2

Downhill slope

Benjamin Lawson >

July 18, 2011 16:30

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I was very excited about ShootQ when I signed up 2 years ago. The customer service was excellent and they actually responded to my suggestions for improvements. I was not happy with the Pictage merger, but I knew they would have a few growing pains and we were assured the vision had not changed.

I believe the vision HAS changed, and I am not satisfied in the least. My last few support requests did not receive the same timely and informative responses I was used to, and I have even had to post a comment asking for updates on both of them. In addition, I think the focus on Nimbus (which I don't consider to be a necessary effort. Sorry, guys.) and other "updates" to ShootQ have shifted focus away from actually keeping customers happy with legitimate requests for other extremely helpful features like the Android app, discounts on booking and package improvements.

I am sure I am not the only one who has been losing enthusiasm for ShootQ, and I would love to hear everyone's comments on the matter. I would also encourage ShootQ to address these issues here for all to see, but I have doubts of receiving an acceptable response... :(

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21 comments

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  Andrew Niesen > July 18, 2011 17:43

  Hey Benjamin,

  Thanks for your honest thoughts. As the former CEO of ShootQ and current member of the Pictage Excutive team, I'm disappointed to hear your perspective, and I'm sure you're not the only one out there who feels this way.

  It is a fact that merging with Pictage changed things. Many of these things are positive - many are negative - and many are just different. Yes, customer support is now done by the team at Pictage, (and metrics indicate that they actually respond faster to support requests than we did when we were a little company of 15 people) and Marketing is done by people at Pictage with minimal/moderate input from the original ShootQ team. So, I'm sure what you feel from ShootQ is considerably different.

  I think the crux of your concerns, from what I am reading, comes down to continuing to update ShootQ with new features. Our last major update was last October. Our next major update will be this August. Waiting nearly a year to do an update is pretty pathetic from a product perspective. 

  As the EVP/Product at Pictage, I'd challenge the assertion that the vision for ShootQ as a product has changed. In fact, part of the reason we joined with Pictage was so we could pursue the vision we had for ShootQ as a product. Pictage is currently investing millions of dollars per year in software, which is many times our software budget prior to the acquisition. This will enable us to pursue the vision I always had for ShootQ - a comprehensive web-based solution for photographers to manage their businesses on the web. 

  We started with business management tools, because that was the foundation. Then we expand out to gradually build functionality to manage every online interaction that a photographer has - portfolio sites - slideshows - social media interactions - blog, eCommerce (including proofing), asset storage, client relationship manangement, business management, asset sharing and and album design proofing. The idea is to make the process much more efficient for the photographer, and the online experience more cohesive for the photographer's customer.

  So, Nimbus is at the crux of this vision. It's an entire online experience for the photographer's customer. This required an entirely new platform, which did take up a lot of our small development team's time.

  During the process of building Nimbus, Jim, our CEO, was able to get additional funding from our investors to grow the size of our development team. We now have several million dollars to pour into software development. The development team in Atlanta has grown from three last July (when we were acquired) to seven (within the last two months) with two open positions yet to fill.

  What this means for you is that we will be adding lots of the features that you've been asking for into ShootQ. 

  This has all taken a lot of time - writing Nimbus, raising money, hiring new developers, and yes, we are affected by very old systems at Pictage - ones that we are gradually phasing out and replacing.

  With the growth in the development team, we'll be adding a lot to both Nimbus and ShootQ over the coming months. Thanks so much for your patience, and I hope that you can regain your enthusiasm for ShootQ!

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  Andrew Niesen > July 18, 2011 17:57

  One other thing I thought I'd add. There are a lot of ShootQ users who don't like Pictage. I get that. I used Pictage from 2003-2006 and I got fed up and left.

  I'd like to say that very few people from that era are even still with the company. Even the ownership has changed. Jim Collins, the current CEO,  who has been around since mid-2009, is dedicated to making the experience for photographers better. The previous CEO was mainly concerned about selling prints. The software that was in place was to drive business through the lab, and the former CEO was most interested in driving print sales to make the company more proftiable than to serve the needs of photographers.

