing a vehicle, buying a home, purchasing some LCD/TV's, or buying some HD camera's---that mentality just does not change one bit. This is also why, as a consumer, it's easy for me to get frustrated because it is SO hard to find places of business who do business the want I choose to do business. In the end if there is a problem, I don't have to worry about it because I know they are there..... I don't have time to call manufacturer's for support issues or wait (5) days for a response. I have point people, they do it for me..... and again I'm referring to outside of this industry to make a fair comparison of what I'm referring to.

Knowing what I know how manufacturers work, I know that it's up to ME to learn the product or understand it----and up to the retailer I purchase a product from to support me. If I bought from a place that then throws me under the rug when something goes wrong, well....I remember that. It's up to them to educate me, service me, and earn my business. CASE and POINT..... I built my first home nearly 7-years ago (wow, time flies!). I had pretty much nothing to put in it, I was a bachelor if you know what I mean I went to a local appliance dealer to outfit my kitchen and laundry appliances. At the end of the day, I think it was about $4,000 spent. I had them install a microwave above my oven, everything was fine......then 6-months down the line, the timer display lost many of the lights so I was't able to tell what the settings were. I called the dealer, they said I had to call the manufacturer since it was past 90-days of purchase. Okay, that wasn't what I was asking----I wanted to speak to someone about fixing it. Still I was told I had to call the manufacturer. After a handful of calls, I finally got through to someone and was told I needed to contact the retailer I purchased it from or contact a local service center. Back to square one here....... TO MAKE A LONG STORY SHORT... I learned something about this microwave, it had only a 90-day warranty----and when that light display went out, the ONLY way to fix it was to replace it! How did I find this out? FROM THE PERSON I BOUGHT THIS FROM, NOT REALIZING HE SOLD IT TO ME! There was another model for $100 more that this wouldn't have been an issue---I gladly would have purchased that model instead. My point here? I DIDN'T DO MY RESEARCH ON THE DEALER I BOUGHT IT FROM FIRST, therefore it was 100% my responsibility that I was in a position that I had an issue. Since then, there has been another appliance retailer I've bought from and they've been great. They even provided me a 1-year check-up as part of their service, to make sure there were no problems. So now when it comes time to update a few other appliances, guess where I'm going.....

[veech]

Motu makes a great product. But I will not recommend it to anyone until they increase tech support. A constant busy signal is simply unacceptable.

From what I can figure out, your problems with the 828mk3 stemmed from the fact that you were using Windows XP MCE, right? Here's your quote:

The guy who built my system put MCE on it, I really didn't want it, i wanted XP Pro but it hasn't been an issue until now. I have an older version of XP Pro, I'm pretty much resigned to the fact that I'll have to install it over MCE, I just hope I don't lose all my programs and have to reinstall everything.

So if I install XP Pro, and follow the instructions on the other thread, I'm hoping that I can get the Motu to work properly as it seems to be a wonderful piece of equipment.

Did you install XP Pro and are still having the issues? At least you asked some questions here to try and solve your problem first.

Actually the software installed with no problems and so far i have not had any issues with XP Media Center. I am working my way through learning CueMix but I have to say that so far I have not had any problems so that is great news! But I do have a couple of other questions regarding the workarounds Mike helped me set up, and instead of explaining the whole thing again, I would like to be able to speak with him directly.

[veech]

Or you could make sure the retailer you purchase a product from provides their own in-house professional support instead of relying on other sources.....

As I was making decisions regarding my audio system upgrade, I contacted various manufacturers and was able to speak with their customer support team and their tech support with no problem. When I was deciding on the parts to use for my computer build, same thing.. I could call tech support for any of the parts.. mobo, sound card, video card etc and talk with tech support directly to ensure compatibility. As I stated, I was able to speak with Echo Audio tech support at any time (go ahead, call 'em.. nice people and you get right through to them) even *before* i bought the item. But on my first call to motu I was shut down because i didn't own a motu product yet and was not registered on their site. I'm glad I decided to keep the 828mk3, I think it's a great product.

Anyway, I just needed to add my voice to the call for motu to make tech support a little more easily available. I assume motu folks read this forum, so here's a shout otu -- you guys have great products, now complete the customer experience by expanding tech support! You'll win even more fans.

[Chris T]

I don't get it: MOTU is one of the biggest manufacturers of Pro-Audio software and hardware in the world, and, unlike my grandmother, they STILL don't have an answering machine!!!

*** STUFF DELETED BY ADMIN ***

Shape up guys - it's 2009!!!!

[James Steele]

I don't get it: MOTU is one of the biggest manufacturers of Pro-Audio software and hardware in the world, and, unlike my grandmother, they STILL don't have an answering machine!!!

*** STUFF DELETED BY ADMIN ***

Shape up guys - it's 2009!!!!

Listen Chris... you don't need to plaster this in no less than THREE places on this board. You created two threads and also decided to tack in onto this thread. I deleted your threads and edited your post. This is a tired, worn-out subject and if you'd done any search you would have found out it's been beaten to death. So just because YOU'RE angry about it today doesn't mean you are welcome to just come here and rant. Thanks.

[Chris T]

Hi James

I apologize for the multiple postings - I was having issues and my posts didn't seem to be uploading. When I realzied they had done so in triplicate I deleted the copies...or at least thought I did. This won't happen again.

I don't consider what I said a 'rant'. It was merely a Gripe - albeit a forceful one. I just feel that this issue is so silly and has been going on for so long with MOTU, and I just don't understand why they haven't addressed it.

And even though it has been addressed many times (on this forum and eslewhere), the simple fact that MOTU seems to have done nothing about it (for years!) was justification enough for me to bring up the issue again, until they do. Afterall, without complaints from users, they probably wouldn't do a thing, so what choice did I have? I have already tried telling MOTU this many times. I hope you understand my position.

thanks

[James Steele]

And even though it has been addressed many times (on this forum and eslewhere), the simple fact that MOTU seems to have done nothing about it (for years!) was justification enough for me to bring up the issue again, until they do. Afterall, without complaints from users, they probably wouldn't do a thing, so what choice did I have? I have already tried telling MOTU this many times. I hope you understand my position.

So your position is basically you're going to beat on them over this issue on this forum until you get your way? Is that it?

[Chris T]

NO. It's done now. No more posting.

And it's not 'my way'. I consider it to be in the interests of ALL MOTU users. This seems to be the most important MOTU forum and I've no doubt that MOTU occasionally read it, so what other choice do I have?

[James Steele]

NO. It's done now. No more posting.

And it's not 'my way'. I consider it to be in the interests of ALL MOTU users. This seems to be the most important MOTU forum and I've no doubt that MOTU occasionally read it, so what other choice do I have?

Acceptance.

There are other people who would rather they don't have some voicemail system either. Otherwise hundreds of messages would just pile up and it could take longer. I've found that the way you get through is get up before open of business and start hitting the re-dial button. But then again, I've maybe called MOTU tech support twice in my life. Part of the reason this place exists is because I would rather find answers myself from other users than call tech support.

[Chris T]

OK.

But when you can't get through it's so much easier to be 'on hold' listening to some nice Kenny G than permanently hitting redial and trying the luck of the draw. You can even get some work done this way at the same time as waiting.

'On hold' seems to me a slightly more sophisticated (and fair!) system, and I can't for the life of me understand why MOTU, one of the world's leading pro-audio companies, haven't set this up after so many years of being in business. There's no excuse.

(btw - I was kidding about Kenny G).

[James Steele]

There's no excuse.

Torches and pitchforks.