For those first-time visitors, I purchased Bitdefender Internet Security 2009 in August 2008. I was moderately happy with it, but after a while, things started going awry. First, Bitdefender caused the data execution prevention on Vista to kick in whenever I started Firefox. This was a well known issue and I was able to resolve the matter by disabling Bitdefender's toolbar/plugin for Firefox. After that incident, Bidefender would shut itself off for no reason so I uninstalled it. I then attempted to reinstall Bitdefender on my laptop and all my efforts failed. I've got the screenshots and log files to prove it. After several days of being without antivirus protection and trying out all approaches detailed on Bitdefender's support website, I could not resolve the issue on my own. Then, I went a step further. I initiated a chat conversation with a Bitdefender online representative who walked me through some more steps and when his recommendations didn't improve the matter, he sent me an email containing information on running some Bitdefender diagnostic tools. I dutifully ran those tools, packaged up the information generated and sent the data to the Bitdefender support staff. That was my last 'communique, if you will, that I had with Bitdefender.

Fast forward to the new year and approximately 6 weeks and 3 days after sending my S.O.S. email to Bitdefender's email support system, chatting with an online representative and running several diagnostic tests , I finally got a reply to my inquiry which is shown below:

Dear Jane,

We are sorry for the late reply and any inconvenience it may have caused. If the issue you reported still occurs please let me know, so that we can begin troubleshooting the situation. Looking forward to your reply. Best regards,
Xxxxxxxx Xxxx
BitDefender Technical Support Engineer

My first reaction was to snort my tea. I mean, I bitdefender-log-files-replyunderstand that they may have been hoping that the issue would have somehow resolved itself (and I confess to being bummed out that my googling skills didn't help me too much) without their help, but a simple "knock knock" at my virtual door to make sure the issue was resolved or not would have sufficed. Anyhow, I alternated between sending an expletive-filled email that would sate my anger and sending a "well thought-out", but impassioned email that would make some sense. Thankfully, the smart part of me won. Here's what I wrote back to the Bitdefender support system:

To Whom It May Concern:

I've since uninstalled Bitdefender IS 2009 and loudly telling all who will listen not to buy Bitdefender IS 2009. I have already paid for a competitor's product (Norton Internet Security 2009) and I'm happier than ever. I am appalled that it has been over a month since I  notified your support staff that I couldn't even install Bitdefender IS 2009 on my PC anymore. Now, I get an email asking if my issue has been auto-magically resolved?

To cut this tale of woe short, I don't believe I'll be bothering your support staff anymore because I will not be purchasing any more products from Bitdefender. My issue was obviously not resolved and I have since moved on to a more mature internet security offering.

Thanks for eventually getting back to me. Good luck!

Sincerely,
Jane
And that was that! It is really sad when poor customer experience translates into lost sales even when your product may be a force to recok with it in its own right. File Under: Lost-me-when-you-ignored-me. :)