  Jim plans on making Pictage a software company that helps photographers be successful. It's no longer a lab. The only reason we still have a lab is that we've always had one - it runs so efficiently now that there's no reason to get rid of it.  The reason we joined with Pictage is because of this focus on software.

  The senior management team at Pictage has 6 members - 3 of which are from the original ShootQ team. We are highly involved in defining the vision for the software and I expect we will go great places. It just takes some time - always more than you want it to take!

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  Benjamin Lawson > July 18, 2011 18:29

  Thank you for your response, Andrew.

  Although I understand there is a lot of behind-the-scenes work to make anything happen, I must challenge your claim that ShootQ hasn't changed. Now, I know I do not have any insider information nor do I know what the long-term vision of ShootQ was/is, so I won't make any speculation there. All I know is that 2 years ago the studio management system called ShootQ performed exactly as I described above: responsive to my needs and quick to reply. The fact that you want to make ShootQ a "one stop shop" for all things photography business related, however, indicates a divergence from that. I personally would much rather see ShootQ aim to be the best web-based studio management system available instead of that one stop shop, which is where I thought it was going. That is why I was as enthusiastic about ShootQ as I was.

  As far as the metrics you reference about support ticket response times, I must challenge the data. Or at least find out how to get in on that action! The last two tickets received an initial "thanks, we'll look into it" response and then nothing. I'm a patient man, and I gave plenty of time after that response for investigation and testing of the issue. In the past, I was contacted within 2-3 days with either a request for more information, an apology that they're still working on it, or yay it's fixed. This is not the kind of customer service I have received recently. For instance, 20 days ago I submitted a ticket. A day later I got the "thanks for contacting us" reply. 6 days later I had received no reply so I succinctly and politely requested an update, to which I received a fairly immediate "sorry for the delay." Now, nearly two weeks after the second contact, I had to again request information. This is typical of my last few support tickets, one of which was apparently fixed before I sent my request for an update but I was never informed.

  I really don't want this to be a venue for specific complaints or ShootQ-bashing. What I do want is to ensure that my needs - and those who feel the same way - are being met now and in the future. The feature requests seem to be ignored or overlooked selectively, and I attest the customer service is not better with the addition of more employees. I understand that many people are looking forward to Nimbus, but those of us who could care less about Nimbus are equally as important. I appreciate that you acknowledge that the 6 month update cycle is on the slow side. I don't expect one every month, either. If they were a little more frequent, and contained actual improvements to the studio management part that brought us here, the peripheral product development would be a lot more acceptable.

  As for Pictage? I'm just glad it has remained more of a modular feature rather than a required migration. Let's keep it that way.

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  Michael Caro > July 19, 2011 16:47

  HI Benjamin,

  Thank you for your post and for your honest assessment of the Customer Care you feel you've been getting recently. We strive to provide the best possible service to all our photographers on both the ShootQ and the Pictage side and we always want to know when we appear to be falling short.

  I wanted to let you know that I did look into the tickets you've sent in to Customer Care the past few months and the majority of them seemed to have been responded to on the same or the next day.  I do see there is one issue from June 28 regarding a bug in Calendar/Location.  I know this issue has been sent in to the Development team and I'm sure it is something they will be fixing soon (if it wasn't fixed in a small release today).  We'll make sure to follow up with you when we have more information on this being fixed.

  Going forward, I would suggest that for the fastest and most efficient service you give us a call at 888-9SHOOTQ, 888-974-6687 X2.  Yes, I know sometimes calling isn't feasible, but when it is please do call us as it will allow us to resolve your issue immediately in most cases.  Also, you are always free to reach out directly to me if you have any further questions or concerns with Customer Care.  You can reach me at mcaro@pictage.com or directly at 310-525-1624.

