[svlug] Buying Ubuntu Support from Canonical not as smooth as running the Operating System!

Sat Oct 6 20:59:19 UTC 2007

On 10/5/07, Kristian Erik Hermansen <kristian.hermansen at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> In reverse chronological order...
>
> ... or to sum up in short:
> * Based in UK (so no US hours?)
> * Don't accept our corporate American Express (AMEX)
> * Credit Card verification failed (on a valid card)
> * Still charged the invalid card twice and credit card company called
> to notify us of possible fraud!
> * Canonical's web application accepting the data could be misbehaving
> * After all this, we had to fill out the order by hand and fax the
> paperwork back to a UK fax number (no US number available)
>
> Now this doesn't change my opinion of Ubuntu in any way

Yikes, what will!

, but it does
> make me wonder just how many people have actually ordered support from
> Canonical.  Most new customers could be turned off by such an
> experience...
>
>
> <snip>
> From:   Michelle Surtees-Myers <michelle at canonical.com>
> To:     Kristian Hermansen <khermansen at ign.com>
> Subject:        Re: Your information request for Ubuntu Desktop Support
> Date:   Fri, 5 Oct 2007 04:03:45 -0700
>
>
> HI Kristian,
> I am sorry that you have experienced problems purchasing support from
> our online store. I will pass these problems on.
>
> If you let me know what sort of support you are looking to purchase, I
> will send you an order form and process your order from here.
> Kind regards,
> Michelle
>
> Kristian Hermansen wrote:
> >
> > That is unfortunate...
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Birol Ertekin
> > To: Kristian Hermansen; 'Michelle Surtees-Myers' <michelle at canonical.com
> >
> > Sent: Thu Oct 04 20:42:41 2007
> > Subject: RE: Your information request for Ubuntu Desktop Support
> >
> > The merchant is not accepting Amex, so I tried my personal Mastercard
> > but the payment system is not accepting the MC:
> >
> > This transaction was not authorised by your card issuer. This
> > authorisation request was denied as further identity checks cannot be
> > carried out on an internet transaction. You may wish to try another
> card.
> >
> > This may be due to the fact that the e-commerce system is UK based.
> >
> > Also it was difficult to pass the 'I read and confirm the service
> > agreement' part. It kept unchecking the box automatically, and after
> > trying it maybe 20 times, it worked.
> >
> > - Birol
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Kristian Hermansen
> > Sent: Thursday, October 04, 2007 12:47 PM
> > To: Michelle Surtees-Myers
> > Cc: Birol Ertekin
> > Subject: RE: Your information request for Ubuntu Desktop Support
> >
> > Hi!
> >
> > Birol, my boss, will be putting in the request for me.  Can you give
> > him the instructions on how to make payment and whatever else needs to
> > be done?  Thanks :-)
> >
> > --
> > Kristian Erik Hermansen
> > Information Security Engineer
> > FOX Interactive Media / IGN
> > 8000 Marina Blvd.
> > Brisbane, CA 94005
> > Mobile: (415) 509-1293
> > Office: (415) 508-2252
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Michelle Surtees-Myers [mailto:michelle at canonical.com]
> > Sent: Thursday, October 04, 2007 10:05 AM
> > To: Kristian Hermansen
> > Subject: Re: Your information request for Ubuntu Desktop Support
> >
> > Dear Kristian,
> >
> > Thank you for your interest in Ubuntu and support services from
> > Canonical. We are replying to the request you sent via our web site:
> >
> > = Your original request =
> > Hi :-)
> >
> > I am interested in speaking with an expert about advanced Desktop
> > support.  I am an active open-source contributor (I spoke at Ubuntu
> > Live...among other things) and would like to learn about possibilities
> > for support from Canonical.  I have at least one Desktop machine here
> > at FOX that I would like to request for support through Canonical.
> > However, I want to find out what I am getting first!
> >
> > Basically, the real reason is that I have a few Enterprise devices
> > that I may not want to investigate setting up myself sometime.  And
> > also, I assume that based on the support requests, you would
> > prioritize solutions for paying customers, and then all non-paying
> > Ubuntu users can benefit from such enhancements.  That is what I am
> > interested in -- helping make Ubuntu better for everyone :-)  Let me
> > know if my analysis seems correct and this is the type of service you
> > offer...thanks!
> > ================
> >
> > Our support generally covers installation, configuration,
> > administration and management of Ubuntu on the desktop.  So we'll
> > willingly try and help with an issue where you've tried to install or
