Crackly lines

I have had about 12 months of difficulty getting a totally reliable connection since I was switched to the ADSL Max service (up to 8Mbits/sec).

In that time I found out that the crackly phone that had crackled for years was seriously reducing the speed of my connection as the interference, on occasion, was so severe it would reduce the speed to 100Kbits/sec, which the exchange would not reset until 24 hours later.

Also, the connectors that are sold for DIY extensions are not without their problems, and the reason why you have the option of loading any version of the router's firmware that has been issued in the past as well as the most recent version, is that sometimes the older version is more stable for your connection than the most recent version.

Fortunately I have experience of electrical fault finding and eventually found a workable solution to overcome the intermittent problems I had. However, even for me it has not been easy. BT was adamant that the line was satisfactory and, if I were to book a visit, I would be charged £180 pounds if they felt that the problem lay at my end.

I do not see how a competent telecoms technician could take longer than half an hour in such a visit and this charge is in excess of its actual cost. For many users, a visit from BT may be their only option as many problems are beyond the competency of the average user.

Neil Hardy

February 28, 2008 in Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Give me choice

I’ve been looking to buy a new desktop system for some time and finally settled on the Dell Dimension XPS 420 with a colour laser printer. I configured the system to my requirements online and the total cost came to just under £1,250 - not an inconsiderable sum considering the starting cost is advertised at £649.

The only problem was the operating system. There was no option to have XP instead of Vista, this is vital to us as one our essential work programs (Avid Xpress Pro) cannot yet run under Vista - in fact this is true of many of our current programs.

In addition my wife’s work intends to remain with XP for several years and our machine had to be compatible with their system. So I phoned Dell to get this changed.

The first operative I spoke to said I couldn’t have XP, but I could load it on additionally myself. I said this was ridiculous; other manufacturers offer this option and I wasn’t about to pay £1,250 to then have to reconfigure the machine myself. After much discussion he promised to investigate this further and email me back - he never did. Two days later I called Dell again, spoke to a different operative and got the same answer.

I find it extraordinary that one of, if not the largest supplier of computers in this country will let you configure every aspect of your system but not the version of the operating system.

Tim Marchant

February 12, 2008 in Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Check your tariff

I hope your readers are considerably more savvy than me. I take broadband from BT mainly because one I am too lazy to change. Well, I checked what I am paying and found it is £25 per month for 2MB and a cap of 20GB.

When I saw the better deals others (even BT) were offering it made me very annoyed - I can get 8Mbit/sec service, unlimited usage and a whole range of VoIP goodies for the same price.

Please tell your readers to check their contracts every year and like car insurance move it every year. If you just renew you get stung!

David Shaw

October 18, 2007 in Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Laptop letdown

I have purchased a total of 23 HP laptops, mostly on behalf of my adult students and myself, the latest being a TX1020ea for myself direct from HP in April 2007.

Soon after purchase the 'Y' key kept detaching. Being an obvious manufacturing fault, collection for repair was arranged and I was told that repair would take 7 to 10 working days.

I tried over several days to call the service department, at different times of the day for periods of 10-20 minutes at a time without success. I finally got through on the 12th day, only to be told that they were still sourcing a replacement keyboard - why this was not done prior to collection, having been clearly told the problem, shows the first of numerous flaws in HP's repair system.

It is hard to accept that there can be any valid reason why such a basic component for a current model is not in stock at HP’s central repair centre in Bracknell. As the service centre could not tell me when the required keyboard would be available (they have 8 weeks according their terms of trading before they would consider replacing the unit) I asked them to return the laptop which I could still use until such time as the keyboard was available - at which time I would return the unit personally as I only
live 15 miles from the repair centre.

I was then advised that, if the unit was returned, the order for the replacement keyboard would be cancelled. When I asked to speak to the service manager or supervisor, neither would talk to me. And, when I requested the manager's name, I was told this too was confidential - this is HP service department not the Pentagon.

My dealings with customer services in Gateshead fared no better, as they too could not get through by phone to their own company service department and could only communicate via internal email.

Hewlett Packard makes excellent products but its after sales service is shamefully inefficient. They either have too many repairs to keep a fully stocked spares department or insufficient adequately trained telephone staff.

My experience has left me disappointed and disillusioned with Hewlett Packard, the owner of a laptop with a loose 'Y' key and asking myself why should I recommend and give business to a company that treats its customers in such a cavalier way and cannot provide an adequate repair service.

Mel Franses

HP responded: "HP was disappointed to learn of Mr Franses's experience and is working to resolve the matter as quickly as possible. HP takes the after care service it provides to its customers extremely seriously"

August 29, 2007 in Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Exemplary customer service

In this era of litigatious insanity and over-frequent complaints it is a pleasure to report an example of exemplary service.

Having tried unsuccessfully to reinstall drivers for my Freecom TV decoder on my upgraded desktop I contacted their helpline and obtained two days of free courteous and helpful advice which solved my problem.

Not bad, two years after the initial purchase.

Alan Ridgway

August 28, 2007 in Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

The trials of buying a new laptop

Currys
Almondvale Shopping Centre, Livingston
Me: I would like to buy one of the Sony Vaio N Series laptop’s that’s on display.
Currys: Hold on, I’ll check and see if we have any in stock... I’m sorry we don’t have any in stock.
Me: Can I order one?
Currys: No, we don’t do orders.
Me: Can you supply one from one of your branches?
Currys: No, we don’t do that, but I have checked on my PC and they have them in stock at PC World in Edinburgh if you want to drive there to get one. It’s only 12 miles away.

Me (on phone): I’d like to buy a Sony Vaio N series laptop and Currys said you had them in stock.
PC World: Let me check... yes, we have some in stock.
Me: Thanks. So if I drive across I can get one?
PC World: The ones in the shop might already me reserved for other customers.
Me: So can you tell me if they have all been reserved?
PC World: I’m sorry, I am not allowed to give out that kind of information.

