What to do When Technical Support Fails? 72
trifster asks: "At this year's Comdex I purchased a Buslink USB 2.0 Cardbus adapter for my laptop. It was a good price and a partial impulse purchase, however it was defective out of the box. Before Christmas 2003, I set it back via Buslink's RMA process. It will be 2 months tomorrow, and I have not received my replacement nor have the 3 phone calls or 4 emails been addressed. What can one consumer do when he is on the East Coast and his hardware is held hostage on the West Coast? What have your experiences been in resolving these support SNAFUs?"
Court? (Score:5, Interesting)
Check with a lawyer.
Re:Court? (Score:2, Interesting)
I'm not 100% sure if that is about the
Re:Court? (Score:2, Funny)
Well, (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Well, (Score:5, Insightful)
Kind of like balancing your checkbook; how much time do you spend doing it, and how much money you recovered compared to the hours invested? I keep a very good idea of what I have in the bank to the nearest $10 or so, but I'm not going to waste time looking for a $1 bank mistake. I scan over my bank statements and if there's a $200 mistake, I'll see it.
There was a guy on the electronics newsgroups a while back who must have posted a dozen times complaining about an overcharge from Mouser that turned out to be about three dollars. He spent a lot of time on the phone, escalated through the managers, etc.
Re:Well, (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Well, (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Well, (Score:2)
here is a tip though, take a bus or get a bike
Re:Well, (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Well, (Score:2)
Once you're past the initial complaint, you're just burning up time. Staying on the phone for hours only teaches them that they don't have to resolve complaints in a timely manner, customers will wait forever to get their $20. Right now it's almost the norm to spend a long time waiting for support. Companies gauge how long customers will wait, and cut their staff accordingly. So, I place the blame for
Re:Well, (Score:5, Insightful)
My thoughts exactly. I typically look at the money I'll gain from pushing the issue, and then figure that the maximum amount of time I'll spend on it is no more than how long it would take me to earn that much at $40 an hour. The other week I called in about a $10 shipping overcharge on some parts I ordered, but I spent no more than 15 minutes investigating the issue and getting it resolved.
Your analysis is flawed.
You ignore the possibility that by investigating these companies, you end up pressuring them to have a higher quality of business.
If that increases the quality of the product, then we've all gained more then the $40+ that was lost.
Re:Well, (Score:4, Insightful)
If I have to spend too much time forcing a business to provide adequate quality service, I won't do business with them again. I tell them as much, and most of the time they fix the problem and I will do business with them again. Most businesses really aren't out there trying to provide bad service; it's usually human error and companies usually try to get the issue resolved in a minimum amount of time.
The pressure is applied to the business within the first minute of your complaint. They know that if they don't satisfactorily resolve your issue, you probably won't buy from them again, and you'll tell your friends not to either. Any time you spend after that first minute is just you trying to get your money back. Multiple calls and hours on the phone will not pressure a business to improve itself. If you have to spend that much time, the business has no intention of improving itself.
Don't stay on hold for 45 minutes to get a $5 rebate, with the idea that you're helping the business world into some enlightened age of customer service utopia. All you're doing is reinforcing the fact that they do not need to resolve complaints in a timely manner; customers will wait for them and take whatever abuse is required to get their five bucks.
Re:Well, (Score:4, Insightful)
I don't think that would be a good idea. If we let companies get away with stuff like this, they'll learn that its safe to screw customers over just as long as the item in question is cheap. I, for one, wouldn't want to end up in that situation. In fact, capitalism itself relies on the principles of self-moderation - if we want capitalism to work, we as consumers have to make it work.
Re:Well, (Score:2)
contact your attorney general (Score:5, Informative)
Better Business Bureau, I think, will recommend the same.
Re:contact your attorney general (Score:2, Informative)
Re:contact your attorney general (Score:4, Insightful)
Now before I order from a new supplier, I check thier BBB record. The record from the company I never recieved my order from was horrible.
Links to the BBB: (Score:3)
Sounds like a GREAT idea, but you didn't provide a link. Googling found BBB Informal Dispute Settlement (IDS) [bbb.org] and BBB OnLine Complaint System [bbb.org] .
I know very little about this; please post other information about interacting with the BBB if you have it.
How do you check a particular company? (Score:2)
Threaten Lawsuit (Score:2)
Depends where... (Score:1)
Well... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Well... (Score:1)
Go to the top (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Go to the top (Score:2)
The key is not to do it except when there is no alternative (sounds like your case), to contact the right person in the company, and keep it polite.
Re:Go to the top (Score:3, Interesting)
Once when my mom was getting DSL and it sat for MONTHS with the request bouncing between several parts of the organization. Call up the executive offices and BAM dsl went live within a few days as I recall.
Then a while back I tried to get out of my Cingular contract. Constant "System Busy" errors when making calls (less than 50% would go thru). Support wouldn't budge on the termination fee (
Good in theory but... (Score:1)
Re:Good in theory but... (Score:2)
Re:Go to the top (Score:2, Insightful)
Of course, you have to present the problem in the proper way to accomplish this.
Threats, credit card fruad, better business bureau (Score:5, Insightful)
B) See if your credit card company can offer any recourse. Most of them have a zero fraud liability I think. If you paid cash or check, SOL.
C) File a complaint with the better business bureau. This may sound lame, but it can actually be quite effective. I have friends who were getting screwed by some company and have come out far ahead after complaining to the BBB.
