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stuff is crap

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region2region2Member
quote:
The support staff must never sleep
They're in a different time zone - doh!

I don't think that I have ever been satisfied with AS support. You can judge Sara's attitude for yourselves and the guys who respond to support cases are invariably "not very good", sarcastic or just plain useless.

AS as a product is excellent so if manctil wants to go elsewhere then it's his/her loss...

R2
C chatterMember
quote:
Originally posted by Puppy Raiser:
I use AS to snipe for me. Everything else I need can be done at eBay. Even if the AS searches were flawless, I still wouldn't use them.


I concur. To me, AS is for sniping, and it is that for which I pay, and it snipes remarkably well. All other "stuff" is simply "fluff" and concerns me little.

Building a new home now, so I can have a place for my stuff.
rickrickMember
I wonder if AS’ Searches are a “Damned if you do and damned if you don’t”? Good news: the Searches might encourage new customers, and if AS pulled them, that might make some longtime customers get sore. Bad news: the Searches might lose some paying sniping customers because the customers get sore about the Searches not always working.

I understand the intent of the Searches is to generate more sniping activity, thus increasing AS’ revenue. But, it seems hard to justify R & D on something that generates indirect revenue (Searches) over something that generates direct revenue (Sniping). I suppose AS could charge for Searches, but I also suppose that would cause some backlash.

It appears that for less complicated searches, users seem pleased. Perhaps the standard advise to new users should be extended: “Use x lead time (depending on when); decide the highest amount you are willing to spend; turn off Instamail; AND avoid complex searches.”
M manctilMember
Rick, the search engine is complete garbage. It shows the quality of programmers this company has and the qulaity control(lack of).

Nobody should allow a product like this to exist. It should be pulled imediately unless they are going to make it right.

It is also obvious there is no support here in the states, the support is out of the country far from the developers.

This is a set-up for failure and I honestly feel they don't care. No customers service, they just don't care
rickrickMember
quote:
Originally posted by Chatter:
Ah, someone new to AS AND eBay.
Both suppositions could be wrong. 1st assumption might find argument from the following:

quote:
Originally posted by manctil:
I have been using "as" snipe for a while now and was pleased with it.


The second might also be mistaken. Hard to be certain how long manctil has been on ebay (I didn’t think “length” made that much difference). And, even if length is part of the discussion, it may be a poor measurement of one’s knowledge of ebay. After all, some people are slow learners.

Also, it seems like manctil has some valid issues with AS.
puppyraiserpuppyraiserMember
In all fairness, note that searches used to work much better than they do now. They have never been perfect, which is why I never used them, but simple things worked just fine.

Things stop working at AS when eBay makes a change... and they make many that you and I don't notice. Add to that, the problems with changes at eBay.com, and not to other eBay sites. Things get very complicated, very quickly. Searches are very low on my list of priorities, and apparently the same is true for AS staff and management.

It wouldn't bother me at all to see searches deleted altogether from AS. Might even be a wise business decision. But...AS seems committed to keeping them, and I'm afraid they will be forever trying to patch holes and bailing water from a sinking ship.
S snipersarabAuctionSniper Support
quote:
The search stuff really sucks
Our search feature has always worked well for me. At least in the way I use it. And I know many others here that also use it and it works for them. Certainly it's not perfect but it does work in most cases for the typical user.
quote:
and support is by far the worst in the industry.
I know for a fact that isn't the case. In fact I would bet that we have the best support. We're the only company that even has a trouble ticket system. When closing your support case a rating is given and our ratings are extremely high. So most customers are very pleased with our support. I would additionally wager that we have the fastest reply time in the industry. I'm sorry you are not happy with our support. I'm actually unclear as what has made you so unhappy as to feel this way.
quote:
I will pay more to get a quality product
I've mentioned this before, but we are the largest site for a reason. We offer the best product and support out there. In general customers are leaving other sites to come to ours for that reason. Certainly we lose a few here and there I wont deny that. Things happen and not everyone is happy all the time, but I believe most of our custmers are very pleased. We're the only company that provides a message board as a part of our site. We highly feature the forum as a tab. As can be seen from the forums people are generally happy. We don't try and hide our dirty laundry like others do by not having an open discussion forum.

