Customer Service & Complaints

[brennster]

Hello,

This is a letter of complaint, and I am submitting it through the forums because it seems like the only way to be truly heard by Adobe, which is very frustrating in and of itself.

I got an email that my personal Creative Cloud subscription will be renewed soon, and I wanted to cancel that auto-renewal. I researched it beforehand to see if I could do it online, but my account did not have a "cancel subscription" link (already, this is an issue). It took me 32 minutes to cancel my subscription through an online chat with a customer service representative. It should have taken me (at the most) a few minutes through a link embedded in my account page (which should always be there). I was asked two times about why I wanted to cancel it -- one time makes sense, twice just makes me feel like I'm doing something wrong. The other questions seemed like a way to just waste time, and the customer service representative had to check with his "senior team" about cancelling the account without fully explaining why, which started to make me angry. And even though the chatbot had it's own window in the browser, it did not make the effort to notify me of a new message in any way, which ostensibly felt very purposeful in me accidentally closing the window or walking away and forgetting that I had the chat open, which would make me less likely to go back and re-start a whole chat.

I decided to submit a complaint after this frustrating experience. I work in experience design and I know how valuable and precious feedback is, and wanted to provide mine. It took me another 15 minutes to deduce that the best way to complain to Adobe is through their forums. I almost started another chat, but none of the contact options listed complaints or even "other options," so I immediately felt like this would be yet another frustrating experience with customer service in terms of reaching the right people. I understand customer service is exactly for these types of scenarios, but after one frustrating customer service experience why would I try to do it again and risk getting even more frustrated? I couldn't find an email address to contact Adobe, and when I did stumble on the forums (which do seem to be paid attention to by Adobe employees, thank goodness) I found a thread with the very same issue. There were some very (rightly) frustrated people in that thread, but there were also responses to those angry messages that started to feel belittling. Publishing complaints in a forum is very public, and complaining (especially emotional and angry complaining) is often something that people look down upon. No one wants to be called out for their complaints. I am far less likely to publish my angry complaint in a forum, whereas in an email I feel more private and safe. In an email, I know that my message will reach someone and I feel like my needs will be met without having to wait for a customer service representative to become available on the phone or through chat. I'm taking the time to voice my complaint and publicly publish it through this forum, but who really knows if I will be heard by an Adobe employee.

It should not have been this difficult to cancel the auto-renewal. I should not be this frustrated. But as a modern-day consumer who purchases a majority of products online and partakes in several subscriptions that are managed through online accounts, I am accustomed to certain levels of service and therefore expect my needs to be met, maybe even surpassed. These expectations are not uncalled for because they are constantly being set by other services that I interact with on a daily basis.

Adobe -- you have a monopoly on the services you provide. You create excellent products that I use everyday (I have a corporate account through work, hence me wanting to cancel my unnecessary personal subscription) and I love what I am able to do with those products. But your monopoly is being threatened by other excellent services (i.e. Sketch) so you need to step up your game. You need stellar customer service to match your stellar products. And as a leader in the design community, you have an ethical responsibility to do so. What I have experienced today is a perfect example of dark UX, so you need to re-think how you handle your services: provide email addresses for support, always have the proper links in accounts, re-design your chatbot with real messages in mind, and re-think your customer service as not to be a burden on your customers.

If you need UX help, I'm available for part-time freelance.

[kglad]

these are user-to-user forums.

[annieminton]

Thanks for making the effort to write all this out. These enormous corporations treat us like bottom line contributors without individual issues with their products, are slow to assist or provide end-user ease of use, - or even make it as difficult as possible - but very happy to facilitate taking your money at high speed for as long as possible.

