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

Please refrain from posting anyone's email without their consent. This includes Handspring employees. We understand the frustration that many of you are going through in receiving your Visor, but flooding someone's mailbox is not going to correct the problem. You do not like it when your email address is shared with others, do you?

Handspring knows of the numerous shipping and billing problems that you are having. We are working with Handspring to get an officialaddress for you to e-mail your concerns to. In the mean time, please do not post any Handspring (or anyone else's) email address without their consent. Doing so may result in your having your UBB account removed.

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James Hromadka
VisorCentral.com
Personal Website: http://www.geocities.com/jehromadka

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: woodstock
Posts: 14

They have had numerous chances to reply, either by posting an update or responding to emails. Perhaps a phone system that works would be benificial also. The "Customer Care" line is ridiculous. They have twice the amount of my money that I authorized and have sent me nothing, nor can they tell me when they will. I have given them enormous opportunity to respond and they have chosen not to. I owe them NOTHING (in fact they owe me 300.86 and a visor) in the way of courtesy anymore. Do not offer me the start-up company crap anymore. They have taken my money, pure and simple. I have and will continue to email their addresses until I get the answers that I am untitled to. Let's stop acting like they're not at fault here. Quit protecting them.

Slimwear

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

Patience is a virtue. Getting all riled up isn't going to make anything happen any faster. If you and everyone else emailed Handspring ranting about the problems with your order, that would just clog the system up even more. I believe that they really are working on a solution, and that in a month or so, this will all be just a bad memory. I admit that it's difficult not to get impatient, and if I knew I wouldn't have to wait for at least an hour, I'd probably be calling them rather a lot myself. I also believe that they are aware of the magnitude of the problem, and I would be surpised if Donna D. herself has the time to respond to even 10% of the emails she receives from irate customers. They have a CSR team who only handles the emails sent through the Handspring site. If several people take a couple of weeks to get around to responding to everyone, how do you think one person is going to have the time to respond to, or even look at your message? I think the best thing right now would be to sit back, wait for the dust to settle, and see what happens then. I'm going to have to wait for my Visor anyway. I may as well not make it a worse experience by sending Donna and Jeff an email and getting all disappointed when I don't hear from them, or by trying to get accurate information from a CSR. It's not going to happen.

Besides, the reason that we all jumped in on the bandwaggon is that Handspring has developed and produced a product that we're all excited about, and want to have. We're excited that there's a better alternative to the Palm, and to WinCE. This competition will in turn result in even better products (at better prices) in the future. However, if we all burn Handspring at the stake because we were all devoid of patience and understanding, and full of paranoid thoughts that unless we act NOW, nothing will ever be done, we do so to our detriment.

[This message has been edited by ChrisB (edited 10-27-1999).]

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Rio Rancho, NM, USA
Posts: 129

Hey, Slim, do you feel you owe James and the others keeping Visor Central going?

By practicing some courtesy and patience, we, the VC community (VCC?) may get a bit of an inside track with Handspring.

Despite what has been believed before, bombarding an email address does nothing, except for possibly having a squelch placed on any comment from the VCC.

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: San Francisco, USA
Posts: 75

Slimwear,

Why don't you just dispute the charge with the credit card company, and refuse the shipment if/when it comes. Instead, go buy a Palm. And then write a polite complaint letter (on paper) and mail it (the old fashioned way) to Handspring.

Some people on these discussion boards have done exactly that (except for the letter part), and I think it's the appropriate response. It will certainly be more productive than posting vile comments to online discussion boards, or writing hate email to Donna Dubinsky.

Registered: Oct 1999
Location:
Posts: 54

Nachtswerg-

Before you get too holier than thou...Slim owes James et al nothing for Visor Central, nor do any of the rest of us. There are plenty of other people (and other forums) that would take up any hole left by this forums exit (which is your implecation).

And don't get all kneejerky on me and tell me to go participate in some other forum...because the reason Visor Central is what it is (popular and a valuable resource), is due to the very fact that we are able to express our views, be they commendable, contrite, argumentative, and sometimes ugly.

As for posting other people's e-mail addresses...maybe it's not ethical or appropriate (and subject to editorial erasure), but considering that HS has been completely unresponsive - I find it hard to condemn the action.

