#phraseexpress

[gofilehub-blog]

Download phraseexpress for your PC and easy to use, Free Download latest version software from Gofilehub.com!

[techwallet]

Download PhraseExpress 12.0.142 – FileHippo.com http://dlvr.it/NhMPRf

[torley]

When tech support is broken

I'm big into automating repetitive tasks, and PhraseExpress is a great good tool to do that. They even have a freeware version. They also state — as you might expect — that they don't provide support for the freeware version. I get this, because they need to focus their time and energy on paying customers so they can keep growing the business.

BUT — it also leads to stupid stonewalls: the newest version (v8) has likely introduced some bugs that broke some of my macros. Alas, I didn't keep archives of the older versions (like v7 — sites like OldVersion.com don't stock PE and I haven't even able to find it on other, um, dubious places).

I thought this page would help, but wait — older versions for registered users only? Why? This is pretty dumb, because if there's a nasty regression in the code, how is a user of the freeware version supposed to "roll back" without bothering you? (Windows, alas, has nothing as easy as Time Machine.) If you're going to provide self-help, it needs to be more thoroughly routed than Liquid-Plumbr® — test all the major pathways to assure there are no broken links, no circular references where Page A and Page B point to each other for help.

So I write in, and get the reply:

We kindly ask for your understanding that we do not provide personal technical assistance for freeware users.

I'll give credit for a fast response. Then I point out:

Argh — I'd like to say that I "understand" but this provides no incentive to register. :(

Then:

Did you want to buy the *old* PhraseExpress version indeed? ;-)

So I suggest:

If the older version is confirmed to solve my problems, that would be an incentive, yes.

I haven't heard back since then, but the tone of PE's reply left me cold. What could've they done better? In the same amount of time, they could've quickly sent me a link to v7 to test and win my delight. I'd feel like reciprocating. Or if they were really reluctant, they could've provided a more specific reason why old versions aren't available to freeware users. (Are they concerned that'd be a bandwidth hog?)

I hate it when a company makes a cool product but their tech support is broken. Meanwhile, I investigate competitors, and find the field is rather scattered when it comes to elegant GUI ways of recording macros — I yearn for QuickKeys as it was on my early Mac. Alas, the Windows version hasn't been updated.

P.S. If you wonder why I hadn't paid for PhraseExpress before this, it's because it's not the first time I've encountered problems that made me question its stability. Those were more bearable and I found workarounds, but PE as a whole package wasn't good enough to make me leap for the registered version. On the other hand, I've bought Mac equivalents like TextExpander, whose creators have given me awesome personal service.