I’m as loyal to software companies as they are to me.
I’ve been a Parallels user since the beginning. Bought the first version the day it was released, upgraded every step of the way; when I upgraded the macbook pro to OSX 10.6, Parallels 3 no longer worked and needed to be upgraded to version 4. Being a satisfied customer, I purchased the full version of Parallels 4 rather than following the upgrade path from 3.
All well and good; and then BAM, they release version 5, a $50 upgrade from version 4. However, they have a special deal: people who upgraded to version 4 in late August were eligible for a $10 upgrade. I went to get it, and then was told I was not eligible because I had purchased my copy of 4, rather than upgrading to it (which was MORE expensive). The upgrade was, I was told, only for people who had upgraded from 3 to 4. I wrote their support explaining that I had gone out of my way to give them extra money by purchasing 4 new, rather than the cheaper upgrade from 3, and that I was an owner of both Parallels 3 and Parallels 4, and that I would appreciate it if they would treat me, a longstanding customer, the same way they’re treating people jumping on board just recently.
You don’t have to guess their response. I wouldn’t be writing this if they said OK, right? Nope, I could go ahead and drop my $50 if I wanted to upgrade, they told me.
Well, guess what, Parallels: no. $50 for an upgrade to something I just purchased at full price not three months ago is insane. Let’s see… version 2 of Fusion, the last release, is $29 on Amazon with a $30 rebate for Parallels owners. And the upgrade to version 3, the latest release, is free until the end of the year. Think this will be a hard decision?
As I’m typing this, VMware 3 is happily finishing up importing my Parallels disk image.
So thanks, Parallels. I treat you as well as you treat me. You are welcome to try to earn my business back, but I won’t hold my breath and I will always be suspicious of you from now on. In the meantime, Fusion looks like it’s going to work out just fine.
I’d send a letter to the editor of, say, PC Magazine and discuss this in a very public forum. Nothing changes the mind of a company like a lot of bad press. A LOT of bad press.
Good for you. Sometimes companies forget that business has to be earned, not trapped like fish in a net they can’t get out of.
Hello, I am from Parallels and I wanted to thank you for previously being a loyal Parallels user. I am sorry that you have had this experience. Can you please e-mail me at sgibbons@parallels.com? I look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks.