Registered: Sep 1999
Location: New York, New York USA
Posts: 25

I ordered my Visor Delux on 9/14 in the AM. Talked with a CSR named Paul who confirmed all my information. Called back several times since then to confirm that everything was on track after reading all the horror stories. Each time I waited on hold for long periods of time. But I was assured each time that my order was in place. As I had still not received my Visor today, I called again to see if I could get a UPS tracking number. Once again was on hold for over 1. hours finally got through and the CSR rep was my buddy from day 1, Paul. He pulls up my info and everthing seems fine .......until he checks shipping and then after a long a pause with several "How could it be's in the background" he tells me that my order for some reason has been shipped to some guy named Don in NH. What the F_uck? He had no explanation accept to say that they would try to fix it right away and that I would go into the priority database, which means two to three weeks. I am infuriated. I really had high hopes for this product but after listening to Hawkins in his recent interview come off as a snobby, cocky geek I am very very clsoe to cancelling my order. This company will ultimately fail if they can't get something as simple as shipping channels done correctly. I am at a loss. What can we do?

Registered: Sep 1999
Location:
Posts: 22

While running the risk of being flamed to the atomic level it�s worth it. On Friday I wanted my visor so bad I came home during the day just to check. No visor. I got of work and came home ready to reach across the phone lines and kill a CSR (and I know there is nothing they can do about it.) To my surprise my Visor arrived during the two hours sense I check my house. I ran in posted on visor central about getting mine and then went to working on my visor. Well this story does not have a happy ending. My CD was cracked so I can not link my Visor to my PC. So now I have an old palm pilot personal and a new Ice Visor. Keep in mind I have no idea when I will get my replacement CD I am still amazed at the Visor. The only thing I have to compare it to is the PPP and it blows it away. I thought there was nothing that handspring could do to fix the way they treated me. Well I was wrong. Their product is amazing. And it�s the little things that make it so great. I understand your anger but I truly believe you will like it once you get it. Time heals all wounds

As always keep the peace.
Bryan

PS I keep tons of info on my PPP so I have a feeling that my visor is going to be a paper weight until I get the CD

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Modesto, CA USA
Posts: 599

JimmyG
I have empathy for your situation but I'd like to point out something here....
Handspring is guilty of:
One: Underestimating demand
Two: Hiring a Customer Service Organization that doesn't care about our problems hence the word SERVICE is an oxy moron.
Three: Hiring a Fulfillment Center that also can't FULFILL.
Four: Handspring is actively attempting to hire additional staff to transition some of this hire-out help to internal employees where they have control. However, the unemployment rate in their market is less than 1% so unless they steal some really good people they are going to be searching for awhile.

I remember when Palm started several of these issues were the same until they actually got help from US Robotics which had alot of the infrastructure in place.

Handspring will work the bugs out and I'm relatively certain that at the appropriate time they'll probably change both the CSR and Fulfillment centers but if they were to attempt to do it right now it would be more chaotic.

Be thankfull that the other problem that has caused Handspring so much grief has also allowed you to "vent" on this forum.....obviously it's the internet.

After you get your Visor, I'd suggest that you contact Dubinsky with all of the pertinent data about your original order date and the discussion with Paul. Hopefully, as CEO she should try and make amends. Also, get Paul to email or fax you some "hard" proof stuff so that maybe you'll get even better than Priority Database.

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

Pax/Bryan:

I think Jimmy's point was not that the product wasn't good or that he was angry over the quality thereof, but rather that he disliked being jerked around and made to wait excessively. I have played around with the Visors and am also impressed by them, including the little things, as you've suggested. However, while time may heal all wounds, I think the more appropriate expression for this situation is "Time is money." The waiting is not the only problem present in this situation, but the miscommunication, the disorganization, and the poor distribution of something which many of us were awaiting with baited breath.

Getting angry won't solve the problem, but considering the progress Handspring has (or hasn't) made in solving these problems, it seems to me that there isn't much problem-solving going on at all.

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 27

Chia, I sympathize...I ordered early (9.16) but I still dont have it despite it being shipped "express" Oct 15th (so they say). The tracking number they gave me is no good and my credit card was charged then refunded. On top of that, I hear that I will get two (if I EVER get one) deliveries being sent to me...one being billed to someone in NJ. Of course I will just refuse that one.

