The Observation Deck

Do they train their employees in customer service to not service customers? I've spent the past two days trying to resolve a problem and I've yet to have anyone suggest a solution. No wonder so many are moving to Apple.

Shawn Juris wrote:Do they train their employees in customer service to not service customers? I've spent the past two days trying to resolve a problem and I've yet to have anyone suggest a solution. No wonder so many are moving to Apple.

Shawn

I believe that was taught to them by Quark. They are the ones that started the $25.00 a call help desk! After paying $690 for the software. Also the $400 upgrade with $25 off if you bought in the last six months.


FWIW



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I'm just not sure which is worse today. Dealing with Microsoft "customer service" pointing the finger from one product to the next and never actually trouble shooting the problem or Verizon telling me that because my phone won't actually send calls I have to pay $50 because it is out of warranty. It's a 2 year contract with a 1 year warranty and I've bought the insurance yet it's still going to cost me as much to just buy another piece of hardware because they can't make a quality product.
I will say that the service dept at Live small business is professional and generally tries to help. Of course that's just a beta stage product so once it goes fully live I'm sure that they will outsource it to Akbar and Hameet in India who will just keep repeating that they understand since that's one of the few English phrases that they know.
Seriously, isn't there some way that Lakewood can play a role in competing with these incompetents.

Wow try this one on for size.

Microsoft Customer Service Calls Back 10 Years Later

Good Point.

We need to capitalize on the tech base we have here in Lakewood to compete with some of this stuff. The technology is there to do this work form home. I have a second where I do just that from home. The company I work for is based out of Cleveland in a loft. They make boku bucks and have very little overhead because most of us work from home only part time. Maybe we could bring companies like that to Lakewood. I am sure we have the tech savvy people living here.

Jim DeVito wrote:Wow try this one on for size.

Microsoft Customer Service Calls Back 10 Years Later

Good Point.

We need to capitalize on the tech base we have here in Lakewood to compete with some of this stuff. The technology is there to do this work form home. I have a second where I do just that from home. The company I work for is based out of Cleveland in a loft. They make boku bucks and have very little overhead because most of us work from home only part time. Maybe we could bring companies like that to Lakewood. I am sure we have the tech savvy people living here.

Jim/Shawn

As a person that owns a software company in Lakewood that is expanding, let me assure you we do have it here. Observer Vince Frantz also has a national software company out of here as well, and is growing.

However, one thing about software companies, and soon all businesses, we do not need large buildings, we need access, and safe clean, fun cities. Will the staff here is growing, most of the programmers live around the country, the same is true for Sprockets.

One thing we do have many do not is the perfect time zone. I can deal with Europe and the UK in the morning, and end the day with Japan and China coming online at the beginning of their work day.

Add in the cost of living here, and you have a perfect place for developers, or any business.


FWIW



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Judging from accents, some of the very best technical support I have gotten has been from overseas. India, in particular, has been turning out scads of very well trained engineers, while we are turning out people who play Frisbee with dogs. Visit any of our top universities and look at the graduate students and TAs in the technical departments; you will find few natives, and many imports. So the answer to your question is no, Lakewood cannot compete in the technical fields, despite the occasional excellent student we read about.

I'm a bit curious as to what your problem is. You said that the Microsoft rep keeps pointing the finger at other products. Are those Microsoft products? I think their responsibility would be just to insure that their own product is properly working, not to insure that a third-party product works.

Shawn

Only two days?
My family got a new Toshiba for Christmas. Crapped out after the return deadline. Part is on backorder with no known delivery date. And I'm dealing with customer service in the US.

Wonder how good the warranty is when the part will never be available.

Jeff

try HP and Dell customer service.

While I built my computer, I have friends and classmates that get frustrated when they have to call in to their customer service.

Ivor Karabatkovic wrote:try HP and Dell customer service.

While I built my computer, I have friends and classmates that get frustrated when they have to call in to their customer service.

Or, get a MAC.


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Or run linux

Jim O'Bryan wrote:

Ivor Karabatkovic wrote:try HP and Dell customer service.

While I built my computer, I have friends and classmates that get frustrated when they have to call in to their customer service.

Or, get a MAC.


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Seconded.

David Lay wrote:

Jim O'Bryan wrote:

Ivor Karabatkovic wrote:try HP and Dell customer service.

While I built my computer, I have friends and classmates that get frustrated when they have to call in to their customer service.

Or, get a MAC.


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Seconded.

David

You know, if there are going to run that software, might as well run it on the fastest platform.

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Get a mac!

Jim O'Bryan wrote: David

You know, if there are going to run that software, might as well run it on the fastest platform.

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Agreed. Now if only I can afford an Intel Mac...

Will,

You can learn an awful lot from playing Frisbee with dogs. Even the engineers of the world!

Ed