Nova Development Customer Service is just plain bad - FAIL

OMG, Nova Development, the company that owns PhotoImpact has one of the worst customer service ever.

I use their automated "Ask a Tech" customer service form to ask for help. I used PI 10 on my XP pc and I got an error "Not enough memory" every time I tried to align objects. No other time, just when I'd try to align things. I figured at the time it was because my computer was old and was having a tough time. I just stuck with PI7 figuring when I got a new computer I'd install 10 and leave 7 in the dust. When I got my new pc, it was loaded with Vista.

I installed PI 10. Works fine, except for the freaking Align function. Same issue: "Not enough memory". How can I have "Not enough memory" with a pc with enough RAM to choke a sheep? I've got NOTHING running but PI 10 and that same function won't work. Hmmmm, something fishy. I check around the web and it seems it's a known issue but I can't seem to find anyone who's posted how to fix it. Which is why I went to Nova Dev's support page. And then I found out exactly how bad their service is to customers who've paid for full versions.

1. Ask for a fix - get a response that PI 10 doesn't work with Vista, purchase an upgrade which is ver. 13. I do not want to buy a 40.00 upgrade. I'd rather use my XP pc and get the fix which I assume they must have done. I respond that I'd like a fix response for my XP version and not a response to get me to buy an upgrade.

2. I get a nice response from someone who tells me if I want someone to troubleshoot the issue for an XP machine they'd be happy to help me.

3. I give them the same issue, saying I want to use it on XP.

4. Within 2 hours I get a response back telling me I need to upgrade to ver.13. No help, no troubleshooting.

5. I write an email pointing out I want a fix for XP and that 2 emails 2 hours apart have 2 different responses.

6. The next email doesn't respond to me personally, it's just a denial that they support version 10 at all.

7. I go to their automated Technical Support Quality Survey page: http://www.novadevelopment.com/Support/Email_Survey.aspx and they don't get a good rating for technical help but I do give them high marks for quick responses. I used to be a CS Manager so fair is fair, but bad service is bad service even if one piece is good. Is the customer satisfied? Is the issue resolved to the best outcome? No, in this case they're blowing me off and doing some kind of bait and switch because I must assume they NEVER fixed the Not Enough Memory issue and expect I have to pay to get a fix.

So I'll blog about it, anyone else who looks for a fix for this will likely stumble upon this post. And if you do, good luck. At the moment I don't have faith that they'll give me a fix because I don't believe they ever fixed it. And I'm not spending 40.00 dollars for a fix because I DON"T NEED THE EXTRA'S THEY'VE ADDED INTO LATER VERSIONS. I use this program for it's vector drawing functions not the photo enhancement functions. And as far as I can see they're enhancing digital photo functions not paint and drawing functions. As an aside, they're missing the mark, going after a market that can use PSP (about the same price) or PS Elements (again about the same price) to do photo enhancements. What those programs DON"T do is have vector functions. You have to buy big ticket programs like Illustator or Photoshop or Corel or XaraX. And PI does vectors as well as the big boys and it's a fraction of the price.

/end rant for now.

Below is the chair on emails, read from the bottom up if interested. btw, identifying pieces have been removed.

This portion is what I wrote in the tech support survey:

I appreciate fast customer service. What I don't appreciate is inconsistancy and a lack of helpfulness. I do not consider telling me to upgrade to fix a problem with a version that has never worked and is well-known and documented by users. I do not appreciate the CSR telling me that he'll troubleshoot the issue I have on XP but in the next email again tells me to purchase a new version. Nor does he ever address the second question.

Correspond in a consistent manner, be honest about what can be done instead of giving non-answers. All I got from the chain of emails is irritation and a bad feeling about a product I love. If customer service is this bad for all customers it doesn't surprise me you can't take over a better market share. Fix the issue or give me a free upgrade. I cannot believe this company never worked on a fix for a function that worked perfectly in previous versions. So either the company didn't fix it or they did and this CSR won't give me the fix. It feels like some kind of bait and switch forcing customers who bought in good faith a product that has such an obvious defect.