Not fraud (Score:5, Insightful)
Don't get hung up on trying to prove fraud because you're complicating things. Your case is simple: you paid for a working widget, you never received a working widget, and the widget in question is currently in possession of Buslink and they apparently have no intention of returning it to you. Your position should be very clear here: Buslink has your money. Period. They didn't defraud you (that implies intent), they just didn't perform.
Any other course of action will eat up way more of your time than a cheapo PC card is worth. You probably feel violated, but really at this point you've probably wasted more time and anguish on the company than they deserve. Get your money back if you can and write off the emotional cost in any case. Retribution will just waste more of your time.
Re:Not fraud (Score:1)
And the credit card company will put pressure on the company to refund the money to them - should the company refused to comply, the CC company is in a better position to bring its legal might down on the company. Should this happen enough times, the company might sit up and listen.
Re:Threats, credit card fruad, better business bur (Score:1)
I had a pager company send me a bill for a pager 2 YEARS after I closed the account. When I closed the account they specifically told me to keep the pager. Then after returning the pager they kept sending me bills and finally went to a collections agency despite my receipt stating I had returned the stupid thing. After filing a complaint with the BBB they finally cleared my ac
Re:Threats, credit card fruad, better business bur (Score:1)
What the Better Business Bureau says (Score:5, Informative)
I was going to tell you to file for mediation with the Better Business Bureau, but they already have a poor record with the BBB [labbb.org] so it might not do any good.
We rate this company as having an unsatisfactory business performance record, based on a pattern of complaints that cause us concern.
Complainants allege they experience delays in receiving ordered products, or that items are delivered damaged or defective. Some customers complain they experience delays or fail to receive rebates offered as buyer incentives.
The company responds in some delivery complaints by providing refunds, issuing credits or shipping orders. Some rebate complaints are addressed by advising rebate checks would be issued, or that the customer failed to comply with conditions of the offer. A few complaints are closed as disputed, meaning the customer was not satisfied with the company's response. Many other complaints are unanswered.
The Better Business Bureau does not endorse, recommend or disapprove of any product, service or company.
You can report them to the FTC but that won't help your specific case.
Re:What the Better Business Bureau says (Score:1)
Karem
What can one customer do? (Score:4, Insightful)
Learn not to do "impulse purchases".
Slashdot could be actively collecting data (Score:4, Insightful)
It seems to me that having a database of this sort of information would go a long way towards
a) removing this sort of Ask Slashdot, which is pretty pointless beyond being a good way to rant, and
b) actively improving the sad state of affairs in the world of technical support and customer relations.
Re:Slashdot could be actively collecting data (Score:2)
All the game sites weight all the customers reviews the same, even the ones that say (PERFECT 10 - TEH PREVU LOOKS GR8 BUT NEVAR PLAYD IT). We need video game review moderation, so people can skip to the +5 insightful reviews before dropping $50.
Why hasn't this already been done?
document everything (Score:5, Insightful)
Whatever you decide to do, full documentation will frequently galvonize your argument. When you called, did you write down who you spoke with and when? Did you keep your emails to them? Have you sent them a registered letter?
At this point, I'd write their CEO a letter, showing all of this documentation (names, dates, etc). If I were trying to run a business, I'd be grateful to find out whose fault it is that my customer service sucks. If you don't hear back right away, follow up with a phone call to the CEO.
If a letter to their CEO fails, you have the BBB and small claims court to fall back upon as a last resort. Your documentation will be a great asset to you here as well.
Always use a credit card! (Score:2, Insightful)
skip the first tier customer support (Score:4, Interesting)
keep moving up the ranks until someone takes action.
your phone calls produce nothing because the people you are talking to have no authority to take any action.
Re:skip the first tier customer support (Score:1)
Having been one such 'drone' in a prior job incarnation, I know it's not that easy. My supervisors - and from having spoken to friends, supervisors at another company - refused to take calls from irate customers. So us drones would end up telling angry people that, no, you couldn't take it higher. We'd give the address to write in to complain, but the irony is that there was a section of the helpdesk on a rota that would pi
Go Straight to the Top (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Go Straight to the Top (Score:2)
ChargeBack (Score:2)
Don't do it that way (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Don't do it that way (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Don't do it that way (Score:5, Interesting)
Of course, it IS fraud if you put some other product in the box or return something that was out of warranty or abused. It's also wrong if you knew the item was broken before you bought it. But if you got screwed by a manufacturer, why not strike back?
Re:Don't do it that way (Score:2)
Re:Don't do it that way (Score:1)
Ah yes... (Score:2)
Re:Don't do it that way (Score:1)
This is why credit cards are a good thing (Score:4, Interesting)
When you did not get a response, you had 30 days from purchase for full protection and 60 days for partial protection to have the CC company challenge the charge.
They would have given you the refund and backcharge the reseller.
Use a credit card (Score:3, Insightful)
Site Down? (Score:2)
If so... good job guys.
Re:Site Down? (Score:2)
Including their message board. [buslink.com] Sounds like a good place to start complaining.
It works for me too... (Score:1)
Problem with BusLink? (Score:1, Interesting)
Why purchase products based on chips from companies, anyways? Dramatically less chance of getting yo
KDS is doing the same to me! (Score:2, Interesting)
Turboing (Score:2, Informative)
Advice that is too late (Score:3, Informative)
At this year's Comdex I purchased... (Score:3, Insightful)
Answer:
Don't speak to anyone at Comdex, and for the love of humanity do not swipe your card at any vendor's booths much less buy anything.
For that matter, don't go to Comdex!
Flashback to.. (Score:1)
Buying tip - have a physical return location. (Score:1)