  Thank you again for posting this, and we look forward to providing you the excellent service you had experienced in the past.

  Sincerely,

  Michael Caro

  Sr. Director, Customer Care

  Pictage, Inc.

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  Permanently deleted user > July 27, 2011 14:15

  I would just like to add to this same feeling.  The product options has been something that has been in ShootQ since I started using the software back in October \ November.  I keep asking for this product options to be included in the pricing pages.  Otherwise, if your packages include items with options they are rendered useless.  Since I have been using the software I cannot use product options and the pricing pages for clients to build their own packages, select them, etc.  I keep making feature requests for this and it is just one of those pie in the sky things it seems.  That making the implementation of product options work across the board is back burner stuff.

  As to Pictage I think there has been a move on the backend to serve the photographer better, BUT there has been no move to allow updating the look and feel.  Seriously how hard is it to provide an advanced tab where photographers could put in their own CSS styling?  I am not asking for a template manager, or something fancy.  I just want a screen where I can input my own CSS and it be included on the pages.  The current styling of Pictage is so 1980s style it is pathetic.  This could even be twofold.  From this you can then look at those customers supplying their own CSS styling and start drawing inspiration from them and provide "templates" if you will that way.  You get the user base to help develop your "templates".  I hate the word template too, but essentially that is what it is.

  As to Nimbus, just set a date and keep it.  Put a real date down and keep it.  If that date is Nov, 24,2012.... I don't care.  I just need a real date to know how to plan my software usage until it is released.  I cannot keep putting my plans for my business on hold for a software product that has been just around the corner since May of this year.  Got me thinking of Tave Studio here and how they are almost going on a year of we are beta testing and coming out soon.

  Thank you for the updates though.  That feels real nice.  Perhaps it would help people if updates like this were posted on the blog and the struggles were a bit more transparent to the customers.  We aren't heartless, we just don't like being strung along with empty promises of release dates and no clear timetable for feature updates and releases.

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  Andrew Niesen > July 27, 2011 17:46

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  Andrew Niesen > July 27, 2011 18:48

  Troy, I can't agree with you more about the Nimbus dates thing. That wasn't my call. When I ran ShootQ, we never announced a product until it was in Beta, because software is like construction. Unanticipated problems come up and delays happen. We made the mistake of pre-announcing our iPhone app in 2010 and learned our lesson.

  Some other influential people in the company insisted we announce Nimbus at WPPI to make a splash, and I went with it despite the fact that I knew better. So here we are. 

  The good news is that Nimbus is in beta now.

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  Craig Volpe > July 29, 2011 01:21

  Have to echo Troy's sentiments on the product options feature. I wasted a bunch of time when that feature was added only to find out after redoing my pricing that it was invisible to the users. I would think one of those little question marks with a pop-up explaining this could at least be added to the place where you can customize the product options. It's disheartening to hear that ShootQ development is focusing on making a one stop shop instead of refining the core product.

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  Jonathan LaCour > July 29, 2011 19:41

  Hey guys, sorry for chiming into this conversation late. Some really interesting perspectives to think about. 

  Just for another perspective, I think Andrew is being a little hard on both himself, and on our planning/leadership at Pictage. The key thing to note is that software is a process, and its good to push hard to create great software, and do it quickly. We always did this when we were "just ShootQ" and we're still doing it today now that we're part of Pictage. But, because software is a process, its really hard to predict.

  As I led the development team in our efforts to get Nimbus out the door, we all really wanted to have something by WPPI. We pushed as hard as we could. We added more developers. We did everything in our power to create a wonderful product that could be released shortly after WPPI. And you know what? It took longer than we thought. It happens. The great thing is, that push we made was important. It helped drive us forward, and I truly believe that the platform we've built is unique, well-designed, and users will love it. And this is in huge part to the fact that we pushed ourselves so hard. Did we meet our goals? No, but I couldn't be more proud of how hard the team worked.