> > set-up Ubuntu on a particular machine.  It depends what you mean by
> > "Enterprise devices" because we won't go out and research whether
> > Ubuntu will work with a particular device such as a mobile phone.
> >
> > If you had a wider enterprise deployment then this would come under
> > the scenario of deployment consulting or engineering consulting.
> >
> > As you mention one of the benefits of Ubuntu support is that we'll
> > prioritise the resolution and development of bug fixes or feature
> > fixes for commercial customers.  Individual resolutions will make
> > their way into the upstream Ubuntu release so that all users (and the
> > support customer in the future) all benefit.  So if you have a HP
> > workstation and Ubuntu doesn't work correctly with the hard-drive then
> > this will be prioritised over a community member who has a similar
> issue.
> >
> > Our services agreement covers installation, configuration and
> > generally getting things working on your desktop environment. It also
> > covers support for most packages in the main repository. In general,
> > we will go out of our way to help you solve the problems you might
> > encounter when installing and running Ubuntu.
> >
> > The duration of the contract is for one (1) year. During that year,
> > you are entitled to ten (10) support cases. A case, also called an
> > incident, is a problem that you encounter. In order to solve a
> > problem, we might exchange several phone calls or emails. However,
> > these will only consume a single case during the span of these
> exchanges.
> >
> > Two Desktop Support options are available to you:
> >
> > Standard desktop 9x5:
> > * Availability: 9AM to 5PM in your timezone, weekdays only.
> > * Initial response time: 4 hrs for cases raised by phone; 48 hrs for
> > those raised via our customer web portal.
> > * Price: $250 per desktop.
> >
> > Complete desktop 24x7:
> > * Availability: 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
> > * Initial response time: 2 hrs for cases raised by phone, 24 hrs for
> > those raised via our customer web portal.
> > * Price: $900 per desktop.
> >
> > Included within support is Landscape, our Web-based Systems Management
> > service, is now provided as an intrinsic part of Canonical's support
> > services. Landscape is specifically designed to help in management and
> > support of desktop, laptop and server deployments using a single
> > integrated web interface. Some of the functionality also enables you
> > to manage groups of machines as easily as if you were managing a
> > single machine. For more information, please see our web site:
> > http://canonical.com/landscape. All machines covered by a Canonical
> > support contract have the opportunity to register for the Landscape
> > service.
> >
> > In order to obtain a Support services agreement from us, please reply
> > to this email with the following information:
> >
> >  * Type of support contract required: (9x5 or 24x7)
> >
> > We would also like to confirm that we have the correct contact
> > information for you:
> >
> > * Full name of main contact: Kristian Hermansen
> > * Email address of main contact: khermansen at ign.com
> > * Company: FOX Interactive Media
> >
> > * Address:
> > 8000 Marina Blvd.
> > Brisbane, CA 94005
> > USA
> > * Phone number: 415 508 2252
> > * Fax number:
> > * Website: http://www.fox.com
> >
> > Important:
> > Cases can only be submitted by contact persons recognized by our
> > system. If you would like to add contacts to your account please
> > provide us with the following information for each:
> >
> > Name
> > Email address
> > Telephone number
> >
> > Support can now also be purchased via our online store. To buy click
> > here:  https://shop.canonical.com.
> >
> > If you have further questions, feel free to write or call us directly
> > at +44 207 630 2474.
> >
> > Thanks for considering us for support, we look forward to working
> > together!
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> >
> >
> > No virus found in this incoming message.
> > Checked by AVG Free Edition.
> > Version: 7.5.488 / Virus Database: 269.14.1/1050 - Release Date:
> > 10/4/2007 5:03 PM
> >
> >
> >
> > No virus found in this outgoing message.
> > Checked by AVG Free Edition.
> > Version: 7.5.488 / Virus Database: 269.14.1/1050 - Release Date:
> > 10/4/2007 5:03 PM
> >
>
>
> --
> Kind regards
>
> Michelle Surtees-Myers
> Canonical UK Ltd
> Tel: +44 207 630 2474   Fax: +44 207 630 2401
>
> Ubuntu - Linux for human beings
> </snip>
> --
> Kristian Erik Hermansen
>
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>

-- 
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I
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