[Murphy Bros.]

Howdy everyone!

Have any of you had any prior experience with the tech support staff at Pro Landscape / Draffix? I emailed them twice and without a response about 4 days later I called them only to get an answering machine 3 times in a row. Any how I finally left a message on the 4th phone call to them and low and behold they called me back about 4 hours later. This was my first time trying to contact them.

About 2 days later I was still having problems so called and left a message and now its been 5 or 6 days and still haven't heard a word from them. Just wondering if it's MURPHY'S LAW working against me or if this is there S.O.P???

I really like the software, but the support really stinks in my opinion. Debating on wether to return the program before the 60 day period is up or keep it. I need the software and also need help through the learning curve, like any software you are unfamiliar with. My problem is getting my drawings to my local printing company for plotting to scale and so far have been unsuccessful.

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.


Audie
MURPHY BROS. LANDSCAPES

[NCSULandscaper]

ive had nothing but great support when i had a problem

[Prolawns]

Originally posted by NCSULandscaper
ive had nothing but great support when i had a problem

Same here

[Murphy Bros.]

Matt and Prolawns,

Are you telling me that they actually return your calls and emails in a timely fashion??? You can not be serious. Maybe they have new people in the tech dept. now, how long has it been since you two called upon them.

Audie
Murphy Bros. Landscapes

[NCSULandscaper]

last time i emailed them and i had a response back in a few hours each time i replied to work out the situation. And ontop of that, the guy that i was emailing actually called me to make sure the problem was solved.


This was all a couple months ago btw

[Prolawns]

They always call back same or next day, never tried to email them. Talked to them last month.

[VoodooChile]

We've run ProLandscape for 4 seasons now. Tech support has always been great, and usually the same person, Amy. Last time I called was this summer. No problem...

[Greensmith]

Maybe they are at a convention show?

[Murphy Bros.]

Thanks for the info guys. Maybe they are at a show or something, and I'm rushing to judgement. I'll call again tomorrow and see what happens. It's just that we had to submit plans for a res. job two nights ago and of course they contained flaws, nothing the customer would see, but it bugs the heck out of me.
And we just got word tonight that the job is ours, so the drawings must have done their job. Not a big job but at 20 thou +, hell I feel the software just about paid for itself on the first go-around.
Thanks again for all the input!


Audie
MURPHY BROS. LANDSCAPES

[NCSULandscaper]

They are most likely at The Expo in Louisville for this week

[springfever]

Murphy,

I have had Pro Landscape for 7 seasons now. I have had one glitch that tech support fixed right away.

As far as sending your design to your local printer... that is fairly easy. All you have to do is save it as a PDF file then email it to them. If you are on dial up internet service, ask them if they have an "ftp" site. This allows you to copy your file to their system directly from your desktop, because most designs are too large of a file to email on slow service. You may also save your design in a real wolrd size by changing your settings in Page Format. Save it as an 18" x 24" plan or whatever size you choose. If you have any further questions, please let me know.

Spring Fever

[Murphy Bros.]

Spring Fever,

I tried saving as a PDF on 2 seperate drawings and took them in to the printer to be plotted and they were not to scale when printed and both drawings had 1 line missing in each of them. The missing lines could be from the printer having to change formats for their specific plotter. The fact that both drawings had to be scaled up to 108% to be accurate is beyond my knowledge. Maybe someone else has run into these problems before and could shed some light on the subject.

It seems like to get rid of the above problems, a guy has to buy a plotter and plot the drawings yourself, which will probably cost more than the software. If that's the case, I'll order one right now, I just keep thinking there has to be a more cost effective approach.

Again, thanks to everyone for all the info.


Audie
MURPHY BROS. LANDSCAPES

[springfever]

Murphy,

When I send my plans to the printer, they do not use a plotter. It is run on a giant color copy machine. Try saving it as a PDF with a change to Page Set Up for the final Size. This should automatically change your scale on your plan.

The plotters I have seen cost thousands of dollars. I have not bought one because I can have an 18"x24" plan copied for $4. I would explore other options before buying.

Just my thoughts.

Spring Fever

[Murphy Bros.]

Springfever,

Thanks for the advice, I'll try the page setup advice on the PDF and maybe that will curb our current problem. The printer that plotted our drawings had to enlarge them to 108% to get them to scale.
You are definately right on the price of plotters, they are very expensive, and the purchase of one would be a last resort if all else fails.
Thanks again to everyone for your help on this. It's all part of the learning curve I guess.


Audie
MURPHY BROS. LANDSCAPES

[cadman]

This is my third season with PL and I like it. The support is not always fast but not that slow ( atleast for me ). They know their stuff and have had good results from their problem solving.