Charging To Re-download
Earlier this month, DataViz changed its policy regarding the downloading of registered software. We’ve heard some complaints from a few customers so I wanted to take a moment to explain the policy and offer some tips to make this as user friendly as possible.
We have always allowed customers to redownload software that they are registered for as a last resort if they can’t find their install file and need to re-install. However, we have some customers who abuse this by repeatedly downloading the same application (7-8 years after they purchased, in some cases). That, in conjunction with our ever-increasing product line has resulted in tens of thousands of downloads every month. There is a significant cost associated with maintaining and supporting that level of downloads (bandwidth charges, server maintenance, etc). DataViz decided that something needed to be done to offset these costs. Thus, our download insurance plan was implemented. The basic idea is this:
When you purchase software from DataViz or when you register a DataViz application that was included with your device, we will give you a period of time where you can download the software at no charge. If additional downloads are needed after that time is expired, the customer can purchase a download insurance package which will give them 10 additional downloads over the course of 12 months. The cost for download insurance ranges from $2.99 to $4.99.This is not a new concept in the software industry. Companies like Apple and Symantec have been doing this for some time now to offset the costs of re-downloading. We can understand how the change might frustrate customers who are used to being able to download from us at any time for free, so here are some suggestions that should make download maintenance a non-issue.
- Save the install file: Don’t choose ‘run’ as the install file will not be present on your hard drive after installation. If you save the installer, you can keep it in a safe location on your hard drive, burn it to a CD, store it on a USB flash drive, etc. That way if you ever run into problems you will not need to redownload.- Order your software on CD: We still offer the majority of our software on CD’s that can be shipped to you. If you are very concerned about this and want to be sure you always have a safe, valid backup, you may want to go this route.
We’re doing our best to ensure that customers understand this policy when purchasing. We offer the ability to add the insurance at the time of your original purchase, and we also include notes on some of the order/download pages suggesting that you save the installer to avoid the need to redownload. We hope that all of our customers can understand and appreciate the reasoning for this new policy. As always, were happy to hear your feedback on this.
Comments
@ Floris,
I definitely understand your concerns but please keep in mind that the newest version of Documents To Go you own is almost 5 years old (and 5 versions behind our newest version). We offer one on one support via phone and email for our newest versions. I think you'll be hard pressed to find a company that will offer you one on one support for a product that is 5 versions behind the current one.
Having said that, in a case where you have registration/activation key issues like you mentioned, our sales/customer service team should certainly be able to help you regardless of your version. You can find the contact info for them here: http://www.dataviz.com/contact/index.html
Posted by: Jason | April 4, 2008 08:53 AM
I understand DataViz's download policy - to a degree. What I find problematic is the lack of e-mail support for legitimate questions from customers who have paid good money for their product. In my case the Desktop To Go software tells me the registration and activation keys DataViz has given me are invalid. As DataViz make it impossible to contact them I can't solve this most basic of problems. Essentially DataViz is refusing the most basic level of support to its customers.
Posted by: Floris Faber | April 3, 2008 09:05 AM