There’s nothing more frustrating than emailing a business for help and then having to wait ages for a real person to reply, right? Sometimes it can take days for any sort of human response from a business. And if it’s out-of-hours, a weekend or public holiday, this can further add to the annoyance in awaiting their response.

We do things differently!

We know that one of the key factors that sets our room booking software solutions miles apart from our competitors is our exceptional customer support. Not only are our support staff professional, friendly, and knowledgeable – they provide a fast response to queries too!

How do we know this? – Because our customers tell us!

“As someone who also works in the technical support industry, I am thoroughly impressed not only by the speed of satisfactory resolution but also from the fact that it was outside normal working hours!!!

I fully expected this to be picked up the next day and take a few days to fix.”

That’s recent feedback from a customer who emailed us with an issue at 5.40pm one Thursday evening. Within 90 minutes, we’d been able to diagnose and replicate the cause of his issue, update the customer, and seamlessly push an update out to his cloud-hosted MIDAS system to address it.

To ensure that we continue to maintain these high levels of service 365 days a year, one of the metrics we continually monitor is the speed of response to each Priority Support query.

In fact, we’re so proud of our responsiveness that we’re totally transparent about how our support team are performing. We even publish real-time live data over on our dedicated Service Status site.

As 2025 gets underway, we’ve also taken a few moments to review our support performance over the past several years. Here is how we’ve performed in recent times:

We also looked at the “average” response time across the same period:

Key Takeaways

• Over the past 6 years, our Priority Support service has achieved consistent response times.
• More than half of all Priority Support emails are responded to by a human within 15 minutes of receipt.
• In 2024, the average response time to a Priority Support email was just 28 minutes.
• Over the past 2 years, all Priority Support emails were responded to by a human within 5 hours of receipt, regardless of the day of week or time of day.
• Even during a global pandemic, our support continued to be robust and responsive.

Our rock solid uptime and unrivalled support are just a couple of the reasons our customers choose – and indeed stick with – MIDAS for their business needs year on year.

So if you’re considering a new room booking system in 2025, and have been frustrated by your existing provider’s lacklustre response times previous, look no further!

We think you’ll be hard pushed to find a product back-up by 365 days a year support as efficient as MIDAS!

But if you’re still not convinced, check out some more of our Customer Testimonials about our booking solution, and the outstanding levels support we consistently provide year on year!

Oh, and we’re also rated ‘Excellent’ on TrustPilot where you can read more reviews.

Have questions and not sure whether MIDAS is right for you? Why not reach out to our sales team (who are just as friendly as our support team!)

The post Consistently Delivering Exceptional Customer Support appeared first on MIDAS - Room Booking System | Blog.

Unlike our cloud-hosted edition, which has a subscription based pricing model, our self-hosted edition is essentially a “perpetual license“. This means that once purchased, you may then use it indefinitely.

That said, we do have an optional annual support subscription available to our self-hosted customers.

A support subscription entitles you to software updates and access to priority support for the duration of your subscription. It’s really important to keep your software up to date, and so we highly encourage all self-hosted customers to take out an annual support subscription.

Because of the risks associated with the running outdated software, in older (now obsolete and unsupported) versions of MIDAS, we implemented a ‘soft expiration’.

This meant that after a certain date, obsolete software would cease to function.

The arbitrary date we set originally was 1st January 2025.

However, this is only a ‘soft’ expiration. The software itself isn’t altered or ‘crippled’ in any way after this date, and the soft expiration can be lifted upon request.

If you’re currently running a self-hosted MIDAS system and you originally installed a version of MIDAS prior to v4.30 (April 2022) then you may be affected.

When accessing your MIDAS system, you may see a notification on the login page that your license is about to expire.

If you have an active subscription…

If you see this message prior to 1st January 2025, please update your MIDAS system as soon as possible (and before 1st January 2025) via MIDAS Admin Options > Manage MIDAS > Update.

Once updated, the expiration notice will be removed and you can continue using MIDAS as normal.

If you’re seeing an expiration notice after 1st January 2025, then you will need to use our online Self Service tool to generate an updated configuration file for your obsolete software to continue using it after 1st January 2025.

