Google Wades Further Into Hardware With "Nexus Call Center"

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Google Wades Further Into Hardware With "Nexus Call Center"

Posted by timothy on Thursday October 11, 2012 @02:10AM from the jes-a-simple-country-search-engine dept.

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.

39 of 58 comments (clear)

Min score:

Reason:

Sort:

Portrait vs Landscape... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-11 02:14 · Score: 1

Maybe if Google allowed free rotation between portrait and landscape, most of those calls would be alleviated.
1. Re:Portrait vs Landscape... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-11 02:34 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Maybe if Google allowed free rotation between portrait and landscape, most of those calls would be alleviated.
  If you are talking about the Nexus 7, it does. The device is by default in a locked orientation. Just swipe down from the top and click the lock icon with the two arrows rotating around it.
2. Re:Portrait vs Landscape... by richy+freeway · 2012-10-11 02:36 · Score: 2
  
  Latest update has it. Some places have it OTA, I just grabbed the zip and flashed it from CWM.
3. Re:Portrait vs Landscape... by richy+freeway · 2012-10-11 02:51 · Score: 1
  
  Yup. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1928731
4. Re:Portrait vs Landscape... by DragonTHC · 2012-10-11 03:23 · Score: 1
  
  Ultimate Rotation Control is the app I use.
  It's highly configurable and just works.
  
  --
  They're using their grammar skills there.
5. Re:Portrait vs Landscape... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-11 03:53 · Score: 1
  
  that automatic rotation control app hurts performance. don't use it!
6. Re:Portrait vs Landscape... by tooyoung · 2012-10-11 05:45 · Score: 1
  
  Yes, and that is what the call center people can explain to all of the everyday people who can't figure that out.
Iutsourced call centres are worse. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-11 02:21 · Score: 1

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.
1. Re:Iutsourced call centres are worse. by h4rr4r · 2012-10-11 02:26 · Score: 1
  
  Nearly no one uses internal call centers. The costs are just to high for a resource that sees high seasonal need changes and lots of idle resources since it can be very bursty.
2. Re:Iutsourced call centres are worse. by MickyTheIdiot · 2012-10-11 02:36 · Score: 1
  
  Really... so what. That's part of doing business.
  The OP is right... the way outsourcing works it's virtually a P.R. stunt. You might as well hire McDonald's employees away (and give them no training) and keep the jobs in the country. The quality will be the same.
3. Re:Iutsourced call centres are worse. by h4rr4r · 2012-10-11 02:39 · Score: 2
  
  The reality is a third party call center with multiple clients can do a better and cheaper job. Their agents are talking more calls per hour and doing a better job than some fresh hire at a company that looks at call centers as just another cost.
  I am not talking about foreign call centers. I mean outsourcing inside the USA.
4. Re:Iutsourced call centres are worse. by Abreu · 2012-10-11 02:59 · Score: 1
  
  Whatever man, lots of those "american" call centers have main offices in the USA, with maybe 100 agents and 200 managers. The other 1500 phone agents and 100 managers are split into branch offices in India, Mexico and possibly Ireland. Since call-center jobs are highly seasonal, agents are trained to handle different products and switched from one line to the other constantly.
  A lot of times you don't notice, because contrary to popular opinion, a well trained call center agent can fake an american accent pretty well. Of course, most call centers don't train their agents very well.
  
  --
  No sig for the moment.
5. Re:Iutsourced call centres are worse. by hawguy · 2012-10-11 03:06 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  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.
  There are differing qualities of outsourced call centers. My company needed a build a 10 seat call center staffed 6am-midnight localtime to handle reservations and questions, we had several known peaks throughout the year where we'd have to double the staff to handle special events. We ended up outsourcing the whole thing to an airline call center that also does outsourcing (our product was a travel product so it was a natural fit). They dedicated 6 lead agents to us, we flew them to our location so they could learn about our product, then we did on site training at the call center for an additional 20 agents that would be floaters that were assigned to us as-needed. One of our staff members went-onsite during the first 2 weeks to help them take calls. answer questions, and build out their knowledge base of frequently asked questions, then we always had local staff on-call so the contact center lead could call with questions.
  Worked well, few callers knew that our call center was not "local". And while their service was not "cheap" when you compare their per-hour rate to what we'd pay a local agent, overall, we paid about half what we would have to run our own call center (and had nearly unlimited capacity to handle calls). Since they had the ability to dynamically size the pool of agents that took calls for our product, we only had 6 dedicated agents, where if we had a local call center we would have had to have 15 or more dedicated agents to handle normal call volume (we'd at least 2 shifts to handle the 18 hour day), with more during peak periods.
  We got consistently positive feedback on our call center, and I really think that outsourcing let us provide a better experience than if we tried to build it in house.
6. Re:Iutsourced call centres are worse. by evilviper · 2012-10-11 06:21 · Score: 1
  