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: woodstock
Posts: 14

My goal is not to bombard their email address, I do not plan on doing so. I do ask that they take responsibility for their actions, in my case refund me my money. That is all I want, nothing more and nothing less. Cases like mine should be a priority. Why you ask? Because they have violated my and other customers authorization on our payment agreement. This is no different then an overcharge at any other time (restaurant, gas pump, hockey tickets). If this happened to anyone they would expect a credit to their account when the error was discovered. They have flatly told me they will not make the credit for 30 days at the earliest. Maybe this was typical CSR talk but I do not find it responsible and I have the right to let them know.

To answer some of your questions:

ChrisB: Their email staff has had 2 weeks to respond to numerous questions from me but have remained silent. I do not want them to burn at the stake. I contacted them because I am excited about their product, you are correct. I want them to survive but not like they do presently. I do believe that management knows there is a problem but I guess that I hope the "squeaky wheel gets the greasing".

Nachtswerg: I feel that I owe James, ChrisB and you (as well as many others) all a debt for your involvement at this site. This site has been extremely helpful. I do not believe we will see any "inside track" of information from Handspring however. They owe information to their entire customer base, not necessarily a web site, regardless of its quality. Again, I do not plan on bombarding anyone with email. Please note that I did not give the email address out for Donna or Jeff. I just don�t think their actions are defensible in my case.

Thanks for the response.

Slimwear

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Posts: 39

E-Mail addresses being posted has little effect on ones mailbox being flooded. Those who want to find out email address' to write to can easily find the correct address. For example: a whois on handspring.com reveales Mr. Hawkins E-Mail address. From that naming scheme it is easy to determine E-Mail address' for anyone else at Handspring assuming you know their name.

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Rio Rancho, NM, USA
Posts: 129

Actually, I consider this board to be similar to a home, Zephyr. Sure, the door is open, but some assumption of respect for the owners is expected.

Don't like the way that James, et al. are running the place? Like you said, there are plenty of other places to talk about the Visor.

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: woodstock
Posts: 14

Mportuesi,

At what point did I post "vile comments" or write hate mail? I wrote her a very polite and professional email. Don't assume anything more then that.

Registered: Oct 1999
Location:
Posts: 54

Nachtswerg-

You couldn't resist, could you? You had to go and invite me to leave. I'm really sorry that I don't fit into your "hail HS and VisorCentral" rally group, but gosh darn it, the fee was just too durn high...forfeiting my ability to think for myself, that is.

Well, you guys pat yourselves on the back for being so civil and gentlemenly like, while I pop in Gone With the Wind to try and learn me some manners!

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: San Francisco, USA
Posts: 75

Slim,

I apologize for making unwarranted assumptions. I guess I've just been reading too many messages from angry would-be Visor owners in this forum, and I jumped to conclusions.

I'm not denying that Handspring has treated you poorly and unfairly. I still think that sending them an old-fashioned paper letter is a good idea; it will likely get their attention. My guess is that most people who have a (justified) beef with Handspring haven't used that channel. Who knows, you might get a response.

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: woodstock
Posts: 14

Donna responds!!

I received a response today reassuring me that they will look into my problem promptly. This is the appropiate response that I would expect from a responsible company. She has definately bought my patiance for another week or two.

Slimwear

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Sydney Australia
Posts: 1883

you see, all is well that ends well...

and patience IS a virtue!

By the way talking about responses check out these threads:
http://www.visorcentral.com/visor/d...TML/000665.html
and
http://www.visorcentral.com/visor/d...TML/000664.html

[This message has been edited by ToolkiT (edited 10-28-1999).]

[This message has been edited by ToolkiT (edited 10-28-1999).]

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

Zephyr said:

quote:

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because the reason Visor Central is what it is (popular and a valuable resource), is due to the very fact that we are able to express our views, be they commendable, contrite, argumentative, and sometimes ugly.

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Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Plainview, NY
Posts: 116

Atta Boy Slimwear. Congrats to you maybe your complaining did some goods. Certainly the apologists for HS seem to have done nothing except complain about the complainers.
THEY HAVE NOT HELPED ME ONE BIT!!!


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Dave B (Grandpa Geek)"If it ain't broke, don't fix it yet!
BUT IF IT IS PLEEZ FIX"