In any case I wish there were something I could do to fix whatever it is that has made you so unhappy with us but I'm not sure I will from the looks of things.
S snipersarabAuctionSniper Support
quote:
The support staff must never sleep.
We actually have at least one person available 24 hours a day. Sometimes in the 2-4am time frame we don't. But we're available 7 days a week every day of the year. And during busy hours we have 2 or 3. I'm pretty sure that our average reply time is less than 3 hours. And usually less than 2 hours.
S snipersarabAuctionSniper Support
quote:
I don't think that I have ever been satisfied with AS support.
You actually have pretty high expectations. I do a lot of customers support obviously and it's very hard to please you. I'm not saying that's a bad thing but just letting you know that what you perceive as average support most others think is much above average. Many of the cases you bring to our attention are things that need addressing, but are not usually time sensitive. So we usually aren't taking care of them right away. Thus it may seem as if we are slow to act on them when it's actually more of a priority issue for us. It's hard to explain cleary, but I'm sure you understand the what I'm trying to say.
S snipersarabAuctionSniper Support
quote:
Everything else I need can be done at eBay.
Yes, that is pretty much true now. When we first created searches it was so that people could have more than 3 emailed searches. Back then eBay I think limited you to getting only 3 searches emailed to you, and I think they only let you save 10 total searches. So our search tab was a great help since we let you email yourself and save an unlimited number. Not just 10. Also eBays emailed searches then often never came, or would come after the auctions had closed and were generally really bad.

eBay has spent a ton of resources recently enhancing their search features, and their My eBay features. Adding most or all of the features we first added here on AuctionSniper. Maybe even after seeing what we did. Who knows, I'm sure they'd much rather have people doing those things on their site so they can keep a stronger grip on their customer. Or maybe it's just because a lot of people were asking for those features just like they were with us which is why we made them to start with.
M manctilMember
Sarah, your responses show un-professonalism. You sit there and tell us how good you are and don't listen or accept the truth.

Again, your support has acknowledged the search stuff barely works.

Just put any word in the "any word" section and you won't get any response.

It is obvious support is off shore and don't have access to the engineers. But I understand this saves money.

I like your snipe engine, I would highly suggest you remove the search engine as it is a poor reflection of your company
region2region2Member
Although manctil sees everything in black and white s/he has a point - support is often Crap in my experience - I recently had a very sarcastic response which ended up in an apology when the support person actually grasped whet the problem was rather than what he assumed it was! Support recently sent me an email saying that I had an open case and that they were awaiting my input. Great, but wrong! On looking at the notes I had an acknowledgment of the problem and was told that it was being worked on. (It's still not working - it's the old 'works in USA but not in UK problem - the joys of living off-shore I guess!) Further back, some of the old hands will recall Support emailing all open cases, asking if they were still current, then, despite my response that they were, they closed them all. Amazingly they were nearly all Search related in my case.

I love Sara's response which amounts to "Strange, we have the same make of lightbulb here and it's working fine!" Aaaaargh!

Sara - manctil is saying, in between rants, that the searches should be withdrawn if they aren't working 100% as they detract from an otherwise great product. Perhaps you could pass this up to management rather than just keep it to yourself?!

R2 (lives and works off-shore in a small Island called UK)
M manctilMember
what a bull crap response, you should be fired, I am forwarding this to your corporate office.

What you are saying is that it is ok to deliver a product that is garbage as long as some folks use it.

You are such an ignorant person, just because you have "thousands" in the system, sure in hell doesn't mean the "WORK"

please go away!!!!!!!!!!!
rickrickMember
quote:
Originally posted by Sniper Sara B.:
… but just letting you know that what you perceive as average support most others think is much above average. Many of the cases you bring to our attention are things that need addressing …
Those two statements seem to contradict each other.



quote:
Originally posted by Sniper Sara B.:
We're the only company that provides a message board as a part of our site.
That appears to be dated. As best as I can make out, EZ does as well.