  The reality is a third party call center with multiple clients can do a better and cheaper job.
  That's not inherently true at all. "multiple clients" is just one method to get economies of scale and try to keep your employees sufficiently busy.
  I know from experience an on-site call center can in-fact be CHEAPER than any of the call center outsourcing providers, (with perhaps the exception of meeting peak demand, if applicable) while also being more effective.
  
  Their agents are talking more calls per hour and doing a better job than some fresh hire at a company that looks at call centers as just another cost.
  It's true you can't expect entry-level call-center reps to be as efficient as lifers, but you also can't expect call centers to ensure their employees are all as technically proficient with your product as you want them to be. I'm sure we've all gone through situations where the tech support zombie can't even *comprehend* the issue you're reporting, and doesn't know they should escalate, rather than take you through one of the standard scripts. After all, being graded on simple metrics like call time and number of issues resolved makes them very efficient at making sure their metrics look good, no matter what their job actually demands they do.
  And besides that... some of those McDonald's employees will turn out to be very good phone support reps. You just need enough time to churn through the lousy ones, while keeping on the payroll enough of the good one.
  
  --
  Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
7. Re:Iutsourced call centres are worse. by evilviper · 2012-10-11 06:25 · Score: 1
  
  We got consistently positive feedback on our call center, and I really think that outsourcing let us provide a better experience than if we tried to build it in house.
  I just can't help but wonder, what if the company (airline) who put together the call-center you're outsourcing to, had thought the same thing as you... In some ways "it's turtles all the way down!"
  
  --
  Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
8. Re:Iutsourced call centres are worse. by swillden · 2012-10-12 01:54 · Score: 1
  
  We got consistently positive feedback on our call center, and I really think that outsourcing let us provide a better experience than if we tried to build it in house.
  I just can't help but wonder, what if the company (airline) who put together the call-center you're outsourcing to, had thought the same thing as you... In some ways "it's turtles all the way down!"
  They did think the same thing, which is why they started selling their services to other companies. It's just a different angle on exactly the same recognition: It's very costly to build a call center capable of handling the peaks of a single organization's support traffic, because it means you're hugely overstaffed a lot of the time. The solution is to have the call center support more organizations, with different call volume patterns. Ideally, to take on the support load of organizations with complementary volume patterns, but if you scale far enough and take on enough clients, probability will smooth it out pretty effectively.
  The airline realized this and chose to smooth their call volumes and offset their costs (or even turn it into a profit center) by selling to others. The GP's company realized it, too, and chose to outsource to the airline. Same reality, same understanding, same solution -- just a different angle. One chose to build a new line of business.
  
  --
  Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
How is this... by InfiniteBlaze · 2012-10-11 02:21 · Score: 1

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
1. Re:How is this... by sunking2 · 2012-10-11 03:18 · Score: 1
  
  No kidding. The whole article talks about Android, not a lick about "Hardware". This really should highlighting about how Google may actually be taking it's software seriously and offering some sort of support for it. They've really allowed for quite a support mess and user confusion thanks to the many versions of Android out there among the various vendors.
2. Re:How is this... by tompaulco · 2012-10-11 06:15 · Score: 1
  
  Is this what we can expect from the latest incarnation of slashdot?
  Well, given that that is what we saw out of every recent incarnation of slashdot, I don't really expect to see anything different.
  
  --
  If you are not allowed to question your government then the government has answered your question.
Google Wades Further Into Hardware? by xxxJonBoyxxx · 2012-10-11 02:22 · Score: 1

>> 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.
1. Re:Google Wades Further Into Hardware? by Fwipp · 2012-10-11 02:33 · Score: 1
  
  But they provide support for very few of those cell phones - only the ones they sell directly, correct? There's a large difference between working with a manufacturer to provide software and supporting customer service for hardware units.
2. Re:Google Wades Further Into Hardware? by spire3661 · 2012-10-11 02:35 · Score: 1
  
  Google has a history of making stuff and then totally ignoring the support costs for it. I thought they learned this lesson with the Nexus 1
  
  --
  Good-bye
3. Re:Google Wades Further Into Hardware? by Fwipp · 2012-10-11 04:10 · Score: 1
  
