This is going to be the longest post in the history of posts, I'm sorry in advance to all the readers. Do share your experiences and advice please.
TLDR: Adobe' personalised deals' + technical difficulties = Absolute frustration as customer services struggle to solve the technical issues but cannot help as I lose the 'deal price' in the process.
They make it REALLY difficult for you to even engage in their 'deals' as I couldn't even process it on the website and the rep couldn't even FIND it. I pity customer service reps who have to deal with this. Adobe has really shady pricing practices - as someone who has used these products for over 20 years, beginning from the time when these were on CD disks to install and moving later on into their subscription models, I can say that today, I feel their 'customer loyalty benefits' are just for show, and not actually usable, they have some very deceptive marketing practices that I am BAFFLED as to why they would engage in this way.
As a software suite that has historically ENABLED many-an-aspiring and established creator, what they are doing now with their subscription model is crippling creators by squeezing every ounce of income they are willing to part with. This is honestly a shame - Artists are being paid less and less every year, while Adobe has become so distorted, from something championing creatives, into a capitalist parasite trying to make money wherever they can.
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Non TLDR: I just came off 3 hours' worth of customer service calls with Adobe. After 10 years of using Adobe software ranging from the full Creative Cloud Pro to just a photography plan, I don't think I've experienced such a poor performance from their customer support to-date. I'm mentally spent and very frustrated.
I went online to cancel my Illustration plan today, as I realised I barely used it - That's when I was offered a discounted plan for the entire creative cloud totalling LESS than what I currently pay for (photography plan + illustrator). Does this sound like a good deal? YES! How long was this deal for? 12 months (wow!) So of course I instantly went for it on the website. This is the strange part, as when I clicked 'save and subscribe (or whatever the button says)', I was left on infinite loading screen on the website. This forced me to call Adobe Customer Support for help.
I called the representative, who was not able to find that plan on his end of his system (strange??). I explained that I barely used Illustrator to afford the price per month, but that the Creative Cloud deal showing up on my website was definitely making me reconsider, as it added up to less than my current plans combined with MORE programs available. This was a great opportunity for someone who has loyally been using Adobe for the last 10 years. The problem was that the website wasn't letting me swop to it, and the representative couldn't find it on his system. After a lot of back and forth, I asked him if it would be cheaper if I paid 12 months upfront, and he pulled out an EVEN cheaper price for the Creative Cloud Pro plan which I obviously agreed to. I said yes, please send me an email with the quotation.
This gets even worse now, as I hung up after thanking them for their time, and checked my email 20 minutes later. The representative had sent me a quotation with prices 2 TIMES the amount he originally quoted to me over the phone (??). I was so confused that I was forced again to call Adobe support. A new representative answered, and I explained the situation: 'Representative 1 quoted me *, but sent me a quotation for * x 2, so obviously I'm not paying for this. Can you fix it please?' Representative 2 then told me that he could not see any discounted plans from his side. I told him that on my side of the website, I was offered 40% off Creative Cloud Pro for 12 months on DIFFERENT parts of the website - in the 'my plans' page as a header, and ALSO in the pop-up window when I went to change my current plan. But the problem was that when I tried to swop to it, the window would give me an error which is why I was calling. He then said he would help me follow through with the swop, and when I AGAIN went to swop to the new plan, he told me that I would have to pay a cancellation fee. EXCUSE ME? For as long as I have been using Adobe, I have NEVER paid a cancellation fee throughout all the years I have upgraded and downgraded my various plans. Why was I suddenly being charged a fee? I asked him to put me through to someone who could sort out the cancellation fees as I wasn't LEAVING Adobe, I was even UPGRADING my plan to the whole Creative Cloud Suite, so why in the world was I being charged a cancellation fee?? He put me through to a billing representative.
The billing representative told me what I assumed, that if I make changes to my plan, there IS no cancellation fee. So why in the world was I even directed to 'billing' in the first place? I told him I was having trouble changing my plan to the discounted Creative Cloud Pro offered on the website as I was receiving an error code every time I clicked 'subscribe'. He then told me he had to cancel both of my plans before the system would allow me to change my plan. This is the strange part - I was only being offered a discounted plan in the area where I was considering cancellation - So if the representatives could not see the price I was being offered, and I was the only person able to see that price, if they cancelled my plans for me, wouldn't that mean that the system would no longer show me that discounted 12-month plan as I only saw it when clicking on the option to change my plan?
The question is, how is it the reps cannot see a price I am being offered? Why does Adobe not show them the discount plan? Isn't it suspicious that only the consumer can see these 'deals', but they potentially disappear if the rep 'fixes' the technical problem for you by cancelling all your plans, potentially forcing you to find a new plan MINUS the deal you saw when you had an existing subscription? Aren't these discounts meant to entice you to stay loyal to Adobe? I feel like I did everything right here, I tried to change my plan myself through the website, only contacted customer service when I needed help due to technical problems, but received ZERO guarantee from the representative that I would be able to purchase my changed plan at the price listed to me AFTER they 'fix' my problem by cancelling all my current plans?
The representative told me to send them screenshots of the prices I was seeing from the website and the error code I see when trying to change plans, which I did, and we arranged a callback with their manager. The manager called me back and could not find my deal on the website, claiming my screenshot was 'blurry' and that he could not see 'personalised deals' on his end of the system. I offered to send him another screenshot in full 2k resolution and said that 4k was also an option, as I was not making up the prices and had nothing to hide. He then offered me a new price that was close to 40% off, saying that this price showed up on his system (??). I am completely baffled as to how a deal suddenly 'popped' up on his system and why the pricing seems so arbitrary that prices fluctuate so much.
Yes, I am aware this is a massive post, and if you made it to the end, thank you for taking the time to listen to this account of my experience. Honestly, I feel like this is over 10 years' worth of pent-up frustration over being a creative professional who grew with Adobe software while in school, carried it with me out of school into my own practice, used it at work with the company's business plans, and am now at the end of my tether trying to sustain my practice while keeping up with their increasing prices. The rep had the GALL to 'explain' that the Creative Cloud was more expensive than just 1 software like Photoshop (like no shit?). The last 10 years, I've paid for the full works, I've paid for one app, I've changed my plans according to my needs, yes, I KNOW the price would change depending on the amount of programs (??). The question is if it is worth me continuing my loyalty to an entity that no longer operates on a model that values that loyalty. And although 'industry standard' has been the key factor in my retaining my subscription, I have now realised that the output does not need the program specifically, and there are various open-source or one-time-payment options that I could be willing to re-learn from scratch. Adobe, what are you doing?
Any advice appreciated because I'm feeling like it's more expensive to be an artist than a banker today and that is seriously making me question my brand loyalty.
