iyogi ad in PAID AVAST!! arghhhh

I agree with Firzen771. You are whining like babies when the reality is, all Avast has done is to ensure for quick support. I really cant fathom this whole thread. If you dont like, buy something else, but quit acting like someone pissed in your corn flakes.

 

It does seem like some here, and on the avast! forum, are far too eager to punish themselves because they don't like the way this short-term test has been conducted.
I think it could have been handled a lot better. I don't know what the actual service model/structure will be. But I happily paid avast! for PC protection which, unless I am very much mistaken, has not been compromised by the 2 (so-far) "experiments" in offering free customer service.

 

easy way to remove the banner... open the avast firewall and go to the setting for alwil and look for "avast antivirus" which is for the avast ui and set it to block and the add goes away and everything else works fine

 

I can understand completely the complaints about this issue:

after sitting in front of my computer for hours, and having the avast´s GUI opened (on the Summary>Current Status page) as I always do (I do not do any other thing with my PC but to look all day long at avast´s GUI) I found the "add" to be annoying and infuriating to say the least, so please, you better pay attention (and act accordingly immediately) to our complaints, because we represent the vast majority of avast´s users and we deserve to be listened, besides I think that we are right and all the rest of users that do not care about the "add" and only open the GUI on those rare rare occasions that they need to check some settings etc., are certainly WRONG " shame on them and on you avast people that do these kind of things out of greed and mainly to annoy us: the truly intelligent and concerned users!!!

PS ...and if you do not do anything about our complaints, we are going to take our business elsewhere, so you better think twice !!!

 

I agree, but I don't think this is the root of all of the complaints. A few posters who actually called the support line were pressured into purchasing a support subscription. Apparently the third party provider is more interesting in aggressively pushing subscriptions than providing support. I can understand how this could ruffle a few feathers.

 

Can I assume, you forgot to write; /sarcasm off?

While it's unlikely that folks will be looking at ads for hours, I hope you can appreciate that if an Avast user actually calls the outsourced support and is presented a sales talk for a completely unnecessary Superduper Iyogi long-term support contract, this is close to harassment imao.

If a user actually needs support for his/her product en then is offered an unrelated long-term support contract, he might feel pressured to buy this contract in order to get support he needs.

As the Avast CEO has pointed out in this thread, the outsourcing is an experiment or at least a short term trial.
Then why would the support company offer long-term contracts to Avast users. That is completely bollocks.

 

Again, very very hard to believe there are still people here that "just don't get it!" The ad isn't "just about avast support". It includes "additional 3rd party pay for services"

 

As the Avast CEO has pointed out in this thread, the outsourcing is an experiment or at least a short term trial.
Then why would the support company offer long-term contracts to Avast users. That is completely bollocks.
__________________

I would have to agree with this statement if it was a trial what hapens to people that do buy it??

 

I dont even know how to respond to this, nor really want to.

 

And just what harm is there in that. You act like it turns chocolate into mud. They tried a test, it obviously didnt get the results they wanted, by why the crusifying. I mean come on, read some of the posts tobacco. You would have thought Avast ran a oil rig.

 

The deal is the image in post #1 resembles an ad and specifically says the support is from iyogi. When some people called the support number listed they were pressured into purchasing additional coverage directly from iyogi and not Avast. When I visit Dell's website I don't see free support provided by <insert other name here>, nor am I asked to purchase a 3rd party service to cover my non-Dell electronics.

The new support information section in Avast is cleaner and doesn't even look like an ad anymore. Now all that needs to be done in the interim is for iyogi to stick to the support script and refrain from "spamming" their services.

With this in mind if you still don't see a problem that's fine; however please refrain from knocking those that do have a legitimate concern.

 

Thread trimmed of a few posts.

Let's keep the discussion on the topic at hand, not fellow posters.

Blue

 

I read through the whole thread (including the posts Blue deleted) and if I'm understanding it correctly, there are two issues, with one having slightly more weight. The main issue is the OP resents having to see an ad when he has paid for a product, and the second issue is a combination of out-sourcing and the fact that contacting the so-called support service results in some sort of sales pitch.

The one factor here that would prevent me from getting too pushed out of shape is that the ads are contained (somewhat) discretely within the GUI, not a separate pop up or nag screen. There is also an ad in the avast! free version on the Current Status page, and as I recall, when a member user complained about it, I hadn't even realized it was there! That's how unobtrusive it is... barely noticable.

If the ad has animation, flashing, audio or someother in-your-face tactics, then by all means, I'm in full sympathy with the OP. But from what I see, it really doesn't appear as much to distract someone, nor much to get worked up about.

As for the second issue (the out-sourced support and accompanying hard sell pitch), I don't usually have a problem with an Indian accent. If need be, I just ask them to repeat what they said, or I keep telling the support person that I can't understand them and would they kindly slow down or perhaps put someone else on the phone. For all of the stereotypical thumbs down that tech support from India has gotten, I must say, I have always found those folks to be friendly and knowledgeable.