  Good point, I did forget that. I wonder if they're leaning on Motorola's previous experience for this.
Not uncommon to outsource call centers by PhrostyMcByte · 2012-10-11 02:24 · Score: 1

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.
1. Re:Not uncommon to outsource call centers by squiggleslash · 2012-10-11 02:28 · Score: 1
  
  It's a great idea, because then you have all the cost and expense of maintaining a call center, but you still manage to alienate your customers who cotton-on pretty quickly that the "call center" they're calling doesn't really give a f--- about whatever it is you need and is unable to help you except for a subset of common problems some engineer had an opportunity to create scripts for.
  Wait.
  Did I say it was a great idea? Sorry, I meant stupid idea. I _always_ get those two words mixed up.
  
  --
  You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
2. Re:Not uncommon to outsource call centers by MickyTheIdiot · 2012-10-11 02:37 · Score: 1
  
  It is an instant alienation for a certain percentage of people.
  You should of heard this redneck wail in Lowes the other day when the customer service desk said he needed to call Lowes customer support about a refund problem. He didn't want to call no a-rabs.
3. Re:Not uncommon to outsource call centers by Abreu · 2012-10-11 03:07 · Score: 2
  
  Actually, a lot of call center services compete on quality of service.
  A client will drop you like a hot potato and switch to another call center if your quality of service is not good enough, and nowadays most good call center contractors have penalization clauses that fine them for every BBB complaint or even for every lost customer.
  Sure, some clients will want to pay as little as possible, and they end up with the more seedy suppliers who, in turn, pay peanuts to their agents, resulting in high rotation and bored, mean or just plain stupid agents answering your calls. But by no means is every call center this kind of operation.
  
  --
  No sig for the moment.
4. Re:Not uncommon to outsource call centers by fermion · 2012-10-11 03:58 · Score: 1
  
  It depends on the value and the worth to the company. The problem google had was not that it could not handle the volume of calls, but that it has little to no end use support experience so there resources were not apparently in place at all. As a corporation it needs to gain direct experience supporting end users which is not going to happen if it outsources to Islamabad.
  In a not outsourced call center, there is at least the possibility of some being able to talk to a principle face to face for clarification. There is at least the possibility of directly observing the process and adjust the rules and scripts. After five years when the equipment is depreciated or the lease is up, and experience is gained, then the process can be outsourced. There is experience to know if the vendor is scamming you or if there a legitimate reason why 30% of the customers are complaining.
  Not all companies can afford a local call center. Google can. End user service si not critical to all companies. It seems to be to Google. Or at least they say it is. By outsourcing what they are really indicating is that they need to have a customer service number so that competitors can't use that as a selling point.
  
  --
  "She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
5. Re:Not uncommon to outsource call centers by squiggleslash · 2012-10-11 07:56 · Score: 1
  
  A client will drop you like a hot potato and switch to another call center if your quality of service is not good enough, and nowadays most good call center contractors have penalization clauses that fine them for every BBB complaint or even for every lost customer.
  
  So why do they continue to suck then?
  
  --
  You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
6. Re:Not uncommon to outsource call centers by Abreu · 2012-10-12 05:04 · Score: 1
  
  You are quoting the first part of my comment, but seemed to missed the second part, which answers your question.
  
  --
  No sig for the moment.
Re:And they keep your money for as long as they wa by h4rr4r · 2012-10-11 02:25 · Score: 1

If that is true, issue a chargeback on the credit card.
Re:Like tears in the rain by MickyTheIdiot · 2012-10-11 02:38 · Score: 1

I want more life, father.
Nexus 7 by chinton · 2012-10-11 02:39 · Score: 2

Do Androids Compute on Electric Tablets?
Improvement over the Nexus 6 by chinton · 2012-10-11 02:44 · Score: 2

Its got more memory than the Nexus 6... But whose memory does it have?
1. Re:Improvement over the Nexus 6 by mjwx · 2012-10-11 15:36 · Score: 1
  
  Its got more memory than the Nexus 6... But whose memory does it have?
  Aside from the planned obsolescence, the Nexus 6 was a killer.
  
  --
  Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
Loved My Nexus - Shame The Screen Breaks So Easily by szyzyg · 2012-10-11 03:56 · Score: 1

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
Re:And they keep your money for as long as they wa by Applekid · 2012-10-11 04:16 · Score: 1

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 dunno about that by slashmydots · 2012-10-11 06:31 · Score: 1

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.
Re:Loved My Nexus - Shame The Screen Breaks So Eas by szyzyg · 2012-10-11 07:47 · Score: 1

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