  Of course, there were lessons to be learned. And those lessons were:

  • We need to communicate better. I think we're already doing it, and there are some efforts in place to make this even better! Introducing Nimbus at WPPI was a great way to get feedback, and the product is better as a result of it. But, we can be more transparent that software is a process, and we should be more transparent about dates. No big deal, just need to do it!
  • For the last year or so, we've had a single team, and we've juggled around between projects. I think that caused ShootQ to stall a bit. No denying it. Now, we've switched to multiple teams, so every product always has at least a few people on it. ShootQ 3.4 is underway, and its going to be awesome! The new multi-team thing is working great, and we're adding three more people to the team in Atlanta to make it even better. Its not a problem to be a one-stop-shop if you adequately staff and plan so that every part of the ecosystem keeps making progress, and we're doing that now.

  
  

  Bottom line: joining Pictage has been the best thing we've ever done. Point blank, period. The issues we've experienced along the way are growing pains, and we needed to go through these things as part of the process. But, being a part of the leadership at Pictage has been nothing short of wonderful. We all share a common goal to make our photographers more profitable and purposeful.

  Thanks for all the honesty. We love you guys as much as you love ShootQ. I am so happy that you care enough about ShootQ and Pictage that you're asking these questions. They're hard questions to ask, and we're going to be honest and take it all to heart. I honestly believe we're headed the right direction, and I am so excited for what we have planned for ShootQ over the next 6 months. Its going to be a heck of a ride! Glad to be taking it with such awesome users.

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  Benjamin Lawson > July 29, 2011 20:04

  Jonathan and Michael, I appreciate your feedback. And just as you both claim to have learned lessons from your push to demo Nimbus at WPPI, so I think you should also take a few lessons from this thread.

  I've been a developer, too, so I know all about how dates can be pushed back, delays, etc. The good development teams I've been part of listened to our customers and gave every reasonable request serious R&D time. Our customers saw a very direct result from the "I really need it to do this" line of inquiry. The bad teams, however, held their own agendas and gave little consideration to what the customer may find helpful - even if came directly from the customers themselves. Hell, I was a BA and UI developer at the last place I worked, and my work often got lost in File 13 because it wasn't in line with their internal goals.

  Long story short, I know where you're coming from. I still maintain that the direct interaction I received for suggestions and requests HAS waned since I joined 2 years ago. If there is indeed a ShootQ-dedicated team in place, there must be more transparency... on both sides. How many of the developers see the feature requests, for instance? Take a tip from Google and let them have pet projects - interesting/useful bits from the feature requests or even their own ideas - they can play with on the side. You may just have another Gmail on your hands! :D

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  Jonathan LaCour > July 29, 2011 20:19

  Ben,

  Wow, what a great response! Yeah, I am really glad you understand where I'm coming from.

  Has the direction interaction you've seen dropped? You bet. I'll acknowledge it right now. Here's the thing, though, there's no reason it needs to be this way, which is why I am so glad you are bringing it up!

  Our Customer Care team is ridiculously good. You have no idea how much these people care and how hard they work. They may have a different way of interacting than you're used to, but Michael Caro is all over your feedback. Trust me. We talk all the time about how much we care for you guys.

  We've actually instituted a "Fun Friday Projects" policy, where the developers for a project can pick and choose fun things to work on OF THEIR CHOOSING (including customer feature requests) each Friday afternoon. Its been a lot of fun, and some of these things are going to come to fruition in our 3.4 release, targeted for the end of August.

  Lets talk about what else we can do. Your questions will not go unanswered. Your feedback will not go unheard. Email me anytime at jonathan@pictage.com and I'll hear your feedback. We're not perfect, but if there's one thing I pride myself on, its listening to customers. We're only great because of you guys, and if we ignore you, we'll cease to exist.

  Anytime you're in Atlanta or LA, let me know. Also happy to grab a drink, and chat. Nothing is more fun than personally getting to know the people I work for.

