VisorCentral.com (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/index.php)
- Visor & Deluxe (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/forumdisplay.php?forumid=1)
-- Freebies! - what do you want? (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/showthread.php?threadid=454)

Mitch....you said it!

Mitch, you miss the point. It's not the failure to ship within a given time frame. It's broken promises, lies, and a company who is not available to take complaints and act upon them.

For that matter, Mitch, it's not a feeling that Handspring OWES US anything. I will not be angry with the company if they don't send me a freebie, or even an apology. As a matter of fact, after receiving my Visor, I'll probably be gushing about how great their product is.

The bottom line though is that we, as early adopters of the Visor, will be the ones doing Handspring's word of mouth advertising for them. Which would Handspring rather hear us saying?

"Yeah, the Visor's really cool, and I HIGHLY recommend it, but I'd wait a couple of months before ordering one, because their customer service is REALLY screwed up."

OR

"The Visor's cool, and while I had problems with their customer service, they DID send me a letter of apology that lists improvements in their ordering process, and a free stylus to boot!"

Already the damage has been done by some of us who were fed up with Handspring, jumped ship to buy a Palm Pilot, and will no doubt tell people NOT to bother with Handspring.

It's called fostering good will, and it's a common business practice.

To Mitch, staad, etc.

I agree on certain points. On the one hand, Handspring doesn't "owe" customers anything other than the product(s) they ordered at the stated, agreed price, or a prompt and complete refund. Having said that, it would be wise for Handspring to show some appreciation once this whole mess gets straightened out (perhaps I'm wrong in assuming that it will). The lateness issue (ie 4-6 weeks expiring on Tuesday) is accurate, but considering that there are people who know they won't be getting their packages within that time frame who ordered on the 14th or 15th (September), _and_ considering that there are people who ordered in the second week of October who have gotten products that are now temporarily unavailable to the people that ordered on the 14th or 15th (September), indicates to me that Handspring is in for a long and difficult resolution process. Again, technically, they could simply refund the purchase price and all requisite charges (including double-billing, overcharges and the like), and that would be all they "owe." But to retain any semblance of customer service, and to do the right thing, they should figure on distributing something, whether it be a five-pack of stylii or something else, as a token thank-you and apology to those who have taken the shaft.

It's not what they 'owe' to those customers who have clearly gotten screwed, but rather what they 'owe' to the company to retain a semblance of decency and to maintain any chance of selling a lot of products and succeeding after this catastrophe.

Well said.

There are people who deserve an apology and a gesture of goodwill from handspring. AND there are others who just like to fan the flames of discontent. That was to whom my previous post was addressed.

(Waiting for Monday is killing me!)

[This message has been edited by Mitch (edited 10-24-1999).]

I completely agree. My purpose in starting this topic was not to suggest that Handspring "owes" us anything (other than the Visor.)

But the customer service has been so phenomenally bad that they're jeopardizing their reputation. So I'm looking for suggestions on how they can fix their reputation, not just free stuff. I'll happily pay for the extra stylii (once they're prepared to take orders for it again.)

Seems to me that Handspring needs to focus on the development of an excellent customer service strategy, and that this may be even more important in the long run than rushing to get the next product out.

For example, I would not consider ordering a second product from Handspring six months from now unless I saw that these problems had been resolved.

I'm interested in suggestions of companies which Handspring could model their customer service after. Gateway might be one example. When I bought a Gateway PC five years ago, I got great customer service. The order process was hassle-free, and after I ordered, I got newsletters every couple of months. Customer and Technical service lines are efficient. Still, I would rate their service strategy as "quite good" but not "excellent."

Anybody got a story of a company that just blew you over with customer service?

Customer service that blew me away... QUANTEX

I bought a PC from them a few years ago. I was living in Vermont at the time. When I asked for 2 day shipping, the guy on the phone pointed out that we were in the same UPS zone, so that standard shipping was going to e 2-3 days, so why ask for the extra charge.

Also, the day I received my computer, THEY called me to ask if everything was good! Wow!!

Now, I know that they were MUCH smaller then, but they definitely stayed in my mind. Since then, I've recommended them continuously. Heck, I've even bought 2 other systems from them.

Great customer service? Amazon.com
Instantly responsive, efficient, professional and courteous.

Lousy customer service?
800.com, Shop4.com, Buy.com, CDNow.com
Slow, unresponsive, completely unaware and disorganized regarding shipping times, receipt of returned items, less-than-interested/brain-dead customer service, not worthy of repeat business.

Middle-of-the-road thus far?
Handspring.

The reason why I say this is not b/c I'm so anxious to get my Visor, or that it's such a great product, but I consider not only the fact that Customer Service is swamped, they're the only outlet for the product, and the order tracking system (whether poorly designed, implemented or simply not adequate for the task at hand) is the problem.