Me (on phone): Hello. I’d like to buy a Sony N Series laptop. They cost £499 in Curry’s.
Sony Shop: No problem.

Okay, so maybe I am just turning into another whinging customer, but do Currys or PC World actually manage to sell anything?

Jim Fanning

August 23, 2007 in Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Vauge policies

I found the article by Kelvyn Taylor on Peer-to-Peer/Bittorrents (PCW October 2007, Bittorrent Secrets) very interesting - especially the how they work part.

A big problem I have found is with the ISPs, in particular their Fair Use Policies and the threats that account will be terminated for overuse.

My ISP, OneTel, which recently brought in the policy, says its fair use policy restricts high bandwidth activity in peak hours and go on to mention P2P, though are rather vague what fair and reasonable is.

Ev Owen

August 17, 2007 in Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Insufficient warranty

My Philips 250 GB external drive recently decided that it no longer wished to function, however, residing on the drive was a relatively important document for a project I was working on, along with some personal photos which I had stored on the drive and a few other bits and bats of less importance.

To my dismay, I thought these were now lost. However, a friend offered to have a look at the drive and see if the data could be recovered. Fortunately he managed to recover my information, for which I was most grateful, however in doing so, he had to remove the drive from the casing.

The drive came with a two year warranty, and having contacted Philips directly to replace the drive under warranty, I was informed that as the drive had been removed from the casing the warranty was now void even though all the components and original packaging has been kept and is accounted for.

This I feel is a catch 22 situation which is unfair on the consumer. Philips’ response was that the drive had to remain in the enclosure for the warranty to be valid, however, if the drive is not functioning, yet the information stored on the device is required and retrievable, surely the warranty should allow for its retrieval by the consumer before replacement?

It appears the Philips warranty only covers replacement of the drive and not data recovery, which Philips do not offer. This is often worth more to the user than the value of the drive itself and I feel this is totally unreasonable.

Dale Moorhouse

August 17, 2007 in Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Yes, we have no internet

I picked up your magazine this morning just as I was deciding which Blackberry to go with. Having read the review about the Treo, I trotted off to Vodafone in Peterborough.

They knew nothing about the product (or Blackberries for that matter) but were as helpful as one can be without any knowledge. I bought the product and signed up for the appropriate service. On leaving the store a text came through from Vodafone (on my old phone), inviting me to use my new phone to visit their website and get set up. How efficient I thought!

But that's where it ended. Having spent an afternoon setting the Treo up, I eventually rang Vodafone when I couldn't get an internet connection. I was told the product didn't exist. I explained it did as I had it in my hand.

After being told by the call centre member that my voice was too loud (I do talk loudly!) and it was hurting her ears, I called back to hopefully be in contact with someone more helpful.

A very helpful young (they all sound young nowadays!) man told me that the product did exist (as if I didn't know) but that there were no support details on their system. He spoke with technical services and they confirmed that neither the settings for internet connection or the support documentation had been released. No-one knew when they would be released.

The advice I was given - go back to the store and get a refund. I will say, though, that I was given a £10 credit on my phone for my trouble.

So, the product reviewed by PCW and promoted by Vodafone is being sold without the only reason for buying such a device - an internet connection - being unavailable.  Surely a case of mis-selling?  Perhaps Vodafone could train their staff.

And if you've still got the device, could you tell me what the settings are so that I can have a go at getting connected rather than just take it back and move after many years with Vodafone to another provider.

Caroline Page

November 17, 2006 in Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack

Well done, Dabs

I have noticed that your excellent magazine receives quite a few letters of complaint concerning online shops, and that you are tireless in upholding consumer rights.  I would like to buck the trend of complaint!  I have always considered the Dabs website to be superior to those of its competitors: the ability to filter product ranges by connector type/colour/size/etc is invaluable. 

Recently Ibought a not inexpensive consumer electronics device from Dabs which arrived with a faulty fan - that in itself was no problem as one can expect to receive goods with faults from time to time. 

Through my own fault however, I failed to notify Dabs until just after their 28 day limit.  I felt that there were extenuating circumstances and fired off an e-mail to that effect.  The next day, Dabs responded that they would consider the item "dead on arrival" as a good-will gesture.  I consider this excellent customer service.  I will continue to shop at Dabs and I commend them to your readers.

Nicholas Mace

April 21, 2006 in Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Dantz backup gets my back up

Dantz Retrospect is a very versatile backup programme. I have used it personally in various versions and recommended to clients it for several years. Technical support used to be provided free in the early days, but it now comes at a price, after an initial grace period. However, the support I have received on the last two occasions, both within the grace period has been totally worthless, and both issues are still outstanding.

Retrospect Small Business Edition is supposed to provide backup and disaster recovery for Windows SBS. The package costs almost as much as the server software, yet it is practically useless. Spending over £300 on backup software specially tailored to a specific OS, one would expect that a restore from a full backup would enable the system to continue from where it left off. Not so!  Retrospect SBE does not backup open files, that privilege costs another £320+, nor does it backup the Sharepoint database. To do that effectively, you have to be running the Enterprise edition of SBS. Retrospect will then interact with MS SQL server correctly and do the backup. Dantz have been strangely silent about these shortcomings since I complained about them.

The latest version of Retrospect Professional Destop software is also giving problems, and despite being within the grace period for support, I have received virtually none. The previous version of Retrospect happily backed up to my DVD RAM drive. The new version doesn't even see the drive as a backup device.  No change of hardware or drivers on the system, just a change of backup software. My initial request for help simply referred me to the list of supported drives. My last request, that I be given some constructive help in finding out why this new version did not work, and hopefully help me to access to my stack of DVD RAM backups, has had no response whatsoever.