If you don’t have an active subscription…

The current version of MIDAS is v4.37 (with v4.38 about to land)

If you’re currently running an older version then not only are you missing out on new features and bug fixes, you’re also missing out on important security improvements and enhancements which could put your MIDAS system at risk.

We would therefore strongly recommend that you consider taking out an annual support subscription for your obsolete MIDAS system. This will allow you to update the software to the current version.

Once updated, the expiration notice on your MIDAS login screen will also be removed.

If you don’t wish to update your MIDAS system, then you will need to use our online Self Service tool to generate an updated configuration file for your obsolete software to continue using it after 1st January 2025.

How to resolve this license expiration issue using our Self Service Tool

1. Go to https://selfservice.mid.as and click the “Select File” button.
2. Select the “midas.dat” (or “midasglobal.dat”) file from within your current MIDAS installation.
3. Click the “Generate new midas.dat” (or “Generate new midasglobal.dat”) button.
4. You’ll be prompted to download a new midas.dat/midasglobal.dat file.
5. Replace the current midas.dat/midasglobal.dat file in MIDAS installation with this newly generated file.

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These days, around two thirds of our customers opt for our cloud-hosted edition. Despite this, we’re still very much committed though to offering and supporting a self-hosted edition too.

Now, one of the challenges in developing a web-based application like MIDAS is that it relies on 3rd party components.

For example, to run a web based application, you first need a web server that supports the coding language the web application is written in. You also need a database server to store data for the application.

Countless combinations

Web servers first and foremost need an operating system (like Windows or Linux). They also require underlaying web server software – such as Apache or IIS – to name just two. There are of course numerous operating systems and server software, with different variations and configurations of each.

MIDAS is written in Perl. There are a number of different “flavors” of Perl for different operating systems. For example, on Windows servers both ActivePerl and Strawberry Perl are available.

Finally database servers; MIDAS currently supports MySQL and MariaDB databases, and different versions of each of these.

Here at MIDAS HQ, we have test MIDAS systems running on a range of common setups. However, it would be virtually impossible for us to test our software on every conceivable combination of Operating System, Web Server, Perl, and Database versions.

Although rare, if a self-hosted customer encounters an issue with our software on their particular setup, we’re usually able to replicate it in our labs and provide a solution.

Very occasionally though a self-hosted customer encounters an issue which we’re not able to readily identify and reproduce.

As we (rightly) don’t have access to self-hosted customer’s own servers, this can make troubleshooting challenging.

It can be even more challenging if the self-hosted customer (or their IT provider) is not especially server-savvy. For instance, we may occasionally request files from a customer to aid in our troubleshooting…

A real-world example

In a recent support request, a self-hosted customer encountered an issue after updating their MIDAS system. We weren’t able to immediately replicate this in our testing, and so we requested additional information from the customer. The customer had to contact their IT supplier for assistance in retrieving these files from their MIDAS. Their IT supplier was slow in providing the requested information, which we didn’t receive for a couple of weeks.

Once in receipt of the additional information, however, we were able to identify and resolve the issue within a couple of hours. The customer though was understandably frustrated that it had taken two weeks to resolve (due to the delay with their IT supplier).

As a result of this, we decided to take steps to make it easier for us to support self-hosted customers in the future.

Helping us to help you!

So starting with MIDAS v4.33, there’s now an option for a self-hosted customer to send us diagnostic information directly from within their MIDAS system. This bypasses situations where a customer may have to contact or raise a ticket with their external IT support/provider in order for us to assist them.

If you run into an issue with your self-hosted MIDAS system, our support team may provide you with a “Support Code”. Simply login to your MIDAS system and go to MIDAS Admin Options → Manage MIDAS → Database → Database Tools, and select “Send Support Bundle”.

You’ll be prompted to enter your Support Code before clicking the “Send Support Bundle to MIDAS” button. Your MIDAS system will then self-generate diagnostic information. This information is then securely sent to our support team for further analysis.

The following data is included within the support bundle that’s securely transmitted to MIDAS HQ:

• A copy of the program files which make up your MIDAS system
• A copy of the settings file for your MIDAS system
• A copy of your MIDAS database
• A copy of any MIDAS debug logs
• Information on your server setup

This diagnostic data can really aid our support team speed up the diagnosis of the potential issue you’re having with your self-hosted MIDAS system.