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  Craig Volpe > July 30, 2011 01:11

  Jonathan,

  Here's a question. Why isn't there a warning that customers won't see product options when you customize them?

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  Permanently deleted user > July 30, 2011 02:39

  Wow.  I must say I am at least impressed by the posts in this thread.  However, I am a programmer as well and understand the dates, delays, etc.  It really sounds like a problem of going from a developer organization that operated as if it was just a single person to having to operate with multiple teams and multiple developers.  It really is more about documentation and communication at that point.  It sounds like maybe you have reached the valley and are heading on the way back up.

   

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  Jonathan LaCour > July 30, 2011 04:36

  Craig -- That's a great idea! At the very least, it would set better expectations for the feature. When we introduced it, we intended it as a foundation for some future features, and it would have taken too long to build everything all at once, so we decided to stage it out. We just haven't gotten around to making it possible for customers to customize yet. Turns out, that's a really hard problem that we're still wrapping our heads around. But we are thinking about it. I'll make a note about improving the docs and inline help for the feature.

  Troy -- thanks for the kind words! We grew quite quickly, thanks to Pictage, and it took a little while to get our footing. I've managed small teams and large teams in the past, and what I've learned is that each team is different. Different styles, personalities, and habits combined with different organizational goals and product functionality means that Computer Science is really less of a Science, and more than an art. Maybe I'm just saying this to fit in better with all the wonderful photographers around here, but I think its really true :)

  Thanks again for all the feedback, folks.

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  Studio 220 Admin > September 21, 2011 03:24

  It's good to see you guys are candid with your customers and responsive even in an open forum like this.  I have been waiting quite a while for Nimbus to become available.  I read on a post somewhere that mid-September was a "target" date for a general release.  I'm wondering if there is a way to get an update from someone on a realistic target date for the first release of Nimbus.  Please let me know.  Thanks.

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  Andrew Niesen > September 23, 2011 16:09

  Mid-september was the target date to get the last round of beta testers into Nimbus, which happened earlier this week. All the beta testers who signed up to participate are now in Nimbus.

  The general release is slated for early-mid October.

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  Craig Volpe > May 03, 2012 16:00

  Almost a year later, and there's still no warning about product options not being visible to clients. Can't somebody please add a little text snippet "Attention ShootQ users: product options at this time are not visible to clients and are for internal use only" to the page?

  If it's too difficult to implement that feature at this time, fine -- but it's beyond me why there still isn't any warning of tis on the product option customization page

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  Robert Norman > January 15, 2014 04:52

  Interesting that this post started now about THREE years ago, and things have only =gotten worse. Will ShootQ EVER put any time or money into updating this sad app, or will it one day simply be 'gone' when we go to log in?,,,,,,

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  Josh Gooden > February 08, 2014 21:51

  I agree with Robert. When are new updates coming? I keep paying 40 dollars a month and expect to see consistent changes, fixes, and improvements. I just saw that the homepage was updated, but no new UI enhancements, an iPad app, or anything new to help the paying users. 

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  Everardo Keeme > February 23, 2014 17:58

  Nothing against you Josh but forget the iPad app, Androids have been outselling iOS since 2010 !!! Still nothing mobile friendly for those. 

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  Chad > February 24, 2014 20:20

  Hi Folks,

  ShootQ continues to make improvements/updates every month. You can always view them in the Help Hub under Releases and Updates in the Announcement section (http://shootq.zendesk.com/forums/171595-Releases-and-Updates).

  We have a lot of great new features in store this year, and mobile is definitely on our radar. We aren't quite ready to announce the details yet, but we think you and all of our ShootQ members will be pleased with our releases. And yes, we agree, the ShootQ community is more than just Apple users (so Android is on our radar as well)!.

  If there are specific features you would like to see implemented, I would encourage you to email our development team directly at ideas@shootq.com so that we can consider them as we develop our technology roadmap.Thanks again!

   

  Geoffrey Dunn

  Team ShootQ