Customer Posts negative review of company software, company responds by bricking his software - Polidicks

[url]https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20161220/12411836320/company-bricks-users-software-after-he-posts-negative-review.shtml[/url] [QUOTE]We've seen lots of terrible responses to negative reviews and other online criticism -- most of which end with the offended party having earned plenty of new enemies and gained nothing at all in the reputation department. If it's not completely bogus libel lawsuits, it's bogus fees being charged to end users for violating non-disparagement clauses buried deep within the company's terms of service. Fortunately, a federal law going into effect next year will limit some of this bullshit behavior. It won't prevent companies and individuals from filing bogus libel lawsuits, but it will prevent entities from using contractual clauses as prior restraint on negative reviews and criticism. This tactic, however, is a new twist on the old "punish customers for negative reviews" game. A user of Ham Radio Deluxe wasn't too happy with its apparent incompatibility with Windows 10. He posted a negative review of the software at eHam.net, calling out the company for its seeming unwillingness to fix the underlying issue. [QUOTE]I purchased HRD 6.3, only to find out Windows XP was not supported. So, I installed HRD on a brand new Windows 10 machine, and everything appeared to be working fine. Then, I installed Office 365, and it broke the LogBook. Known problem, they say. There is a whole page devoted to telling you how to tweak the registry, download things, repair files, etc, etc. Alright guys, enough is enough. If you have known problems, like compatibility issues with Microsoft products, you need to release a hotfix. It would take a day to create a script to do all of the things your page says to do, and it would be idiot proof. Nobody should ever have to edit their registry because of a compatibility issue caused by your software using an old jet driver and ODBC for communications. ESPECIALLY if the issue occurred from installing a tried and true product like Office. [...] I can see a lot of development time went into the bells and whistles, but for goodness sake, make it a little more user-friendly and a little more stable before pushing it to market. I'd expect bugs and lengthy configuration procedures in free software. Caveat emptor. Know what you're getting before you drop the money on software that, in my opinion, is not mature. Sorry guys, I've tried to love it. It just isn't worth the price.[/QUOTE] Nothing out of the ordinary here. A dissatisfied customer airs his grievances about a purchased product. The user also opened a support ticket with HRD Software hoping it could solve his problems. HRD Software replied to the ticket, telling the user to download a patch for the malfunctioning software. [QUOTE]The version of HRD you indicated IS NOT the latest release... Current Version: V 6.3.0.610 In order to provide proper support for your issue and to insure we are all on the same version, please download and install the current version of Ham Radio Deluxe. It can be downloaded by clicking on or copying and pasting [url]http://www.hrdsoftwarellc.com/downloads.html[/url] into your favorite browser, to take you to the HRD Software Download page on our website. You could also click on the Current Version link in the "HRD Help Links" to begin an immediate download. Once you have downloaded and installed the current release of HRD, please test it thoroughly to see if the issue you have been having has been resolved.[/QUOTE] Seems normal enough. But more problems developed. [QUOTE]I've tried to install the update according to your directions. Now when I click on the HRD icon, I get the splash screen from version 6.3.0.610 for about a second, and then it disappears and nothing else happens. Was I supposed to uninstall the old version first? I downloaded the setup.exe file you highlited above. I am now completely dead because of a minor problem. This is exactly what I was trying to avoid. Please advise what steps to take from here. This is a new computer and v610 was a fresh install. Thank you[/QUOTE] The company's response? We've intentionally bricked your software because of your negative review at eHam. [QUOTE]We would also like to request that you NOT RENEW your support nor use our software due to the review you placed on eHam back in September. Remember that? [url]http://www.eham.net/reviews/review/143372[/url][/QUOTE] The "customer support" at HRD Software then pointed the user to its terms of service, stating that it had the right to do what it had just done. HRD Software reserves the "right" to "disable a customer's key at any time for any reason." Then it told him the blacklisting would be revoked if he removed his negative review. Bonus: mention of a capital-A "Attorney" for added seriousness, I guess. [QUOTE]If you remove the eHam review, which was blatantly false, we will remove the blacklist from you call. You are not buying software, you are buying your callsign's access to the software. the so called bug you reported is not one in HRD, but one in the CAT commands of the FT•3000 radio, which have been verified with yaesu. Again refer to section 8 of the TOS, which was written by our Attorney.[/QUOTE] And with that, HRD Software set its reputation on fire. A long thread at QRZ.com is the ham enthusiast forum's version of Sherman's March to the Sea, with HRD being razed to the ground like so many antebellum mansions.[/QUOTE]

It's like no businesses that do this ever learn from the backlash against other businesses that give shit for negative reviews.

This is the idea that you don't buy the software anymore, you buy the access to it. This is just going to get worse in the future, especially when it comes to modifications of such software.

