Dodge, Dip, Dive, Duck, and Dodge

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Dodge, Dip, Dive, Duck, and Dodge

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Steve Jones - SSC Editor SSC Guru Points: 736428 More actions · Answer 1

I think you're correct about it, but I don't know that having better customer service would necessarily mean that prices would rise a lot. I'm not asking for a better laptop, or better quality of the parts, or even better techs to diagnose things. I'm asking for better service in terms of escalation when something doesn't work.

Anatoliy Borisov SSC Journeyman Points: 79 More actions · Answer 2

And you are exactly right as there always two people who do good/bad quality service for the same salary. It is a matter of management and organization.

Constant Coder SSC Rookie Points: 45 More actions · Answer 3

Glad I saw your post today. I was about to buy my son a Toshiba, but now I know better. We will look for a company with better customer service before buying. Thanks for the heads-up.

DCPeterson SSCoach Points: 15266 More actions · Answer 4

Steve Jones - Editor (1/14/2010)
I think you're correct about it, but I don't know that having better customer service would necessarily mean that prices would rise a lot. I'm not asking for a better laptop, or better quality of the parts, or even better techs to diagnose things. I'm asking for better service in terms of escalation when something doesn't work.

I hear you and I won't pretend to have all the answers. There very well may be some internal changes that could be done at relatively small cost that would improve the situation and turn you from a dissatisfied customer into a happy one.

But leaving the questions of internal efficiency and initial quality aside and assuming they remain constant; if a company is seriously committed to customer service, that takes a large investment. They have to have more people on staff to handle the volume of service requests faster, and this isn't just the entry level types who answer the phones. They would also have to hire additional escalation techs/managers who are considerably more expensive etc...

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If most people are not willing to see the difficulty, this is mainly because, consciously or unconsciously, they assume that it will be they who will settle these questions for the others, and because they are convinced of their own capacity to do this. -Friedrich August von Hayek

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Anatoliy Borisov SSC Journeyman Points: 79 More actions · Answer 5

It is not always about more people with bigger salaries and faster service. It is about a bottleneck they don't want to hear and they should. If one is stacked against the wall then someone from management should be involved to resolve the issue for everybody. But the information is not flowing to the resolution level simply because they don't want to bother / or internal procedures do not allow that. Simply saying that "we do not have any other manager than me..." is not a true statement, it is a procedure endorsed by the management. It is not that difficult to make a customer happy when a problem happens (the problems can happen and everybody knows that and is not complaining just about that).

bwillsie-842793 Ten Centuries Points: 1359 More actions · Answer 6

Too bad they don't build some business logic and rules into their "Is your computer plugged in" checklists.

Weight the responses properly against the rules and they should come up with "Elevate this to supervisor/manager/regional manager (as appropriate) now."

Also, chosing the right people and empowering them to make these decisions also helps.

I could swear I've encountered companies (in the past) that actually operated this way (Kingston memory??).

Conan The Canadian Ten Centuries Points: 1335 More actions · Answer 7

bwillsie-842793 (1/14/2010)
Too bad they don't build some business logic and rules into their "Is your computer plugged in" checklists.
Weight the responses properly against the rules and they should come up with "Elevate this to supervisor/manager/regional manager (as appropriate) now."
Also, chosing the right people and empowering them to make these decisions also helps.
I could swear I've encountered companies (in the past) that actually operated this way (Kingston memory??).

Speaking of checklists, the weirdest thing I ever got asked as by Gateway support...they asked me to burp my laptop like a baby....

Kev -=Conan The Canadian=-
@ConanTheCdn

bwillsie-842793 Ten Centuries Points: 1359 More actions · Answer 8

Conan The Coder (1/14/2010)
Speaking of checklists, the weirdest thing I ever got asked as by Gateway support...they asked me to burp my laptop like a baby....

Oh yeah, you have to do that with Gateways every now and then. The tube running down to the bit bucket on them clogs fairly easily.

(Extra points if you know what a real bit bucket is and where to find it on an 026...) :hehe:

Mauve SSChampion Points: 11316 More actions · Answer 9

bwillsie-842793 (1/14/2010)
(Extra points if you know what a real bit bucket is and where to find it on an 026...) :hehe:

I used one to program the 1130.

