Saturday, August 20, 2005
Computer Support and Customer Service
I've been reading more of the comments at JJarvis Buzz and Blogger Booster Club concerning his Dell problems. I've had my fair share of problems in the computer support area and I've come away with what I think is a little more moderate view of things. I've had recent experience with all the options; none are a shining example of value and service.
I've talked to entirely too many people in Bangalore for way too long. I've been on the phone with them and I've done the IM chat thing also. With rep's from several different companies. It just sucks.
The local build option ain't a bargain either. They all tend to buy second-string components and their systems tend to price several hundred dollars over what the big guys offer. If you luck-out and find a technically competent vendor the level of service will be higher. On the other hand, they are also prone to pulling the kind of tricks you'll find in the small auto repair shops. A recent example of that is the local that installed a $10 modem and charged $20 because he didn't want to bother tracking down the correct driver (if it will connect to AOL but not Earthlink you probably don't need a new modem).
I've made the comparison before between working on cars and working on computers. I hate to do it but you are probably better off doing it yourself. On the other hand; I wouldn't want to build a car from components and building a computer is only slightly more appealing as a value.
Update: I failed to mention a couple of things. You gotta have a little sympathy for the CSR's. They are very often dealing with folks that aren't all that knowledgeable about their computers and are likely to be venting frustration over it. The other thing is how CompUSA did go the extra mile to win me back as a customer. We're in the midst of a shakedown cruise with one of their refurbs and it looks good. I guess the point is that anyone can screw-up, it just takes a commitment to customer satisfaction to correct that when it occurs. ¶ 8/20/2005 01:34:00 PM
I've talked to entirely too many people in Bangalore for way too long. I've been on the phone with them and I've done the IM chat thing also. With rep's from several different companies. It just sucks.
The local build option ain't a bargain either. They all tend to buy second-string components and their systems tend to price several hundred dollars over what the big guys offer. If you luck-out and find a technically competent vendor the level of service will be higher. On the other hand, they are also prone to pulling the kind of tricks you'll find in the small auto repair shops. A recent example of that is the local that installed a $10 modem and charged $20 because he didn't want to bother tracking down the correct driver (if it will connect to AOL but not Earthlink you probably don't need a new modem).
I've made the comparison before between working on cars and working on computers. I hate to do it but you are probably better off doing it yourself. On the other hand; I wouldn't want to build a car from components and building a computer is only slightly more appealing as a value.
Update: I failed to mention a couple of things. You gotta have a little sympathy for the CSR's. They are very often dealing with folks that aren't all that knowledgeable about their computers and are likely to be venting frustration over it. The other thing is how CompUSA did go the extra mile to win me back as a customer. We're in the midst of a shakedown cruise with one of their refurbs and it looks good. I guess the point is that anyone can screw-up, it just takes a commitment to customer satisfaction to correct that when it occurs. ¶ 8/20/2005 01:34:00 PM
