Rants_Raves

Ted's Picks and Pans

Lately I've had to call the so-called Customer Support hotlines for various products and services, and I'd like to present my opinions on them!

Excellent customer service:

Canon Photo Printers (the Pixma series): 2 different calls to their tech support people were answered in less than a minute by a tech support specialist who actually knew what the problem was and who also spoke English (imagine that eh!). The second tech rep I talked to about print problems even asked me to make a couple of prints while he waited, just to make sure that the problem was corrected (and it was). It doesn't get much better than this!

Maxtor (the hard drive people): Again, very good service - answered in under a minute and were able to resolve the problem with one of their hard drives that had crashed. Like the Canon people, they spoke English and were located in the USA!

So-So customer service:

American Power Conversion (they make UPS [battery back up] power supplies for computers):

The first call was routed to a call centre in India, and with the noisy connection and the person's very poor English, I just gave up and called their sales office instead (here in the USA) and they routed me to the tech support people, who were quite good, but unable to resolve my problem (I wanted to get rid of the splash screen their UPS puts on the screen when starting Windows - they said that it is built into the PowerChute program and cannot be removed). However, I found out that by tweaking a setting in the Windows registry I was able to defeat that splash screen.

Poor customer service:

XM Satellite Radio

For some reason their Internet on-line listening service would not work with Netscape, so I called their customer support line, and got one of the most hideous voice menu systems I have ever had the dis-pleasure of dealing with: You have to say what you want, no way to use a touch tone phone for selection, and then you end up in a call centre in Jamaica (3 times I called, hoping to get a different call centre located in the real world, but all 3 times I ended up with the Jamaican call centre) - again, very poor English and they had no clue as to what the problem was other than to use Internet Explorer, which I refuse to use account all of the security holes in it. So then I called their phone number in the Washington DC area and left a message saying that if they didn't call back within a day or so I would cancel my service and get the Sirius Radio service instead. To their credit they did call back and then connected me with someone who spoke English and was able to correct the problem on their end and make it work with Netscape. But still I had to go through all of that hassle just to make them aware that not everyone is chained to Microsoft!!

United Parcel Service

Yesterday (Dec. 29th) I ordered a car stereo from a company on the east coast and had it sent via UPS Overnight Air Saver, and for whatever reason, UPS could not deliver it today (the 30th). Their web site still shows it "out for delivery" and it is 1030 pm on the 30th as I write this. Their so-called "Customer Service" center cannot explain why the package was not delivered, and all they could say is that it "should be" delivered next Tuesday (Jan. 3, 2006). What is the point of paying extra for overnight service if they can't even deliver it on time? Sure they will credit the shipper with the amount paid (and hopefully the shipper will credit me) but that doesn't make up for having to cancel the plans I had to install it this weekend, plus hanging around the house most of today to sign for it. It seems like some driver was in a hurry to start his 3 day weekend, and screw the customers who provide his job security. From now on I'll be using FedEx, the Post Office (yes!) or DHL. UPS was able to get the package from the east coast (Virginia) to Phoenix in 12 hours, but now it is going to take 4 days to get it the last 30 miles from their site to my house....not acceptable at all. This is the 2nd time UPS has hosed me on overnight shipments, so I will never use them again for anything unless I absolutely have to. Both the Post Office and FedEx deliver on Saturdays, but UPS does not. Screw them.

Update on January 3rd: Those hosers still have not delivered my package, and their so-called customer service center is completely clueless. They have no idea where the package is, and further they don't seem to care. They assured me that someone from the local center would call me within the hour to advise on the status of the package, but of course no one has bothered to call. UPS is just a completely stupid and incompetent company...I'll never ship anything with them again.

Updated January 4th: After another 2 calls to their customer dis-service center, I finally got them to admit that my package had been mis-sorted at least twice, and that I should have it today. And this time they were telling the truth...it did show up here around 11am. UPS is like the Union Pacific...."we can't handle it", "we can't deliver", etc. I do have to give UPS credit in that a supervisor actually did call and admit what had happened. Still....when they can get a package across the country in 12 hours, but then take 5 days to go the last 30 miles, one has to wonder about their service standards, or lack thereof!!

This is just my experiences with these companies....as always, your mileage may vary, as they say :)

This page added to my website on December 8, 2005.

The UPS Rant added December 30, 2005, and updated January 6, 2006.

Hit Counter