Cox: Some Thinking Required

TL;DR: if you're an Internet provider, you really gotta have your diagnostic and escalation procedures established and available. Otherwise people will say "you suck".

Above is my connectivity since this morning (normal speed is 50Mbps down with ping in low teens). At this speed, *nothing* works. That is, unless you're willing to stare at the screen for a few minutes. No matter which SpeedTest server I go to, I get the same speed. Looks like throttling.

Home network is fine. According to Cox reps, account is in good standing, and no throttling is activated.

Calling Cox. After 30 minutes on hold, "We gotta make sure your cable modem is connected directly to the computer". Really? In 2014? When it is next to impossible to find a house *without* WiFi? When it is well known that connecting a Windows computer directly to Internet is a bad idea?

Long story short, four Cox reps I was talking to

• made me reboot equipment multiple times (each of them);
• failed to realize that the previous person has gone through the "standard process" already;
• failed to understand and/or acknowledge that the problem can't be resolved by the book (for the simple reason it is *not* in the book);
• failed to offer me a way to confirm or deny the assertion that the problem is somewhere in Cox network;
• failed to offer a reasonable way to escalate the problem (one guy just lied to me that he will connect me level 2 support, and simply dumped me onto the next rep from the pool (after fiddling with my equipment for several minutes while keeping me on hold).

As a result, I've spent 90 minutes on hold and talking, with the ultimate solution offered being a service visit.

...on Saturday.

I was about to say that I can't wait until Google Fiber gets here, but then remembered that their customer service is even worse.

UPDATE (6 hours later): It gets worse by the hour:

My only hope is that I'm not the only affected and that either other people will finally notice, or whatever is causing this will finally collapse and cause an outage that *can* be reported and fixed "by the book".

UPDATE (8 hours later): It's still crumbling down, hopefully it'll go beyond the pale and back by the morning:

And when the sun came back

...but now I have to spend more time on hold to *cancel* that service appointment.

Dead Chromecast Chronicles

Bottomline

I don't know if I will ever buy anything "made by Google".

TL;DR

If you bought something from Google and it failed during an open refund window, *refund it*. Do not try to replace it. If they lag with the refund, file a chargeback.

Short Version

Google's customer service sucks. A $35 device that died 9 days after arrival, it was confirmed as irreversibly dead during the first conversation, it took 2 months to *not* address the issue, chargeback had to be initiated.

Observations

• Don't waste your time trying to get anything out of support personnel, they don't care, nor they are empowered to do anything.
• Trying to escalate things doesn't help, you hit the "second level" rep who is as careless and helpless as the first.
• Generally, you will *not* get any kind of response sooner than 48 hours.
• Generally, the response will inform you that "your information will be sent to the appropriate specialist". Nothing will happen till you kick'em next time.
• This is *not* a fluke, this is the way the system is designed.

Chronology

Stuff below is probably of no interest to you, unless you really want to know all the gory details (or maybe you're googling for chromecast pink light).

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August 10, 2013

Ordered one.

August 28

Shipped.

September 3

Arrived. Connected.

September 12

Died (pink-white light, not visible on the network, no HDMI output).

Called Google, reported symptoms, got the failure acknowledged. Received an email followup, surprisingly, not with RMA, but the statement "As promised, I've forwarded your case to a specialist to begin processing your replacement as soon as possible". Strange, I though it was an open and shut case.

September 17

Google sends a request for the TV and the router brand and model numbers.

September 27

No further response from Google. Having patiently waited 10 days (just for the hell of it), calling customer service. Notifying the service rep that 15 days passed since the first conversation and it's a good time to actually do something about it. Hearings attempts to channel the request "to the right specialist", just like two previous times. 7 minutes into the call, the rep eventually gives up to my [pretty straightforward] requests to escalate the issue. The second level rep adamantly refuses to send the replacement, citing the need "to route the request to the right specialist". Telling him that I'm willing to wait on hold till the right specialist gets to the request, hearing that it may happen within 24 to 48 hours. Having no other option than to agree to wait till "request is routed to the right specialist". At the end of the call, pressing "dissatisfied" buttons during the customer service quality survey, and leaving this message:

It already took 15 days and almost an hour of my time to do absolutely nothing about a defunct $35 dollars device. It is embarrassing for Google to allow this to happen.

September 29

I've decided that I've spent enough time on the issue, and got the general feeling of how Google customer support works, and called in to return the device (no, you can *not* do it over Internet, you have to talk to a person). Unsurprisingly, I did not get a straight answer, but was told that "it will be resolved as soon as possible".

September 30

Google sends me a message with instructions how to order a new device via Google Play (which I could've done myself eighteen days ago) and send the defective one back. I don't know what crack did the previous conversation fall into, but this message clearly indicated miscommunication inside of Google support service. In order to avoid further miscommunication, I informed Google orally that I will not take any action until they confirm that the RMA is to *refund* the device, not return for replacement.

October 1

Google refuses refund, citing the fact that it's now been over 15 days since the device has been delivered, which is a cutoff time according to Return Policy. I inform them again, in writing this time, that it is none of my fault that they've been dragging their feet for over 21 days now and that should the RMA not be forthcoming, I'll just call my credit card company and exercise a chargeback - for the whole affair obviously hasn't been in good faith from Google's side.

October 3

Getting a mail with "I've re-consulted the case with a RMA specialist who will get back with you as soon as possible with instructions on obtaining your refund".

October 6

Got an RMA. Sent the Chromecast back.

October 10

Chromecast received by Google.

October 11

Getting a positive charged mail from the rep, "just making sure". Telling them that the device's been received, but no refund was issued. 

October 13

The rep responds, "it may take a few business days for this to reflect on your financial account". Patiently waiting.

November 12

It's been a month, to the day, since last communication. Calling Google again, and again, getting the same runaround - "an email will be sent to the corresponding specialist". Tell them that they have until 18:00 my time next day to give me back my money, or I am executing a chargeback.

November 14

No response. Initiated a dispute.

November 16

Google rep notifies me that they've received a refund request, but that, alas, there's nothing they can do since chargeback was filed. He also notes that, quote, "It was a pleasure assisting you".

November 18

Google sends me an automated request for feedback.

Logitech Customer Service: I'm Impressed

A power supply for my four year old Squeezebox Classic has died. Yes, it's a trivial piece and I probably even have a couple lying around in the workshop, but for some reason I decided to check if Logitech sells these. Didn't find it on the site, called in and... they sent it to me for free.

Now, *that* is what I call customer service.

UPDATE: ...and yet another reminder of a rule: Sometimes, all you have to do is ask nicely.

Blatant Honesty - Not So Bad, After All

Visual Voicemail from T-Mobile, upon invocation, directs me to http://m.web2go.com/dsb/vvmupsell. Nice try for the application that is supposed to be seamless - and that is right after the call to T-Mobile to make sure that no changes to my account are necessary (some concerns expressed here) and no further actions are necessary.

Fail.

UDPATE: Version 1.0.5 clearly states: You do not have access to Visual Voicemail. Please upgrade your account. Upgrade? To what? I thought I had all the bells and whistles already?

Calling T-Mobile, again.

UPDATE 2: Rep said something about "legacy G1 plan", then sent me to G1 department that replaced my existing plan with "G1 data plan with visual voicemail" (explicitly stating that there is no price change, just the "new plan code for internal systems"). Promised activation time of about 2 hours, but SMS confirmation came in less than 5 minutes, and it works now.

To Serve And Replace, or What Is Good Customer Support

Well, while the subject it still hot...

We all know, shit happens, things die. It's not "if", it's "when". So what do I, the customer, want from you, the manufacturer, when it gets to the customer service?