[floydr20764036]

To Adobe Customer service,

I have been a CC subscriber for some years and particularly enjoyed working in Lightroom, a great piece of software. I decided to suspend my subscription due to work pressures which resulted in not having enough time to make the most of my CC subscription. My intention was to renew my membership next year, however I was shocked to read I am to be charged a $50 penalty for unsubscribing. If this is how Adobe treats its loyal customers, the CEO and management need to read a book titled;  ‘ How to win customers and keep them for life’ by Michael Le Boeuf. Charging your customers a $50 withdraw fee is not a way to keep or win friends. I will be warning our State Photography Club members about the risks of subscribing to Adobe Creative Cloud so they won’t be stung by a $50 cancelation fee if they decided to exit. I can’t describe how disappointed I am.

Kind regards

Floyd Reading

[John T Smith]

When you 'click to agree' to the subscription terms while buying a subscription, that means that you really do need to read BEFORE you buy a subscription... https://www.adobe.com/misc/subscription_terms.html

When you lease a car, you are subject to a fee if you want to cancel the lease before the end of your term

[FosterB]

If I could upload my chat transcript here, I would. I had a service lapse, then renewed. It didn’t update my subscription dates. It’s missing nearly 2 months on my year long renewal. It shouldn’t matter, as I pay the same price every month and will renew when it’s over. But I was curious, so I opened a chat session with Adobe. It is astounding how little the rep seemed to pay attention to what I was saying. I was only curious, but the conversation made me angry. She straight up just repeated the same info three times and ignored my questions. Then when I got frustrated, she threatened to disconnect because I used the f-word. It wasn’t even aimed at her.

[Abambo]

Well, you can upload the transcript (copy/paste). Just edit out personal info.

And you should not use f-words that is bad practice. I never use those words even in the most frustrating talks to someone.

[corbinw79837770]

I think we need to file a complaint with the FTC. Enough customers are having the same problems with Adobe.

[Abambo]

Feel free to do so, but simply looking at your logic: Adobe is doing business like never before, so they can’t be that bad.

And this said: I do believe that some complaints have substance. But my experience shows, that Adobe customer service is responsive, the commercial conditions are clear and business practice is fair.

[Nancy OShea]

There are always 2 sides to every story.  And what's reported in these public forums is usually only 1/3 of the whole story.

How many times have we tried to escalate help for someone only to learn afterward that they did nothing to help themselves. 

1) Customer's credit card expired.

2) Customer didn't update card information in a timely manner.  2 months goes by....

3)  Customer complains that Adobe wrongly cancelled their service.

1) Customer needs technical help.

2) Adobe offers to remotely connect to customer's computer.

3) Customer refuses remote connect.

4) Customer later complains that Adobe is ignoring their problem.

[Abambo]

As problematic as it is for a customer not getting the support they deserve I have these remarks:

• There are a lot of complaints of customer service not working effectively. But those users that got helped in a satisfactory manner do not post here.If the service would be that bad, the fora would be flooded with complaints.
• Adobe has much more customers that do not complain because they are happy and are able to use the programs to their entire satisfaction.
• Only a minimal number of posts here are complaints on customer service. Most questions are on problems the user has to operate the programs because he is lacking the experience needed. My most complex problems got solved by experienced peers here on these fora. Those were problems unrelated to Adobe (eg: using an unsupported codec) or due to my limited knowledge with the programs interface.
• 2 or 3 problems were related to known bugs (unknown to me) where I got a workaround proposed. I did not use support but the fora, I got answers from highly qualified users and staff. I was not posting as an ACP. Asking precise questions gets you precise answers.
• If customer service would really be the worst in the world, Adobe would not be able to sell so much subscriptions.And I'm sure many people are subscribing and cancelling without a problem.

[ttalgi]

everything you described happened to me, and it made me really sad cause their products were so good, I was taken aback by the horrible customer experience.

[donnac79667680]

Stop the madness.....

My goodness - what a palaver - I have had exactly the same disappointing experience as the original 'complainant'. Like that person, I usually prefer to direct my complaint in private, to the point, respectfully, person to person. This was impossible. No way to locate any such address or contact.

So here I am, publicly protesting a corporation whose products I have faithfully used for many, many years.