So that just leaves the hard sell sales pitch as the only thing I would find objectionable here.

Just felt like adding my 2 cents.

 

I've Avast Internet Security (paid, valid) but the ad doesn't shows.

 

I don't give a rat's how unobtrusive it is, there is no justification for this type of marketing to their most important users (read: PAID customers).

Biggest boneheaded marketing misstep I've seen in a little while and entirely out of character for a company with the integrity that Alwil/AVAST Software has/had (choose one).

I'd almost rather have seen the mistake be a significant false positive fiasco.
Entirely unwelcome, but at least it'd have been unintentional.

 

Don't care how unobtrusive?
No justification?
Boneheaded misstep?
Out of character for a company with integrity?
Whew. How do you handle real drama?

 

so wat do u say to users who require support right away? u may not, but lets say a guy who purchased avast and has no idea wat to do with a problem he may have, just leave him to solve it himself instead of having the opportunity to get immediate support? get over yourself bud, you arent the entire avast userbase, dont stare at the UI and ull be fine, but this is a service needed by many people id say, those people just arent typically the people posting on these forums

the quality of the support is a different issue and that might need to be resolved, i dont know how it is personally but from what ive heard at least it could be changed to a different company or something.

but you cannot get mad at avast for trying to help out its users in the most immediate way possible, that is being completely selfish and ignorant to others potential needs

 

I find it wrong how much people obsess over a GUI. For a program like an AV that should be set-it-and-forget-it I think people spend way too much time looking at it.

Another reason why I disagree with all these useless bars/charts/etc being added into AV GUI's... The last time I opened the MSE GUI was several months ago as it asked me to do an upgrade, I don't even show it in the taskbar, I just forget it's there and use my PC.

 

I agree with you 100%, and am rather surprised that some posters are talking about not using Avast any more because of this.

 

for me the basis is due to the total pushy sales tatics this companies offers. and others can feel the way they feel but to me this is a offer to BUY third party support. just like when you buy electronics online and square trade is pushed or similar. if this company was simply doing the third party support all the time without selling me something i would have been fine with the ad.

im not sure how some people dont see that this is in fact a sales pitch. it the same as when you order a product to "trial" for 30days. like all those info-mercials for things like bowflex etc... they send it to you free to "try" for 30 days then when you call and say you dont want it good luck with that. and if you dont cancel you get charges, now im not saying this company will charge you after 30 days but the concept is the same overall.

no matter how you slice it this is in fact an ad to sell their customers something. and in the free version i would 1000% be fine with this or any ad. but i pay good money to use the paid version so i dont have to deal with that. which is part of the reason i dont use free av products anyway. i simply dont want the offers and ads and pop ups etc. i just find them annoying. as i have said many times if they follow through with the future update and remove it from sight and add it to a help button or something then fine i guess. for me it will remain blocked with the firewall built into ais. im just hoping that does not result in issues, so far it has not at all.

im not trying to be rude and sound stuck up or anything similar. im not as you say only concerned with the gui. to me this is more about the principal and the attitude of the company from 4 PHONE CALLS from 4 people we made to see how they treated people. as i have said 1 call was not to bad but they still were pushy just not rude about it. the other 3 were basically just getting rude when we simply said NO stop trying to sell us the service we dont want..

i WILL continue to use it to see if they fix this issue. if not eventually i will look elsewhere. but for now im giving them the chance to fix the issue

to add to those supporting this ad have you personally called iyogi to see how they are on the phone... and no offense but how are pushy sales tactics helping the users...

 

BTW, iYogi Technical Services Pvt. Ltd. is an Indian based company which was founded in 2005 and is based in Gurgaon, India.

 

really? is that why u started this thread talking about the ad before u had even tried the service, clearly ur original problem was having an ad in anyway. It was only till later on that u started complaining about the service itself so that definetly wasnt ur only basis for complaining.

and i already said that idk how good their service is, and this can be fixed by going with a different provider perhaps, but that isnt the same problem this thread started with.

 

Seems to me all the people who could care less about the AD in the PAID versions are FREE "customers" or don't even use ANY flavor of avast!.

Try paying good money for one of the PAID products only to be marketed to further in your PAID product all of a sudden.

If after that you still didn't care or were indifferent, well, perhaps you're just used to people stepping on your toes!

 

Alright, my last attempt.

@ firzen771 - from a fellow canuck - c'mon man, give yer head a shake!!

If avast's #1 priority here was support for their paying customers, it would of been handled differently - like, setting up their "own" call center where paid users of their AV can receive "free support" for the duration of their licence seeing as they've already paid avast for the licence. Avast free version users could if they chose, pay per minute/per call - whatever - for telephone support. The image in the gui would show the contact numbers to call and the discussion would involve the avast product and only the avast product.

What they are trying now is to do things the cheapest way possible (money is #1 priority not the paying customer ) and the "paying customer" is being subjected to pure and simple "SPAM"

Sorry but there is no other way to paint this picture. Again