# Discounts - Educational or otherwise...



## RustyTheGeek (Jul 24, 2015)

Bit of a rant coming... I figure some here might agree with me while others will probably just say I'm a whiny baby entitled jerk. But keep in mind that this is more about the concept of promotions and discounts, not whether or not I succeeded in getting a discount in this case. It's the principle of the thing.

I was just told that my son (college student) would be granted an educational discount for a particular photo software product but any future support for that license would be denied since it was me that requested the software as his photographer father. (I'm not the actual student but I am the one that's paying for everything!) In other words, using my son's edu address would result in me being black balled by the company because they think I'm misusing my son's edu address to get a discount I don't deserve. Even though the license allows three simultaneous installs.

This was after I specifically contacted the company inquiring about discounts planning to buy the software in good faith. First they said all I needed was a edu email address. I honestly provided more. I provided my younger son's current high school report card, explained that my older son is in college and then added a link to my galleries of over 20K of school, scout and church youth related images to show that a very large part of my shooting is academic related and all volunteer. I was trying to be up front and honest and build a relationship on the truth, not lie. They said a edu email address was required. So I provided my college son's edu address as they requested. That was when they offered the rather strange and punitive discount offer.

I also explained that I teach photography classes from time to time and I don't make any money from photography. I simply wanted to start using their software as a paying customer and get the best price I could so what could they do for me.

IMO, cheating would be if I simply used pirated software, pirated keys, etc. Cheating would be if I was a professional making profit and trying to get the edu discount. Or if I wasn't connected to any type of school, didn't have students all around me or current students that I pay all the bills for. In fact, I would have even been fine with just a flat NO. But to say they would grant the discount and take my money but then go to the trouble of denying me support to punish me was in bad taste. Why do that? What a waste of good will / good relations!

I always find it interesting when a company goes to the trouble and expense to create a discount offer which is meant to help generate sales, invite customers and bring good referrals but then they throw out red tape or otherwise sully the promotion quoting company rules or policies.

So as a result, a promotional discount intended to bring in a new customer instead pushes that customer away. Even when that potential customer spent an afternoon on the virtual doorstep trying to buy the product.

Over my lifetime, I've been on both sides of discount programs, their abuse and their intent. One time I presented a coupon for a free sandwich to a fast food place. Unbeknownst to me it was expired (tiny print) and the clerk cheerfully said, "Hey, no problem! We'll take it anyway!". This really illustrates the underlying philosophy of a _promotion_ or other customer _incentive_. It's not about the money or the loss of same. It's about building goodwill with a customer. If the customer leaves disappointed or worse, angry because they feel they were treated like a scammer or a cheapskate, what did the _promotion_ achieve? The opposite effect!

So in this case, the photo software company saved themselves a percentage of a sale that they didn't get at all as a result of their shortsightedness. They saved losing a possible XX% but they gave up 100% in the process.

End of rant... FWIW, which probably isn't much.


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## Valvebounce (Jul 25, 2015)

Hi Rusty. 
I sort of get where you are at, but also the vendor has to do the best for its shareholders. Would it not have been simpler to give your son a Flickr account and a camera with a 16Gb card and tell him to go fill the card with pics of school, friends and school activities, point the company to this evidence and get the education license legitimately? 

Cheers, Graham. 



RustyTheGeek said:


> Bit of a rant coming... I figure some here might agree with me while others will probably just say I'm a whiny baby entitled jerk. But keep in mind that this is more about the concept of promotions and discounts, not whether or not I succeeded in getting a discount in this case. It's the principle of the thing.
> 
> I was just told that my son (college student) would be granted an educational discount for a particular photo software product but any future support for that license would be denied since it was me that requested the software as his photographer father. (I'm not the actual student but I am the one that's paying for everything!) In other words, using my son's edu address would result in me being black balled by the company because they think I'm misusing my son's edu address to get a discount I don't deserve. Even though the license allows three simultaneous installs.
> 
> ...


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Jul 25, 2015)

I've purchased Student software for my son from Adobe multiple times. He did not have a .edu email address, but there was no issue, other than having to present proof that he was a student.

Educational stand alone software from Adobe cannot be upgraded to newer versions.


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## RustyTheGeek (Jul 25, 2015)

Valvebounce said:


> Hi Rusty.
> I sort of get where you are at, but also the vendor has to do the best for its shareholders. Would it not have been simpler to give your son a Flickr account and a camera with a 16Gb card and tell him to go fill the card with pics of school, friends and school activities, point the company to this evidence and get the education license legitimately?
> 
> Cheers, Graham.



Thanks for the input *Graham*! Actually, both of my sons earned the Photography merit badge that I taught. And they do have their own images. But he's mostly a cell phone photographer. (He didn't catch the bug as bad as me, LOL!) And my younger son is becoming more interested in Macro photography. In fact, some of the images on my site are theirs as well.

The company didn't ask for images or any other evidence other than a edu email. I gave them all that on my own. According to their stipulations and rules, all they wanted was an edu address. So in my case, I literally gave them the red tape to hang me. If I had simply kept my mouth shut and provided the address, things would have probably been fine.

My point is that since I was forthright and honest about my intended use, the manager I was in contact with specifically put me on notice and explained what they would do (or _not_ do actually) if I attempted to buy their software at the discount in accordance with their rules using my son's email. A yes or no would have been fine. But their weird "offer" left a bad taste in my mouth and that's a shame because I think the company is probably good overall. Their software however, is honestly a bit overpriced which is why I was looking for some kind of discount in the first place. I'll survive without it or I'll pay full price but I won't feel nearly as compelled to talk it up as I have been so far during the trial or would have been had I been treated better.

Shareholders? Not sure if this small company has those but it doesn't help the bottom line of any company if you don't embrace and find a way to make every customer happy that comes around. In this case they took a customer who sought them out specifically ready to buy but wanted a discount. How big you make the discount or what you call it doesn't matter. You give them something to gain their business and make them feel appreciated. The last thing you do is insult them or make them feel less than thrilled they took the time to initiate contact.


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## YuengLinger (Jul 25, 2015)

Some academic discounts are actually intended for the students only. Your interpretation of this company's motive seems a little cynical, but we live in cynical times!


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## RustyTheGeek (Jul 25, 2015)

YuengLinger said:


> Some academic discounts are actually intended for the students only. Your interpretation of this company's motive seems a little cynical, but we live in cynical times!



Thanks for your reply *YuengLinger*, I appreciate it.

I guess I can understand how it could be seen that way. However, keep in mind that I never tried to deceive them. And I didn't ask for something unreasonable. They offered the discount and then I was told I would be treated differently in a negative way when I simply agreed to follow their rules with full disclosure.

The way I see it, both of my sons are legitimate students (that I am paying for BTW) and I went out of my way to be up front and honest when I could have just said nothing and received the discount without "penalty". It's not being denied that I thought was lame, it was the weird conflicted reply they responded with. And if my son wants to buy the software sometime, will he get penalized because I asked for a discount and he was associated?

The more I think about it, the more it bugs me because their answer was so petty and unnecessary. In a customer service position I would never have handled it that way or treated a client like that and it sort of gets under my skin. In fact, that's probably what bugs me the most, the waste of the chance to gain a customer and express good will.

My interpretation of the company's motive may seem cynical but it's hard to see it as gracious or this thread would likely have been started for a completely different (and positive) reason.


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## unfocused (Jul 25, 2015)

I'm confused by this. I am only familiar with Adobe however and you didn't say what software maker you were dealing with.

What do you mean by support? Do you mean troubleshooting? Getting live support from most software manufacturers is not easy and they often charge for that support unless you are already paying a premium. 

Or do you mean upgrades. Student software is often non-upgradable. You have to buy a new version when it is upgraded - although it may be at the student price. 

When Adobe used to offer physical disks or downloads for its software (cs6 and before) I found that the upgrade price for regular versions was about the same as the student price, so once you bought the software, you could upgrade for the same price as the student discount.

So, I guess I'm wondering what exactly they were not providing you with.


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## RustyTheGeek (Jul 25, 2015)

unfocused said:


> I'm confused by this. I am only familiar with Adobe however and you didn't say what software maker you were dealing with.
> 
> What do you mean by support? Do you mean troubleshooting? Getting live support from most software manufacturers is not easy and they often charge for that support unless you are already paying a premium.
> 
> ...



Good question *unfocused*. Honestly, it's hard to say. This is a quote from part of their response...

"_Note that when your son applies for the edu discount, he will get it. However, we will be aware that he is not using it, and if you need access to support or the account information you will not have it. It can only be provided to the legal owner of the software_."

There's actually a bit more to the story like the fact that this actually came from the company's COO who took over the discussion from a subordinate. That is part of why I was disappointed. I was very nice and open and up to that point the discussion was very cordial. I would have expected a bit more grace from the COO but instead it turned more negative as soon as this last message was received. The tone assumed that I was simply trying to screw them over instead of trying to keep things on a positive level and build a relationship. Kind of a bummer. I'm used to more positive exchanges, esp with smaller companies in the creative space. IMHO, respectfully and graciously agree to or deny a request but don't throw out a strange reply that can be interpreted as an insult.

As an IT guy, my experience with most software is that the purchase entitles the user/buyer to technical support and/or whatever the developer states in the EULA, like upgrades, etc. Small developers tend to be more casual about it but if a written EULA is in play, I could probably demand whatever is written. But that's not my bag. I'll probably just blow off the purchase and not waste any more time or thought on it. I've worked since 2009 without this software and Lightroom previews will eventually get better/faster and render it unneeded anyway.


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## RGF (Jul 29, 2015)

As i understand edu discounts, they are for the student's use only.

Sorry Pop, though you are paying the bills, only your son is suppose to use the software.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Jul 29, 2015)

RGF said:


> As i understand edu discounts, they are for the student's use only.
> 
> Sorry Pop, though you are paying the bills, only your son is suppose to use the software.



Its generally true, but if you are home schooling him and teaching him, then you usually qualify as a teacher. Having credentials like a letter from the school district would help. I went thru that with Adobe, they cover home schooling, so it was no issue.


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## RustyTheGeek (Jul 30, 2015)

Honestly, it worked out for the best. The way they handled it encouraged me to look more for other alternatives over the weekend and I found a better app that only costs about $15 for the license. If they had given me the discount instead of a weird refusal, it would have cost me a LOT more money even with the discount. So in the end they cost themselves a customer and did me a favor by helping me find a better alternative.


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## RGF (Jul 30, 2015)

RustyTheGeek said:


> Honestly, it worked out for the best. The way they handled it encouraged me to look more for other alternatives over the weekend and I found a better app that only costs about $15 for the license. If they had given me the discount instead of a weird refusal, it would have cost me a LOT more money even with the discount. So in the end they cost themselves a customer and did me a favor by helping me find a better alternative.



What is the other ap? Let us know how happy you are with it after a few months.


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## JPAZ (Jul 30, 2015)

I get it totally. I actually have an .edu email, teach professionals in my field, spend time with students but don't have a faculty title, per se. I have been granted some educational discounts by some companies but not from others. Each has it's own criteria. It is what it is and we then decide "yes or no" with each purchase. 

Educational promotional discounts are really there to get new customers for a product with hopes that person will continue to use and upgrade once the student days are over. Faculty get that discount because their use of the product might also encourage their colleagues and their students to purchase the same. This is not an altruistic venture on the part of each company, it is a business decision (albeit probably with some tax advantages as well).

Sorry, the cynical part of me just reared its head.
: :


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## RustyTheGeek (Jul 30, 2015)

JPAZ said:


> I get it totally. I actually have an .edu email, teach professionals in my field, spend time with students but don't have a faculty title, per se. I have been granted some educational discounts by some companies but not from others. Each has it's own criteria. It is what it is and we then decide "yes or no" with each purchase.
> 
> Educational promotional discounts are really there to get new customers for a product with hopes that person will continue to use and upgrade once the student days are over. Faculty get that discount because their use of the product might also encourage their colleagues and their students to purchase the same. This is not an altruistic venture on the part of each company, it is a business decision (albeit probably with some tax advantages as well).
> 
> ...



I understand and I didn't read it as cynical. I've been on both sides of the "counter". As the years have passed, I've simplified my attitude about promotions and customer service. Either make the customer feel good or don't. The customer is the life blood of your business. It's that simple. Companies that focus on quoting rules and policies eventually fail. Companies that focus on the customer succeed. It's really that simple. If a company gets direct contact from a potential customer taking the time to seek out a purchase, it says a lot about the company if that purchase doesn't happen.

In this case, no one would have known if the COO had agreed to a discount or not to satisfy the request. But she took it personally and went out of her way to put forth a message that effectively said the company won't be taken in by or cave to cheapskates, take your business elsewhere. So I did. She could have just as easily gone out of her way to be gracious and agree to some compromise that would have encouraged a positive relationship but she didn't. The end result was that her company lost a sale because she sent me on down the road to find another solution that didn't include her company. And their product is overpriced which is why I wanted a discount in the first place.

I found and I am now very happy with *FastRawViewer*. http://www.fastrawviewer.com/


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