Want to know how not to do the on-line customer process? My Antivirus software on the delivered Dell PC that I use is McAfee, or rather was. They committed the deadly sin of being difficult to deal with.
My anti-virus software came up and said "Need to verify subscription status" in the middle of something ans so I clicked on the little button, and it tried to go to the web page and load up the subscription check. Only it turns out that McAfee can't read your details from McAfee software, so you have to log into their website. That took me a mail to remember the password. Friction already. Eh. not too bad, so I'll go with it.
Then I notice that the Anti-Virus software is saying "you cannot do a system scan until the subscription is verified." In other words, they have turned off the application remotely, until I give them cash. That's just about justifiable if you were to claim it was a way of making people have the latest protection, otherwise they will just limp along on old and useless definitions until they get hit with a new virus. On the other hand you could just feel it was McAfee stamping impolitely on your balls until you get your credit card out.
And then it starts to go wild. I get into the web site, and it offers me an annual subscription for services at 29.99 GBP. OK, bit pricey, but I am hip to the need for protection, so I click on purchase. "We have detected that your are not using IE 5.0 or above. Please log on using IE."
Get the fuck outta here. Never heard of Mozilla?
Anyway, I log in using IE, which is still on the machine, as it is apparently an inseparable part of the operating system. (Aside: softies, who the hell would actually let that happen in software design, and if it is really true how come the architect responsible for that kind of incompetence is still in Redmond?)
Now it gets really bizarre. If I invoke the subscription service for the subscription renewal it gives me the 29.99 option, which is OK. But if go direct to the website, it will only give me the retail product for 59.99. That's just taking the piss. If I want to get the real deal, I have to go and switch over to IE as my default browser for the session, and then switch back. I mean, I know how to do that, but how many Joe users would know how to do this?
Still, at this point the inertia is still running, and I try and buy the 59.99 option, because I could not give that much of a toss about the cash, and the machine is vulnerable on broadband without this protection. So, I fill in the forms, even though they have my details already, and I have to fill them all in again. (Not very seamless, let's say.)
And it rejects my credit card. I suspect because I am a Swiss English speaking resident, and try using the English speaking site. Now, this is getting to be a caricature of taking an inertial customer, who would have given them free money in one second flat if I could, into someone who has just had a customer revelation moment, and not in their favour.
So, I did what I did last time I got pissed about like this, last time by Norton, and I went to F-Secure, and I bought their package. Seamless service, download, installation and updates. And it was cheaper than McAfee.
It really takes a lot of ingenuity to lose free cash, and that's what McAfee managed to do. If anyone from McAfee reads this, you need to go and kick your on-line sales head up the arse, and a good hard one.
Comments