The support from Dantz has been dire, and seems designed to get my back up as opposed to helping me backup.

Colin Ferrington

March 23, 2006 in Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Nice one, Morgan

I feel compelled to write my first letter to a magazine following what I consider to be exceptional customer service from one of your advertisers. I purchased a refurbished Advent Mediacentre PC from Morgan Computers. The machine arrived and was as described, but after several weeks the power supply failed.

Based upon previous experience of mail-order companies, I assumed it would be cheaper & quicker to replace the PSU myself, but it was not a 'standard' unit. I spoke to Morgan, who collected the machine the next day, repaired it, and delivered it back within days.

The machine had shipped without a recovery CD, and I enquired if it was possible to be sent one.  Morgan shipped one but it was lost in the post. In the process of installing software to make a ghost copy of the hard drive as an alternative, the drive suffered data corruption.  Morgan responded by offering to order another recovery CD, but advised that it may take a week or two to arrive. They then notified me that they were unable to obtain the CD, but if I sent the drive back to them, they would have it reset back to factory default. This was turned around in days.

I would like to recommend and heartily thank Morgan for their outstanding customer service. It is interesting that a company specialising in re-furbished and surplus equipment can put some of the other companies I have to deal with to shame.

Michael Breckon

March 3, 2006 in Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Slow broadband speed and no help from BT

Some time back my ISP offered an increased speed of 2MB for a reduction to the monthly charge.

That was pleasant news but I was dismayed to find that my phone line would not support a speed of more than 1MB.

I asked BT the reason for the restriction and when they would improve the line. The letter was ignored as was a further letter.

I phoned the BT helpline. In answer to my question there was a pregnant silence after which I was told that my line was restricted to a broadband speed of 1MB – which had I pointed out. 

They directed me to the BT web site and said that there was no-one available to answer my questions.

I emailed my ISP and asked if they could direct me to an individual or office in BT who could give me an answer.

They replied: "Unfortunately at the moment we have not come across a way to put any more pressure on BT than we are already to improve most exchanges so that more users overall are able to achieve higher connection speeds.

"At the moment it is difficult to apply any kind of pressure on BT to improve things especially on an individual case.”

You feel that BT could do a super job if only customers would leave them alone. Perhaps they would rather I went to cable. No one at BT wants to give me an answer and the ISP looks as if they've had a skinful too.

Mike Goodwin

February 15, 2006 in Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (472) | TrackBack

Please Tiscali, when do you consider an issue a problem?

I thought you might like to know about my reasons for leaving Tiscali.

Some months ago, the service was dreadful, slow, intermittent and contacts complained that I hadn't answered emails that I hadn't even received. The ticker tape on Tiscali's website said "All aspects of the Tiscali service are fully operational. No faults have been reported".

I reported the fault and waited some hours. Then I rang support (and hung on for 20 minutes) and was eventually told they had problems with their mail servers, so there was a backlog on emails.

"Your website says no faults have been reported. I reported a fault earlier," I said.

"That's not a fault, it's an issue that has been logged and we're dealing with it."

"But your website's dials all show 100% operability of your servers," I relied.

"That's correct," he said, "we are operating 100% because all emails will get through, there just may be a delay of 24 hours."

"But that's not 100%," I pointed out.

"Yes it is," Tiscali replied.

I have two problems with this: first is the apparent dishonesty of the website which permanently announces that it is running a perfect service when it is not.

The second is that it is unhelpful - I spent hours trying to "fix" the problem, going through my manuals and help files, checking the network settings, rebooting.

If the website had said there may be a 24-hour delay in getting emails as Tiscali was trying to fix a problem with its mail servers, that would have been helpful and saved my time. In fact I didn't get all my emails.

At the moment the service keeps going down for a few minutes. I rang their support desk and was told on three occasions by the automated answering service that they were abnormally busy, and "please call back later".

Their website said they had problems with various phone numbers for their help desk. Eh? An international communications company, and the phones have gone down?

Enough is enough, I am leaving Tiscali, fed up with indifferent support and shrinking bandwidth.

Another aspect to this is the IT industry's use of the term "issue" when they really mean mistake or fault.

As a lawyer, if a client accused me of professional negligence because of a mistake I'd made, how would it sound if I said, "it's not a mistake, it's just an issue which I am looking into. Next time you'll get a normal service."

Doesn't sound too convincing, does it?

Richard Stephenson

February 2, 2006 in Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (24) | TrackBack

Netgear woes

I had been happily using a Netgear DG824M ADSL Wireless router for a few years until around the middle of this year, when my ISP (Eclipse) upgraded my ADSL line speed for free. After that I began noticing that my router would frequently drop the ADSL line connection.

After a month or so, I complained to Eclipse and after following their instructions (e.g. disconnecting all other equipment, etc.), I was experiencing more problems to such an extent that I could not even connect for more than 5 minutes at a time without the router dropping the connection.

BT did the usual automated line checks and could find no fault, so Eclipse arranged for a BT engineer visit to visit my home at 9 a.m. on the following Monday morning. However, on the preceding Sunday, I dug out an old ADSL USB modem and tried that - and it worked perfectly! So clearly this pointed the finger at the Netgear ADSL router that I had been reliably using for about 2 years. Now the fun began...

I needed to cancel the BT engineer visit for the Monday - otherwise I would be charged for the call-out. I rang Eclipse on the Sunday, but of course, received an automated 'out-of-office' message. I next rang BT, but they refused to cancel the call because the ISP had booked it and so 'only the
ISP can cancel it'. My only option was to email Eclipse and ask them to cancel the visit - but they would never be able to do this in time and I would have to pay for the BT call-out!

The answer to my problem however was remarkably simple. Since I now had an internet connection, I went to the BT website 'faults' page and logged in using my BT account number. The page clearly displayed my pending visit and also allowed me to cancel it - which I quickly did!

