Slashdot Mirror
Google Wades Further Into Hardware With "Nexus Call Center"
An anonymous reader writes with this bit from geek.com: "One of the big complaints surrounding the Nexus 7 launch was the lack of customer support when dealing with the device. Google was not initially prepared to handle the volume of users that required support, which led to an increase in wait time for callers who needed solutions. However, we've recently received word from a source that now Google is using a third party company to staff a call center for the release of the next Nexus devices." Maybe Google needs to out itself as a "devices and services company," too.
Maybe if Google allowed free rotation between portrait and landscape, most of those calls would be alleviated.
And then when you try to cancel they ship you the product anyway, pretend they didn't get it back when the shipment is refused, and lie to you about refunding your money.
Three months ago I tried to cancel a Nexus order. Still don't have my money back.
No exceptions.
If you want to provide good support, you train well paid, dedicated staff with a high retention rate.
Otherwise claiming that you support your products is just a very expensive PR stunt.
wading further into hardware? You mean by planning and preparing for the release by ensuring there is adequate support for the anticipated customers? The title gives the impression that we should expect a piece of equipment that allows us to establish a centralized call center for our own businesses...not that Google has outsourced their phone support. -1 for Misleading
>> Google Wades Further Into Hardware
This headline only makes sense if you're talking about a company that's not already neck-deep in cell phones.
It's my understanding that many large companies don't host their own call centers. There's one in my building that has some quite large clients who could easily host their own if they wanted, but they still outsource it.
If that is true, issue a chargeback on the credit card.
Were Nexus 6 and older models 'retired'?
Do Androids Compute on Electric Tablets?
Its got more memory than the Nexus 6... But whose memory does it have?
The reality is a third party call center with multiple clients can do a better and cheaper job
A third-party call center that knows nothing of the product other than what they saw in a three-hour onboarding session?
As opposed to our in-house call center reps who can call over to the technicians who actually designed the product?
I suppose if you consider minimizing call times as a success criterion...
It's really becoming quite clear what Google's strategy is now... They're trying to establish a monopoly over all communication, so that they have data on every word going in every direction. They've already pretty much got all internet traffic at some point passing through their sites... They're working on getting all communication done on phones through, and at the same time, now trying to work in all communication going through all phone networks.
Pretty scary stuff.
It's a great tablet, but, the screen cracked when I pushed the power button and rendered the touchscreen inoperative, currently ASUS is telling me that any screen damage resulting from use is not covered under warranty.
Here's a video of the damage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3-nbnPyZYM
The customer service fiasco that happened to me was very similar. They promised all preorders would be shipped by some date, which came and went without shipping. Emails were ignored, and it took phone calls to get answers. Of course, the answers were all lies. "Oh, it's shipping today." "Your tracking number will be sent overnight." Basically, the old game of say-anything-to-get-them-off-the-phone. When no tracking numbers and no shipping happened, calling back resulted in the same song and dance. This time, when I asked to cancel, they refused because, yep, "it's shipping today."
Fast forward three weeks after when the preorder was promised to ship, they finally did send it. No tracking number, of course, so I couldn't refuse the package in person and the delivery guy just left it on the doorstep. So to refuse delivery I would have to make a trip to the UPS depot.
If I knew Google was capable of such a Kafkaesque performance I would never have bothered.
More Twoson than Cupertino
I had something similar happen to me with Amazon (these autofill boxes are not my friend) but the results were drastically different. I sent a message to customer service and had a response within a couple hours. They verified the address I wanted it shipped to and did not delay the package at all. Then, they called me (yes, I was asked if this was ok) the day it was supposed to be delivered to make sure it was delivered and in the condition it was intended to be.
I love google and their products, software and hardware. I really wish they had customer service to back up their products though. Because of my experience, I won't try their hardware again until I see proof of a change in the way they deal with customers. This article is a sign of them moving in the right direction. As long as they have solid SLAs with this call center, I have no problem with google farming out customer service to the people that do it right every day.
throw the baby out. The bathwater is cold
If 90% of the calls are simple queries, then outsourcing at time of high demand is the best option. There is no technical reasons why the outsourced call-centre can't forward the calls which required detailed knowledge to Google.
At least one member of the Android Central forums has had his Nexus 7's cracked screen fixed free of charge by Asus, he claims he didn't drop it or anything, I guess Asus looked at it and could tell it the damage was caused by a defect rather than an accident, though Asus were uncommunicative during this process and he didn't know they had fixed it until it turned up on his doorstep.
If you live in the UK, then under the Sales of Goods Act, the seller is responsible for fixing any defects, and in the first 6 months it is up to the seller to prove the problem isn't a result of a defect. If you bought it from Google you shouldn't let them palm you off with sending it to Asus, that's their job.
I dunno...devices and services look awfully bulky compared to HP's tablet strategy of devices and fuck it. That worked out a lot cheaper, lol.
I bought it from Staples, but really it's not Google's responsibility to deal with the shortcomings in Asus hardware, I'm in the US so generally after 30 days the stores won't take back a broken device. Still hoping Asus stands by their product