The people with whom I've spoken have largely been either completely unaware (due to the "we think it shipped" syndrome) or as helpful as possible. The people at CSR are not stupid but are being bombarded with questions they cannot answer. The main problem as I see it is that Handspring is still taking orders. Why they haven't suspended this together with an announcement on their front page indicating this is beyond me.

But overall, I'm guessing that they should bundle a five-pack of stylli (or AT LEAST a single stylus, color-coordinated to the Visor you ordered) with an apology letter that is signed by Donna. If they did that, and I got it before the end of the year, and I was enjoying my (soon-to-be-delivered) Ice Visor, I would be satisfied.

Quite frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if this happens. It's not a question of stupidity -- these are people that want their product to succeed, that believe in their product, and have pride therein. If it costs them almost a buck per to satisfy 5,000 soured people, then they'll spend it. The overall cache of PR is important enough to sink or enhance the product, as we saw with the original Pilot -- any of you who remember Tracy Reed's mailing list, raise your hand.

And the online community, being what it is, will bounce this stuff around and warn or win over, whichever applies, potential customers on the quality of the product and will, ultimately, guarantee the success or failure of the product. Simple as that.

There are a number of things that they could do to turn this into a positive experience. They could offer some sort of freebie, or offer us all free upgrades to the next Visor, or do something else that would be a great publicity stunt. One of the best things would be to fess up to the problems and take the blame publicly, rather than being very quiet (for the most part) about it. I remember a commercial that came on TV shortly after the last presidential campaign was over which featured a cameo of Bob Dole in which he said "I just can't win!" That was great! If Handspring would do something like that, it would heal a lot of the wounds their image has taken. In fact, it might even make their image better than it was in the first place.

I'm not asking for a freebie to repair my opinion of Handspring. I still think the Visor's a great product (though I don't know first hand - yet...), and, as I've worked for several startup companies, I can sympathize with them a little. I'm hoping that this is just a rocky start that will smooth out eventually.

Still, if I had to pick one, it would be a stylii pack or a nice case. What would be even better, though, is something creative that Handspring thought of themselves.

[This message has been edited by ChrisB (edited 10-25-1999).]

As for freebies...How about a discount on a springboard to be redeemed within 6 months. Maybe we will have our Visors by then!

TTT

[This message has been edited by midD (edited 10-25-1999).]

WELL SAID CHRIS,

I REMEMBERED 5 YEARS AGO AS A POOR GRADUATE STUDENT TRYING TO BUY A LAPTOP. I FOUND ONE FROM LEXMARK(KNOWING THAT LEXMARK USED TO BE PART OF IBM) THAT IS WITHIN MY BUDGET(USD1000). THE TECH SUPPORT WAS SO BAD THAT SINCE THEN I HAVE NOT TAKEN A GLANCE AT A LEXMARK PRODUCTS.

CHEAT ME ONCE SHAME ON YOU
CHEAT ME TWICE SHAME ON ME

6TH WEEK COME THE SHAME WILL BE ON HANDSPRING

There should be plenty of us getting a break on something, the following thread seems to have several of us who ordered on the 14th of September still without our Visors. . . http://www.visorcentral.com/visor/d...TML/000014.html

PS - I'm pretty sure the 4-6 weeks mark is just about up!

Hey Mitch
How about the $20 in Long Distance charges for the 6 "716" call where CS disconnected me

------------------
Dave B (Grandpa Geek)"If it ain't broke, don't fix it yet!
BUT IF IT IS PLEEZ FIX"

I have an idea that might satisfy us all.

I for one am really just upset with the lack of communication. I would like to be able to contact a company that has my credit card number and has offered confused promises about shipping and billing. Or I would at leaste like them to read my mind and answer my questions on their website. Since everyone else seems to have the same questions, reading my mind should be easy.

So Jeff, Donna, and Ed could simply put letter to us all directly acknowledging that things are a little out of control with regards to shipping and CSR. They should also clue us in on what they are doing to fix the problem. We all want the company to succeed. After all we made purchases knowing more about their reputations than the actual item. We are cheering for them. It would be nice to be acknowledged.

Or they could post some real video of Jeff and Donna beating the unruly CSR's into submission with a wet carp.

Either alternative would make me happy, but the second would be more entertaining.

I already recieved a case from Marware and two Double 3 Stylii from Platinum, so I don't want any freebies, just an honest explination.

Just my long winded $0.02,
Mike

[This message has been edited by mhawkins13 (edited 10-26-1999).]

hey guys

I think the suggestion about the phone bill refunds wins the Most Fitting Freebie award!
Maybe Handspring should just 'fess up and throw a pre-paid phone card in with the stylii pack and the apology letter.

Of course, they should get the letter out now, and hold off on the freebie. It would really hurt to get the stylii before you get the Visor!

But you're right, communication is what we're really craving. It could even be as simple as an update on their website (not just a reassuring note--real information and a plan to solve the problem.) When was the last time they updated the site? It was the online store - which promptly died!