My favorite backup program used to be Acronis True Image. I've used it ever since I got a copy of version 8 sometime back, and it's saved my butt several times when I needed to do a total restore. However, due to bungling customer service and sheer unhelpfulness — in addition to a faulty 2009 version — I can't recommend it anymore.
Last month, I bought Acronis True Image 2009 because version 8 began acting unreliably on my Windows XP system. This followed a long time where it served me loyally, and like an upgrade should be, I was hoping 2009 would be noticeably better. It certainly looks sleeker, bearing a faux Vista look even if you're on XP.
But that's where I was wrong: it crashed unpredictably when trying to create new tasks and also failed erratically on occasional nights when backing up. A backup program which is inconsistent compromises (and I hesitate to use stronger words here) your peace of mind.
In good faith, I did deep research on the forums and knowledge base, and did the usual things like a clean reinstall. But to no avail. By this time, I had already found a better solution (if you've been following my blog, you can infer what it is). So I wrote to Acronis per their Refund Policy. This was shortly after the holidays, so I understood a slow response. I also wanted to be respectful of what it said in their autoreply:
Please do not submit your request more than once; multiple submissions generate extra paperwork that simply slows down response times.
However, this seemed like an awfully long time. So I wrote to a different email address, acronis@digitalriver.com, which I had gotten a reply to earlier. What about?
Well that's another shady thing: their online checkout charged me sales tax me without telling me the specific total first — it was only until after I completed my transaction that I knew the exact amount.
I asked them:
I recently purchased Acronis True Image 2009 and it said the total was
US$49.99, but after I checked out, I was billed for $54.19.
They said:
The charge that you are referring to is the applicable sales tax for the
purchase. On the shopping basket page of the order it states that sales
tax is charged for orders shipped to California, Minnesota and
Washington. Sales tax is automatically computed on both product(s) and
shipping costs. Also, for International Orders it states that pursuant
to the Digital VAT Directive, as of 1st July 2003, European customers
will be charged VAT on all downloadable digital products and services,
including software at 15.0%.
To be fair, they prompted me beforehand that I would be charged for sales tax. Still, I should've received final confirmation, as I do on… every single other online shopping site I've been to. 4-odd bucks isn't a big deal, but there's no excuse for not being an ethical merchant.
It goes downhill from there…
I finally heard back shortly after. I'll omit the support person's name because this post isn't about individual humiliation, and having worked support extensively, I have an appreciation for when it's done well (as well as a severe distaste for when it's handled poorly). I think he was trying to be helpful, but sounded as if he was reading from a script, sending me robo-email after robo-email despite my insistence on a refund, and my disinterest in trying to solve my True Image 2009 problems — both because I had already churned through that and I found a better solution.
I made my request 4 times, each time to receive a reply telling me generic steps to diagnose the problem, with no acknowledgment of my refund request. Unbelievable but true. The tone was totally lacking in personality and its disconnectedness was off-putting. I felt ignored and upset.
Instead of banging my head against a I'M-NOT-LISTENING! brick wall, I decided to return to Acronis' support site and use the live chat option. I was asked, "Do you want to give a last chance to our product?", to which I said "No thanks." I'm empathic to the fact that support reps aren't telepaths, and while parts of my customer history can be shared in their CRM tools, other context isn't. I was extremely frustrated by this point, but did my best to be polite. I was then told the issue would be escalated, and shortly thereafter:
We have forwarded your refund request to the Refunds Department for
review. You will be contacted within 10 business days with approval or
denial of your request. If your order is approved for refund, you will
receive proper information on how to complete the refund process.
This looks a lot more inefficient and slow than it needs to be. What's the criteria? We'll see what happens.
Also, approval or denial? Nowhere in the refund policy does it mention that. Acronis, you need to state these terms upfront. Otherwise, it's dishonesty by omission, and that doesn't help the customer make an informed buying decision.