[url]http://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/01/03/ham_radio_deluxe_management_change/[/url] [quote]HRD Software said in a statement on Friday that co-founder Rick Ruhl will step down to pursue other interests. Ruhl, along with co-owners Mike Carper and Randy Gawtry, ran the radio software company after buying the rights to the code in 2011. "No one is going to be sued. I made a serious mistake and error of judgement in this and many cases and I am truly sorry," said Ruhl. He had earlier left an angry message on one blacklisted person's voicemail, threatening legal action for speaking out against his company. [b]"I apologize publicly ... I do have diabetes and sometimes this affects my judgement and it did in that voicemail. I truly regret it. I'm talking to my doctor about changing my medications so I won't have any more low sugar."[/b] "[HRD's cofounder] Randy, Mike and I are discussing my future with HRD."[/quote] He is fucking blaming diabetes for his shitty judgement lmao.

That's when you do a charge back, leave your honest review with an update on what the company did. Then watch them fall apart.

And they subsequently destroyed their company's reputation with this childish response. Why, in any reasonable thought, would you ever try to [i]stop someone[/i] from trying to make [i]your product[/i] work, and thus increase customer retention? If you have a customer support, why not actually uphold it, instead of blacklisting someone that was (very politely) trying to ask for assistance?

Lol not surprised its paid ham software. some of those people who think they are on top of things get really cranky. I also know of people who do this all the time in SL. Imagine paying 8$ for a virtual car and never being able to use it again because you left a less than favorable review.

[QUOTE=GhillieBacca;51619538][url]http://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/01/03/ham_radio_deluxe_management_change/[/url] He is fucking blaming diabetes for his shitty judgement lmao.[/QUOTE] twinkie defense worked for harvey milk's murderer, don't see why it wouldnt work ehre

Posted about this in the computer illiterates thread a few weeks ago before articles released, it was an absolute shitshow watching this unfold. Absolutely do not treat your customers like this, and especially don't do it in a niche community where the only people who might pay for your product will all hate you by days end. One thing the article didn't mention is that they werent just blacklisting this one person, they blacklisted everyone who ever left a negative review about them. the day after the guy posted his support convo people found the blacklist by sending a query to their server, it both used the term blacklist and was deleted later in the day. Their apology is dishonest horseshit because they're still pretending it was just one customer they wronged.

I have this problem all the time when trying to get older games to work on modern systems. Especially older games that still have not received any updates to remove Games For Windows Live, or even a simple driver issue that forces me to search the web for hours until I find the one article from 2003 detailing how to make it work or where to download the latest patch. I feel companies should all take up the practice of making sure their products are built to last. I can understand that over time new operating systems can cause conflicts but even then, if the latest OS supported old OS features it wouldn't be an issue. Like DOS, it is absolutely obsolete. But why remove it? Now you have to emulate, or if you're really crafty, build a custom tower for that OS. Compatibility can be a bitch.

^You finally find a thread with your exact problem or a fix, and you see posts such as "nvm I fixed it" or "PM'd".

[QUOTE=Svinnik;51619679]twinkie defense worked for harvey milk's murderer, don't see why it wouldnt work ehre[/QUOTE] The issue is that low blood sugar really DOES affect aggressiveness and logical thinking. I have woken up with 5 cops on top of me asking me what day of the week it is after being told I slugged my roommate while he was trying to give me soda to raise it early in the morning. That is why it is such a controversial thing, because how do you prove they had or didnt have low blood sugar. Even more frustratingly low blood sugar has a wide variety of symptoms with things like mood swings (excessively cheery or excessively mad/paranoid) , sweating, drowsiness, fidgeting and of course finally uncontrollable spasms in random body parts that can devolve into full seizures. So you can't exactly full proof profile someone based on symptoms like you can someone drunk. It is one of the reasons why type 1 diabetics are not allowed into combat roles in the military on most occasions and the reason why I do not personally own a gun because these things are possible. Worst yet imagine trying to explain it to anyone who doesn't have the disease or understand the extent of mental impact it truly has. You mention the Harvey Milk murderer like the guy got away with anything, he got a severely reduced sentence but still 5 years in prison AND after he got out early he killed himself. Not defending this guy or anything, as low blood sugar usually makes it hard to read things or do complicated electronic interaction that would probably be required to do this, but I did feel the need to try and clear up some things about low blood sugar can actually cause someone to act out.

[QUOTE=Amplar;51620088]^You finally find a thread with your exact problem or a fix, and you see posts such as "nvm I fixed it" or "PM'd".[/QUOTE] So, [url=https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/wisdom_of_the_ancients.png]basically this?[/url]

[QUOTE=Mattk50;51619855]Posted about this in the computer illiterates thread a few weeks ago before articles released, it was an absolute shitshow watching this unfold. Absolutely do not treat your customers like this, and especially don't do it in a niche community where the only people who might pay for your product will all hate you by days end. One thing the article didn't mention is that they werent just blacklisting this one person, they blacklisted everyone who ever left a negative review about them. the day after the guy posted his support convo people found the blacklist by sending a query to their server, it both used the term blacklist and was deleted later in the day. Their apology is dishonest horseshit because they're still pretending it was just one customer they wronged.[/QUOTE] They really have one hell of ego.

blows my mind how a company that's out to make money can possibly think for a second that it's a good idea to do this kind of stuff.

