Fastmail Priority Support: Bogus

imapxpert · 7th November 2007, 12:33 AM

I've emailed fastmail support couple of times, and I haven't got a response. One response is over 1 month due, and the other one is over 48 hours due. I have an enhanced account, and I'm supposed to be receiving Priority technical support. I honestly think that they don't even bother.

zhak · 7th November 2007, 01:34 AM

Welcome to the EMD forums.

The best way to reach Fastmail support is to submit a support request.

Added: Although, that page suggests you search these forums first. If you have a problem, you can post here. There are many knowledgeable people on these forums that might be able to help you. Also, the Fastmail developers routinely answer questions here.

The webmaster, support, and other email addresses get a large amount of email, that's why a support request is really the best way to go if you don't feel like posting here.

imapxpert · 7th November 2007, 02:53 AM

And that's exactly what I did. I submitted a support request but I am yet to receive a response. I'm going to give them a couple of more days before I decide whether I need to stick around with them or save my money and go to gmail imap.

Chipper · 7th November 2007, 02:54 AM

Given the nature of this situation, perhaps the best approach would be to e-mail robm AT fasmail DOT fm.

imapxpert · 7th November 2007, 03:19 AM

I appreciate the prompt feedback here. Do understand though that its not that I have anything against fastmail or anyone here, but the only reason I chose and paid for enhanced fastmail was because of its 'priority support'. I dont have ton of email, but prompt support is essential. I paid because I saw the 'priority technical support' listed on their comparison page and I figured that great I dont have to come to forums and fish for answers if I face an issue. If fastmail cannot offer that, then to me, it's nothing but just 'paid gmail'.
Just my rant before a potential exit.

Chipper · 7th November 2007, 04:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by imapxpert

I appreciate the prompt feedback here. Do understand though that its not that I have anything against fastmail or anyone here, but the only reason I chose and paid for enhanced fastmail was because of its 'priority support'. I dont have ton of email, but prompt support is essential. I paid because I saw the 'priority technical support' listed on their comparison page and I figured that great I dont have to come to forums and fish for answers if I face an issue. If fastmail cannot offer that, then to me, it's nothing but just 'paid gmail'.
Just my rant before a potential exit.

We're happy to give feedback.

Regarding priority support: this issue (i.e. no response) has come up on the forums from time to time. Most people have indicated that they have had good response so it sounds like every once in a while there's an anomoly. (As an aside I only have a Full account but have had prompt feedback.) Hopefully this can be cleared up.

Added note: I realize I gave Rob's e-mail addr in this thread, but since he has asked people to e-mail him when there is a support problem, I figured it was ok to do so.

Merovingian · 7th November 2007, 04:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chipper

Added note: I realize I gave Rob's e-mail addr in this thread, but since he has asked people to e-mail him when there is a support problem, I figured it was ok to do so.

Yeah, and it was only a few days ago that Rob was touting the per-user bayes system here, boldy posting his own email address on purpose! That's confidence in your own product!

zhak · 7th November 2007, 05:56 AM

I recently had an issue of not receiving an email from a particular sender. I submitted a support request with the details, and after two timely responses was given the reason. But I had a followup question, and

I received no response.

After just a couple minutes digging through the FAQ and the RFC's, I found the answer, so I was not terribly inconvenienced.

The point was I received no reply to a question, for as I see it, one of two reasons:

- They had closed out the ticket, because my problem had been solved, and my subsequent email got lost in the typical 'support' deluge, or
- They felt because it was something in the FAQ or RFC that I should figure it out myself.

Either way, a poor way to handle things, and no way to treat an 'enhanced' account holder, in my view.

Their support form page linked above says: "Please ensure that you have checked our support guide , looked/searched through our Frequently Asked Questions list, and searched our forum before submitting a query to us. We usually respond to queries within 6-48 hours, however we may not respond if we feel the information is clearly available in the above links."

