19

IRC channel #Salesforce seems to be the only place with valid answers and helpful admins/devs.

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  • 1
    #whousesircthesedays – Saariko Aug 18 '12 at 15:57
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    As entertaining as the answers (particularly the top one) are right now, this would be more constructive if you described the type of support you were looking for - IOW, a specific problem you're looking to solve. – Shog9♦ Aug 19 '12 at 19:24
25

What's more helpful than Salesforce's Customer Support? A short list:

  1. Whale Sperm.
  2. Accidentally calling Dell's "Mike from Kansas"
  3. http://icanhascheezburger.com/
  4. Ms. Cleo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lzT48rPEhM)
  5. The IRC channel of Awesomeness. #Salesforce
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    Thanks a ton Kevin. I tried #1, although it was more helpful, I think I'll stick with #5. – fourq Aug 17 '12 at 17:01
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    Associated my account just to say: +1. – Joshua Drake Aug 17 '12 at 19:46
10

Two things I always try when I need help:

1) Posting a tweet with a question and the hashtag #askforce can often get good pointers from the larger Salesforce community.

2) I know the Salesforce Dev Evangelists on here will wince, but I have found them to be very helpful in routing my questions to the right people within Salesforce. Pat Patterson and Reid Carlberg are particularly helpful and friendly.

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  • 6
    No I'm not! ;-) – metadaddy Aug 17 '12 at 18:54
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    @metadaddy is always friendly & sometimes helpful – sfdc_nerd Sep 3 '15 at 14:16
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    Always friendly and sometimes helpful. Love it, Becka! ;-) – metadaddy Sep 12 '15 at 0:44
7

Pardon the rhetorical answer, and I'm surprised it hasn't been provided yet, but have you tried salesforce.stackexchange.com (wink-wink)?

Seriously though, I've had the best luck at Stack Overflow for quite a while now and am seeing the same kind of effort, quality of answers and fast response times right here.

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  • 6
    haven't tried it yet. salesforce.stackexchange.com ya say eh? – fourq Aug 17 '12 at 18:35
7

Salesforce support is generally not helpful. The wider salesforce community most definitely is.

The following scenario has happened myself and other devs I work with on a few occasions.

  • Log a support case.
  • Just about 48 hours later (within the SLA) get a response asking for salesforce login permission to the org. Given the nature of the questions this has not generally been necessary to answer the query.
  • We oblige and grant the permission for Salesforce to login for 1 week duration, and notify them of same.
  • Again about 48 hours later receive a response saying we don't appear to have granted access, can we confirm we have.
  • Reply confirming it was granted originally and there are now 5 days remaining of the 7.
  • Wait another 48 hours for a response which has yet to answer the original question, usually stating they'll now start to look at it.

It has now become standard practice for us to grant login permission to salesforce prior to opening any cases, and make it clear we have done that, and explicitly state when it will expire in the case.

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    David this happens to all of all all the time. Maybe Salesforce support needs to considering giving out badges? – fourq Aug 17 '12 at 19:24
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    Or allowing a fast track for certified folks? – ca_peterson Aug 20 '12 at 23:40
  • Is there a fast track for certified folks, or is it something you're suggesting would be good. It is not something myself or other certified ADMs and DEVs here have heard of. – David Gillen Aug 22 '12 at 8:42
5

darylshaber is the ultimate sfdc guru

To connect IRC and join the fun:

  1. Install 'Chatzilla' Firefox plugin.
  2. In the URL button type, irc:chat.freenode.net

  3. In the input box for the new Chatzilla box that opens type:

    /join #salesforce

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  • 2
    great answer Jordan! Do you think they will know about workflows!? – fourq Aug 17 '12 at 16:53
  • I love the image they used for his site. Style for days. – Adam Aug 17 '12 at 17:46
4

For IRC, you can connect with a variety of programs (e.g. Colloquy for Mac, or mIRC for Windows). The IRC channel (/j #salesforce) is the best place for support I've seen. Easiest way to check it out is by using the Freenode Webchat

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  • 3
    Wonderful twbrown. You seem pretty smart. Do you use this often? – fourq Aug 17 '12 at 16:57
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    I personally use the IRC functionality in Trillian (trillian.im) – twbrown Aug 17 '12 at 17:08
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    Pidgin - pidgin.im/download and xchat xchat.org/download are both great ways to connect too. – fourq Aug 17 '12 at 19:28

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