Never having written a complaint in a forum before, I felt I was forced to yesterday when I discovered just by chance, that I was being charged for an indesign subscription [for the past 3 months] never having purchased it to begin with. As with the original person in this forum, first of all, Adobe make it all but impossible to find a way of cancelling a subscription let alone getting an admission they have made a mistake, forcing many of us who are time poor, to put it off knowing it will be tricky and very time consuming, tricky being the key word here. I find that making something that should be so simple, [as simple as say... signing up], to be so excruciatingly difficult, both under-handed and insidious from the outset.

Unable to find a solution yesterday, I came back this morning before work to try to resolve this once and for all.

I opened Adobe 'chat' and - for anyone interested - here is the transcript that followed ;

19 Jul. 2019, 8:30am

Hi. I’m the Adobe Customer Care Assistant. Tell me what you need help with. I'll do my best to understand and find the right person to assist you.

19 Jul. 2019, 8:31am

I want to understand why I've been charged for a product I didn't ask for!

19 Jul. 2019, 8:31am

I'm still learning. Could you describe the issue differently or tell me your goal?

19 Jul. 2019, 8:32am

cancel and refund

19 Jul. 2019, 8:32am

more options

19 Jul. 2019, 8:32am

Something else

19 Jul. 2019, 8:32am

Ok. Transferring you to an agent who can help.

liveperson-controller-bot [Automated], 19 Jul. 2019, 8:32am

Connecting you with a specialist as soon as possible.

liveperson-controller-bot [Automated], 19 Jul. 2019, 8:32am

You are now connected to Sxxx, who is reviewing your account. If you need to share sensitive information, such as credit card number, please wait for your agent to give you steps to share it securely.

xxxx, 19 Jul. 2019, 8:33am

Hello, I'll be happy to assist you with the issue that you are facing with the charges. Please elaborate so that I can assist you better.

19 Jul. 2019, 8:33am

Again, I want to understand why I've been charged for indesign, for three months so far, when I did not buy it??

19 Jul. 2019, 8:34am

I have been paying for photoshop for several years but have never wanted indesign, so why have i been charged for it?

xxx, 19 Jul. 2019, 8:35am

Let me check that for you.

19 Jul. 2019, 8:37am

I'd like it refunded and stopped immediately.

xxx, 19 Jul. 2019, 8:38am

You must have placed the order by mistake.

19 Jul. 2019, 8:39am

no.

19 Jul. 2019, 8:39am

How is that possible. I've never needed or used it. It's not even downloaded!

19 Jul. 2019, 8:41am

I am in a hurry so please make this quick

19 Jul. 2019, 8:42am

Please. Hurry.

xxx, 19 Jul. 2019, 8:42am

If you want to cancel the plan then I can provide free 3 months once your current month and you will not get any charges in the next three months and you will save AUD 89.97 .

19 Jul. 2019, 8:44am

I want a refund for what Adobe have stolen from my bank account. I don't want indesign now and I have NEVER wanted it. Please refund it immediately and cancel.

xxx, 19 Jul. 2019, 8:46am

I apologize I will not be able to provide you the full refund as our refund policy is of within 14 days from the date of purchase and if you still want to cancel your subscription then there is a cancellation fees of AUD 104.97 .

Do you want me to cancel your subscription and take the cancellation fees?

19 Jul. 2019, 8:47am

I DID NOT BUY A SUBSCRIPTION _ PLEASEREFUND IMMEDIATELY or I will take legal action

xxx 19 Jul. 2019, 8:51am

As you have the subscription under this account so what best I can do for you is cancel this subscription and waive off the cancellation fees so that you will not get charged for the cancellation fees.

19 Jul. 2019, 8:51am

I am starting to get quite irritated and have spent too much time with this. Please refund or I will end this right now and take legal action. Adobe cannot just take money from someones account without their permission and then not be responsible for their actions - it is criminal.

19 Jul. 2019, 8:52am

I want a copy of this conversation please and I will take legal action as well as go to social media.