I am not making a big deal about it, nor did I complain then, and I understand that they cannot answer every simple question that can be answered by RTFM, but sometimes things like that can make a paying customer go elsewhere. To me, a fairly knowledgeable user, the answer was not obvious.

In these days, with providers like Gmail available, FM needs to distinguish itself by 'premium' support, not your typical IT department "another dumb question from a dumb user" type support.

Ok, rant over...

-Jim

petergh · 7th November 2007, 06:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zhak

Their support form page linked above says: "Please ensure that you have checked our support guide , looked/searched through our Frequently Asked Questions list, and searched our forum before submitting a query to us. We usually respond to queries within 6-48 hours, however we may not respond if we feel the information is clearly available in the above links."

I agree wholeheartedly, and have been put off by that very sentence myself. The few times I have needed FM support, I've had no problems with the response time or the response itself, but putting something like the above on the first page the user sees when he comes for help does not make the user think he's using a premium email service.

For a paid service, I think the phrasing is arrogant. There's no excuse for not replying to each and every support request sent by a paying customer, and the quote above quite clearly states that not all support requests may receive a reply.

Peter

the bishop · 7th November 2007, 09:49 AM

The downside to the "we may not reply" is that if something happens and a reply somehow is mis-sent or otherwise, the end-user might feel that they got no response and leave.

As an IT guy myself, that sentence would not last at any of the placed I've worked for.

Fastmail should x-nay that ight-ray ow-nay.

William9 · 7th November 2007, 11:55 AM

Fastmail support not responding in a timely manner has been a recurring comment in these discussions. I haven't submitted a support request for a year or so, but the last time I did, the reply took several days -- and I have an enhanced account (and a full account). How does Fastmail distinguish regular customers from "Enhanced" customers who get priority support?

earlzsta · 7th November 2007, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by imapxpert

I appreciate the prompt feedback here. Do understand though that its not that I have anything against fastmail or anyone here, but the only reason I chose and paid for enhanced fastmail was because of its 'priority support'. I dont have ton of email, but prompt support is essential. I paid because I saw the 'priority technical support' listed on their comparison page and I figured that great I dont have to come to forums and fish for answers if I face an issue. If fastmail cannot offer that, then to me, it's nothing but just 'paid gmail'.
Just my rant before a potential exit.

imapxpert - Do you have your own domain? Or do you just use the fastmail aliases?

If you want prompt support and have your own domain, give www.webmail.us a try. There support is second to none. I mean I had a question and posted a support request and not 2mins later I was talking to a customer support rep on the phone. The timing was not great as it was like 1am in the morning and did not think they would get back to me by the following morning, alas they called me then not 2mins after i submitted the request.

Awesome support.

imapxpert · 7th November 2007, 09:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by earlzsta

imapxpert - Do you have your own domain? Or do you just use the fastmail aliases?

If you want prompt support and have your own domain, give www.webmail.us a try. There support is second to none. I mean I had a question and posted a support request and not 2mins later I was talking to a customer support rep on the phone. The timing was not great as it was like 1am in the morning and did not think they would get back to me by the following morning, alas they called me then not 2mins after i submitted the request.

Awesome support.

Thanks for the advice and referral. I'll look into webmail.us

sflorack · 7th November 2007, 11:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by imapxpert

Thanks for the advice and referral. I'll look into webmail.us

I don't care how superb webmail.us support is. I'm not willing to pay for 10 mailboxes (2 of which I MIGHT use) at $360.00/year. For that price, I better not have any reason to contact support in the first place -- they should answer my emails, too.

purzel · 8th November 2007, 02:04 AM

Never had a problem with their support. I contacted them twice about things which they had to fix on their side (regarding my account ). AFAIR I received a reply within a few hours each time.

7th November 2007, 12:33 AM	#1
imapxpert Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 10	Fastmail Priority Support: Not Fast Enough I've emailed fastmail support couple of times, and I haven't got a response. One response is over 1 month due, and the other one is over 48 hours due. I have an enhanced account, and I'm supposed to be receiving Priority technical support. I honestly think that they don't even bother. Last edited by imapxpert : 9th November 2007 at 04:15 AM.