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We’d like to wish all our customers a very Happy Christmas from MIDAS HQ here in the UK!

2020 is a year that most will be glad to see the back of, and we know that many of our customer’s businesses have been significantly impacted by COVID-19 this year.

Since March, we’ve been working hard to support our customers affected by the pandemic. We put in place support for those venues which had to temporarily close, and provided guidance for those who’ve had to adjust their way of operating.

Sadly though we know that some of our customers this year have had to permanently shut their doors, and our hearts especially go out to them at this time of year.

Here at MIDAS HQ in the UK it’s been a challenging year too. We’ve been through two national lockdowns, and been in a perpetual local lockdown for coming up to 5 months now.

As a small and agile business though, we’ve been able to adapt and continue with business as usual.

Since the start of the pandemic, we’ve released 3 significant updates to MIDAS (v4.24, v4.25, and v4.26), packed with new and exciting features!

We’ve also maintained the high level of support that we know our customers value! During the pandemic, our median response time to Priority Support requests has been just 10 minutes! What’s more, EVERY Priority Support request we’ve received during the pandemic has had a dedicated human response within 6 hours of receipt!

Priority Support over Christmas:

As we’ve done in every year previous, Priority Support will be available to all customers with an active support subscription should they need it right across the festive season – even on Christmas Day itself!

This year, however, we would ask customers with non-urgent support queries over Christmas to consider waiting until the new year to contact our support team if at all possible.

The UK government are allowing a very small window over the festive season for people to travel and see family. Most of our staff have been in perpetual lockdown and haven’t seen close family members since before March, and so we’d like them to have the opportunity to be able to travel and do that this Christmas.

This may mean slightly slower responses times to support queries than usual, and is why we’re encouraging non-urgent queries to be delayed until the new year, where possible.

Thank you for your understanding and support!

However you’re spending this festive season, we’re sure it won’t feel like a “normal” Christmas. But we do wish you a happy and peaceful time, and we sincerely thank all our customers for their continued custom and support during 2020.

We’re already working on MIDAS v4.27, so stay tuned for more updates in 2021!

Have a safe and peaceful Christmas from all of us here at MIDAS HQ!

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We constantly strive to provide unrivalled support to customers of our Web Based Room Booking & Resource Scheduling system. One of the things we’re most proud of is our professional, friendly, knowledgeable, and responsive customer support.

That’s why we regularly review how we’re performing on this front. We also make our findings public too. This helps ensure that customers who’ve taken out an Annual Support Subscription with their purchase of our scheduling software, are getting an unmatched support service!

To maintain our very high standards of service, we analyze the wait times between when a priority support email is received by us, and when a subsequent response is sent. And all these are responses by real people! They’re not some machine or AI generated auto-responder, but instead tailored responses from human!

We’ve now analyzed our performance again – this time for the month of June 2014 and the responsiveness of our support just keeps on getting better! When we first started analyzing our support response times, back in September 2012, we measured support response times in hours. Last September 2013, we felt the need to improve our measurements down to minutes!

How we’ve historically performed

The table below shows the percentage of Priority Support emails and how quickly they were answered between September 2012 and June 2014.

As you can see, between September 2013 and June 2014 we’ve improved again!! During June, ALL Priority Support emails were responded to within 3 hours of receipt. This was regardless of the day of the week, and that’s not an average – that’s…

Every single Priority Support email received in June was given a real, individually tailored, human response within 3 hours (and over 90% of those within just 1 hour)!

Now, how many companies do you know where you can get a real human response to your email that fast, any day of the week!!?

So if you’re considering MIDAS for your organization’s scheduling needs, but are perhaps worried about how good our support is or whether an Annual Support Subscription to MIDAS is worth having, well… the above figures speak for themselves!

…but if you’re still not convinced? Read some of our Customer Testimonials about our scheduling system and the outstanding level support we consistently provide!

The post Our unrivalled customer support improves yet again! appeared first on MIDAS - Room Booking System | Blog.

That’s why we regularly review how we’re performing on this front, and make our findings public, to ensure that our customers who’ve taken out an Annual Support Subscription with their purchase of our scheduling software, are getting an unrivaled support service!

To ensure our very high standards of service, we analyze the wait time between when a priority support email is received by us, and when a subsequent response is given.