The email chain:

Re: RE: User Support Request From Ask a Tech <<#id number#>>‏

From:	Alan V - Nova Development (support1@novadevelopment.com)
Sent:	Thu 6/11/09 3:28 PM
To:	vo

Hello,

Thank you for contacting Nova Development Technical Support.

Unfortunately, we no longer support either Photo Impact 8.5 or Photo Impact 10.

Photo Impact Pro 13
PhotoImpact Pro 13 is the ideal choice for digital photography, creative design and web graphics – all in one powerful suite. You’ll get everything you need to organize, edit, manage, and share digital photos – and so much more!
Vista compatible.

Photo Impact Pro 13
$99.95

If you are interested you may call 408-886-6383. Any of the Customer Service department can set you up with an order.

We offer a 30 day money back guarantee on our products.

Thank you,

Alan
Email Support Representative

Nova Development
23801 Calabasas Road, Suite 2005
Calabasas, CA 91302-1547

Phone: (818) 577-2443
Web: http://www.novadevelopment.com

The Technical Support department strives to provide our customers with quality technical support. We are always looking for means to improve our services. Please take a moment to respond to the survey found below.

http://www.novadevelopment.com/Support/Email_Survey.aspx

*********************************************************************************

--- Original Message ---
From: V Is Me
Received: 6/11/09 3:19:47 PM PDT
To:
Subject: RE: User Support Request From Ask a Tech

Unbelieveable. Look at the previous email that you guys sent to me. Just a little over 2 hours between responses and you people do not have consistent answers.

You said:

(From: support1@novadevelopment.com
To: vo
Subject: Re: RE: User Support Request From Ask a Tech <<##>>
Date: Thu, 11 Jun 2009 10:42:03 -070)

"I apologize that version 10.0 has not worked for you in the past. Version 10 is not Vista compatible, but if you are still trying to use it on a Windows XP based PC, then would be more then happy to trouble shoot any issues you may have. Just let us know exactly what happens and if you are getting any error messages. "

So when I respond, you respond back saying this:

(From: support1@novadevelopment.com

To: vo
Subject: Re: RE: User Support Request From Ask a Tech <<##>>

Date: Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:36:40 -0700)

"Unfortunately, we no longer support Photo Impact Pro 8.5 or version 10. "

ALL I WANT AT THIS POINT IS A FIX FOR PI 10 RUNNING ON XP. THIS PRODUCT HAS NEVER WORKED CORRECTLY, IT SHOULDN'T BE TOO DIFFICULT TO SEND ME A FIX UNLESS OF COURSE, YOU NEVER FIXED IT AND SOLD A DEFECTIVE VERSION.

*********************************************************************************

From: support1@novadevelopment.com

To: vo
Subject: Re: RE: User Support Request From Ask a Tech <<##>>
Date: Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:36:40 -0700

Hello,

Thank you for contacting Nova Development Technical Support.

Unfortunately, we no longer support Photo Impact Pro 8.5 or version 10.

Photo Impact Pro 13
PhotoImpact Pro 13 is the ideal choice for digital photography, creative design and web graphics – all in one powerful suite. You’ll get everything you need to organize, edit, manage, and share digital photos – and so much more!
Vista compatible.

Photo Impact Pro 13
$99.95

If you are interested you may call 408-886-6383. Any of the Customer Service department can set you up with an order.

We offer a 30 day money back guarantee on our products.

Thank you,

Alan
Email Support Representative

Nova Development
23801 Calabasas Road, Suite 2005
Calabasas, CA 91302-1547

Phone: (818) 577-2443
Web: http://www.novadevelopment.com

The Technical Support department strives to provide our customers with quality technical support. We are always looking for means to improve our services. Please take a moment to respond to the survey found below.
http://www.novadevelopment.com/Support/Email_Survey.aspx
*********************************************************************************

--- Original Message ---
From: V Is Me
Received: 6/11/09 11:39:21 AM PDT
To:
Subject: RE: User Support Request From Ask a Tech

Please see the original coorespondence that shows exactly what the problem is...the exact same error happens whether I use XP or Vista. Be aware that ALL other functions but the align function works just fine with either XP or Vista. I've searched the web and this issue is long standing...before Vista was even released.

