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-- Handspring to Customer: screw you (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/showthread.php?threadid=19597)

Handspring to Customer: screw you

Let's see. The Visor Phone has been out about what, a year?

I've had mine a couple of months. It stops ringing; it's defective and needs to be replaced.

Not only is VP on its way out, and hard to get replaced, but they don't bother to return my battery. I call up for a battery--they're back ordered. Oh, we'll get one to you in a couple of weeks or so. But no guarantees even as to that.

So, this is what you get when you place your faith in a product from handspring--almost immediately, they'll stop supporting it. And if it's an essential product for your daily living, they have a simple answer.

Screw you.

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I can't understand that; I'm on my third visorphone. HandSpring immediately replaced my two other (defective) phones. It was instant. Of course, you need to call their number in Canada, not the toll-free number, or you could email them. I am not happy with the visorphone, wish I hadn't bought it, but HandSpring has been exceptionally good about the problems.

Seems like they've had a LOT of practice with defective phones. This is not a good thing...

This was the battery component actuallythat is back ordered. The phone itself was replaced promptly.

The unpleasant reality is that they have more or less sent into the sunset a virtually new product that is critical to many people. SO what do we do...upgrade to TREO? I guess that's what they would like.

The lack of support for a product that is so new and so essential is troubling. This IS a cell phone-- a lot of people depend on them. What are we supposed to do, upgrade phones every 12 months to stay ahead of the curve? If I'd know that was their attitude, I wouldn't have bought it.

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quote:

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Mark Squires wrote:
SO what do we do...upgrade to TREO? I guess that's what they would like.

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In my case, the sad thing is I paid the full price for the visorphone, and am stuck with it for more than the year of service (which, by the way, Cingular sold out to my local phone company, which does NOT offer internet access) or at least until I feel like I can justify an additional expense for a new phone. I don't think it works as well as advertised, but it does have a really clear speaker, and I guess I'll have to be satisfied with that. (the speaker was the last thing that had to be replaced)

Re: Handspring to Customer: screw you

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Originally posted by Mark Squires
Not only is VP on its way out, and hard to get replaced, but they don't bother to return my battery.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Gatewood Kistle
In my case, the sad thing is I paid the full price for the visorphone, and am stuck with it for more than the year of service (which, by the way, Cingular sold out to my local phone company, which does NOT offer internet access)

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Re: Re: Handspring to Customer: screw you

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Originally posted by george_vc
I guess this return plan is not like for the visor, where they send you the visor, then you return the defective one?

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__________________
Sven

If at first you do succeed, try not to look astonished.

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Originally posted by george_vc
The purchase of the VP with a 1 year plan was your decision, HS has no guarantee on the provider being in business. Regarding the internet access, why do you need to get internet access thru your phone company???? Get any isp and dial them with your visorphone.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Mark Squires
The unpleasant reality is that they have more or less sent into the sunset a virtually new product that is critical to many people.

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__________________
Jeff

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Originally posted by PDAENVY
Are you implying that Handspring will not be selling VP anymore? Unless you have a link showing that, the going wisdom is that VP will continue to be a SpringBoard while Treo will be a separate non-Visor product.

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quote:

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Originally posted by PDAENVY
Are you implying that Handspring will not be selling VP anymore? Unless you have a link showing that, the going wisdom is that VP will continue to be a SpringBoard while Treo will be a separate non-Visor product.

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Re: Handspring to Customer: screw you

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Originally posted by Mark Squires

Not only is VP on its way out, and hard to get replaced, but they don't bother to return my battery. I call up for a battery--they're back ordered. Oh, we'll get one to you in a couple of weeks or so. But no guarantees even as to that.

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__________________
...the patron saint of the easily amused...

You're quite right--I shouldn't have.

OTOH, first I email Tech Support with my phone not functioning. They tell me to call into Cust Service to get a replacement.