So if anyone is in a similar situation they now know what to do.

Steve Simmonds

P.S. The problem with the Netgear router was easily fixed by replacing a bad
electrolytic capacitor (purchased from Maplin). It seems that this 'Tocon'
brand capacitor failure is very common in these routers. I have seen several
'faulty' ones advertised on eBay with the same symptoms.

See www.badcaps.com for details of the 'bad capacitor' blight and see my
thread here
http://forum1.netgear.com/support/viewtopic.php?t=14114&highlight=capacitor
for details of this particular fault.

January 6, 2006 in Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Bulldog baffles brains

A friend of mine who has been a home computer user for over four years and although not a "techie", has installed both software and external  hardware components without any problems. She recently decided to take the plunge and join  "Broadband connected Britain" and duly signed up with Bulldog.

Having received a letter from them confirming her order and  listing her account details, activation date, user password and user name, she purchased  an external USB ADSL modem and eagerly waited the post activation date to install the modem and connect to  broadband.

Having installed the modem and checked that it was working OK,  she found that her broadband connection would not work and was showing an error message "691 user password and or name not recognised".

Despite checking everything and many attempts over the next  few days, she still was receiving the same error message. On phoning Bulldog's help desk she was told  that the user name and password in the letter confirming her order was not the one to be used to  connect to their Broadband service, they verbally gave her the user name and password to be used and  every thing worked OK.

Following advice regarding the risks associated with  a broadband connection, she purchased and installed antivirus and firewall software, when she tried to connect to  broadband she received the error message " 691 user password and or name not recognised" once  again she tried every thing she could think of to no avail.

She phoned Bulldog customer service for help and explained the  problem, and was advised that
she would need to speak to the Technical  Help desk, when she asked to be transferred, she was told that this was not possible and that she would need to phone them  direct, when she asked for the number she was told it's the same number as you dialled for here!

At this point I got the call that all of us who have used  computers for years dread "can you help me?", I checked everything that she had done and could find no errors, I then  called the Bulldog Technical Help Desk and explained the problem i.e. error message 691 user name and or password  not recognised etc. It was obvious that the operator was working from an on screen script and was unsure of what she was telling me, and was going over the same things that I had checked.

Working on the old adage with computers that if it fails to  work undo that last thing that was done, I duly uninstalled the Firewall and Antivirus package but still the same 691 error message appeared. At this point I did not believe that the fault was with the computer but at the Bulldog end. Once again we phoned Bulldog to be greeted with a recorded message "if you have error message 691 we are currently trying to rectify the fault ", I asked to speak to a supervisor to complain about the two hours wasted in  trying to get the problem sorted out, only to be told a supervisor would phone back in a few hours ( yes, you are right - no phone call materialised ).

The next day with broadband working OK she tried to set  up the email addresses, only to find that there was no way to access this part of the site. She duly phoned  Bulldog and explained the problem, only to be told that she  would need to speak to Customer Services, she then asked  to be transferred (I think you know the answer ).

When she called Customer Services she was told that the information  required was in the welcome pack. "What welcome pack?" she asked, only to be told that she should have got a Welcome Pack and if she didn't she should have phoned and asked for it. She then asked how she would know if something was  missing if no one told her to expect it!

The agent then said  that they would arrange the welcome pack with the licence number to  set up the email accounts to be posted out. She explained that she would like to set up the email accounts now and could they give her the licence number over  the phone, only to be told that this was not possible  but ( you have guessed it he would email the details ), when she  reminded him the reason for the phone call was that the email was not  working, he fell silent.

At this point she gently hung up the phone, the cat and  children present in the room recognising the signs quickly left the room before the word " Bulldog " was uttered in a  sentence containing words that could not be printed in your excellent magazine.

J Cosgrove

December 9, 2005 in Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (15) | TrackBack

Thanks, Belkin

The IT industry has a poor reputation for customer support so when things go well I think manufacturers should be praised and  hopefully the market will reward them

Recently the transformer on my Belkin USB hub failed after about a year- like many people I often don't keep receipts for  lower cost items so I was resigning myself to replacing it or finding a compatible transformer when I rang the company.

I was immensely impressed when I rang the Belkin  helpline- although I was in a queue it took my number and as promised I was rung  back within an hour. The staff arranged to post a replacement within days  without any hesitation and even apologised that it may take up to a week to  arrive - in fact it came after 3 days.

Although providing good service costs companies money it will undoubtedly effect my purchasing decisions in the future and hopefully such companies will prosper. I am sure that companies can pool information to detect the small number of people who might abuse such facilities. Keep up the good work!

Martin Andrew

November 25, 2005 in Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Stuck in a broadband loop

I have been using a dial-up modem for a number of years and have recently been thinking about upgrading to broadband. After seeing a Pipex advert in your last magazine offering broadband for only a pound or two more per month than my dial-up account, I decided to take the plunge. BT's broadband checker said that I wouldn't be able to get a 2 MB connection, but that I might be able to get a 1 MB connection. I didn't think there would be a problem - I live in the middle of Southampton after all -- a major UK city -- getting a connection will be fine. So I signed up.

But it seems there *is* a problem. Pipex were told by BT Wholesale that the signal loss on my line was too great, so Pipex rejected my application. Now, I know where my exchange is, and I know it is broadband enabled. I live within 3km of the exchange, and although it is the length of the line that counts and not my physical distance from the exchange, I understand that a 1MB connection can now be made up to 6 km from the exchange, and there is no set limit for a 0.5 MB connection.

So I contact BT to try to find out what the problem is. But BT are only interested in my voice telephone connection, which works fine. Broadband is supplied through BT Wholesale - who will only talk to ISPs - so no help there. BT said that I should 'demand' (their choice of word - not mine) that Pipex should get BT Wholesale to investigate the problem, as there may be a solution such as rerouting my line.

But Pipex aren't interested - they say the problem is with the line, which is BTs. And I don't think I'm in a position to 'demand' anything from Pipex, to whom I haven't yet paid a penny, and to be fair to them it is going to cost them time and money to investigate a problem for a customer trying to sign up on their most basic package.

So it now seems that I'm a bit stuck. I originally chose Pipex as they had a cheap package with a 1 GB cap. I don't download videos or music so that should be fine. Now if I choose a more expensive package from, say, BT Broadband, then I suspect the problem with my line would get investigated and possibly resolved, but I would then be stuck with an expensive package I don't need on a 12 month contract. Shouldn't BT be willing to support its customers with broadband connection issues before they sign-up so that they can make a free choice of service providers?

Stuart Conner

November 11, 2005 in Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack

Great service from Antec

I recently purchased an Antec SLK3000B case. After 5 weeks of use I discovered that I could only use the upper of the 2 front USB ports if the USB device was externally powered. Investigation showed the USB socket terminals had 'flattened' resulting in the loss of the +5v supply. They were carefully teased out and all was OK again. But as this was probably a temporary solution I emailed Antec. Within 24 hours I received a reply requesting my full postal address. 5 days later I received 2 spare USB PCB assemblies.

This is customer support without equal. Furthermore it makes a refreshing change from the countless depressing stories regarding customer support, or more accurately the lack of, that one reads in magazines and newsgroups.

Whilst I enjoy reading the reviews in magazines such as PCW, unfortunately, by their very nature, they can only reflect the limited experience of the tester, i.e. general appearance, build quality, ease of setting up, etc. Sadly no account can be taken of long term reliability or after-sales customer support. This is a serious omission as one may not have purchased that "Editor's Choice" if one had known that if that product failed, one would be left totally isolated.

I suppose one can only form some opinion after reading as many reviews as possible, and consulting the newsgroups. However, one always has to be aware that the person who is disappointed and frustrated with a recent purchase is far more inclined to post to a newsgroup than the thousands who are happy with the same product. This is why I feel that it is important to recognise excellent support when given, as with my case with Antec, and give that company full credit.

It's a pity magazines like PCW cannot do some type of "Name & Shame" article, identifying companies who repeatedly refuse to provide support for their products. Conversely, for those who do accept their obligations, the article could be used to enhance their reputation.

Bryan Wilson

November 4, 2005 in Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

E-commerce practices

I am currently studying for a computing qualification, in the lesson on “E-Commerce Practices” we are taught that building trust is essential. It states that “Whatever product you sell, make sure that the B2B or B2C customer feels supported. Nothing makes a customer more uncomfortable
with a purchase than the perception of poor customer service.” A jeweller, for who I recently built a web site, told me that the jeweller business was all about customer confidence and insisted that the company phone number be on the site so that customers could get in touch with a real person. Why has no one told the big electronic e-retailers this?

For example I bought a router from Savastore.com all went well until the item failed to be delivered. I tried e-mailing the company to find out when my goods would be delivered, no reply. I tried phoning their customer service line (the number of which they were very reluctant to give me) only to get a recorded message telling me that all their customer service people were busy and that I should send them an e-mail.

Strangely if you phone their sales line they answer within 3 rings, but as soon as they have your money they lose all interest in talking to you (or replying to e-mail).

I did eventually get my router, but am now very wary of doing business with Watford Savastore.com, even when there are offering the cheapest available price. I now look for e-commerce sites which have a service line where I can help and reassurance if things go wrong.

Kim Harding

October 27, 2005 in Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Sale of Goods offers little protection

I bought an HP PSC 1610 printer from Comet on Sept 1st. It went wrong on October 1st. I took it back to Comet, thinking I'd get a refund and buy a better, more expensive model.

"No - can't offer an exchange or a refund, it MUST go back to HP." So I pointed out that a non-printing
printer was not doing what it should do, and mentioned the Sale of Goods Act. The reply from the manager was: "Many people misunderstand the Sale of Goods Act."

I said I'd refer the matter to Hertfordshire Trading Standards Department, which merely amused the manager.

Being a teacher, I need a printer to produce work for my students. I need one NOW - not when HP/Comet send it back.

So I went to Currys and bought an Epson instead, and then read Herts Trading Standards website. One  stipulation in the Sale of Goods Act is that repairing an item must NOT inconvenience the purchaser.

I was very inconvenienced.

So I rang Herts Trading Standards, but got diverted to some vague Government body which told me "this is a grey area of the law" and "a judge would have to decide whether I was sufficiently inconvenienced".

Apparently, I could take Comet to the Small Claims Court, but I probably wouldn't win!

This IT retailer could not have been less helpful. I was willing to spend more money in their store, but they weren't prepared to listen.

And, as for the Sale of Goods Act, well it seems to be totally useless!

Phil Arthur

October 13, 2005 in Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (29) | TrackBack

Do IT retailers set out to offer poor service?

Your article 'Lay down the law' (October edition) seems to have been written based on the premise that many IT retailers set out to be unhelpful, and try to make life difficult for their customers when they are unlucky enough to buy faulty equipment.

I cannot understand why any retailer would wish to behave like that. I run a business (nothing to do with IT retailing), and if a customer has a complaint, then I am grateful they took the trouble to complain rather than simply taking their business elsewhere, and I do everything in my power to put things right for them.

My business will be more successful if my customers are satisfied with my service. It's not rocket science, is it?

Why, then, is it so hard for IT retailers to learn this lesson? It is ironic that on the day I read your article, a piece of kit I'd bought from PC World a few weeks previously developed a fault. As it was a
low value item and had worked initially, I didn't keep the receipt, and the manager of my local PC World used this as an excuse not to replace the item.