19 Jul. 2019, 8:53am

This is truly criminal.

xxx, 19 Jul. 2019, 8:54am

I would like to tell you that before placing the orders we asks our customers for the terms and conditions and if you click on that terms and condition only then the order is placed.

So I guess that you must be the one who have accepted the terms and conditions and placed the order because you have the access to your account.

Which does not makes adobe a criminal!

19 Jul. 2019, 8:55am

I appreciate you are an off shore agent but I'm not sure if you can see from my account- I have NEVER downloaded adobe indesign. Surely you can see that.

19 Jul. 2019, 8:56am

Please send me a copy of this conversation immediately. I have no more time to argue.

19 Jul. 2019, 8:56am

I assume you have my email address?

xxxx, 19 Jul. 2019, 8:57am

Our refund policy is of within 14 days and if you are saying that so what best I can do for you is provide you the refund of the last transaction by creating an exception for you.

19 Jul. 2019, 8:58am

You do that. I still want a copy of this conversation please, tell me if you have my email address so you can send it. I will take this further and want a full refund and an apology.

xxxx 19 Jul. 2019, 8:59am

May I know which type of apology you are looking for?

19 Jul. 2019, 9:01am

a full refund and an apology for 1/taking money from my account without my approval and 2/ wasting my time in trying to access a refund for said withdrawal

19 Jul. 2019, 9:01am

I need to go now. Please just send copy of conversation to xxxxxxxx

xxxx 19 Jul. 2019, 9:01am

Okay, let me do that for you

xxxx 19 Jul. 2019, 9:02am

Please allow me 5-7 minutes and I will do whatever you want.

xxxx, 19 Jul. 2019, 9:03am

As I can check that we have got your 3 payments.

Am I correct?

19 Jul. 2019, 9:06am

yes

xxxx 19 Jul. 2019, 9:07am

Let me do that for you and please bare 5 more minutes with me,I know you do not like talking to me but I was doing my job.

xxxx 19 Jul. 2019, 9:11am

I have successfully cancelled your subscription and provided the refund as well.

xxxx 19 Jul. 2019, 9:12am

And here is your apology as well.

I apologize for the inconvenience caused to you in reference to this order.

xxxx 19 Jul. 2019, 9:13am

Happy to help. You'll receive an email with a survey link. Please take a moment to rate your experience and help us improve. Thanks!

xxxx 19 Jul. 2019, 9:18am

Have a great day.

45 minutes of pure frustration - and I'm usually very easy going. I shall await to see if I do indeed receive a refund, obviously I'll need to check up on them as they've clearly proven, if they can get away with cheating they will.

Finally, to the lady or gent who mentioned Adobe must be doing something right, they are doing better than ever - of course they are, they have a complete monopoly. I have been a creative in advertising for 25 years happily using their products but with the complete disregard they are showing their customers, new and existing, they will come undone very quickly as they are becoming too arrogant and greedy caring only about $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. It's only a matter of time before someone else offers another product and I know where I'll be going.

They should remember how they make those dollars and show some respect to their clients.

[Abambo]

donnac79667680  wrote

(...) they have a complete monopoly. (...)

There is competition. You have just to change...

[donnac79667680]

Being new to forum etiquette, not sure if it's worth responding to that or indeed what exactly ACP means .

I take it from the previous slew of 'ACP' missives in Adobe's defence, you represent Adobe.

But, thank you. Wise words. Most helpful.

[Abambo]

ACP means Adobe Creative Professional. They are users like you are and not Adobe employees. We are free to have our opinion. But as we are heavily using Adobe products to earn a living, we know the products and also some of the procedures around those products.

It’s for me also not easy to believe that you are having a subscription to a product that you didn’t subscribe to. And I found that the support really reacted quite correctly.

The refund will take some time as it will need to be initiated manually, so do not claim cheating on next Monday.

Please be aware that I will not be answering to this conversation and this in the aim to spare my time helping people in need.