When we last analyzed our performance, back in February, we found that for the first month of 2013 over 90% of support request emails were answered within 2 hours of receipt, regardless of the day of the week!

We’ve now analyzed our performance again for the month of September 2013, and our support is now even more responsive than ever!

The table below shows the percentage of Priority Support emails and how quickly they were answered in September 2012, January 2013, and now in September 2013.

As you can see, for the month of September 2013, all priority support emails received were answered within 5 hours without exception (in January, all priority support emails were answered within 8 hours without exception, and a year ago all priority support emails were answered within 11 hours without exception!)… and it’s worth mentioning that all priority support emails get a real, individually tailored, human response – not just a standard “automated” or “canned” reply that some companies use!

In addition to the figures in the table above, in September 2013, we broke this down further and found that over 74% of priority support emails were answered within just 30 minutes (up from just over 70% in January 2013), and that nearly 60% of priority support emails answered within just 15 minutes!

Now, how many companies do you know where you can get a real human response to your email query that fast, any day of the week!!?

So if you’re considering MIDAS for your organization’s scheduling needs, but are perhaps worried about support issues, or whether an Annual Support Subscription to MIDAS is worth having, the above figures really do speak for themselves!

Still not convinced? Read some of our Customer Reviews about our scheduling software and the outstanding support we provide!

The post Our latest support response times are better than ever! appeared first on MIDAS - Room Booking System | Blog.

One of the things we’re most proud of at MIDAS, is our professional, knowledgeable, friendly, and responsive customer support.

That’s why we routinely review how we’re performing on this front. This ensures that customers with active Support Subscriptions are getting an unrivaled support service!

To monitor our standards of service, we analyze the difference in time between when a priority support email is received by us, and when a response is given.

When we last analyzed our performance, back in October 2012, we found that for the previous month, over 90% of support request emails were answered within 2 hours of receipt. This was regardless of the day of the week!

Now, at the start of February 2013, we’ve analyzed our performance again for the first month of the new year. We’re pleased to report that our support is more responsive than ever!

The table below shows the percentage of Priority Support emails received and how quickly they were answered. Figures are shown for both September 2012 and January 2013.

As you can see, for the month of September 2012, all priority support emails received were answered within 11 hours without exception. In January this year, every priority support email received was answered within just 8 hours! …and it’s important to note that these are not “automated” or “canned” replies. EVERY priority support email we receive is individually answered by a real person!

Given that last month, over 85% of priority support emails received were answered within an hour of receipt, we decided to go one step further. Breaking this down even more, we determined that..

Over 70% of Priority Support emails answered in under 30 minutes!

During January 2013

Now, how many businesses do you know where you can get a real human email response in under 30 minutes on any day of the week!!?

So if you’re considering MIDAS for your organization’s scheduling needs, but are perhaps worried about support issues, or the benefits of a Support Subscription, the above figures really do speak for themselves!

Still not convinced? Read some of our Customer Reviews about our software and the outstanding support we provide!

The post Our customer support just keeps getting better! appeared first on MIDAS - Room Booking System | Blog.

“I just love how response MIDAS support is!”

Vera Miles, Maryland, US

We know one of the things our customers appreciate about MIDAS is the level of support we provide! That’s why every so often we analyze how we’re performing in terms of the support we provide to our customers.

Back in February, we looked how we performed during the first month of 2012. Our data showed that during January, over 90% of support request emails received from our customers were answered within 5 hours of receipt!

We’ve now performed this same analysis, and our performance figures reveal that…

Over 90% of support request emails answered within 2 hours of receipt whatever day of the week!

During September 2012

“I am certain that with MIDAS and the support you guys give (which incidentally is what swayed the sale) our little charity is going to go from strength to strength! The whole package is working beautifully for us and the more we are using this the better it gets! … The best thing I have ever done is buy MIDAS, the support is second to none!”

Ellen Wiggins, Reading, UK

So if you’re using other scheduling software and often have to wait days for a half-hearted response to your queries, isn’t it time you made the switch to MIDAS!? We know that not every business runs Monday-Friday, 9-5. That’s why our friendly, helpful, knowledgeable support team are dedicated and committed to helping make MIDAS work for you!

Take a look for yourself at what our customers say about us.

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