Sure, they saved themselves the trouble of replacing my faulty unit, which would have cost them a few pounds, but they have lost a customer forever. Was it worth it? If my local PC World is anything to go by, then the premise of your article appears to be absolutely true. How terribly sad.

Dr Adam Jacobs

September 15, 2005 in Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Cross over Tiscali pricing

I use Tiscali broadband and was recently asked to organise broadband for somebody else. I called Tiscali about their £17.99 package which is 2Mbits/s with unlimited use and was told that we could
only have a 1Mbits/s service, also at £17.99.

This made me slightly cross as they expect me to have a lesser product for the same price. They then said I could only use the service for a limited number of hours a day. This was too far and I'm now looking for another supplier for my friend and myself.

I also find Tiscali's website the most un-user friendly that I know of. For example if you log in to
the email section and then try to view details regarding your account, you have to re-sign in to that section. Once viewed, if you then try to see your current usage you'll have to re-enter your details.

I know BT has a slight monopoly on the market but if Tiscali's website and service is any thing to go by then you can see why.

Something really needs to be done to control these companies who clearly believe the customer is not worth the effort.

James Cook

September 15, 2005 in Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

PCW - The Adviser

As part of the redesign of Personal Computer World magazine, we have introduced a section devoted to UK consumer rights, in which our expert team will attempt to resolve disputes between readers, retailers and manufacturers.

If you are a UK resident in dispute with a seller or have a question about your rights regarding faults, delivery, extended warranties or any aspect of buying goods, contact us at the email address below.

Include a brief summary of the problem, name the company involved and provide a way for us to contact you during the day. Obviously, we cannot take on every reader's case but we hope the answers we provide will give everyone some information about how to fight their corner.

Send your emails to theadviser@pcw.co.uk

September 8, 2005 in Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (0)

Time/Tiny R.I.P.

I have followed with interest the progress of the Time and Tiny group of companies over the past few years. As an unfortunate customer of the original Tiny outfit (usual story... seemed like a good deal, but when components started failing the after-sales support was appalling), I was most interested to read of their reincarnation under the Time banner. Would things be different this time around ?

For the past few months, I have read with a fair degree of scepticism the Tiny.com adverts in PCW that claim cheapest prices and best components, by supplying direct from the UK and cutting out the middleman. Surely this was too good to be true ?

The news today indicates that this was indeed too good to be true, as Time/Tiny has gone into administration and closed all its shops. To help me better understand how this could happen I took a quick trip to www.grumbletext.co.uk and a search on 'Time Computers' gave a huge list of
varied complaints, covering everything from Sales to Manufacturing to Assembly to Support. It appears that the problems with Time/Tiny machines are common knowledge to those prepared to carry out a modicum of background research.

What I find rather uncomfortable is that, to the best of my knowledge, no comment has been made in this magazine regarding the business practices employed by Time/Tiny/Granville, or the problems with the quality of their products and services. There are huge numbers of unhappy Time and Tiny customers out there and many of these unfortunate customers will have been
influenced not just by the adverts, but also by the 'independent' product reviews carried out by your magazine.

I appreciate that there is a balance between keeping potential advertisers as well as subscribers happy, but as illustrated in the case of Time/Tiny I believe that the balance is too much in favour of the product suppliers. I suggest that to retain credibility with your subscribers, a more investigative approach to your journalism could maybe lift the lid on cowboys like Granville Technology and reduce the damage they do to the credibility of your magazine and the industry in general.

Dave Kraszewski

July 28, 2005 in Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack

IT help for the elderly?

Hi from New Zealand on a cool Winter's  day.

I have an elderly relative in the UK who is virtually house-bound and who, in an effort to keep up with her family over here via email, has been persuaded to purchase a computer. Unfortunately  the level of assistance for her appears to be minimal and she has struggled to manage with only very occasional help from a well-meaning but not very technical friend.

In New Zealand everyone over 55 years of age has the  ability to join the organisation 'SeniorNet' with Branches throughout the  country for a small subscription - approximately £5 per year - for which they  can access a large variety of personally conducted tutorials at a small added  cost plus the daily support of their peers.

The success of SeniorNet (original format USA) has  enabled thousands of Seniors to establish themselves as competent computer users  with the corresponding improvement to their lifestyle.

Having searched online, it was a complete surprise to find that a similar system does not appear to operate in the UK, and I am  writing to enquire whether there is any move to establish SeniorNet in  England. I am certain it would spread rapidly and be a godsend to  those elderly computer users for whom mobility and access to assistance are  a real problem.

C. Jarvis

July 15, 2005 in Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack

Plextor problems Scanned for a silver lining

I bought a Plextor Px TV402u based on your review from Scan.

On arrival I was very impressed with the build quality. However after installing the latest driver the software crashed with an error messsage "Windvr Mfc has encoutered a problem". I replaced the hard drive with another and installed XP, the sound driver and video driver only. I installed the software and driver again and the unit still didn't work. After tuning the unit it would only run for two minutes.

I downloaded Sage TV and the unit would now record for several minutes and the quality was excellent. However the Plextor had the habit of uninstalling itself on a random basis! I emailed Plextor but had no reply (at the time of writing). Scan replaced the unit, but it was just as bad, and has now been returned. Both units were built in Dec 2004 and had very similar serial numbers, so may be it was a bad batch. 

I am now going to use a Win PVR350. It's a shame about the Plextor, but if I hadn't had the  problems I'd never have found out about Scan's first-rate aftersales service. Finding a silver lining can be time consuming!

David Kanefsky

June 24, 2005 in Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Dell delivery costs are hidden and high

Having looked at the prices of laptops from a number of suppliers recently, I was amazed at how much some charge for delivery. For example, delivery of a laptop from Dell costs £57.58 inc VAT. If I order a laptop of similar price, size and weight from Dabs.com it costs just £7. If I wanted Dabs.com to deliver it before 9am the next working day it still only costs £18.75, roughly £40 less than Dell would charge me.