Anyway, this has really stained and soured Acronis for me. It's not an isolated incident, of course — before purchase, I googled and found similar complaints to the situation I've fallen into. Some of them were really rude ranting which isn't helpful, and I dismissed others on the grounds that Acronis True Image 8 was such an excellent product… so what could go wrong? Apparently, a lot. It also reinforces my belief that even if a product is wonderful, customer service needs to be as well, or when you're in a hard place, things will really suck.
![Torley posted a photo:[13:53] White Lebed: When I met Jayjay and joined the UWA sims as an artist-in-residence I didn't know much about this place. Once I realize what an amazingly special wonderful program this small team runs I was so impressed. And I wanted everybody know about what is going on here. Since it is better to see once than hear 100 times, I thought it would be the best way to tell the world about them is to invite machinima artists and ask them to film it. It was wonderful to be able to see this place through your eyes. And I love that the machinimas we got were not just advertisements, they were wonderful art pieces. What I never expected is that Jay will turn out to be the best fundraiser in thPosted by Second Life Resident Torley Linden. Visit University of WA.](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2693/4341983054_53aed5ab46_s.jpg "Torley posted a photo:[13:53] White Lebed: When I met Jayjay and joined the UWA sims as an artist-in-residence I didn't know much about this place. Once I realize what an amazingly special wonderful program this small team runs I was so impressed. And I wanted everybody know about what is going on here. Since it is better to see once than hear 100 times, I thought it would be the best way to tell the world about them is to invite machinima artists and ask them to film it. It was wonderful to be able to see this place through your eyes. And I love that the machinimas we got were not just advertisements, they were wonderful art pieces. What I never expected is that Jay will turn out to be the best fundraiser in thPosted by Second Life Resident Torley Linden. Visit University of WA.")
![Torley posted a photo:[13:47] Jayjay Zifanwe: CISKO VANDEVERRE, Berlin, GermanySEEKwww.youtube.com/watch?v=H6zbFx3DxwsPosted by Second Life Resident Torley Linden. Visit University of WA.](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2773/4341231363_c8b3458d23_s.jpg "Torley posted a photo:[13:47] Jayjay Zifanwe: CISKO VANDEVERRE, Berlin, GermanySEEKwww.youtube.com/watch?v=H6zbFx3DxwsPosted by Second Life Resident Torley Linden. Visit University of WA.")
![Torley posted a photo:[13:44] Jayjay Zifanwe shouts: BRADLEY DORCHESTER, Perth, AustraliaMachinimUWA: Art Architecture, Research, Teachingwww.youtube.com/watch?v=YN1k80dA3I8Posted by Second Life Resident Torley Linden. Visit University of WA.](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2737/4341230493_2f782e6088_s.jpg "Torley posted a photo:[13:44] Jayjay Zifanwe shouts: BRADLEY DORCHESTER, Perth, AustraliaMachinimUWA: Art Architecture, Research, Teachingwww.youtube.com/watch?v=YN1k80dA3I8Posted by Second Life Resident Torley Linden. Visit University of WA.")
![Torley posted a photo:[13:42] Jayjay Zifanwe: COLEMARIE SOLEIL, Florida USA UWA Machinima Challenge Submissionwww.youtube.com/watch?v=KdIQP-YrYLwPosted by Second Life Resident Torley Linden. Visit University of WA.](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2689/4341963584_bda095aac6_s.jpg "Torley posted a photo:[13:42] Jayjay Zifanwe: COLEMARIE SOLEIL, Florida USA UWA Machinima Challenge Submissionwww.youtube.com/watch?v=KdIQP-YrYLwPosted by Second Life Resident Torley Linden. Visit University of WA.")
