VisorCentral.com - Handspring quietly announces new technical support policy

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VisorCentral.com (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/index.php)
- Article Comments (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/forumdisplay.php?forumid=17)
-- Handspring quietly announces new technical support policy (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/showthread.php?threadid=19234)

Posted by yardie on 10-28-2001 01:04 AM:

Re: That's all well and good;

quote:
Originally posted by usonian2001
They can't very well tell you "That'll be 19.95, can I have your credit card number now please?" at the end of the call, or everyone would hang up.

Most companies charge for tech support after a fixed period like 90 days... what concerns me are the tech support reps that work for every company that listen to you describe your problem, tap a few keys, and then say, "Uh, just do a soft reset / power cycle your cable modem / unplug the cable box for 1/2 an hour, and that should take care of the problem. If it doesn't then you can give us another call." You know the ones.

I strongly suspect that the $20 will be on a per incident basis instead of per call. That way, you wouldn't have to pay every single time you call about the same issue.

quote:
Originally posted by usonian2001

And what's the deal with screen replacements? Since those aren't covered by warranty, am I paying $20 to talk to somebody on the phone and then another $85-$100 to replace the screen? I'm glad my Prism is insured.

A tech support agent cannot fix a broken or damaged display. If you have a broken screen, you should be going straight to the Customer support group for a replacement, not Tech Support. Customer support is still free as far as I know.

I think they will take the fact that not everyone has a credit card into account.

Posted by yardie on 10-28-2001 01:07 AM:

How Much?

quote:
Originally posted by dick-richardson

My problem isn't with their phone-sex initiative. It's paying $125 for a refurb prism. I don't deal with their tech support to begin with.

How much does Palm, Handera and Sony charge for screen replacements? Just curious if they are any cheaper.

Posted by dick-richardson on 10-28-2001 01:10 AM:

Re: Profits

quote:
Originally posted by yardie
For those that say they are not going to buy Visors again...what exactly are you going to get? All PDA manufacturers have already gone to thsi model or will eventually. Just somethign to think about.

I'm probably not sticking with HS just for this round. I'm probably going with the clie 415, but may break down and get an m500 or a neo. I need a pda quickly. The treo would be right up my alley, but as I've mentioned before, alas, there is no GSM in SD.

__________________
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Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.

Posted by Toby on 10-28-2001 02:23 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by miradu2000
hmm the Pavilion Custumor support number about well in early 1997 or late 96

Exactly as I suspected. If Handspring is trying to move into that space, perhaps I don't want a Neo after all.

Posted by Toby on 10-28-2001 02:28 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by dietrichbohn
I think they ARE supporting their product.. maybe I'm just not angry b/c the only reason I've ever called is to demand a replacement...

That's the only reason that I've ever called also. However, the last times that I called (I tried several representatives to see if I got the same story), they would not issue a replacement unless I had a trouble ticket already established with tech support. If you call for a replacement in the future, I'd be willing to bet that 'Customer Care' won't speak to you without one of those (I'm sure that replacement costs are probably _more_ expensive than tech support costs)...which means that you'll have to go through the CC# routine as well.

Posted by yardie on 10-28-2001 04:36 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by Toby
That's the only reason that I've ever called also. However, the last times that I called (I tried several representatives to see if I got the same story), they would not issue a replacement unless I had a trouble ticket already established with tech support. If you call for a replacement in the future, I'd be willing to bet that 'Customer Care' won't speak to you without one of those (I'm sure that replacement costs are probably _more_ expensive than tech support costs)...which means that you'll have to go through the CC# routine as well.

But replacement calls will be free wont they?

Posted by septimus on 10-28-2001 04:45 PM:

Re: Re: Profits

quote:
Originally posted by dick-richardson
I'm probably not sticking with HS just for this round. I'm probably going with the clie 415, but may break down and get an m500 or a neo. I need a pda quickly. The treo would be right up my alley, but as I've mentioned before, alas, there is no GSM in SD.

Get the clie. I just got a chance to play with the S320 and that impressed me. If the T415 has really got a better screen in terms of grayness, then it's a no brainer. Hell, it's making me think about Ebay for my package...

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Posted by dick-richardson on 10-28-2001 04:54 PM:

Re: How Much?

quote:
Originally posted by yardie
How much does Palm, Handera and Sony charge for screen replacements? Just curious if they are any cheaper.

Last I checked, Palm was at $100 across the board. That was a while ago, though (before the m50x's). I have no idea what Sony's or Handera's costs are.

quote:
Originally posted by dietrichbohn
Get the clie. I just got a chance to play with the S320 and that impressed me. If the T415 has really got a better screen in terms of grayness, then it's a no brainer. Hell, it's making me think about Ebay for my package...

But that leaves me in the lurch for a month. I'm thinking I'll take the m500 for a spin until sony's release.

__________________
-Joshua
Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.

Posted by dick-richardson on 10-29-2001 12:03 AM:

Re: Re: How Much?

quote:
Originally posted by dick-richardson
But that leaves me in the lurch for a month. I'm thinking I'll take the m500 for a spin until sony's release.

Between not being impressed with the m500, not really being able to afford it, and a good price for a platinum ($150), I guess I will support HS again. I never realized how ugly the plat really was. At least it's a pda... *added* and a used/returned one at that. Old batteries were still in it (unless HS is including dead duracells with every purchase), there was no leather slip cover, and the case is scratched. HS will be getting a call (an 'fyi'), but I'm keeping it. I just want a pda that works. I'm getting really tired of this.

__________________
-Joshua
Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.

Posted by Toby on 10-29-2001 02:37 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by yardie
But replacement calls will be free wont they?

Not exactly. Replacement calls will not be charged to your credit card. You will still have to jump through their hoops of calling their toll number to give them your credit card and whatever support acrobatics are required (soft resets, hard resets, etc.) to receive a trouble ticket number. Only once they have that trouble ticket will Customer Care via their toll-free number then talk to you and issue a replacement. This is the only thing that makes sense. If Customer Care didn't require a trouble ticket for replacements, they'd be potentially wasting _more_ money from sending out frivilous replacements and having to pick up the tab for the phone call and shipping.

Posted by george_vc on 10-29-2001 07:35 PM:

It's a Cost of doing business

You know I bet if you looked at the majority of calls to handspring I would expect to see the problems are user problems, or some 3rd party hack that got loaded that breaks the O/S etc. Heck, HS does not even own the OS. Why should they pay to answer our questions related to problems with it or application problems. It must be expensive to staff a business to support millions of calls even if the hardware is not broke.

I don't see this as unreasonable to ask for $20 to call after 90 days. I have found that HS web site is getting very comprehensive in problems resolution database. It is quite impressive, and it's FREE and no waiting. Key word search driven format.

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