You'd think a company the size of Dell would have a good deal with their delivery couriers, and pay
approximately the same as Dabs.com. I can only assume that Dell must pocket the extra £40 as additional profit, or conversely make their laptops appear £40 cheaper by hiding some cost in the delivery charge.

I couldn't find any reference to this charge online unless I added a laptop to the shopping basket and went through the process of pretending to order it, so the charge is pretty well hidden!

I've singled out Dell as the highest delivery charge I could find, but there are a number of suppliers charging £35-£50 for laptop delivery. Perhaps you should ask them why their delivery charges are so
high?

Chris McMahon

June 24, 2005 in Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBack

HP gets my vote

Sadly I was unsurprised to read in PCW's July 2005 issue about the poor customer service experienced by two of your readers, and even less surprised that PCW's  intervention resulted in a happy ending - it's a shame that some companies don't  appear to value their customers until there's a risk of bad publicity. 

However, as  cynical as I've become, I have recently been pleasantly surprised by the quality  of service I received from HP after buying a new Media Center PC. While it would  be preferable to receive a system without any faults HP has been quick to  resolve every issue I have encountered and have done so each time with courtesy  and consideration, treating me as a valued customer.

The benefits to HP in  dealing with customers in this way are plain to see - here I am writing praise  for a company I would previously have assumed to be as poor on customer service as any other. And the icing on the cake... I paid 35% less than the high street price by buying directly from HP via their Ebay auctions.

Tom  Calverley

May 27, 2005 in Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack

BT broadband speedup

After reading your feature on Broadband in the July issue I decided to try and increase my connection speed. My BT Openworld  connection has a theoretical speed of 2.2Mbits/sec, but my actual download speed  reported by http://www.techdepot.com/pro/speed.asp?rd=1 was  around 1Mbits/sec. I downloaded the Dr TCP utility mentioned in the article and used it to double my TCP Receive Window ( RWIN ) from 17520 to 35040. After rebooting I found that my speed had increased to around 1.7Mbits/sec!!!

I then decided to look through BT Openworld help to see if I could find any advice on setting up my computer for optimum broadband speed. I could find no advice on settings to increase speed and a search for "TCP receive window" and "RWIN" yielded no results. Surely it couldn't be that BT would prefer their customers not to be able to use their broadband connection at the fastest speed?

Chris Hawkes

May 27, 2005 in Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (23) | TrackBack

Tiny Update: Decent PC spec, but the customer service.....

I wrote to you recently (Tiny complaint causes service woes) regarding my after sales experience with Tiny.com. You forwarded my email to a contact within that company. He very quickly responded, apologising for the delays and gave me a telephone number and code to quote following which my computer was collected and very quickly repaired (four days from collection to being delivered back fully repaired).

I’d just like to thank you for your intervention, without which, I'd probably still be on my umpteenth repeat letter.

Very briefly, my experiences with Tiny.com are a bit like the Curate’s eg - good in parts. On the positive side, you get a well specified computer at a very reasonable price, the installed components are from well known companies (except for the mother board, which is made by FIC, a company that I haven't heard of) and if everything works ‘out of the box’ it will be a good experience (I am currently playing Half Life 2 at top resolution with no problems - other than getting killed much more quickly than before!).

However, if a problem occurs with your new computer, the experience won't be a good one. Their help line was an expensive joke. As I said earlier, without your intervention, I don’t know what I would have done.

It would be a shame to see the latest incarnation of Tiny fail, but fail it will unless its after sales department pulls its finger out. Once again, thank you very much for your help, and I hope to have many more years as a regular subscriber to your magazine.

John Morgan

April 29, 2005 in Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack

Sony Vaio revisited - laptop's build quality in question

I am writing this to you on my Sony Vaio VGN-FS115Z, which I bought as a result of the review I read in your April 2005 issue, where it got bot a "Recommended " and "Best Buy" award. I have previously owned a Sony PCG-X18 and felt happy to continue with the brand.

Having now owned the FS Vaio for a couple of  months, I'd like to offer my experience of using the  laptop.

The general feel of this machine is that it has been engineered and manufactured on a budget and it is not of the pedigree I expect from a Sony. The most irksome aspect is the two dead pixels glaring at me on the screen. 

I intended to upgrade it to 1GB of memory, but both available sockets are used with 256MB chips, so I am forced to buy two 512MB chips (Sony  want £338, Crucial charges a more realistic £108). I have subsequently discovered that the professional model, the VGN-FS115XP, uses just the single 512MB chip.

Other niggles include no telephone or patch cables for the integrated modem and network sockets.  Accessories such as spare batteries and port replicator have only just become available.

I am now waiting to send it back for a warranty repair (no quibble) as the right hand locking catch (made of plastic and the one that  operates the "lid's shut" micro-switch) has broken through the stress and strain of gently opening and closing the lid about 50 times. Only Sony don't have the replacement part in stock yet.

In short, the spec is great and I can't refute what  was said in your review - technically it is spot on. But the real world practicalities of the machine seem very different from my point of view.

I accept the fast nature of the computing world, but is it possible to revisit some of the more popular of your "Best Buys' with extended use reviews?

Michael de Whalley

April 14, 2005 in Customer Service, PCs | Permalink | Comments (174) | TrackBack

Landline needed for Dabs purchases

I have just had an unpleasant experience with Dabs.com. Wanting to order an extra hard drive for £39 from Dabs I found I had to register with them.  No problem there.  Until I started filling in details.

I rent a house with 3 other people and although my credit card is registered there we don't have a landline as we all use mobile phones.  Everyone including the credit card issuer is fine with this.