![Torley posted a photo:[13:38] Jayjay Zifanwe: CHANTAL HARVEY, Maastricht, NetherlandsUniversity of Western Australia in Second Lifewww.youtube.com/watch?v=tR_pc90Eu4k[13:39] Jayjay Zifanwe: I want to say hi to all machinimatographers and their friends, fans and crews.Before I go into details, I want to express that I am very sorry that I cannot be here myself, at this ceremony - my real life got in the way. My boss wont give me the night off, not even for an important event like this. (cries). My ONE chance to meet the famous Torley and ask him to consider being a part of the MMIF machinima festival on the 20th of Februari - down the drain!Posted by Second Life Resident Torley Linden. Visit University of WA.](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2753/4341958070_318b895425_s.jpg "Torley posted a photo:[13:38] Jayjay Zifanwe: CHANTAL HARVEY, Maastricht, NetherlandsUniversity of Western Australia in Second Lifewww.youtube.com/watch?v=tR_pc90Eu4k[13:39] Jayjay Zifanwe: I want to say hi to all machinimatographers and their friends, fans and crews.Before I go into details, I want to express that I am very sorry that I cannot be here myself, at this ceremony - my real life got in the way. My boss wont give me the night off, not even for an important event like this. (cries). My ONE chance to meet the famous Torley and ask him to consider being a part of the MMIF machinima festival on the 20th of Februari - down the drain!Posted by Second Life Resident Torley Linden. Visit University of WA.")
![Torley posted a photo:[13:36] Jayjay Zifanwe: LASLOPANTOMIK YAO, Barcelona, Spain MachinimUWAblip.tv/file/3147141 (LASLOPANTOMIK YAO, Barcelona, Spain MachinimUWA blip.tv/file/3147141)Posted by Second Life Resident Torley Linden. Visit University of WA.](http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4006/4341206009_e30658c02b_s.jpg "Torley posted a photo:[13:36] Jayjay Zifanwe: LASLOPANTOMIK YAO, Barcelona, Spain MachinimUWAblip.tv/file/3147141 (LASLOPANTOMIK YAO, Barcelona, Spain MachinimUWA blip.tv/file/3147141)Posted by Second Life Resident Torley Linden. Visit University of WA.")
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Ouch! I'm really sorry you had to go through that, Torley!
I'm certain that Customer Support is the most criticised part of most services and companies, mainly due to things that that.
If they spent more time improving it, and not leaving it to go downhill, then I would think that people would not complain about it.
"it's dishonesty by omission…" Exactly that Torley
But exactly for that (omitted info) you must check twice times ALL the software you buy.(Cause this on Europe we are so reticents to get contracts with soft development companies)
Hope it will be resolved soon, and if not…come back to Ghost.. xD
Get luck my friend..
Wi®
Interesting situation Torley
…I used Acronis True Image before I switched to Mac (years ago). True Image rocked, I loved it! It is unfortunate that this is no longer the case.
The customer service component is a deal-breaker for me. Thanks for sharing your experience Torley – it helps my own customer service awesomeness (skills).
Aloha
ugh they were probably using the tactics taught to them in their department.. people who work in returns and refund sections of customer support are pretty much trained to ignore your request and do everything possible to "save" you as a customer..
i worked customer support for a pretty big satellite radio company for a year and something and i hated sending people to disconnections because 9 times out of ten they were hung up on if they didn't choose to continue service… sometimes they would just hang up on the customer the moment they were transfered in.
some places even give those people bonuses if they keep customers! its really shady…
That software is a total RIPOFF. I bought it because they say on the description that you can backup to DVD+R DL After 2 hrs with support they couldn't figure out why it doesnt work. Every time I put in a disc and even though I was not using DVD RW it kept asking me to format the disc!! Bunch of bozos if you ask me. Save your money and buy something else.
More companies need to be smarter about not just making a sale upfront, but encouraging future loyalty. From a business perspective, it's a longer-term revenue flow. From a human perspective, it's just nicer.
I've always admired companies that have the fortitude to go, "Our stuff may not be right for you, then. But we can recommend you try out a competitor, and if that doesn't suit you, you're always welcome to come back to us!"
