Consumerist
insiders
Posts Tagged “
Support
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insiders
customer service
Companies are slowly learning that those infuriating automated phone trees aren't the answer to their customer service problems. Some experts even claim that automated systems anger customers. The New York Times decided to trace the history of the hated trees, while wondering if things will ever change.
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Companies Don't Hate You... They Just Love Phone Trees More
Companies are slowly learning that those infuriating automated phone trees aren't the answer to their customer service problems. Some experts even claim that automated systems anger customers. The New York Times decided to trace the history of the hated trees, while wondering if things will ever change.
More »
playstation 3
Sony: Go Ahead And Buy An XBOX "Their Support Isn't Much Better"
Reader Adrian's PS3 is broken and since the console was a gift that didn't come with a receipt, Sony is denying warranty coverage. Where it gets tricky is that there's a "manufactured on" sticker on the back of the machine indicating that it is clearly less than a year old — meaning that there's no possible way it could be out of warranty coverage. Adrian tried explaining this concept to Sony, but they weren't interested. No receipt. No warranty. When Adrian threatened to switch to XBOX, Sony's only answer was that "their support wasn't much better." More »
backlash
Creative Sparks Customer Revolt When It Tries To Silence Third-Party Programmer
Creative's executive team will be coming in to quite a mess Monday morning, thanks to its VP of Screw Ups, Phil O'Shaughnessy. Friday morning, he posted a warning on the Creative customer forums that told programmer Daniel_K to stop writing his own drivers for their X-Fi sound cards. The cards still won't work on Vista over a year after the OS was released, because Creative hasn't released drivers for them—but by Mr. O'Shaughnessy's account, Daniel_K is "stealing" from Creative by making the cards work. Then the weekend happened. More »
fees
Unplugging Your DirecTV Box Could Cost You $79.95
A DirecTV CSR claimed that reader Mark changed his installation by following troubleshooting instructions to unplug and reconnect his box, and now owed $79.95. Mark, who paid $6 per month for DirecTV's protection plan, refused to pay the fee and asked to cancel to his service. More »
37signals, the company behind the affordable online project management service Basecamp, has some of the fastest customer service we've ever seen: twice over the past year, they've responded in near-real-time to support questions with helpful, non-canned responses. We're so used to big companies that sacrifice customer service in the name of profit, or small companies that aren't prepared to handle queries, that it's nice to come across a company that does it well. [37signals]
The folks at NPR would like you to know that they've added a "Green Room" to the NPR Shop. In addition to not wrecking the planet, your purchase supports NPR's general awesomeness. The glassware made from recycled wine bottles looks pretty darn cool. [NPR]
dell
Dell: Windows Vista Is Third-Party Software
Anthony Hecht from The Stranger Blog posted a recent chat with a Dell tech support rep, the highlight of which we've pasted below:03/27/2007 01:18:23PM Agent: "Did you purchase your copy of windows from Dell?"More »
legacy
Find the Owner's Manual For Your Ancient Apple Product
Got an old Apple product that you still use (or want to use,) but need the owner's manual? Apple's posted some old manuals on their site for all your antique technology needs. Surprisingly, the Apple IIe manual is quite a funny read:"Bulletin Boards:Wow, really? Hey look, someone just typed letters so that it looks like a naked person!—MEGHANN MARCO More »
Bulletin Boards came into being back in 1978 as a way for local computer club members to exchange messages with each other and to share programs by phone. Today there are over 300 computerized bulletin boards in the United States, and you don't have to belong to a computer club to use one."
gizmodo
More Lies Verizon Told Us
Coming in a year later than the original post, a Gizmodo reader wrote in to supplement their Lies Verizon DSL Support Has Told Me Today post of May 25th, 2005. More »
how-to