quote:
Originally posted by Sniper Sara B.:
Thus it may seem as if we are slow to act on them when it's actually more of a priority issue for us. …
That’s reasonable – in fact, I would say it’s mandatory for companies, and should be for individuals, to prioritize. But, whenever searches come up (and it DOES come up), it appears that at first the approach is to deny there’s anything wrong. I’ve seen it where 3 or 4 users will comment on having a problem with searches, and the first response from others will usually be something like, “That’s odd. Mine are working fine.” It’s probably just me, but it seems like anyone having problems with the searches are being questioned on their credibility. I’ve been surprised by that response. Just consider, this was Sara’s opening response, “Our search feature has always worked well for me.” I guess that statement is an important consideration. On the other hand, would anyone at AS say the opposite on this forum?



quote:
Originally posted by Sniper Sara B.:
I'm sure they'd much rather have people doing those things on their site so they can keep a stronger grip on their customer.
It’s my understanding that ebay made some API’s available for third parties to do searches, so I would question that. After all, BM is an example within the same company that owns AS that uses those API’s.



quote:
Originally posted by Sniper Sara B.:
And 2 people here that have things that dont work.
Based on what I’ve seen posted, I think that’s a bit of an understatement.



quote:
Originally posted by Sniper Sara B.:
But the facts are that searches are working for 80-90% of users, probably more.
I wonder if …
  1. that means that for 80-90% of the users that actually use them?
  2. there’s anyway to measure those that have stopped using them with or out complaining?
  3. this is an opportunity for Lexie to post her signature quote?




It’s somewhat curious to me. Companies pay consultants to find things they are doing wrong. Of course, the consultants point out what is being done right as well. But the consultants probably won’t be invited back unless they find something wrong (earn their keep). Another group of people that work at finding things a company does wrong is their competition. Although the competition doesn’t get a “direct” paycheck for doing this kind of consulting, this activity shouldn’t be considered altruistic. There’s also the occasional customer that likes a particular product/service so much, that they make an extra effort in trying to improve it. They don’t benefit financially like consultants and competitors. They probably have better things to do, but they still take the time out to point out weakness and flaws. This type of customer shouldn’t be criticized or demeaned. They are a valuable asset to any organization and it might be wise to treat them as such.



I thought I’d get that in incase this thread is closed down.
region2region2Member
Sara

Thank you for accepting that they don't work for some of us - please can you tell us when they will be fixed? Perhaps you could even detail what bits work and what doesn't so that the odd person (ie. most of non-USA) will know what to expect when they try to use the AS Searches?

Manctil - enough of your ranting - you are a rude w*nker - you made your point some time ago so, and I quote, go away!!!!!!!!!!! Mad

R2
region2region2Member
Seems that Rick and I were typing at the same time - he's right - Sara invariably denies that there is a problem but now she concedes that there is. I wonder how many people use AS searches that don't work... pause to think... nope, none! Ergo, they work for everyone for whom they work! 100% Hooray - great customer service.

As to software sites that use a forum to lessen the load on Support. hmmm - let me think... There's eBay, Microsoft, etc etc. And we all believe that AS was there first. Hooray!

R2
C chatterMember
quote:
Originally posted by manctil:

please go away!!!!!!!!!!!


Actually, Manctil, I wish that YOU would go away. Whatever point you may have (and your points about the searches and Sara's responses are valid) is, IMHO, completely overshadowed by, and lost among, your incredibly rude, overly forward and just plain crass remarks.

Even if you are right, your heavy-handed and sometimes vulgar approach is no way for a new person to introduce himself to the forum. The fact that you were unaware that eBay has a search function--one of its most basic components--also suggests that your experience on eBay is also limited. May I suggest that you completely rethink your approach and start from scratch here.

Remember when your mother or grandmother told you, "You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar"? She was right.
rickrickMember
quote:
Originally posted by region2:
Manctil - enough of your ranting - you are a rude w*nker - you made your point some time ago so, and I quote, go away!!!!!!!!!!! Mad


quote:
Originally posted by Chatter:
Actually, Manctil, I wish that YOU would go away. Whatever point you may have (and your points about the searches and Sara's responses are valid) is, IMHO, completely overshadowed by, and lost among, your incredibly rude, overly forward and just plain crass remarks.

Is it my imagination, or have R2 and Chatter found something they agree on? I guess it was inevitable.