Hi Torley,
I'm just glad you wrote that report on your blog since Acronis TrueImage used to be my 1st choice in backup software too. Luckily I'm still on the older version 9.0 which works fine for me. Though I was thinking about updating just a couple of weeks ago. Anyhow since the latest Acronis Version seems to be beyond all question I'm just curious about the alternative you mentioned. Since I seem to have missed the post you wrote about that. Maybe you can link the post to the line where you state "…I had already found a better solution (if you've been following my blog, you can infer what it is)…", so its easier to find for your readers.
P.S.: Keep up the good work on "Here" I really like the new style, which reminds a bit of some old RP Games I loved to play like The Legend of Zeld or Secret of Mana (Seiken Densetsu).
Have a great day
norritt
Same issues here. Can someone post replacement recommendations/alternatives? Thx!
@norritt: In all fairness, I'd stay with the older version if it's working fine, and if you don't see a compelling new feature in 2009. Otherwise, a trial would determine whether 2009 works for you — hopefully it's better than my shoddy experiences.
And my current backup solution? Apple's Time Machine. Which of course is not a convenient option for Windows users, but gosh do I wish it was!
My brother was such a big SoM fan back in the day. I've played some of the music from both those games. Have a good one!
And the sad, LAME followup to this story?
I got one nonsensical reply from Acronis on Jan. 26. It merely said "We have forwarded your request to Expert Team who will assist you as soon as possible."
By this time, I was fed up of waiting for them to do the right thing, so I issued a chargeback and got my refund another way.
I wish Acronis had been better communicators so this would've been resolved smoother by both sides. They overcomplicated a simple issue (a refund shouldn't be such a Gordian Knot!) and failed.
Torley, the same thing happened to me. What a disappointment! Stay away from Acronis True Image 12 2009! My cpu skyrocketed all the time! The comp became nearly unusable! It took me 40 minutes or so to uninstall it. It freezed each time I started it. Can't believe what they've done to such a great piece of software!
I am using Acronis True Image Home 11 (Build 8053) and it works amazingly good.
@Nagib: Good to know of your experiences, too.
I'm another victim of True Image 2009, haven't been able to get a refund. Fracked up on 3 different machines (XP, XP64, Vista64), not an isolated incident. Took them 3 months to answer my first support request. The Jan release of True Image 2009 doesn't help a bit. Was using Acronis since version 8. I'm using Macrium Reflect now. The UI / configuration is nothing to write home about but once it is setup it works perfectly.
Obviously Acronis lost some of their core programmers and QA people and were taken over by marketing droids. The perfected the UI and absolutely destroyed the backup capabilities. It is almost just too Dilbert to believe.
Actually True Image 2009 is working great on my rig. Yes the cpu skyrockets, but it did with older versions too. I just keep it to low priority and have it work mostly by night while I'm sleeping. But I never had a crash or anything, except when my overclocking was unstable.
Instead, I've had some terrible experiences with Macrium Reflect. It just wouldn't work and would freeze my pc. Their customer support was awful, almost on the verge of rudeness.
They told me it had to be a bug in the Intel controller, so I should contact Intel. Yeah, right, so the controller used on millions of pcs has a bug and only Macrium Reflect is affected…
I purchased Acronis True Image 2009 Home (the original build) in late November 2008 for $50 for use with a brand-new system (Intel Dual Core 2GHz, ASUS P5GC-MX/1333, two 250 GB SATA HDs, WinXP Pro SP3 (plus a few selected relevant and useful MS hot-fixes released between May 2008 SP3 and December 2008). System setup, OS installation, and all 3rd-party application installations were performed carefully, and in a thorough manner, with strict attention to all details.
I used their stand-alone Bootable Rescue Utility CD (as opposed to their OS-level application) to make TIB backup images at nine intermediate stages of installation (from XP SP3 to adding hot-fixes to adding hardware drivers to adding software).