I am so mad that I'm numb and really don't care anymore. If I don't have it by the end of next week, I will refuse both shipments and get a palm vx.

Registered: Sep 1999
Location:
Posts: 40

Well I too now have a problem with Handspring. . . I ordered on Sept. 14th and have not recieved my Visor. This is not the problem. . . I called the 1-888 # today and spoke to a CSR about 2 hrs later. All I wanted to do was confirm that my Visor has been shipped. After looking up my order, the CSR said "wow, you couldn't have order much earlier could you - you were the 32 person to order a Visor." I said "yeah, I guess I really wanted one."
After going over all of my info - which was correct - she coundn't find me in the shipping datatbase. Which meant to her, they hadn't shipped it yet. She spoke to her manager, who could only tell here - "oh, well it should go out soon. . ." and that "if I don't recieve it by next Wednesday I should call back."
All of my info, including credit card info, were correct - What's the freekin' holdup???
I am really getting perturbed with Handspring. How hard would it have been to get out the 32nd Visor order?
I am still hoping she made a mistake and it has already gone out. . .

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Metro Station, Hollywood and Highland
Posts: 1018

Pax,

Regarding the cracked CD: is it possible to download the software from Handspring's website?

Registered: Oct 1999
Location:
Posts: 187

Chalk up another one...
I confirmed my order last week and the CSR went through every line of my order and pronounced that he saw no problems and couldn't figure out why it had not shipped, but that it should be here within a day or two. When it failed to arrive, I called back (what the heck, I was awake at 2:45 a.m. PST anyway) to have a different CSR say that there were problems with the way the card number was put into the system (the number was right, but the spaces were wrong) and my billing address has vanished! He was sure that it was rejected, and offered to take a new order so that I could have it in 2-4 weeks! There is no supervisor on duty until 9:00 EST, so I have to call back later to see if a supervisor can do anything for me, but the CSR doesn't think that there is anything that they can do, other than take another order and put me at the back of the line.
When I told him that I wanted a visor put on the next truck on the dock in California, he told me that he didn't think that would be possible. Is that customer service????????
Are you listening Handspring?????????

[This message has been edited by staad (edited 10-25-1999).]

[This message has been edited by staad (edited 10-25-1999).]

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 15

Jimmyg-

The best thing that you can do for yourself and for the rest of us is to cancel your order and buy a Palm, where you can get immediate gratification. It will certainly help your blood pressure and allow you to be more efficient with your time, as you won't be on hold with Handspring for hours and won't need to spend time with these inflamatory posts.

Do us all a favor.

By the way, if you can't get through to Handspring to cancel your order, just refuse the shipment or return it when it does arrive. As a lawyer, I'm sure you won't have a problem determing the best avenue for this.

Drew

[This message has been edited by drewb (edited 10-25-1999).]

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Corvallis,OR
Posts: 38

Hey Guys after calming myself down over the weekends. I realised that this horrifying experience with Handspring might be a blessing in disguise. We might have to thanks or give kudos to J&D.

HANDSPRING IS GREARING US FOR THE CONFUSION WHEN Y2K COMES!

Registered: Oct 1999
Location:
Posts: 70

Time may heal all wounds, but will it wound all heels?

Registered: Oct 1999
Location:
Posts: 121

Drew,

The truth is inflammatory huh? Other readers who don't get jack from Handspring want to know what the hell is going on with the company and other orders.

People posting their order status are being pushed to the limit by the company you seem to hold so dear. Your personal attack on someone trying to get to the bottom of this whole mess is more inflammatory than his concerns.

Talking to others who are in the same boat is helpful and prevents some cancellations of Visor orders due to lack any info from Handspring and sheer frustration. It shows how much punishment people are willing to absorb to get that springboard port.

This is the only place where the truth is told. If you don't want the truth you should just move along to the official Handspring site or call their number (their system is down right now) and stop rubbernecking and mocking people who have been burned.

Registered: Sep 1999
Location:
Posts: 95

For the record, reganc, I've done a bit of looking around & about 90% of the compaints seem to be coming from a group of about 10 people.

Looks like a loud minority blowing the situation all out of proportion.