This is no endorsement on whether anyone should stay or go away, nor to comment on the meaning of “rude”.
J jimmy3456Member
I have to agree, when support doesn't listen and just makes excuses, I know how frustrating it can be.

And yes, it would be great if compnaies could bring there support back in-house.

It wasn't until this guy seemed to get a little rude did anybody start to listen,

Sarah has the attitude, mines ok , so yours must be. She/He is obviousely a very non-experienced individual.

If they aren't going to fix something, just say so, but don't keep denying issues.

I joined just to reply to this.
S snipersarabAuctionSniper Support
FYI: Jimmy3456 = manctil

quote:
It wasn't until this guy seemed to get a little rude did anybody start to listen,
Now things are making sense.
quote:
And yes, it would be great if compnaies could bring there support back in-house.
You have brought this up several times so...

Our support is split about 50/50. Monday->Friday 8am-5pm is done right here in our office in California. Nights and weekends aren't. All our support people receive about the same ratings for both helpfulness and courtesy. It is harder for the night and weekend support guys to interact with the engineers simply because the engineers aren't here on nights and weekends. They escalate cases to the day crew and a manager when needed. The end result is that we're providing pretty much 24 hour support 7 days a week.
A alanf51Member
[QUOTE]Originally posted by manctil:
i am not rude, I am just sick and tired of cheap support!!!!!!! That could care less and make excuses.

Maybe companies will start to keep there support in house and provide quality support again.[QUOTE]

Well support, development and updates cost money, for a company that makes a small percentage of each successful transaction I am happy with snipes. I always factor my total cost into my bid (snipe cost, money order cost, freight – to come to a maximum dollar bid amount so the snipes I am paying for are dollars I am reducing my offer to sellers by, so for me the seller is paying for the snipe as a part of the transaction cost) I use eBay’s search to find things and snipe it now to snipe them.

I think your expectations need to match comparisons with similar products. Comparing AS support to MS is not a valid comparison, you need to compare it to the competition and if the competition charges the same and works better then your complaint is valid and AS needs to make a market decision on what they want to do with searches.

I have been happy with most of the support answer I have received, and the ones that I thought were incorrect I let them know. Yes they have some junior people who have given incomplete or incorrect answers but they haven’t been condescending or rude to me.

EBay’s search does not always feed the same results and from the data fields it looks like AS is compiling a search and feeding to eBay’s search. I often find excluded items in the list that EBay returns.

I did a search on cat dog bird with a price between 1 and 12 and came up with 1278 items from AS, eliminating the price returned 4714,

If I don't do an advanced search on EBay it returns 60 items, duplicating the search filters returned 4714 items

Using cat dog -bird in “Search All of these words” on both sites returned the same result so it seems to honor -word as well as exclude words

You can’t have a word in the include and exclude list of your search on either site and get a result

EBay does not have the Search Any of these words feature. Quoted words work for me in the include these words feature (As per the example)


The only discrepancy I am finding is the need to add the – to words I want to exclude in AS.

I ran about 30 duplicate searches with variations and both AS and EBay returned the same answers other a few discrepancies of 1 or 2 items which may have closed between 1 search and
the other.

My only requests for searches would be to get it to work in the Mature Audiences area and I would use it.

A-


Smile
bartelbybartelbyMember
quote:
Even if you are right, your heavy-handed and sometimes vulgar approach is no way for a new person to introduce himself to the forum.


You see, if you get a few posts under your belt, you are *allowed* to be heavy-handed, vulgar and even damn right rude. Its a proven fact around here.

Also, I find if you group your *!!!!!!!!'s* together in two's (!! !! !! !), it makes them easier to count, there is a limit to how many you can use at once (I believe 7 is the limit) before you upset a couple of the regulars.

Just trying to help the newbies fit in Smile
M manctilMember
lol, I give up. I will just accept the fact when it doesn't work, they do give a *)(*(%$$.

The forum folks can help , but don't expect any good or solid answer from support (at least sarah)

I posted a very professional post before this one and only got 3 responses and NONE from support.

I truly give up, the Sniper tool is great and thanks to the help from the forum folks, I have solved the search issue with ebay.

I truly would like to see this company succeed as I feel the product could be the best.

Sarah needs to be cautious with comments that could be misinterpeted.

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