This worked out (thank heavens), as, after spending nearly 100 hours trying to ask fairly simple questions (about TI 2009 Home's functionality in general, and about a still unresolved bug present in their 3rd and most recent Build 9709 involving the Backup "Progress Window" not displaying progress, or estimating remaining time) … I have decided to (for my sanity) just give up trying to email these ludicrous clowns.
It's been a huge joke (on me, and my time and effort) from the beginning. Ironically, my one single experience with their "live-chat" support (with an albeit fairly simple question) yielded much better results, and responsiveness on the part of the Rep.
Where shall I begin… 40 days is very typical before any email inquiry is even answered at all. You are dealing with people who either cannot understand the English language (even when communications rigorously stated in the most clear and thorough terms), and/or do not read what you write, and/or do not address what you are talking about, and/or make bullshit and contradictory statements that have no bearing on reality, their software, or their user's manual, and/or slyly pass you off to another Rep when/if you make repeated attempts to nail them down on the subject matter of your inquiries. These people specialize in attempting to sound learned and competent – yet every single one of them revealed themselves to be ignoramuses, clowns, plain outright liars – or just brain-dead lackeys who in the end could not (or, perhaps, due to perhaps a "sweat-shop" atmosphere in their Moscow headquarters,
cannot) end up giving a shit about what you are talking about, what *they* are talking about (no matter how erroneous or flawed in nature it may be), and in sum,
whether the inquiring customer *ever* actually gets a coherent answer to (even) very coherently presented and detailed inquiries on the part of the customer. Then they will slip you an email that states that – if you do not respond to their email within a mere 48 hours – they will close and dispose of your pending issues … !!!
Take it from one who knows – attempting to deal coherently with these over-worked and under-endowed jive turkeys is a sure prescription for insanity. They will take forever to respond, waste your time immensely, try to blame you and your system, and then will try to slyly weasel out of the whole matter entirely as if they had actually performed some useful function (or will pass you off to yet another clown).
Abandon all hope, those who enter there! The joke is on you. (At least, we presume) they get paid for wasting your time. After spending at least 100 hours composing detailed emails inquiring about $50 product, I finally saw the "writing on the wall").
These (to be pitied) slaven bastards have (deservedly) lost any/all credibility (for good) with me. After all, if you cannot even believe in their personal competence or integrity, ther really is no rational point to wasting your time inquiring of them or in believing any/all of what they may communicate to you. You are wasting your time!!!
Just be thankful that *you* are not an immigrant worker in their Moscow, Russia email support "sweat shop", trying to schlep-it through another day in what (by all appearances seems to be) a brain-dead, techno-garbage, boiler-room of misery.
I mean these words sincerely, and with empathy for these unfortunate employees.
The world is devolving into a nightmare of incompetence and indifference … *~<|:-0
.
I'm in the same boat as you. I'm in the proccess of returning a buggy Acronis product. I had Acronis true image echo and it worked fine so I decided to buy Backup and recovery 10. Big mistake, the software is extremely buggy so much so that I couldn't even run a backup. I looked on the forums and found other users with the same issues so I decided to return it. They DENIED my return request. They apparently don't care about their customers once they have your money. This has to be one of the worst companies I've ever dealt with. I'm never going to give this company another dime and will be sure to voice my opinion every chance I get.
We recently installed Acronis backup on a server and several workstations
at work, and our experiences with tech support mirrors the horror stories
above. The products look great on paper but they fail in lots of little
ways. Tech support is worse than useless, not responding for 4-5 weeks
in our case to two important support cases, and then responding with
clueless answers. Our sales rep is equally bad, making lots of promises
to help but never following through.
It's best to avoid Acronis. Don't be fooled by how slick the product looks
on paper. In practice, it's worse than useless. There are other products
in this product space which aren't as full featured (in theory) but which
are more reliable and better supported.