i have to pay to re-download my 747 QOS?

[Guest Hawkeyeted]

James,This was announced over three months ago. The extra $4 pays for the server space to store "re-" downloads for those that weren't smart enough to burn thier first copy....(i.e. what you did with your 737NG was the right way to do).

[Chaos81 110]

>I think ill do what i did with my 737 just burn it onto cdIf you did it with the 737, why wouldn't you do it with the 747?

[crvm 0]

With all this typing you would think one could have burned a simply copy to cd already. What is incredible is for a person with a computer in the year 2006 not to have a cd burner (which is STANDARD on EVERY COMPUTER released nowadays) and to make backups of their exe files. ...............Randy J. Smith................A PROUD MEMBER OF THE PMDG BETA TEAM[h4]Evolution is a process that results in heritable changes in a population spread over many generations[/h4]

[rsrandazzo 6,353]

James-Normally I do not make a habit of responding to posts that are clearly thrown into the forum out of anger or frustration- as I've taken my share of turf clods being tossed at me during the 8+ years we've run a forum.That being said, I think your characterization is rather unfair- and considers only your own point of view. Here is another, quite different one:When PMDG first offered our products by download, we elected to allow customers to redownload at no cost by simply emailing us a request. We stated clearly at that time that we COULD charge a fee of 25% of your purchase price at our discretion in order to allow you renewed access to your purchase. Our intention was to enact this fee on products purchased more than one year prior- but to date we never enacted the policy.Eight strong years later, our customer base has grown so large that on an average day it is not uncommon for us to receive upwards of 60-150 redownload requests from customers, some purchases dating back nearly three years. On some days, that number pops over 200.In mid-late 2005, it became apparent to all of us that our once well respected reputation for providing customer service was not quite of the luster we strive for. Upon reviewing the reasons why this is so, (after all- we have two people on our team who handle technical support 7 days a week 365 days a year) we found that our response times were lagging VERY badly on account of the fact that nearly 80% of the email we receive was from customers who wanted to redownload products.Thus, we began the process of cost analysis (something businesses do when solving problems) to determine the best solution for the problem. We consulted with some customer-users who are familiar to us, and we looked internally for ideas to reduce our customers service workload and improve our service levels.The ONLY way to improve service levels was to reduce the workload for those handling support. This quickly made clear to us that the "free service" we were providing was in fact costing us many thousands of dollars in time for the individuals involved.Our choices became: "Open up peoples accounts to allow unlimited downloads" or "Find a way to incentify users to make and keep downloads of their own products."After reviewing the candid facts about our current and pending litigation against pirates (hundreds of cases pending- and growing every day) allowing people unrestricted access to downloads is never going to happen. Our legal advisors also prohibit this, as it makes it harder to prosecute legitimate theft appropriately.Thus, we decided that we had to find a way to incent users to make their own backups. Asking nicely hasn't worked for 8+ years, so it is necessary to provide an economic incentive.We decided that a $3.95 fee was better than the 25% program we had threatened since our fist day in business.So if you think that PMDG is trying to shake the pennies from your pockets, please consider that our previous policy would have required a cost of $13.75 for you to redownload, vs. a meager cost of $3.95.So yes- we worked very hard to find a middle ground that is not onerous to our customers, and allows us the ability to continue providing redownload service while also maintaining the customer service levels that we demand of ourselves.

[Guest Jbrady2020]

Am I correct that i have to pay to re-download a product i already paid for?? why on earth is this??"If you are writing to re-download a product and you have not purchased extended download coverage for that product, please do so NOW- and when we review your account we'll be able to issue the new download immediately rather than having to wait!"Are they serious? i have to pay $3.95 so I can gain access to a Item I already purchased for $54.99 only to pay another $4 so i can access my download for up to a year. Am i the only one that find this just a little bit silly. I have had no hassles with any other companies regarding downloads. I had to uninstall my Fs2004 due to performance issues. I emailed my order information to approproiate channels. and Recieved or am recieving the necessary links for my redownloads. Why does PDMG charge for redownloading?? I am just truly amazed by the audacity that they are charging me more money ontop of the already $54.99 I can help but to laugh in amazement. But i guess I have no real choice, they pretty much got me by the proverbial balls as if I have truly any choice, pay $4 or waste $54.99, can u say gestapo tatics, tsk tsk. I think ill do what i did with my 737 just burn it onto cd. I love the product I think its cool, but the commercial practices that pdmg is pulling is just down right silly. for $54.99 i shouldnt have to pay another dime, minus for new expansions or new addons. whew! there is no words. you got me by the proverbial balls PDMG good job, ill give ya credit on that you know how to pinch the penny out of a person.

[WAD3 0]

I have to say even if you screw up and lose or not have a copy 4 bucks isnt alot of money. I actually like the idea that I can get a copy if I encountered a problem. You wont make everyone happy though.

[Guest Jbrady2020]

clearly i was misinformed.Randy I appreciate the explanation surrounding the reason for instituting the $3.95 for cost of support for the increase emails from redownloads. lot better than calling me dumb for not backing up my copy. Yes i do have a Cd burner, i just didnt think to burn it cause i thought i had it in a special folder called FS2004 downloads on my seperate HD, when i checked it wasnt there with the other downloads, go figure.I just remember last time I recieved my 737 with no issues approximately 6-9 months back or so(which was then i backed it up cd with my others just in case) and was bit frustrated on why this was the case. Which i guess explains prior institution of the fee 3 months ago which is clearly after I downloaded that file.Not to mention I havent been to that portion of the website, for a extended period of time, frankly i didnt need to, because i Had little or no issues with PDMg 747, it ran like a dream. I can understand the need for the $3.95 if that cost covers the type of support needed to maintain coverage to the emails you recieve. if it helps you eleviate cost overhead for support staff, then so be it, ill deal with it.I might end up buying a dvd burner because i have a add on that exceeds 1GB. maybe one of you know of any good deals on a dvd burner?? or which one is recommended.I apologize for the grouchiness, and Will definitely be more "neutral" in my emotion when posting issues. once again thanx randy for the enlightening explanation.

[rsrandazzo 6,353]

James-Thanks. I know not everyone likes it when the reality of business expense takes an impact on our hobby- but I appreciate the fact that you were willing to hear and understand my point of view too.We wouldn't have instituted this process without some very careful consideration, that I promise.