Oh man this. I heard about it a month ago on Freenode and was wondering what ever became of it. [QUOTE=Zufeng;51620166]They really have one hell of ego.[/QUOTE] Oh man, Ham operators are probably some of the most rancid and deceitful people I've ever had to interact with outside of the Amiga community. Some of these people I just can't blame on senility. They're just blatent assholes who think they ARE better than everyone else.

to be tbh i believe the low blood sugar thing. i have a friend with diabetes and he becomes an insufferable ass if his his blood sugar drops too low.

[QUOTE=IceWarrior98;51620061]I have this problem all the time when trying to get older games to work on modern systems. Especially older games that still have not received any updates to remove Games For Windows Live, or even a simple driver issue that forces me to search the web for hours until I find the one article from 2003 detailing how to make it work or where to download the latest patch. I feel companies should all take up the practice of making sure their products are built to last. I can understand that over time new operating systems can cause conflicts but even then, if the latest OS supported old OS features it wouldn't be an issue. Like DOS, it is absolutely obsolete. But why remove it? Now you have to emulate, or if you're really crafty, build a custom tower for that OS. Compatibility can be a bitch.[/QUOTE] No the software checks against a [I]telnet server[/I] to see whether the user has paid for the product or not. [t]https://i.imgur.com/QZlREaJ.png[/t] Also I should probably point out I am a ham radio op...

[QUOTE=GhillieBacca;51619538][url]http://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/01/03/ham_radio_deluxe_management_change/[/url] He is fucking blaming diabetes for his shitty judgement lmao.[/QUOTE] I dunno. Sometimes when I'm hungry I get easily frustrated and angry And I'm not even diabetic

[QUOTE=1chains1;51620124]The issue is that low blood sugar really DOES affect aggressiveness and logical thinking. I have woken up with 5 cops on top of me asking me what day of the week it is after being told I slugged my roommate while he was trying to give me soda to raise it early in the morning. That is why it is such a controversial thing, because how do you prove they had or didnt have low blood sugar. Even more frustratingly low blood sugar has a wide variety of symptoms with things like mood swings (excessively cheery or excessively mad/paranoid) , sweating, drowsiness, fidgeting and of course finally uncontrollable spasms in random body parts that can devolve into full seizures. So you can't exactly full proof profile someone based on symptoms like you can someone drunk. It is one of the reasons why type 1 diabetics are not allowed into combat roles in the military on most occasions and the reason why I do not personally own a gun because these things are possible. Worst yet imagine trying to explain it to anyone who doesn't have the disease or understand the extent of mental impact it truly has. You mention the Harvey Milk murderer like the guy got away with anything, he got a severely reduced sentence but still 5 years in prison AND after he got out early he killed himself. Not defending this guy or anything, as low blood sugar usually makes it hard to read things or do complicated electronic interaction that would probably be required to do this, but I did feel the need to try and clear up some things about low blood sugar can actually cause someone to act out.[/QUOTE] I can also confirm from experience. Diabetes is definitely something that will affect your logical thinking. If your brain is being starved of something that it needs to function and survive, then of course it's going to cause you to make some irrational decisions. In this case however, it doesn't sound like the kind of decision that a person makes in the time-frame that you'd expect from low blood sugar. [editline]4th January 2017[/editline] [QUOTE=Doozle;51621244]I dunno. Sometimes when I'm hungry I get easily frustrated and angry And I'm not even diabetic[/QUOTE] It wouldn't make a very good legal defense though to say that you didn't grab a snickers in time. Diabetes is a whole new level. Low blood sugar is when the brain doesn't have enough energy to think, so thought processes start shutting down. For example, when mine gets low parts of my body start going numb. The single worst case that I had, I started to go blind.

[QUOTE=Fish Muffin;51620808]to be tbh [/QUOTE] to be to be honest. Also I'm not sure, but I think I heard multiple times about diabetes sometimes causing insane mood swings.

Definitely sympathizing with diabetics, but others in the thread indicated the company did this for others and provably maintained a "blacklist," so they still appear to be full of it.

If you make a bad decision during a bout of low blood sugar insanity, then continue making the same decision for months then defend your bad decisions you pretty handily lose any right to blame your decisions on a temporary issue.

pretty sure this kind of retaliation is actually now illegal

[QUOTE=Amplar;51620088]^You finally find a thread with your exact problem or a fix, and you see posts such as "nvm I fixed it" or "PM'd".[/QUOTE] Exactly! Also when you have to register on that website to try and download the patch someone attached to their post. And for that download to not be available anymore. The struggle is real.