Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 8

I love my GVD and it has worked flawlessly, however, the customer support is something else.

I had problems with my first order, it was shipped to another address. The second order went through fine, but now I have two charges on my credit card and I'm not getting any satisfaction from Handspring for a credit. It has been over 3 weeks of promises and not results. The waiting time on the customer service line is redicluous!!!

Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 107

Well, it should come as no surprise that I do NOT own a Visor. I do, however, own the USB hotsync cable and stylus 5-pack. Very nice. They haven�t caused me any problems yet.

To what extent is my decision to buy a Visor influenced by the postings on this board? That�s easy. My decision (wavering) is GREATLY influenced by this board! That�s why I�m going to wait a while. I�m in no big hurry to buy a PDA.

I�ll mainly be looking for improvement in what LynnBob has been talking about - customer support. Plus I want to see what the IIIc and IIIxe are all about.

Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 18

I agree with most of what Lynn Bob has said. Let me first say that I love my visor, think the product is going to be the one to beat and wish all the best for the company. Most of the people here ***** about handspring because we want to see them succeed. Hell if thete stock was offered we would all be buying it. My problem with this company and everyone elses is CUSTOMER SERVICE. Or the lack there of. This company may have the best thing since sliced bread when it comes to PDA's, but when it come to custmer service they have dropped the ball more times then they have completed the pass. Ok out there hold up your hands if Outpost.com or Handspring offered the same product line who would you buy from? Lets see Outpost offers to have the delivery of instock items in your hand by 10:00am as long as you ordered it by 12:00 pm the night before. OK no tax no shipping thrown in too. Ok they even send you an email when they get your order thanking you for the order and then they send you an email telling you they shipped it the next day. Is this a fantasy world, no this is ecommerce and Handspring should wake up smell the cappacino or whatever else they drink in Cailfornia and drop kick their ecommerce divivion and ship everything they can to Ohio. No I don't work for outpost.com and yes I'm sure this company makes mistakes. But when I find service like I get from them I shop over and over again. Handspring Director of Customer Service and I beleive the perons in charge of this is, Mike Gallucci Vice President, Manufacturing & Logistics, you are not getting the job done. Plain and simple and in the world of ecommerce with bulletin boards like this your company does not get a first chance to do a bad job never mind a second chance. I bought my Visor from you directly because I had to, but nothing ever again will I order from you. Oh and LynnBob I don't think the company is chciken hopefully they are working their butts off and are too busy to read bulletin boards.

Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 251

RJT,

I did the EXACT same thing to my friends brand new Palm V! He had to send it back.

Luckily, he new it was already "broken" before I touched it.

Registered: Sep 1999
Location:
Posts: 106

Rolando

Thanks...made me feel better. If you refer back to my note, my friend said that 3Com would be sending a box for her to send her PALM V back in (to be repaired)....el wrongo! They actually sent her a new PALM V. It came in on TUESDAY! Keep in mind she had called them on Saturday. She simply put's the damage unit back in the pre-paid shipping box and away it goes. Don't get me wrong, I love my VDX, but you have to agree... Handpspring was just taken to school on this one.

Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 45

quote:

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Originally posted by RJT:
I own a VDX. My friend just bought a PALM V. ... (3COM comes through in the pinch, etc)...Long and short of it is, I relayed the info to my friend but the next hard reset did not work. My friend called them the next day (Saturday) with the Ref. Number. They are sending her a prepaid return shipping box for her to send back the unit in (again, are you listening Handspring). Oh yeah, when I hung up from the rep, she says to me, "...should have bought a pilot"!

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Registered: Jan 2000
Location: Potomac, MD
Posts: 22

I too am thrilled with my VDx. As an experienced network and system admin, I feel I can live with an occasional reset, then spending time troubleshooting and fixing the problem.

After reading the postings on this board, it is obvious Handspring has an issue with their technical assistance.

I am glad I did not purchase a Visor for my spouse or other (relatively)non-technical friends and family. My wife now has my trusty, error-free Palm IIIe and wonders how she survived without a PDA (yes, another convert). I cannot imagine her having to deal with the reset errors that plague my VDx. I will wait until Handspring matures before I purchase additional units for those close to me.

If Handspring wants an example of how to run a TAC (technical assistance center), give Cisco TAC a call. Or surf their support web site. Or, from others on this bulletin board, call 3com for assistance.

A lesson learned years ago- the early adopters are the guinea pigs. Yes, by the specs the Visor is a technically superior product. Now Handspring needs to focus on their soft skills to survive.

By the way- where are all those cool Springboard modules I've heard about for the last four months??? Waiting for the color Visor?

Just one man's opinion...

Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 52

While I'm not denying that there are problems...just to give another point of view, I've had my VDx since Dec. 16th. Only had to soft reset once because of a bad hack. Had an initial problem with USB which was solved easily. I have an Intel quickcam hooked into one USB. After plugging in the Visor into the other one, it wouldn't hotsync. I disconnected the cam, and hotsync worked fine. I plugged the cam back in, and now both work fine.

Other than that, not a single problem. I've used almost half my Visors memory and my PC is full of all sorts of software.

Luckily I haven't had to go through what some have here with customer support, but not EVERYONE is having the problems that are reported here.

I'd like to know what percantage of Visor owners actually have the types of problems we see discussed here. And not just those who post to this forum because obviously not everyone who bought a Visor is on this forum!

Harry

Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 13

Harry, sounds like you'd like to see the poll I proposed earlier here. I'm gonna email Hromadka about it.

[This message has been edited by Jmiester (edited 01-26-2000).]

Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 46

I agree with Bob's previous post...we are all spoiled by the really good e-tailers. We have expectations...and we don't see them being met...

Anyway...let me give some background to explain why this is such an issue with me:

I worked with a client within the past several years who had a couple of strong competitors. This client was seeing its market share steadily eroded. Hence the need for consultants.

One of the things we did was have people give us the name of the firm they felt did the best (and second best) job (on various dimensions)...we also had them tell us which firm was the worst. The firm I was working with was uniformly ranked #1 or #2 by 40%-50% of the respondents. This was usually slightly higher than the numbers for the two main competitors. The question then...why was their market share falling....

We then turned to the negatives...their two competitors were below 5% with regard to the number of respondents ranking them as worst. The firm we worked with...between 40% and 50%! This was traced to poor customer service...and generally shoddy treatment of their customers...

This really reminds me of HS. HS and the Visor have a lot of positives...that's not the problem. The problem is...they are letting the negatives run unchecked...and I really thing it will do irrevocable damage to the firm...unless they do something soon. The IIIx may not have as many positives as the Visor...but it has far, far, less negative baggage. I think more and more people are not going to be willing to take the chance...unless things change (which would be a shame).

As far as trying to get them to respond on this and other boards...James seemed to think this unreasonable right before he pulled the plug on another thread....

Two quick examples...last year Business Week reported a national Do-nut chain's response to an internet hate site. They e-mailed every poster...asking them to tell them more about their negative experiences. They used it as an opportunity...as market research. The guy that put up the hate site...took it down. He said the firm acted so responsibly...he could not be mad at them anymore.

I also spend a lot of time on a handgun board (GlockTalk). A few months ago...some people began posting negative comments about a couple of ammunition manufacturers...slamming their product. Within a few days...and I'm not kidding...the presidents of the two firms in question were both regularly posting on this board. In fact...most Glocktalkers ended up getting free ammo out of the deal. I myself received three boxes...worth around $50 retail.

The internet has changed our expectations re: customer service and corporate response...and...honest to God...my call for HS to respond with posting here and elsewhere...and 800 numbers etc...is an attempt to help them....

Sorry for the long post...

Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 4

Talk about one short love affair.

For what is worth.

For weeks I have been following the messages here on Visorcentral, which by the way is one heck of a great resource, and decided that HS seemed to be on the upswing with fixing all their problems. On Jan 22nd I placed an online order for a Blue VDX. It showed up today, Jan 26. Not bad for express delivery.
Bad news, the units was defective and after
about ten minutes of use the screen faded away never to be seen again.
I tried hard and soft resets and even stayed on hold for an hour to talk with "tech" support. After 10 minutes of pulling batteries and trying both hard and soft resets he pronounced it a defective unit.
At this point I asked for a refund. I am going to go 3Com/Palm at this point and come back later when more of the problems are worked out. Too bad, for a brief ten minutes I was in PDA bliss. Reminds me of Atari, a great product, a poor company........ I still think the Visor is the better package.

[This message has been edited by kwalk (edited 01-26-2000).]

Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 107

kwalk - wow, I'm dumbfounded. It makes no sense to me. Maybe I'm missing something here, but I don't see how this company has managed to survive THIS long! And its only been what ... five months?!

I'm seriously holding out for a response from HS, but so far the silence is deafening. I'd really like to invest in a Visor, but not if it means going through what people like kwalk have gone through. No thanks.

Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 20

quote:

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Originally posted by Chronos:
I too am thrilled with my VDx. As an experienced network and system admin, I feel I can live with an occasional reset, then spending time troubleshooting and fixing the problem.

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Registered: Jan 2000
Location: Potomac, MD
Posts: 22

quote:

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Originally posted by Voltaire:
Um, not to be an ass but did you actually read what you wrote there? Why does expereince mean that you would simply ignore a problem, rebooting only to aleviate the symptoms? I am a Network analyst and an experienced system admin and when something breaks I useually try to fix it, not just reboot it.

