Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 5

I ordered the Ice VDx on 10/23/99 and a week later the belt clip holder and 5 pack stylus. Now it's been past 7 wks and I still don't have my VDx, nor my belt clip. I now have cute 5 stylus pen that I can pick my nose with. I called multiple times, waited 30 min average to speak to a customer support and all I get is the same stupid response. "I don't know what's happening to your order but it will be shipped to you between 4-6 wks." Why don't they just have a tape recording. I tried to change the orders so that I can receive the VDx and the accessories together but now I'm stuck with the stylus without the visor...
My point in writing this letter is this: I always believed that CS is reflection of how any company feel about their customers, and I believe that Handspring reflection of it's customer is $#!+. It makes me mad to be talking to such incompetent CS, to see the price of other PDA drop from $350 to $250 while I wait, and to not receive a product for almost 8 wks after it's been ordered. It's ludicrous to endure such an insult.
It takes two component to make a successful company. It's product & it's customer relation/support. Let me tell you that Handspring receives "F" for it's customer support, and for it's product, give me two weeks before I finally get my visor, and another two wks for me to play with...
My Christmas wish this year is for me to receive my VDx before Christmas...

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Utah
Posts: 44

Manicorp,
7+ weeks would drive me crazy. I agree that CS is a reflection of the attitude of the company toward its customers. In the case of HS, they have outsourced their CS to another company. I, for one, have gotten better customer service from Donna Dubinsky, the CEO, than from the CS department itself. If I judged my CS satisfaction based on my interaction with her, I would rate myself as a satisfied customer. Unfortunately, this initial rush makes it impossible to fire the third-party CS department and hire a new HS CS staff.
I hope your order arrives soon.

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Chelmsford, MA USA
Posts: 62

I agree with KentD. The support direct from Handspring is far superior to the company they've outsourced their customer service to.

I get timely email responses with a better response about the ship date than "I don't know the status of your order, but it will ship in 4-6 weeks." I think that is a rediculous response from a CSR when you have waited longer than that 4-6 weeks. Were they even LISTENING to you? Sheesh.

I raised a question about my cc and my order and Dubinsky was quick to assure me that she would have someone in touch with me shortly to take the changes so that my order isn't screwed up when it is ready to ship.

All I can say is the few years of contact in a Customer Service environment (3 different divisions) not one rep would ever say "I don't know." They'd be sent back for training and education if they ever did.

Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 2

Can one assume that their sales calls are also being outsourced to that same company? Was finally ready to order a Vdx (1st time purchase of such a creature) when lo and behold, I can't even place the order! I'm aware of the internet option but I had a few brief questions i.e., does the deluxe come with a leather case, because I'd have also ordered one then if need be, and etc. Well, I was on hold for an hour this morning and then got disconnected!! Tried again this afternoon and gave up after another 45 minutes! This is for sales! Now my questions would be more like "what kind of tech support can I expect if one is on hold for sales for hours?!"

O.k. people - are they really, really worth it? Even a 4-6 wk wait is not so much the problem, my concern is after-sales support. Appreciate if anyone can tell me a)what the Vdx comes with, exactly, b) should I just order the serial cradle and leather case and whatever else now because they would take as long to deliver, c)how would you rate the ease of setup/use for a 1 yr old Toshiba laptop for a relatively non-tech type?

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[This message has been edited by JHromadka (edited 12-14-1999).]

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Baltimore MD, USA
Posts: 717

Sunshine, I don't know about your other questions, but I believe all Visors come with some kind of case. You MUST order a serial cradle if you do not have a Macintosh or a Win98 computer. The USB cradle will not work with Win95, WinNT, or Win2000.

I believe there is a way to order a Visor with the serial cradle instead of the USB cradle, probably by phone.

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Streamwood, IL USA
Posts: 118

Sunshine:

The VDx comes in multiple color choices. (The other Visors do not.)

The VDx comes with a leather slip case and a hard plastic cover that clips to the front and back of the unit, it requires two hands to manipulate.

The VDx comes with 8MB of RAM all other models come with 2MB.

The VDx comes with a USB cradle. You cannot order a Serial cradle in lieu of a USB cradle, but if you order the Visor with the serial cradle OPTION it saves you $10.

My advise would be to order the VDx with the serial option. Wait on the case until you see what comes with it. You may like it, you may not.

IMHO -- It is well worth the wait. The double and triple billing problems might have made me cahnge my opinion, but I beleve those issues to be resolved for the most part.

Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 2

Winchell & ruexp67, thanks so much, I think you've encouraged me to try to order again!

Registered: Dec 1999
Location: MERRIMACK, NH, USA
Posts: 8

I ordered mine on 11/18/99. There are several reports in other areas of this BB where people who ordered before me have gotten theirs already.

Ok fine...it doesn't make sense but...ok.

SO...I called them on Friday the 17th at 5:00pm est...after an hour and 15 minute hold, I hung up.

I called again on during the morning on the weekend...I did get an answer...

"Has your card been charged yet, sir?" You mean you don't know?!

"It hasn't shipped yet." Ok..but people who ordered after me have gotten theirs. "Correct." ??!!

I called again this morning..."It hasn't shipped as of the 16th." Yes, but today's the 20th!?!?!

Their customer service definately needs improvement. You can have the best product on this earth, but if your customer service "bites", you're not going to last.

Michael.

Registered: Dec 1999
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 8

SURTEESM,

We must be talking to the same person.

"Has your card been charged yet, sir?"

"It has NOT shipped yet."

"Please check back next week."

Then I called today, have been put on hold for 2 hours...I gave up. My CC has been indeed charged, luckily only once, not double charge.

I ordered online on 11/01/1999, still kicking my foot and have nothing in my hand.......What a terrible decision made to get myself into this %#^#$^! If I order a PalmV, I would've been using it for 2 months already.

I truely wish Handspring go bankrupt. They truely deserve it just because the way they do their business.

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Lincoln, NE
Posts: 56

Don't get your panties in a wad. You'll probably note from reading VC that the people you are talking to get paid ~$6/hr to listen to you whine. Furthermore, they get a new database report of what has shipped etc that is 3 days old. Handspring is promising 4-6 weeks, if it hasn't been more that 6 weeks, deal with it they told you in advance that you'd have to wait. Quit bugging the underpaid CSR's, it is painfully obvious that they don't give a crap and have little to no knowledge of the product. It is just something you have to deal with since the visor is so cheap. If you want better service be prepared to shell our SEVERAL hundred dollars more. 3com doesn't even provide service much better than Handspring. The only difference is that 3com actually has inventory so they can ship much more quickly (or you can go to Best Buy). I waited 6 weeks for my Visor, big deal, I saved two hundred dollars off of a 3com palm Vx it really wasn't that painful. If it has been more than 6 weeks I'll help you get action taken. Otherwise, find something to occupy you until 6 weeks is up.

Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 5

This is an update to my oringinal opinion...
HS still sucks...
I still have not received my VDx after 8 wks and 3 days out... worst yet, they can't even confrim or deny that it's been sent. How pathetic is that.
I'm sorry, Bolson, but 2 month of my time is worth more thatn lousy $200 dollars, infact if you purchase it at Outpost.com, it is currently priced for $419.95 without tax or shipping cost.
Well, I just cancelled my VDx & I've ordered my new Palm Vx from outpost which will arrive this week, free of charge and tax...
So my message to you all is this:
"For all of you who's waiting to receive your Visor, SO LONG SUCKERS... and for all of you who's thinking about purchasing Visor, SO LONG FUTURE SUCKERS..."

From Manicorp...

P.S. 2 months of my time is worth $4800.00, and within 6 months, it will triple that... so $419.95 - $273(charge to my credit card) = $146.95, so $4800 compare to $146... you do the math Bolsin or Bolsh!t... what ever.

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Lincoln, NE
Posts: 56

your MD degrees speaks quite poorly of you. I cannot believe you are getting so pissed off about a device that was never claimed to be shipped in a timely manner to you. Sorry, your time really is not worth as much as you claim. If a PDA could give you life support functions then maybe, but it's a friggin' datebook that does cool stuff. Get over it. Enjoy your Vx and I pray that you are not actually an doctor. Your posts speak quite poorly of your intelligence and patience level. Just what we need a doctor who can't keep his cool under a stressful situation!

Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 16

I do not mean to show off here in this forum, but my experience with HandSpring has been a pleasant one. I ordered my bvdx on November 28 and received it on December 20th...thats is less than 4 weeks!! And I must say I was willing to wait the 6 weeks if I had to. The point is that not everyone is experiencing these delays. And from the short time that I am using the Visor I must say it is worth the wait. By the way I ordered mine online.

Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 5

Dear Bolson,
What are you, Handspring's mother?
For your information, I was waiting to use the Visor for my patients in the hospital, so that I can give better care for my patient. Let me tell you about one little secret about any doctor, they have lots of patience for their patients, but they have none for services that doctors depend on for patient care but can't deliever its services or products. So if you want to criticize me as a doctor, then you must criticize me for waiting too long.
Don't bother, I won't be checking back...
See ya...