Can you please tell me how to use the align function without getting "Not enough memory" error when it the pc has nothing running but PI 10.

*********************************************************************************

From: support1@novadevelopment.com
To: vo
Subject: Re: RE: User Support Request From Ask a Tech <<##>>
Date: Thu, 11 Jun 2009 10:42:03 -0700

Hello,

Thank you for contacting Nova Development Technical Support.

I apologize that version 10.0 has not worked for you in the past. Version 10 is not Vista compatible, but if you are still trying to use it on a Windows XP based PC, then would be more then happy to trouble shoot any issues you may have. Just let us know exactly what happens and if you are getting any error messages.

Thank you,

Victor
Email Support Representative

Nova Development
23801 Calabasas Road, Suite 2005
Calabasas, CA 91302-1547

Phone: (818) 577-2443
Web: http://www.novadevelopment.com

The Technical Support department strives to provide our customers with quality technical support. We are always looking for means to improve our services. Please take a moment to respond to the survey found below.
http://www.novadevelopment.com/Support/Email_Survey.aspx
*********************************************************************************

--- Original Message ---
From: V Is Me
Received: 6/10/09 2:27:41 PM PDT
To:
Subject: RE: User Support Request From Ask a Tech

This version didn't work on my previous XP pc either. I was hoping that you guys had a fix for it rather than asking me to upgrade and spend even more money for one thing that should have worked in the first place as it does on other versions.

I don't find asking a customer who's purchased full versions to pay to get a fix stellar customer service.

*********************************************************************************

---

From: support1@novadevelopment.com
To: vo
Subject: Re: User Support Request From Ask a Tech <<##>>
Date: Wed, 10 Jun 2009 13:01:38 -0700

Hello,

Thank you for contacting Nova Development Technical Support.

Unfortunately, Photo Impact Pro 8.5 and version 10 were not designed to work with Windows Vista. However Photo Impact Pro 13 is compatible with Windows Vista.

Photo Impact Pro 13

PhotoImpact Pro 13 is the ideal choice for digital photography, creative design and web graphics – all in one powerful suite. You’ll get everything you need to organize, edit, manage, and share digital photos – and so much more!
Vista compatible.

Photo Impact Pro 13
$99.95

If you are interested you may call 408-886-6383. Any of the Customer Service department can set you up with an order. Ask to see if you qualify for the special upgrade price.

We offer a 30 day money back guarantee on our products.

Thank you,

Alan
Email Support Representative

Nova Development
23801 Calabasas Road, Suite 2005
Calabasas, CA 91302-1547

Phone: (818) 577-2443
Web: http://www.novadevelopment.com

The Technical Support department strives to provide our customers with quality technical support. We are always looking for means to improve our services. Please take a moment to respond to the survey found below.
http://www.novadevelopment.com/Support/Email_Survey.aspx
*********************************************************************************

--- Original Message ---
From: vo
Received: 6/8/09 9:25:47 PM PDT
To: support1@novadevelopment.com
Subject: User Support Request From Ask a Tech

Dear Tech Support:
The following information was generated from a user request made at "Ask A Tech"

User Supplied Information
--------------------------

Time: 6/8/2009 9:25:18 PM

User Name: vo
Phone Number:
E-Mail Address: vo
Computer Make/Model: hp
Operating System/Version: vista
Hard Drive Space Available: 162 gb
Amount of RAM: a bunch
Printer Make/Model: hp but don't really use it.
Nova Product in question: PhotoImpact Pro 10
Purchase Place: Best Buy

--------------------------
Description of the Problem:

1. When trying to align objects get Not Enough Memory. I have plenty of memory, brand new computer, running no other programs it still give me the error msg. Even if I have a small graphic and try to align 2 items I get the error msg. Please do not tell me it's my computer problem. I can run Photoshop 6, Outlook, 4 browsers and still not use up the memory for weeks.

2. Need to know how to use new brushes....you can add a brush to the Easy Pallette and there is even a little brush icon that appears when you use the add function when designing a brush but I cannot figure out how to USE the brush. I can send a screenshot if necessary.
---End of message---