Registered: Sep 1999
Location:
Posts: 5

I just ordered a VD Graphite. I didn't have to wait - I am calling from Japan and called at a time when most of you in North America were sleeping...

My logic may have backfired though. The guy who answered sounded pretty bored and unresponsive. I asked for the stylus 5 pack, and he told me it was not available yet. I could swear some of you have ordered it though.... what gives?!

I don't want to pay for another call from Japan to the US, otherwise I would simply call again and ask someone else.

grrrr... this company has a completely inadequate order taking system.

I am frustrated with them, which is why I didn't order back in mid September. I have been waiting to get some feedback from users who received their Visor. I decided I'm not going to bite off my nose to spite my face, and gave in to the pressures to order. After all, I took a similar chance when ordering a Pilot 5000 back in the first days of it's life. It lasted me many years, and is still working great.

MD

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Birmingham, AL
Posts: 103

My guess would be the whole international thing. The stylli are available (as far as I know), but HS isn't shipping overseas yet, only shipping to US & Canada. Don't know if that's the real reason, but it's my guess.

BC

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Rochester, NY, USA
Posts: 61

I couldn't order them either... they said to wait for the website to go back up.

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Posts: 8

Hey, I called approximately 3 days ago and placed an order for the 5 pack and they took my order. The CSR told me that the rainbow pack was not available, but I would receive a pack of 5 grey styli. According to the CSR, I should receive them this week. If this is true, I will edit this message if and when I actually receive them.

Registered: Sep 1999
Location:
Posts: 5

I ordered my Visor to be shipped to an American address, so it is not an international issue.

I was told that it was not available, and that I could not order it. Very strange. Also no order number, so when (and if?) their website is ever properly functional, I will probably not be able to add them to my order.


MD
Very frustrating, but sadly expected with this most unprofessional of companies...

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Clinton, UT 84015
Posts: 71

I just got off the phonw whith Handspring and I wanted to order the Stylii. After being on hold for a total of 4 hours today (3 phone calls), I finally got through.

They added them to my order..

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Midland, Texas
Posts: 231

>>this most unprofessional of companies

Goodness, my friend, relax.

It certainly takes a TREMENDOUS amount of money, manpower, time, and brains to get an upstart company off the ground. Especially considering that there is instant, large demand for their product. It is VERY expensive and resource demanding to have to employ a 100+ people to answer phone, and Handspring, wisely I feel, choose to focus on things other than answering the phone. The likely story is that a third-party is fielding the calls for Handspring, and this is, if not a must, at least a very reasonable solution to handling the volume of calls that Handspring is handling. Granted, the third-party may foul up a few calls, but heck, so would Handspring if they took the calls themselves. And as you alluded to in your post, post-midnight, wee-morning hour order-takers are probably NOT the most informed bunch.

What was so disappointing, "way back in September," that kept you from ordering then? How had they already fouled up, in your eyes, before doing anything?

Just curious.

tyler

tyler

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: San Francisco, CA
Posts: 431

I would recommend that you not order any of the extra stylii that Handspring is currently making available. It would be better to wait until Handspring offers one with a reset pin or until vendors like PalmGear offer heavier, more solid stylii that will fit in the Visor.

Here is PalmGear's stylii page. http://www2.viaweb.com/pilotgear/pdapanstyl.html
I have used the "Black Chrome Deluxe Stylus" in my PalmPilot for 2 years. It feels so much better writing with this than with "plastic sticks".

Registered: Oct 1999
Location:
Posts: 95

I called a few days ago and they added a rainbow styli pack to my order with no problem. I'm waiting to get them, though (obviously)...


MJH <><

Registered: Sep 1999
Location:
Posts: 5

Quoted from Tyler:
>>>>>this most unprofessional of companies
>>>Goodness, my friend, relax.

I am completely relaxed.

Quoted from Tyler:
>>>It certainly takes a TREMENDOUS amount of >>>money, manpower, time, and brains to get >>>an upstart company off the ground.

Yes - you are certainly right, as I have experienced. I agree with this enough to order their product, regardless of the unprofessionalism. It is easy to make excuses, and they are understandable - even forgivable. That does not change the fact that it is still a black mark.

Everyone makes their own decisions. Many of us will overlook (excuse) this unprofessionalism, as we trust the management and love what we have seen of the product. I am one of those, which is why I am completely relaxed. It is only $250 - hardly enough money to get my panties in a knot.

There are many things that Handspring has handled poorly. I find it amazing that so many people seem to dispute this. Okay, I understand that many excuse it, but how can so many of you dispute it? I don't believe I was whining, I was simply pointing out what I experienced, in hopes that someone from Handspring might notice and correct it, as well as finding out the "truth" from those in this group that seem equally (or better) informed that the CSR's doing the order taking.

I called at a time when I knew I wouldn't be dealing with the "cream of the Handspring crop". I was not angry, and am looking forward to receiving my Visor. I would have liked the company to have handled my order better, but I would have liked for many things in life that I didn't get.

quoted from Tyler:
>>>What was so disappointing, "way back in >>>September," that kept you from ordering >>>then? How had they already fouled up, in >>>your eyes, before doing anything?

Calling from Japan is expensive, and I was waiting for their online ordering, which I was under the impression was always imminent. I tried to order online as soon as the system went up, but it wouldn't take my Japanese credit card. For whatever reason their online form did a javascript (?) check which forbid my number. After waiting long enough, I simply called in my order. Of course, I wish I had phoned in my order in September, but I didn't. As we say in Japanese "shoganai" - roughly translated into "tough luck"...

Mike

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Burlington, VT, USA
Posts: 127

Actually, if you're looking for a stylus, I gotta put in a plug for the Throttle at http://www.ttools.com

I have the "Pro" version and it's great. Nice heavy pen (had to buy one for my PDA-less wife, as she loved the feel so much she kept stealing mine), writes well, and also functions as a stylus. I find it much easier to enter Graffiti accurately using a full-sized pen.

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Austin, Texas, USA
Posts: 195

The idea of pen-stylii makes me nervous. I could just picture me picking the thing up and having it in "pen" mode (whatever that means) and putting a nice black line across the face of my Visor.

Registered: Oct 1999
Location:
Posts: 95

I called today, and they found my record and read back the info correctly; they haven't been able to do that until recently, so they must be getting things updated database-wise.

But the CSR said (I know, yet another...) that he wasn't sure if they are going to send the rainbow styli, and that I should wait until the new website comes up to confirm if they are still going to do this.

MJH <><