WTF is up with Pioneer??

**myl//hy** · 12-27-2013, 02:32 PM

Take a look at this thread on the Pioneer support forums. http://forums.pioneerdj.com/entries/...M-PIONEER-NOW- Users are BEGGING for help with firmware bug issues with the CDJ2000NXS, their flagship product, and it's falling on deaf ears. Pioneer appears to have outsourced firmware development without understanding how to manage that process. What they've gotten, predictably, is a developer that is more interested in ticking off a feature requirements list and walking away than supporting customers. People are afraid to gig with their new, expensive, top-of-the-line CDJs for fear that they will lock on them.

I can't even post to the support forum. I get a dumb Zendesk green screen error every time -- yes, they've outsourced their tech support forums themselves. Zendesk tells me to open a support ticket to help get Pioneer's support forum up and running -- a Pioneer customer should open a support ticket with Pioneer's outsourced customer support forum provider because the support forum itself is down. Unbelievable.

You know what would solve most of this problem? Set the code base free -- make it all open source. Pioneer makes excellent hardware, but they struggle with the software and firmware. And they clearly don't have the customer service / tech support resources to bridge this gap. So let the community solve this problem and watch the entire Nexus line not only solve its own bugs but develop features second to none. See how fast the dj community builds a sidechain compressor for the DJM2000NXS...

Firmware/software development and tech support are clearly seen as cost centers to be minimized and outsourced, rather than core business to be nurtured. And we're left to twist in the wind. This is a leadership / management problem. Pioneer, STEP YOUR GAME UP.

Honestly, I can't imagine Pioneer having the vision or leadership to pull this off, but a boy can dream.

Sorry to fuss about Pioneer here, but I don't know what else to do. Only thing I can think is to draw attention to it, maybe cost them sales until they fix this problem.

(And seriously how kickass would open source Rekordbox and Nexus firmware be??)

**Jimanee** · 12-27-2013, 03:06 PM

Wow, that's interesting. Those things arn't cheap, you would have expected top notch support.

**Estacy** · 12-27-2013, 06:35 PM

honestly I'm not all that surprised, Pioneer cuts corners on all their products, and if they don't they ask ridiculous prices (DJM1000). I mean the DJM 600 with its shoddy build quality and no headroom, the DJM 800 with wonky faders, CDJ 1000s with the cheapest microswitches available, the 2000s that feel like Fisher Price toys etc etc.

**si!** · 12-28-2013, 12:53 AM

Painful to read, since I have just ordered a pair of CDJ2000NXS.

Oh well .. I plan on also keeping my 850's which have been rock solid and robust for almost 2 years. Guess they will remain the mobile workhorse until the 2K's get solid firmware (if not already).

**Alex Murphy** · 12-28-2013, 01:18 AM

Seems like not much has changed since the CDJ 400s... I don't get why those people who had "problems since day one" didn't send the units back and get a refund.

**Adzm00** · 12-28-2013, 12:51 PM

Lol @ the guy bitching about waveforms.

**myl//hy** · 12-29-2013, 05:11 PM

Jesus.

I broke down and sent an e-mail to Zendesk, the forum provider, to open a ticket. (A customer opening a ticket to a third party to fix a broken customer support forum still chaps my hide...) Here it is in its entirety:

I've been unable to post to the Pioneer DJ forums (http://forums.pioneerdj.com/forums) since, well, never. I sent you a tweet as a professional courtesy on November 25 (@mylhymusic) and this issue is still unresolved. I get this error every time: http://tinypic.com/r/104g3gx/5
I've used MacOS 10.9.1 with Chrome 31.0.1650.63, Safari 7.0.1 (9537.73.11), and Firefox 26.0. I've used iOS 7 on both iPhone5 and iPad3. Same results every time. This is the only forum on the entire internet that I have this problem with.

It is unconscionable that Zendesk tells me to open a help ticket with them. Yes, really, Pioneer's outsourced support forum provider is asking one of their $10k customers to help figure out what's wrong with their support forum. This is unprofessional and reinforces the growing perception in the DJ community that Pioneer does not care AT ALL about its customers. (read this thread fully if you doubt this perception: http://forums.pioneerdj.com/entries/...M-PIONEER-NOW-)

I've sent a complaint to Pioneer, but I honestly can't imagine they care. I'm not willing to help troubleshoot your own forums further. Please open a ticket with Pioneer yourself, fix it, and tell me when it's done.

--NotHappyWithPioneer'sOutsourcingStrategy

Here is their (canned) response, implying that I'm seeking help with a Pioneer product itself, which strongly implies they didn't even read my ticket:

Hi XXX,

I am a Customer Advocate here at Zendesk. I realize this is a frustrating process for you and I wanted to take a moment to explain Zendesk's role here. We make software that companies use to give their customers a way to contact them for support. We don't provide support for their product, just the channel for communication.

It's possible you saw a "Support Ticket System by Zendesk" link at the bottom of webpage on one of our customer's web pages, and clicked that, thinking it would take you to them. But it brought you to us, and unfortunately, since you contacted us directly, there's no way for us to know which of our 30,000+ customers you were trying to reach. Most of our customers' support pages have a "Submit a request" link that will allow you to open a support ticket with them; others may show an email address to send requests to, or may have a tab on the side of the page that says "Support" or "Help".

We're sorry we are unable to provide more guidance other than to recommend contacting them directly. Our sincere apologies here and let us know if you have any questions about our software!

Benjamin Towne | Customer Advocate | support@zendesk.com

I've reopened the ticket, but this is garbage. Pioneer's DJ support forum is broken. Their outsourced forum supplier is effectively unresponsive, saying I should contact Pioneer directly -- presumably using their broken forum.

Is there an icon more pissed-off than this? -->

**myl//hy** · 12-29-2013, 05:20 PM

Originally Posted by Manu

Seems like not much has changed since the CDJ 400s... I don't get why those people who had "problems since day one" didn't send the units back and get a refund.

They are "Industry Standard". They will exist in clubs whether I return mine or not. And if the clubs' decks lock up and a reboot doesn't clear the problem before 10 minutes of loop go by, guess who has egg on their face?? At least with my own set, I have a chance to discover the bugs and develop workarounds on my own time.