• Be Immediate. I don't care if you can't afford to keep a 24/7 customer support line open. Otherwise, first of all, I will start to question your quality of service, then, my judgement in choosing your product. If you absolutely can't afford to keep the line - have a good automated system up.
• Did I mention, Be Immediate? If my automated request for service falls into a black hole and I don't get any response, I get pissed. If I see HTTP 404, HTT 500 or Java stack traces or anything suchlike on your customers support site, I will get pissed even more. I will forgive those artifacts on your main site, but not on customer support site.
• Be Transparent. In other words, Set Expectations. As long as you explain to me in plain terms what I need to do, and exactly what you will do, and how long it's going to take, and, most importantly, follow through exactly, I may be willing to overlook the fact that it was your product that had failed to begin with.
• Be Fast. Not everybody has enough cash to throw around and buy a replacement immediately while you're taking your sweet time and move glacially. But it doesn't really matter - those who can afford to buy a replacement while waiting will hate you for making them spend extra, those who can't afford will hate you for making them wait and for lost opportunities. Both will bitch loudly.
• Be Thorough. If you have to sneeze in order to make me happy, notify me about that in writing. And you bet your ass that I want to have the tracking number for that shipment you sent to me, 'cause not all of use live in neighborhoods where it is safe to leave a parcel on the porch. Even the carriers are not without fault sometimes.
• Call Me, Don't Make Me Call You. Especially if you don't have 24/7 support line open. Most of us have jobs that don't allow to dedicate time on hold during your "normal working hours, 10AM to 2PM Wednesday through Thursday". If there is any movement on my case, no matter how insignificant, let me know so I can see you're working for me.
• Don't Be Condescending. You don't know me. Assume I am a genius and know what I'm doing, until I irrefutably prove otherwise. If you treat me like a fool, I'm going to treat your product like crap that it is. And bitch loudly.
• Don't Bullshit Me. If I catch you on a lie, you're dead meat. You may not keep records, but I do.
  
• Know What You're Talking About. Along the same lines, if I catch you at not understanding your product as well as I do...

And, finally,

• It's Not All About Money. It is about a spoiled gift (when it is DOA), or interruption of service, or lost profits (y'all know some people are telecommuting nowadays, right?), or lost opportunities ("damn, I have a job interview tomorrow, and all my preparation materials are locked up on a computer with a dead motherboard"), or missed deadlines ("<censored>! My coursework is toast, and it's due tomorrow!!!").
• But wait, I lied, it is all about money. Go calculate how many of your products I have already bought in my life time, and then how many products I will not buy because of crappy customer service. And how many friends I will tell about my experiences with crappy customer service. And how many sales you will lose because of that.

So go and fix it already.

Antec Warranty: You've got to be kidding me

Remember, I was furious about dead Antec Phantom 500?

Finally, they did send up a replacement. They notified me about that a day after I, completely pissed, decided to bite the bullet and bought the replacement, Corsair CMPSU-750TX.

Another two weeks passed by, and finally the replacement from Antec came (by the way, I was never notified of a tracking number). The computer where Phantom died was operational again, so I was not in a hurry to open the box, and it was just laying in the corner.

Today, I've decided to clean up the shop and opened the box. And you won't believe what I've found inside.

Antec NeoPower 650 Blue.

I' missing something here. I've sent you a FANLESS PSU. You send me back one WITH A FAN. Could've had some common decency and told me upfront that you don't manufacture Phantoms any more, and can't send it back. I would've understood, or maybe would've asked for some sort of redemption - all in all, I've decided not to buy Antec PSUs any more. But no, you had to sneak up on me and make me exert extra efforts to call your RMA department (See Figure 1, also here) and figure out whether it was a mistake and Antec does have some spare Phantoms and they will fix it (provided I pay for shipping, both ways, of course), or I've just been had and now I'm stuck with this Blue <censored>.

I think I'm done with Antec for real this time. Not just the PSUs, everything.

UPDATE (2009/08/03): fail. Less than two months.

Want Cyrillic on your Curve? Fughet about it

1 hour, 13 minutes, 48 seconds is all it takes to confirm what a lot of us know already: customer support is useless when the issue at hand is anything other than trivial. Generally, I haven't had any problems with T-Mobile support, but in this case the tech support turned out to be utterly lacking, despite their best efforts and educated guidance from my side.

And it is really surprised given the multitude of nations that comprise the US population, and the fact that a lot of people speak more than one language, and quite some more than two.

And the question was really, really simple: how to add Cyrillic input language support. Doesn't get much simpler than that.

It is even more infuriating because I know that it is possible, and all the T-Mobile rep is saying is "you have to purchase the application to do that", and when I ask "what application should I purchase?" his answer is "It doesn't say it here". I don't have a personal grudge against him - it's simply beyond his training, but the T-Mobile the carrier could've paid more attention to such a simple issue.

Oh well, GIYF... Off investigating.

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UPDATE: BlackBerry Curve Add Input Language HOWTO.