---

I do not remember mentioning anything regarding internetworking devices, LAN/WAN, NOSs, etc. in this post. Though many of the members here are network/sys admin/general techies, this BBS is for Handspring Visor owners and enthusiasts. I made mention of my background to help illustrate my point.

Allow me to summarize my maligned post- I won't call Handspring TAC when my Visor locks. If an app or hack I installed caused the problem- mea culpa. If it is a built in app- then I may call TAC. My spouse, boss, (and I'd be inclined to believe a vast number of new PDA owners), however, would not be so inclined. They will then face a protracted and expensive (not toll free) hold-session waiting for a tech to walk them through a soft/hard reset. I simply find that unacceptable. You and others may disagree.

I must have some rudimentary skills at proper troubleshooting, or else I'd be making tacos in Tijuana (and could not afford to buy such toys as a VDx). My networks require 99.999% uptime- resets are as unacceptable in my world as some junior admin poking around to "fix" something.

In summary, my spouse's PalmPilot is a more stable computing device than my Visor (e.g. I have had far fewer instances of software conflicts with my Palm than Visor. Yes, I have a clue as to why). Hence, I use the Visor, my spouse the PalmPilot.

Just one man's opinion...

Now I've got to find that awesome brushed aluminum/carbon fiber cover for my IVDx... Lord knows I can't make it!

[This message has been edited by Chronos (edited 01-30-2000).]

Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 106

James,

To the above mentioned survey I'd like the following question added.

If money was not the issue, would you buy a VDX or Palm (whatever #) with 8mb, 3rd party color case of your choice (larger selection than "5" colors, though black is technically not a color), DB3, CityTime, Parens (advanced calculator), etc, etc, etc.

The only major difference I see left (after taking away $$) is the Springboard module. Portable backup? If the unit isn't "crash" prone no biggie. And how many users will have a Springboard they absolutely can't do without or couldn't hook up a serial connect device to a Palm to do the same thing.

All,

Yes, tech support can be better. And a number of the negative posts fall more into the category of "read the manual" and try a couple simple things first. Also they are often *not* from non-techies, but from users savy enough to load hacks, etc onto their computing platform, then complain when their PDA crashes. Most manufacturers (rightly so) do *not* give (much) system support if you've gone beyond the installed apps, and the add-ons are possibly the culprit (find me a *warranty* that covers items not provided by the manufacturer in question!). Test #1: remove all add-ons and see if the problem still exists!

Great device, lots of potential, love the 8 mb; **and the price**! No argument about the needed improvement in customer service (still waiting on an advance exchange BVD unit for the dead rows of pixels, 1 horizontal, 1 vertical; also have experienced some of the other problems mentioned here).

So far nothing too unbearable, and that I couldn't figure out my own solution (usually in *much* less time than waiting on the phone even 10 minutes!). "I'd rather switch than fight" (sic).

TANSTAAFL.

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Texan in Calgary for a while
Posts: 1361

ss@rr said:

quote:

---

If money was not the issue, would you buy a VDX or Palm (whatever #) with 8mb, 3rd party color case of your choice (larger selection than "5" colors, though black is technically not a color), DB3, CityTime, Parens (advanced calculator), etc, etc, etc.

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Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 88

Lord have mercy. How many of the detractors of Handspring and its Visor have been in the PDA area since it inception? I doutbt very many. How many were in the arena when the "Pilot" hit the market from U.S. Robotics? How many were in with Apple and the Newton (MessagePad eventually) and the eMate? If any of you "have been there and done that" you can appreciate the "venom" that the "newbies" to this technolgy spew.
These early ventures were a "real experience".

Please give the company a break. They have potentially a break-thru product that has an OS as its foundation that is beyond their control. Many of the problems persons "cry about" are not the fault of HS but the OS - or more importantly the users not understanding it. Granted, HS needs to improve its CS, but if you were an early adopter of the Newton and/or the Pilot, you know this too shall pass.

I love my Visor and see its potential in the ever-changing market of information appliances. Keep faith.

Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 20

Chronos,
I apologize, the message was not ment to be an attack on you, I just didn't overtly see the logic. I must agree with your statement of new pda users and tech centers in general. It is unfortunate how often the quality of a product does not reflect the quality of service. Don't think I am attempting to detract from the visor, I absolutely love my ice deluxe. Only problems I have had with it were of my own cause (loading the palmIR extensions in an attempt to do and IR sync) and from a poor serial port in my laptop (forced to sync < 38400 to avoid endless "Weird Packets" from pilot-link).

[This message has been edited by Voltaire (edited 01-31-2000).]