Registered: Oct 1999
Location:
Posts: 121

Yeah, that's it. Great research Sherlock. You might want to check again, then go to Slashdot, Yahoo's Handspring Club, ZDNet, Palm forums etc. and keep adding.

The point is not numbers anyhow.

Besides all the other documented carelessness, if one person is lied to by Handspring employees/contractors about "verified" shipments there is some serious reconsideration of the company that should be going on. That's the current discussion theme Handspring sycophants don't want to hear.

Registered: Oct 1999
Location:
Posts: 187

theo - That count must be the product of "new math". I count no les than 20 different people just in the topics that have been updated within the last 3 hours. I don't think that number (or the complaints that the number represents) is anything to scoff at.

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Posts: 24

Theo,
Just curious, where did you do your "checking around" or with whom? I haven't done much complaining, but the fact that my visor cost 249 +3 hours of long distance hold time, and the thing still won't sync, due to a faulty cradle.... well....I'm a little surprised at your tone.

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Pittsburgh, PA USA
Posts: 3

So I utilized my speaker phone and called to place an order at: Mon Oct 25 11:47:09 EDT 199 and at: Mon Oct 25 13:44:35 EDT 1999 someone picked up the phone on the other line and hung up.

I promptly sent an email complaint suggesting they hire someone or a company to help process orders. This is ridiculous that they treat customers and potential customers in this manner.

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Atlanta, GA, USA
Posts: 56

Reading some of these forums makes me wonder how many Palm/Microsoft employees are out there posting. Granted, I ordered the first week, and nothing has shown up yet (except the bill on the credit card). I work on manufacturing and automation for a living. Startups are hell, even for seemingly small changes. I can imagine that Jeff & Donna aren't getting much sleep lately.

It's not like they are selling pacemakers, and our lives are depending on these devices (hey, now there's a springboard idea! not!). They are apparently swamped beyond belief. Granted that some of the CSRs are not world class (hard to get in this economy), and shipping has been hap-hazard (imagine that with UPS). Some people are complaining because the CSRs aren't technical (she didn't know what USB was). They aren't technical people (do you think somebody with a tech degree is going to answer the phone?).

However, perhaps if you stop calling them every other day asking about your order status until they get themselves straightened out. There's no easy way to troubleshoot or fully prepare for a product launching like this until you do it.

So what if it isn't 4-6 weeks. Maybe it will be 8 weeks. Maybe 10. I don't care. If you want to go out and get a Palm III or a roll of toilet paper to keep notes on, that's fine. Go and leave the rest of us alone.

So far the units that have shipped seem to have a pretty good quality record. I think I've counted 1 button that didn't quite work, a broken CD, and one cradle that didn't work. But nothing like a line in the LCD that doesn't show up or the hardware crashing left and right.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Montgomery, AL, USA
Posts: 17

Theo,

As one of the people who has used this forum to share my bad experiences with Handspring up to this point, I have a question. what is your point?

Is it that because there is a group of only 10 (and I dispute that number) people who are here complaining, the complaints should be disregarded because there are a whole lot more people here who have said nothing?

Before you go discounting people who post negative comments about their customer service experiences as a bunch of loudmouths who have it in for Handspring, please consider the fact that most of us were so excited about the product and the company that we were willing to shell out a few hundred bucks for their product sight unseen.

I am sorry I am bringing the dreaded negativity into your temple of handspring, but my rose-colored screen filter is on backorder.

[This message has been edited by diogenes (edited 10-25-1999).]

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Pittsburgh, PA USA
Posts: 3

RSGMOOSE,

You posted the following:
Two: Hiring a Customer Service Organization that doesn't care about our problems hence the word SERVICE is an oxy moron.
Three: Hiring a Fulfillment Center that also can't FULFILL.
Four: Handspring is actively attempting to hire additional staff to transition some of this hire-out help to internal employees where they have control. However, the unemployment rate in their market is less than 1% so unless they steal some really good people they are going to be searching for awhile.

It is hard to believe that any company who specializes in order processing, such as a Fulfillment Center, would do the job with such lackluster results. Or if one organization isn't doing the job, hire more than one or hire another. There are many small companies out there who can provide an arm of such a service, be it on the phone or on-line...and they don't have to be in Mountain View. This should be added into the cost of doing business and the cost of being successful.

No company should ever deliver the kind of service they are delivering right now.