[font="Arial Narrow"](PHB) I think we should build an SQL database. (Dilbert) What color do you want that database? (PHB) I think mauve has the most RAM.[/font]

Lynn Pettis SSC Guru Points: 442467 More actions · Answer 10

bwillsie-842793 (1/14/2010)
Conan The Coder (1/14/2010)
Speaking of checklists, the weirdest thing I ever got asked as by Gateway support...they asked me to burp my laptop like a baby....
Oh yeah, you have to do that with Gateways every now and then. The tube running down to the bit bucket on them clogs fairly easily.
(Extra points if you know what a real bit bucket is and where to find it on an 026...) :hehe:

Now you are talking card punches. Used one in high school as well as in the Air Force. Actually ran a Burroughs B3500 for 4 hours using a card punch, card reader, and line printer because the SPO broke.

bwillsie-842793 Ten Centuries Points: 1359 More actions · Answer 11

Lynn Pettis (1/14/2010)
Now you are talking card punches. Used one in high school as well as in the Air Force. Actually ran a Burroughs B3500 for 4 hours using a card punch, card reader, and line printer because the SPO broke.

USAF at Hickam for me in 1974. But 029 at Keesler in 78 for Honeywell 60XX programmer school, and again in 78 on B3500 at Cannon.

However, I did have to write code to load data from a card reader hooked to a PC-AT into our DEC PDP-1134/A. The company had sites that sent in cards that had been punched on some manual/hand operated punch machine.

We better stop before this turns into a "Four Yorkshiremen" skit...

Lynn Pettis SSC Guru Points: 442467 More actions · Answer 12

bwillsie-842793 (1/14/2010)
Lynn Pettis (1/14/2010)
Now you are talking card punches. Used one in high school as well as in the Air Force. Actually ran a Burroughs B3500 for 4 hours using a card punch, card reader, and line printer because the SPO broke.
USAF at Hickam for me in 1974. But 029 at Keesler in 78 for Honeywell 60XX programmer school, and again in 78 on B3500 at Cannon.
However, I did have to write code to load data from a card reader hooked to a PC-AT into our DEC PDP-1134/A. The company had sites that sent in cards that had been punched on some manual/hand operated punch machine.
We better stop before this turns into a "Four Yorkshiremen" skit...

'74, High School

'78 Sheppard AFB - Computer Operator Tech School

'79 - '81 RAF Alconbury

Last year in AF, NO card punch machines at NORAD

RalphWilson Mr or Mrs. 500 Points: 592 More actions · Answer 13

ben.mcintyre (1/13/2010)
So he'd ring up with a fault and the reply would be a flat 'we can't see that from our end' denial, then 10 minutes later the problem would magically fix itself, so that it couldn't be counted as an instance of failure

Ben,

That kind of reminds me of an experience I had in the early 1970's. I was dealing with a "conditioned line" (which cosed a LOT in those days) and trying to use a modem (which I had to program to dial using pulse dial techniques and the 2 commands "On Hook" and "Off Hook" 😉 and not having any success. So, finally, I got our hardware guys to hang a headset on it and, sure enough, there was a lot of static on the line. So I called the telco and inquired as to just what <u>their</u> definition of a "conditioned line" was and was told that, "No, a conditioned line is not supposed to have static . . . I'll check into that and call you back."

About 45 minutes later, I got a call from the support person who said the following (I remember because it is such beautifully artful dodge ;-):

"Sir, I have checked that line and there was no problem and it's fixed now."

You just can't argue with that one. 😉 :hehe:

RDW2

Ralph D. Wilson II
Development DBA

"Give me 6 hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first 4 sharpening the ax."
A. Lincoln

d viz Ten Centuries Points: 1092 More actions · Answer 14

This was a great post and it really connects with the frustration A LOT of people have felt when trying to deal with such issues on corporate structures.

What is reallly great though is that you can actualy "broadcast" this to a wide audience through the site's newsletter.

I sincerely hope that you get a formal apology AND a new laptop from Toshiba - the former being even more important than the latter...

Douglas Osborne-456728 SSCommitted Points: 1569 More actions · Answer 15

Steve - has there been a resolution? I guess I shouldn't upgrade my Toshiba laptop to Windows 7 Ultimate then, eh?

Doug