The guy I speak to at Cust Service is clueless. He says, in his defense, that "They're supposed to issue RMAs through TS." He never mentions removing any part of the phone; should I have thought of it? Yes. Did I? No. SHould I have been told how to send it back...yes. Was I? nope. I removed the SIM card fortunately only due to being sensitized to the issue here.

By the time one HS rep is done figuring out what the other means, it's no wonder...

In the meanwhile, of course they could fix this if they wanted to instead of driving ME crazy for weeks. Do they still sell phones? Sure. Are batteries attached? If they had an ounce of initiative.....but all you get is bureaucratic bull. Or, to quote the rep, "Well, it's back ordered and I can't make inventory appear from the sky." No. But you could have inventory in the first place to support a recent product if the company functioned properly. OR you could cannibalize a package that you have plenty of from the sales unit and fix this in 48 hours. The person at the other end who got the battery and kept it could've sent it back.

But all that would be too easy and require someone to actually think.

In the meanwhile, when all is said and done, I'll have been without a phone for about 3 weeks, an incredible inconvenience.

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<In the meanwhile, when all is said and done, I'll have been without a phone for about 3 weeks, an incredible inconvenience.>

Sheesh, what's the big deal? Cell phones break all the time. You can get used GSM phones on Ebay for about 15 bucks. My Prism was down for a couple of days, so I couldn't use my Visorphone. I just switched my SIM card into an old phone I had in a drawer. It worked fine.

I'm glad you don't need a phone much and it's not important to you. Not true for everyone.

Your solution isn't very practical if you need something promptly. Let's see...go on ebay. Find an auction that's ending soon. Maybe I will..maybe I won't. Even if I do, by the time I win an auction, pay, get the shipper to send and actually receive...

gee...it'll probably still be another 2 weeks, won't it, at least one? I checked ebay. There is one phone being auctioned. End date Nov 18. Price already over $30. Count, then, on it taking 2 weeks about $50-60 to actually acquire this, right? Not much of a solution.

It's too bad Handspring's products are so shoddy that you feel compelled to buy backups on Ebay, of course.

For the record, I've never, ever had my Startac break. And if it did, the store where I bought has a zillion phones that can replace it in an hour.

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You are assuming waaaay too much about me. No one said I didn't need a phone. I have four different phone numbers, 2 cell phone providers, and several phones, including a Visorphone. Phones are central to my profession.

I also didn't feel "compelled" to buy a backup phone on ebay. As I explained, I had an extra phone in a drawer. My point was this: GSM phones are a dime-a-dozen.

You could go to your local cell phone provider store, and they would likely loan you a phone or sell you one for a few dollars more than you could by a used one on Ebay.

That seems more productive than sitting at home without a phone for 3 weeks and stewing about Voicestream's customer service.

I apologize if I come across as rude in this post. I guess I just feel people (including me sometimes - see my other posts) let themselves get too worked up about something as trivial as electronics. Life's too short.

Thanks for pulling back--but your solutions are still unrealistic.

I guess if I had "four different phone numbers, 2 cell phone providers, and several phones, including a Visorphone" I wouldn't care either, but that's not realistic for most people, for whom 1 is more than enough.

I don't know how you could implement your store/loaner solution. You'd have to pay an activation, start a new service, probably take out a contract. Practical? No.

And why should I have to just because Handspring can't get its act together.....that's really the point, isn't it?

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quote:

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Originally posted by Mark Squires
Thanks for pulling back--but your solutions are still unrealistic.

I guess if I had "four different phone numbers, 2 cell phone providers, and several phones, including a Visorphone" I wouldn't care either, but that's not realistic for most people, for whom 1 is more than enough.

I don't know how you could implement your store/loaner solution. You'd have to pay an activation, start a new service, probably take out a contract. Practical? No.

And why should I have to just because Handspring can't get its act together.....that's really the point, isn't it?

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Re: Handspring to Customer: screw you

quote:

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Originally posted by Mark Squires
Not only is VP on its way out, and hard to get replaced, but they don't bother to return my battery.

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