JoshSweeney

First Encounters with PHP Architect

A few months ago I was able to sign up for my first developers conference. The destination was PHPWorks 08 in Atlanta which was being hosted by PHP Architect. While registering for the conference I kept seeing an offer for a free PHP training class. I knew that there was a catch but but didn’t know what it was yet. When it comes to development I tend like instructor oriented training whether it be in a class or online. Knowing this, I clicked the offer button to see what it was all about. The offer was that I could sign up for the tutorials section of the conference for an extra $250 but in exchange I could pick from almost any training class in the PHP Arch catalog. After reviewing the catalog I found that all classes were instructor lead online classes that usually ran around $900 per seat. I decided that it was worth it and signed up for the whole package. This meant that for $850 I would get access to the conference, tutorial day, a training class, and a 1 year subscription to PHP Architect which I was planning on getting at some point anyways. As far as cost comparison to other conferences I see this as a great value and I am excited to see what the outcome is.

The conference payment and registration was now complete so I needed to find a class and get registered. It wasn’t immediately apparent to me when I logged in to my new PHP Arch account how to select the class without having to pay for it. I may have overlooked the area but there just didn’t seem to be a mapping in the system which understood that I had met the requirements for the conference that would result in a free class. With the contact info quickly accessible via the website I gave them a call. I was promptly put in touch with a human who solved my problem in a matter of minutes. He had me sign up for a class via the website and immediately waived the cost due to the conference tutorial day sign up. For me this was a great start to a beautiful friendship. There is nothing better than the feeling you get with prompt customer service that ends in problem resolution.

This marks the first of many posts that will be related to PHP Architect. I look forward to passing on information about how the well class goes as well as semi-live blogging the conference.

Tags: conference, php, php arch, php architect, php training, phpworks, training