I’ve been writing software for others to use since 1967.
I started doing technical support about an hour after I released my first product which, as I recall,
was a set of Fortran routines for doing scientific plots on a pen plotter.
(The computer was an IBM 7094 with the equivalent of about 144 KB of memory, and I think my routines took most of it.
Not much room left for the application that needed plotting.
I had a lot to learn.)
But supporting ImageIngester and my other products here is the first time I’ve actually enjoyed doing technical support.
I think it’s a combination of:
products that I’m very happy with and
that are very reliable,
an application area that I personally enjoy
(I never cared much for repairing telephones,
scheduling supermarket employees,
monitoring gas fields,
or recording elementary-school grades),
and the opportunity to work with photographers whose failed shots are better than my successes.
There’s only one frustrating thing that happens about once a week or so:
I have a short break,
drop into a coffee shop to check my email,
knowing that it will be hours before I’ll be able to check again,
and get a message like this:
I’m using ImageIngester and all of the sudden my number range folders aren’t showing the right numbers.
What am I doing wrong?
In my precious few minutes I type this response:
What version and platform are you using?
Also, please paste the main-window log into your reply,
and attach the external log.
Thanks!
What’s frustrating is that I know I could have probably guessed what was wrong if only I had the needed information.
It shows up in a day or so, I get to my email shortly thereafter, and then that hard-working photographer gets his or her problem solved.
It’s really my fault:
There’s no Technical Support page on the ImageIngester.com web site that tells users exactly what to do.
Or there wasn’t until a few minutes ago.
It’s there now, with a link to it up at the top.
Because this stuff can’t be overemphasized,
I’ve reproduced the whole page below.
You can get support for any of the software products available here via email directly to Marc.
But first make sure you’ve checked the material on this site and in the written documentation.
Also, information about changes to the products and occasional tips are posted to the ImageIngester Blog, which has an RSS feed.
That’s the best way to get information about new developments.
I always post to the Blog when a new version is available.
If you have a question about how to use ImageIngester or ImageVerifier, or about their features, or have a suggestion for a new feature, consider posting it in the ImageIngester/ImageVerifier section of The DAM Forum, so that others can see your question and my response.
You may get helpful responses from experienced users, too.
I answer Forum posts just as quickly as I do email.
(But it’s OK to ask via email if you prefer.)
Please
include the platform (OS X or Windows) and the version number in your initial email.
If you don’t, I’ll usually have to ask you for it before proceeding.
That results in an extra round of emails,
which would be unfortunate if I were away from my office and had only a few minutes to check my email.
If you’re using a product with a main-window log or an external log (or both), like ImageIngester,
please include them in or attach them to your email message.
They contain a huge amount of information about what happened that helps me diagnose the problem.
Unless I’m out of town, I usually respond to emails and DAM Forum postings within hours, sometimes within minutes.
Sometimes I can respond quickly when I’m out of town as well.
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