Rockwell Automation tech support - so Rude!

Alan,

I checked the link and I get "no answer available at this time".

I just want to mention one positive thing about AB's support. About two months ago we have been assigned a new sales guy and his title is "Application system support consultant". The guy he replaced apparently got fired and that was definitely the right decision. The new guy is I think one of the best if not the best sales guy I have ever worked with. I think that AB's philosophy has changed back to where the support person is actually someone with knowldge rather than just a person who directs you somewhere else. Long time ago AB used to subscribe to this philosophy and just to illustrate my point what caliber of people they had, Rich Ryan who later became a President of AB's software division was our application engineer at one point and so was Steve Smidler who later became a VP at AB.

AB tech support has new direct call routes with 3 number extensions to get to the tech support group you want instead of going through the traditional phone menu.

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Thanks for bringing this up Matt!

I hate calling Rockwell. They only seem interested in selling support contracts which always seem to expire when I need them.

http://literature.rockwellautomation.com is way more helpful.

As a side note I did use a direct extension number last week. It worked correctly and I was connected to a support tech within a minute. A real time saver IMO.

Here's a link to extension page for those of you who might be interested.
http://www.rockwellautomation.com/support/directdial

surferb said:

I get a Not Available At This Time error message. Please quote it or add a screenshot. I'm curious...

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For those of you getting this message, AB in their infinite wisdom is now requiring that your knowledge base login include a techconnect ID. In otherwords, the KB is no longer completely open but that many topics require you to maintain an upto date techconnect contract. If you have a techconnect ID, go into your profile and there's a place to add it. If you don't, then either buy one or you are SOL on many of the KB articles.

Here's the e-mail explaining it all....

We want to make sure that our TechConnect support contract and software Toolkit customers fully utilize their contract benefits. Part of your contract value is access to various online features:

• Knowledgebase On-Line Support Requests (Ask A Question)
• Access to Restricted Knowledgebase Content (
  
  )
• Chat (for selected products)
• Forums

To use these features, your Knowledgebase account must be linked to your support contract or toolkit.

Your Knowledgebase account is not currently linked to any contract. If you know your TechConnect authorization number, you can quickly and easily link to your contract.

1. Go to your Knowledgebase profile. (You may have to log in.)
2. Type your authorization number into the authorization number field.
   
   

Where do you get your authorization number?

• For TechConnect support contracts, the authorization number is included in your Welcome Kit.
• For software Toolkits, the authorization number was sent by email to the primary contact.

If you do not know your authorization number, please reply with the following information, and we will try to locate your contract.

• Your name
• Company name, including other names it may be listed under, such as old company names or corporate parent names
• Your site name
• Your site address<LI style="LIST-STYLE-TYPE: none">
  • Street address
  • City
  • State/province
  • Postal code
  • Country
• Your phone number

If you do not have a contract or toolkit, please contact your local distributor or Rockwell Automation office for more information.

Regards,

Rockwell Automation Tech Support

ArggHHH, just tried to change the default password on Rockwell after they finally integrated all the AB/Rockwell/misc site into one login.

=========
Passwords must be at least 6 total characters, and contain at least 3 of the following 4 items:

• 1 uppercase letter
• 1 lowercase letter
• 1 number
• 1 special character (!,$,%,#)

======================================

Is this a joke? With such password I have to write it on a PostIT note and paste on my monitor.

Actually it's not that big of a deal. I've been using a number in my passwords for years so all I had to do was capitalize the first letter.

Lol - my password policy at work is the following. Except that I have a smart card on one network and a separate admin account with a different password on the others. Crazy...

• 14 character minimum
• 2 uppercase letter/2 lowercase letter
• 2 numbers
• 2 special characters (!,$,%,#)
• Change every 60 days, with repetitions not allowed every 12 cycles

harryting said:

ArggHHH, just tried to change the default password on Rockwell after they finally integrated all the AB/Rockwell/misc site into one login.

=========
Passwords must be at least 6 total characters, and contain at least 3 of the following 4 items:

• 1 uppercase letter
• 1 lowercase letter
• 1 number
• 1 special character (!,$,%,#)

======================================

Is this a joke? With such password I have to write it on a PostIT note and paste on my monitor.

Click to expand...

surferb said:

Lol - my password policy at work is the following. Except that I have a smart card on one network and a separate admin account with a different password on the others. Crazy...

• 14 character minimum
• 2 uppercase letter/2 lowercase letter
• 2 numbers
• 2 special characters (!,$,%,#)
• Change every 60 days, with repetitions not allowed every 12 cycles

Click to expand...

The word paranoid comes to mind. I didn't realize you worked for the government....lol

I agree that RA support is not always the best but we are all entitled to a bad day or so.
I needed IAB and could not download it. Their support tried 2 or 3 other things to help and finally said can I mail you a copy. I got it yesterday. That is what makes customer support.

Sub-thread (tangent!) : Passwords

I'd strongly recommend the use of a separate software package for generating and storing passwords. There are many of them available, some as freeware. I've been using KeePass (http://keepass.info/) for quite a few years and I would recommend it unreservedly. I keep all my passwords in KeePass and I only have to remember one single master password to unlock it. I keep all kinds of secure info in there: software serial numbers, network security codes, bank reference numbers etc.
Just a thought.

I have used A-B Rockwell stuff for 20 or so years and only had one (REALLY) bad piece of advice. (They had me re-format my hard drive and re-install all my software - to no avail - I still cringe when I hear a female voice when I call tech support!) Seriously, I have good service from all the big four (A-B, Siemens, Mitsubishi and Omron).

I worked for a few months as an apps engineer for Mitsi and had to spend a day a week on the help desk. Since that experience I have been a lot more patient with anyone and everyone working on technical support. You often hear bikers voice the opinion that drivers should spend a year on a motorcycle before being let loose with a car. (As a biker, an opinion I share.) Perhaps the same sort of thing applies to tech support? Try a little humour to lighten the mood, perhaps. Trying to apply pressure to someone you need help from can be a quite de-motivating and hence fruitless exercise.

Ken M said:

Sub-thread (tangent!) : Passwords

I'd strongly recommend the use of a separate software package for generating and storing passwords. There are many of them available, some as freeware. I've been using KeePass (http://keepass.info/) for quite a few years and I would recommend it unreservedly. I keep all my passwords in KeePass and I only have to remember one single master password to unlock it. I keep all kinds of secure info in there: software serial numbers, network security codes, bank reference numbers etc.
Just a thought.

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Me too , let's me use my memory for more important stuff, like where did I put my bl#$&(* glasses ?