7th November 2007, 01:34 AM	#2
zhak Master of the @ Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Indiana, USA Posts: 1,853	Welcome to the EMD forums. The best way to reach Fastmail support is to submit a support request. Added: Although, that page suggests you search these forums first. If you have a problem, you can post here. There are many knowledgeable people on these forums that might be able to help you. Also, the Fastmail developers routinely answer questions here. The webmaster, support, and other email addresses get a large amount of email, that's why a support request is really the best way to go if you don't feel like posting here. Last edited by zhak : 7th November 2007 at 01:45 AM.

7th November 2007, 02:53 AM	#3
imapxpert Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 10	And that's exactly what I did. I submitted a support request but I am yet to receive a response. I'm going to give them a couple of more days before I decide whether I need to stick around with them or save my money and go to gmail imap.

7th November 2007, 02:54 AM	#4
Chipper Master of the @ Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Greenbelt, MD (USA) Posts: 1,204	Given the nature of this situation, perhaps the best approach would be to e-mail robm AT fasmail DOT fm.

7th November 2007, 03:19 AM	#5
imapxpert Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 10	I appreciate the prompt feedback here. Do understand though that its not that I have anything against fastmail or anyone here, but the only reason I chose and paid for enhanced fastmail was because of its 'priority support'. I dont have ton of email, but prompt support is essential. I paid because I saw the 'priority technical support' listed on their comparison page and I figured that great I dont have to come to forums and fish for answers if I face an issue. If fastmail cannot offer that, then to me, it's nothing but just 'paid gmail'. Just my rant before a potential exit.

7th November 2007, 05:56 AM	#8
zhak Master of the @ Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Indiana, USA Posts: 1,853	I recently had an issue of not receiving an email from a particular sender. I submitted a support request with the details, and after two timely responses was given the reason. But I had a followup question, and I received no response. After just a couple minutes digging through the FAQ and the RFC's, I found the answer, so I was not terribly inconvenienced. The point was I received no reply to a question, for as I see it, one of two reasons: - They had closed out the ticket, because my problem had been solved, and my subsequent email got lost in the typical 'support' deluge, or - They felt because it was something in the FAQ or RFC that I should figure it out myself. Either way, a poor way to handle things, and no way to treat an 'enhanced' account holder, in my view. Their support form page linked above says: "Please ensure that you have checked our support guide , looked/searched through our Frequently Asked Questions list, and searched our forum before submitting a query to us. We usually respond to queries within 6-48 hours, however we may not respond if we feel the information is clearly available in the above links." I am not making a big deal about it, nor did I complain then, and I understand that they cannot answer every simple question that can be answered by RTFM, but sometimes things like that can make a paying customer go elsewhere. To me, a fairly knowledgeable user, the answer was not obvious. In these days, with providers like Gmail available, FM needs to distinguish itself by 'premium' support, not your typical IT department "another dumb question from a dumb user" type support. Ok, rant over... -Jim

7th November 2007, 09:49 AM	#10
the bishop Essential Contributor Join Date: May 2005 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 481	The downside to the "we may not reply" is that if something happens and a reply somehow is mis-sent or otherwise, the end-user might feel that they got no response and leave. As an IT guy myself, that sentence would not last at any of the placed I've worked for. Fastmail should x-nay that ight-ray ow-nay.

7th November 2007, 11:55 AM	#11
William9 Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: San Francisco Posts: 873	Fastmail support not responding in a timely manner has been a recurring comment in these discussions. I haven't submitted a support request for a year or so, but the last time I did, the reply took several days -- and I have an enhanced account (and a full account). How does Fastmail distinguish regular customers from "Enhanced" customers who get priority support?

8th November 2007, 02:04 AM	#15
purzel Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 127	Never had a problem with their support. I contacted them twice about things which they had to fix on their side (regarding my account ). AFAIR I received a reply within a few hours each time.