For 'security' reasons Dabs will not sell anything to anyone who does not have a landline telephone.  I know this is not a security reason because as long as the credit card is registered to an address and the security number on the back of the card is given, then Dabs have no problem.  They will also take the money before or as soon as the item has been posted.

I can only assume that Dabs want telephone numbers so they can either flood you with their own advertising or sell it on to advertising companies.

So if any of your readers are thinking of ordering from Dabs.com and they do not have a landline then I would tell them to forget it straight away as it is not going to happen.

I can only wonder at how many thousands of pounds Dabs.com give away to competitors in lost business each month.

Richard G Hawley

April 12, 2005 in Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (41) | TrackBack

Wanadoo's manual makes Livebox network setup a mystery

Broadband has just arrived in the town in southern France where I live, so I signed up with Wanadoo broadband and walked out of the shop with a Livebox.

There was a simple guide to settting up the WiFi connection to my laptop. But then the difficulty started; I bought a new desktop to run the printer, scanner and iPod etc. The new machine runs well (so far!) and getting it on-line was relatively easy using an Ethernet cable; but then the fun began – I wanted to network the computers, so that I could print from my laptop, and load e-mailed pictures from my laptop into my desktop. 

Could I get them to talk to each other?  No. The full Livebox manual on CD might have had the answer, but I couldn’t understand it. As I lay in bed, the horrible thought flashed through my mind that I had taken a Livebox assuming that it could network, when it did not.

So next morning it was time to search the Internet; it did become clear that Liveboxes would network, but that there were two varieties. And it had something to do with addresses; there were lists of numbers but no clue as to what you did with them. Eventually, of course, I found the answer, but it took until early afternoon.

I found that I needed to make adjustments to the addresses used by the computers themselves. Simple when you know how, but not intuitive.

I do think that a piece of kit on retail sale that does network should at least put you on the right track as to what to do, even if it is not the kit itself that needs setting up.

Harry Shipley

April 5, 2005 in Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (129) | TrackBack

Refurbished replacement for new Axim. Is this Dell policy?

I read with interest your review of the Dell Axim x50v in the May issue as I recently bought this particular PDA. Unfortunately, it developed a fault and the unit had to be replaced.

On receipt of the new unit I was horrified that I had been sent a REFURBISHED replacement. After three months, an approx £350 PDA had been replaced with what amounts to a second hand device! Dell technical support explained this was their policy ....

Surely this can't be right? I logged a complaint via the Dell web site and was 'promised' that someone would contact me within 24 working hours. This was over two weeks ago, and I still have not been called. I have since sent another two complaints - without any response.

On browsing the Dell web site, I have been unable to locate any complaints phone number that I can call (although sales numbers are everywhere - funny that!).

If this is standard policy, then what an industry this is becoming. If my TV breaks within three months, I don’t expect it to be replaced with a refurbished unit!

If manufacturers are confident in the quality of the products they sell, then surely their policy would be to replace the faulty product with a NEW ONE. I have found the whole Dell experience extremely frustrating!

Curtis Randle

April 4, 2005 in Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (21) | TrackBack

Tiny complaint causes service woes

I purchased a Tiny 5-3500 PCI Express computer, which was delivered just after Christmas. I didn't order the Reload backup disk as I have my own version of Windows XP Home Edition and because I didn’t like the way Tiny had set up Windows, I replaced their version of Windows with my own.

This caused a great deal of grief because the driver CD that came with the computer was the wrong version, leaving me with no drivers. After an expensive call to their help-desk, and a two-week wait, the correct driver CD was delivered. During the intervening time I realised the 6 in 1 card reader wasn't working and that the microphone-in socket on the front of the computer was blanked off.

I again rang their help-desk who asked me to open up the computer and see if there were any loose wires preventing the card reader from working, to no avail. When I advised that I had replaced their operating system with my own version of windows, there was a sucking in of breath and the comment that this was the reason the card reader wasn’t working.

I asked what was different in their version of XP to my own, to which they replied that theirs would have been set up with the relevant drivers. This didn’t make sense, but I purchased the recovery CD. When I then mentioned the Microphone socket, I was told that a socket is not provided as it conflicts with the rear microphone socket. If you go into any ‘My Computer Shop’ you will see Tiny computers resplendent with front microphone sockets.

This exercise cost me £22 for the telephone call and £30 for the recovery disk.

Two weeks later, the recovery disk was delivered and the card reader still did not work. In disgust, I wrote to Tiny on 30th January to ask them what they were going to do about the recalcitrant card reader and why I had been lied to regarding the front microphone socket. To date, despite sending 5 repeats I have not received one acknowledgement to my letters.

I cannot understand why any business would treat a customer in such a cavalier fashion. I am but one small fish, but my sphere of influence is quite large when you take into account friends and family who will know of my treatment.

John Morgan

March 23, 2005 in Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (40) | TrackBack

Dell's customer service did good

I read your column on budget PC's (May 2005) and saw you mention customer after sales.

I bought a slightly customised Dell Insprion 5150 notebook and it has been a good, reliable computer.

My usage is demanding and I reinstall Windows every other month as my computers just can't cope with everything they have done. Well this computer has lasted me a year.

The only bad thing was I got a battery and a power pack which had already been used. About four months after buying my laptop, while using it I got a candy smell. I couldn't work out where it was coming from. Later, I plugged it in again and found there was no power from the power pack – it only ran on batteries.

The power pack had exploded. I phoned Dell’s support and they sent out a replacement lead. It was with me in two days, which I though was excellent service.

Also Packard Bell support is pretty good. I had a desktop from them, and they were out within the week to replace a faulty drive.

And a note on Time; you say they perform quite well, but to be honest I think they are pretty bad systems. I have been out to repair 3 and in the end people have decided to buy a new one.

M.Carpenter

March 15, 2005 in Customer Service | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBack