Lack of support from support - PART II

[Econdoc]

I started the topic "Lack of Support from Support" about two weeks ago.  The topic was closed, but not by me!

Although I was eventually contacted by a “Support Manager," the problem was neither correctly addressed nor resolved.  The support manager has not returned emails (ticket replies, plural) in a week.

My MBAM Pro does not reliably update on one of my computers.  This has been going on for months.  I have repeatedly requested a refund if they are unable to resolve this problem.  No one responds.  Closing the forum topic suggests to forum users, readers like you, that the problem has been addressed.  I am posting again to say that the issue is alive and well.

[Wide_Glide]

Hello Econdoc,

 

Quote From AdvancedSetup

 

 

I show that Oscar has contacted you so I'll go ahead and close this topic then but if you do continue to have issues contacting support my offer to help you here on the forum still stands.

 

Best wishes

 

 

 

 

 

Hello Econdoc

 

My guess is that somehow either your email provider or our mail provider is probably blocking the mail between each other.   I do apologize for the issue and I can certainly assist you in the malware removal forum if you like.

 

Please just start a new topic here:  https://forums.malwa...php?showforum=7

 

Then ask for me and send me a Private Message when you've created that new topic and I'll be happy to get this sorted out for you.

 

Thank you

 

 

[Econdoc]

Please do NOT close this.  Oscar had NOT contacted.

If Support was working with me, there would be no need for this Forum Topic.

 

I am confident that this is NOT an email issue.  I have been able to send and recieve tens of emails in the past couple months with Support.  They are ignoring me, pure and simple.

 

[Durew]

Hey Econdoc,

 

Since customer support is (for whatever reason) not working out for you I advise you accept Advanced Setup's offer to help you out.

As Wide Glide already quoted: create a topic at https://forums.malwarebytes.org/index.php?showforum=7 , include a DDS log, a detailed problem description and perhaps the MBAM-check log.

 

I have no personal experience with customer support but I know that the forum support is great and certainly worth your time. I have have never seen a helper there ignoring the one asking for help. (Sadly, the opposite does happen.)

Please note that the malware-removal subforum is the only place where the use of powerful tools is allowed. Even if you are not infected, that is the best to go.

 

As always, if you have any questions please post & ask.

[AdvancedSetup]

I'm sorry I do not know why you're not receiving email and there is nothing I can do about that.  What I can do is help you to get this working.

 

As requested, please create a new topic in this forum:  https://forums.malwarebytes.org/index.php?showforum=7

Then send me a private message with the link to the topic and I will most certainly help you to get this resolved.

 

Thank you again.

[Econdoc]

I thank all of you for your generous offers of help. I would like to reiterate that email is not the problem.  Emails between MBAM and me appear to work just fine. The problem was that MBAM was not responding back to me.

How do I know this?

When the previous "Support Manager" contacted me (mentioned in the original posting of this topic), his email contained previous correspondence with the support person from the initial support ticket, dating back months.

Oscar contacted me yesterday, and likewise, his email contained my prior correspondence with the "Support Manager," above.  

Clearly, my mails are being received; it is just that MBAM is not responding to them. So once again, this cannot be an email problem.

 

Oscar is on the case now, and I will see where this goes.

 

Thanks again for the offers of assistance.

[AdvancedSetup]

Okay then sounds good. I'll go ahead and leave your topic here open for another day or so but let me know if you need any further assistance.

Thanks

[Econdoc]

I don't understand the rush to close this issue. As far as I am concerned, it is not closed until the problem is fixed. Since I started the topic, I should be the one to say it is closed.

[AdvancedSetup]

The issue is that open topics attract other users to post unrelated information.  Happens on every forum known to man and why we try to cut down on it by closing topics that no longer require attention.  You're not working on anything in this topic you're working on the Help desk so why keep it open?

[Econdoc]

My take on this is that shutting down this topic down makes it look like MBAM is hiding more dirty laundry.  This entire episode should be an embarrasment for MBAM; the lack of support and abandonment of assistance has been appalling. If you want to shut me off AGAIN, I cannot stop you.

[Porthos]

Closing the topic does not delete it, The "dirty laundry" stays here for all to see. Just keeps others from posting in the topic instead of creating their own.

You are always welcome to PM an admin and the topic can be reopened.

[AdvancedSetup]

No one is "shutting off" anyone.  If you review your post here on the forum I've been very responsive to you.  I've done support now for over 20 years myself and we're not without flaws but I can honestly say that there are not too many other companies I've dealt with that provide as responsive of support as we do here overall.  Even the CEO continues to visit and post on the forum from time to time, you don't see that too many times at other companies.  Sometimes things fall through the cracks but that doesn't mean the system as a whole is broken or that anyone ignoring or shutting you off.

[Durew]

Hi Econdoc,

 

Usually I try to be a diplomatic, but I'm going to be a bit more direct here. This is not meant to insult in anyway, this is only to get a clearer picture of the situation. I won't focus on anything that (I think) will not contribute to your MBAM problem solved. (For this post at least) This includes any blaming, accusing and laundry.

 

Since repeating what others already posted (for two topics) is not going to help you in any way, I will ask you a few direct questions to provide us with some information. If you can answer them the answers will help us help you. (Though I may need to throw a bunch of additional questions in your direction to get a clear picture.) If you find yourself unable to answer the questions, please let me know.

 

As far as I understand: You have a problem with Malwarebytes Anti-malware (MBAM). You have contacted customer support and made a 'ticket'. Customer support (via the e-mail) is having trouble (for whatever reason) helping you solve this problem. Advanced Setup has offered you forum support. You have not accepted Advanced Setup's offer for help. The next step in getting your MBAM problem solved is making sure you get adequate support from a Malwarebytes employee.

This leads me to the following two questions:

 

1. What do you expect to achieve at this topic? (What kind of help do you expect from us, here, in this topic?)

 

2. If the customer support via the e-mail is not working for you, why is there no topic from you at malware-removal? (Why haven't you accepted Advanced Setup's offer for forum-support?)

 

I'm looking forward to the answers so I, and maybe others, can get a clearer picture of the problem. Hopefully this will help us help you.

 

Regards,

Durew

[Econdoc]

Thanks for the follow up.  All of you at the forum have offered assistance...promptly and politely, for which I thank you.  What may not be apparent to you, since you have been doing this for a long time, is that to a newbie, the assistance offered did not seem to be "on topic."

1. It was suggested that I should move the discussion to the Malware Removal section. I had no reason (and still don't) to believe that I had a malware problem.

2, It was suggested that there was an email problem.  I had no reason (and still don't) to believe that I had an email problem.

3. What I had was a support problem. 

 

From my viewpoint, shutting down the topic was not supportive either...I had been deserted by Support and also by the Forum.

 

I might suggest that when offers to move the topic to the malware section are made, that some explanation for why it needs to be moved be included.  I now know that only in the malware removal section can you get diagnosic reports, correct?   When the suggestion was made that I move the topic, it seemed like a waste of everyone's time, since I did not have a malware issue.

 

Hope this explanation helps.

[daledoc1]

Hi, Econdoc:

 

I am just a home user and forum volunteer.

I am neither qualified nor authorized to determine the nature of your problem or to fix it (malware or something else).

 

However, until our Root Admin, AdvancedSetup, returns....

 

1. This particular sub-section of the forum is dedicated to troubleshooting "basic" issues with installing, running or configuring MBAM.  More complex issues, or those that MIGHT POSSIBLY involve malware and/or damage from malware infections, are handled in a special, dedicated section of the forum.  There are several reasons for this:

A. As you mentioned, the staff/experts are not permitted to run the necessary diagnostic tools and scanners **here** - all such work is performed in that other section. 

B. Malware diagnosis and removal is complex.  That is why users are first referred to a pinned topic to run some preliminary scanners.

C. The malware removal section is reserved only for the OPs (Original Posters) and a small group of specially trained, authorized staff and volunteer helpers.  Input from regular members, others with the same or similar issues ("hijackers") and casual forum visitors is not permitted.  That allows the expert helper to work without confusion or distraction from others.  This is the norm here, as well as at other computer disinfection forums, such as the malware removal section at bleepingcomputer.com.  This is for the safety of the OP, to prevent others without expertise from providing unqualified and possibly dangerous advice.

D. So, when it was repeatedly suggested that you start a new post over in the malware removal section, that was "standard" forum procedure.  Nothing more, nothing less. There was no implication that your computer *is* infected, but rather only that it *might be* and that work on such systems is done in a different sub-forum. If you browse here a bit, you will see that such recommendations are made 10s of times daily (here and at other specialized computer disinfection forums).

 

2. I cannot comment on your email problems. :(

 

3. As was explained earlier, it happens daily that forum newcomers/hijackers (unintentional or not) post on top of the OP.  When this happens it creates confusion for everyone and results in suboptimal support.  That's because problems that seem "the same" typically have a unique cause and solution for each computer.  So, once again, it is standard procedure to close threads when the issue is resolved or when the OP is being helped elsewhere.  There was nothing at all personal about that.

A. Moreover, it is impractical and sometimes potentially dangerous for a user to be assisted by multiple helpers in multiple venues simultaneously (Forum + Help Desk, or Forum A + Forum B, or Forum + Tech/Friend/Family/Self-Medication).

Malware diagnosis and removal is a tedious, complex, highly-specialized, sometimes risky ordeal, and it is not helpful to seek help from multiple sources.
That is another reason why a forum post here in this section will typically be closed if the OP is being assisted elsewhere (help desk, malware removal forum, etc).

 

I am not staff.

I am not a computer expert.

I cannot speak to your difficulties with the help desk.

 

I am just another MBAM home user.

I have, however, volunteered here at the forum for a long time.

And I know that the staff, especially AdvancedSetup, always provide the very best possible support to each and every user.

As far as I can tell, that seems to be the case here, as well.

If you will permit him to do so, I am confident that he will do everything humanly possible to assist you with resolving whatever issue brought you here.

 

I hope this helps to clarify things a bit.

And I certainly hope that you get your computer fixed up.

 

Kind regards,

 

daledoc1

 

 

[Econdoc]

Thanks daledoc1. 

Excellent letter of explanation of the role of the forum members and the maleware removal forum.

Since Oscar is now on the case, I will see how that progresses before I avail myself of the collective wisdom of the forum.

Thanks again to all.

[Porthos]

When the suggestion was made that I move the topic, it seemed like a waste of everyone's time, since I did not have a malware issue.

 

The same reports that diagnose malware are used to find other issues as well. Running those tools weather thru email support or on the forum has the same result. Only Staff or trained helpers can even respond to those that's why people are asked to post those in the malware forum even if it looks like malware or not.

 

2, It was suggested that there was an email problem.  I had no reason (and still don't) to believe that I had an email problem.

 

 

Considering the volume of support tickets that are received each day and the relative small size of the company/staff i am sure things can fall through the cracks at times.

[Durew]

Hi Econdoc,

 

Your explanation certainly helped. I now understand what was going on. I think Daledoc1 explained just 'n about answered all you questions here.

 

An e-mail problem was the most likely cause for the customer support problems from our point of view. It had to be ruled out.

 

 

I might suggest that when offers to move the topic to the malware section are made, that some explanation for why it needs to be moved be included.

I'll try to keep this in mind the next times I refer someone to malware-removal.

 

As always, if you have any question, post & ask.

 

Good luck! I hope everything pans out with Oscar.