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 434

From one doc to another...

Sure, their order system sucks, but:

If the organizer were really that important for the care of your patients, you should have purchased something that you could have had in hand the same day, like a Palm IIIx or Vx, instead of expecting to wait 4-6 weeks or more.

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Lincoln, NE
Posts: 56

No I am not HS's mother. When I ordered my BVD I knew they were a startup, they had no inventory so shipping the product would take a while and that the product was not really supposed to be realeased to the public until Q1 of 2000. So I was elated that they were actually taking PRE-ORDERS and that sometime in the next month or so I'd have a Visor for considerably less than a PlamV (at the time Vx wan't out). I sat and waited for 8 weeks for it to arrive after messing with CS once and then going to the management after that. I got personal apologies over the phone from a shipping manager and a Visor the next day. No skin off my back, I like it and I have a feeling HS and TRG are going to be the only hardware manufacturers in the next year or so. If you don't believe me then you haven't done your homework on Palm computing. Anyway, if I ever see a disgruntled doctor, who can't keep his shorts on taking my data down into a PalmVx I will take my health care to someone that would better serve me. (from the sound of it I'd be better off with someone else). Finally, I don't like your pompus attidude about being an MD. Yeah your are in debt paying for your schooling and yeah you probably had to work really hard to get your degree, but I can garuntee that my data needs are far more demanding than yours. I know several MD's and several MD/Ph.D.'s and they definately don't have data needs like mine. Enjoy your Vx (or at least until the battery runs down and you figure our that you can't replace it while examing a patient!)

Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 10

Well, Bolson I would have supported your statement if I had received my order. I ordered it on OCt 4th and in between a call from HQ for correction on order and still not received the order. I feel its an insult, because when people who have order on Nov end have received it and mine still not processed.

If Handspring as a startup was thinking about customer service, then it should have put high priority on cases like mine but they want to go with 80% ok, 20% screwed, so why bother with 20%.

Also PDA is not a big thing in your life, its just an convience. Would like it when you feel being discriminated for a small thing?
Because that is what feel precisely. Being discriminated, also we amon the early customer to support Handspring. If they do like this, then I wish goodluck for them.
Do not need a best product to successful, just an average product with lot of good will to be sucessful, which Handspring lacks a lot.

Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 5

Bolson... What everrrrrr!

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: NY, NY, USA
Posts: 155

Bolson:

First off, I'm not an MD, so you'll hopefully be able to find something else at which to point your criticism herein.

Second, I have a Vx and use it constantly, mostly for work. I also use it to read e-docs and AvantGo during my morning and evening commutes (the latter of which requires the backlight). I'm not really sure what your requirement for data is, but I know that I've got about 800k left in an 8MB Vx, so I know I use my Vx extensively.

Third, the issue of Manicorp's position is really and thoroughly irrelevant. He's another in a long line of legitimately aggravated Handspring non-customers, and whether or not he needs a PDA is also irrelevant. I had a Handspring PDA and it broke so I sent it back for a refund after they failed to replace it as promised via overnight delivery. Do I have a legitimate gripe with them because of this? If not, do I have a legitimate gripe that they still haven't refunded my entire purchase price? Well, despite your opinion on this or other matters, I received, completed and returned documentation to my credit card company, to the Better Business Bureau (from recollection they're located in San Jose, but I could be wrong) and also have let Donna Dubinsky know that this company is god-awful from top to bottom. I e-mailed a request about buying a custom case and received an auto-reply seven weeks later that didn't even answer the question. And I know that their "overnight replacement" policy still has plenty of glitches, b/c I spoke to a friend who decided to keep her Blue Deluxe and it died, and she requested the overnight replacement so she would have it before she left for vacation. Of course, it never arrived, so she was without a PDA (and therefore, her e-mail and her entire address database) simply b/c Handspring is so screwed up. But I 'spose she ought to just keep her "shorts" on.

No matter how you slice it, this is an awfully-run company, and criticizing people with legitimate criticisms is pointless. If you don't like his attitude based on his position, so be it, but pointing a finger at him for being impatient rather than accepting that Handspring is a lousy company is ridiculous. The only thing that will truly silence Handspring's critics is for them to solve all of their problems, and considering they've had more than three months to do so and still have not yet achieved this demonstrates as much if not more than your finger-pointing.