That's understandable. I have willfully refrained from getting an N800 in January because a) my 770 was barely one year old and b) I wasn't enthusiastic about the way things were being handled.
Lately the pace has picked up and things seem to be going in the right direction (for N800 owners at least :-), even if we're not quite there yet.
So if in early 2008 Nokia get their act together and come up with a sensible third-generation software AND hardware (cover, hint hint :-) I might just give it a try. My 770 will have seen over two years of intensive use by then, so it'll be easier to convince myself :-)
That's if nothing totally new and irresistible appears out of nowhere in the meantime, of course.
They will have to come up with some serious new hardware specs to keep me investing in this. I bought 770 in Jan 2006 and an 800 in Jan 2007, I am probably looking at UMPC to replace 800. They are going to have to really WOW me to get me to buy more Nokia equipment. I have already sworn off their phones completely, mainly because of warranty issues, and flakey equipment. My 6682 was complete garbage.
Well, they did make some bad quality phones for a while, but my 6233 is just fine. It makes calls and has BT. That's all that counts for me.
My 6682 worked great for about 2 months and then it started rebooting itself about every 30 seconds, it had a faulty power button. I sent it in for repair and they sent it back not fixed. Then I paid shipping again to send it in, after 6 weeks I finally took the cash option and recieved more than I paid for the phone. So I guess I can not complain to much, perhaps I just was unlucky and got a bad phone. But from the experiences I had with Nokia service up to that point made me never want to give them a dime again. I will tolerate the crap for my N800 because I have no other options, but they have not created any loyalty with this consumer, in fact quite the opposite, the word loath comes to mind when I think Nokia... They really need to learn how to treat customers!
I understand that. I used to be a support engineer myself so I know what it's like to be torn between the (rightfully) angry customer and the management.
OTOH, customer support personnel _is_ typically the single point of communication between the company and its customers. They are not the decision-makers, but they do represent the company - at least from the customer's standpoint. When encountered with a customer who's been victimized by a bad company policy, the customer support representative should at least acknowledge the problem, explain the situation and ask for the customer's understanding. If the support person doesn't do that and ends up ticking off the customer, as in the case of the OP, then that is the support person's problem, not his company's. (I'm sure you'll agree on this...)
You're absolutely correct and seem like a reasonable guy.
As someone who has been on both sides of this equation (as many here have, I'm sure) I can see both sides. I do feel sympathy for the poor schlubs left out to twist in the wind by ignorant managers and executives. That sort of situation is what causes turnover, which just exacerbates the issue.
Not good for anyone, really, and it's a damning testament to human shortsightedness, stubbornness and inefficiency-- especially in midmanagement.
That's why I try to get irate customers to understand that starting off angry isn't going to help. Sure, support personnel should be trained to deal with this but really, why should they have to take abuse for a problem they didn't create, are there to fix, and may be hindered in doing so by crappy systems and uncaring management?
All I'm saying is that it makes the most sense to direct energies at the entities that are better able to address a problem. A support jock can't physically materialize parts. All he can do is order them, and that assumes he has access to a system that supports it (some people would be amazed at how poorly some of these systems are implemented) and that those parts are made available. I've worked for companies whose PDM and ERP systems were so wacked you never knew WHAT would be sent to the field. I can't go into Nokia's specific shortcomings, but to assume the support jocks have everything they need at their disposal is a pipedream.
All in all, the situation sucks, Nokia desperately needs to improve, and the people trying to do the right thing are the wrong ones to scream at.
You're absolutely correct and seem like a reasonable guy.
Thanks.
Originally Posted by
Not good for anyone, really, and it's a damning testament to human shortsightedness, stubbornness and inefficiency-- especially in midmanagement.
I agree. You summed it up very well.
Originally Posted by
That's why I try to get irate customers to understand that starting off angry isn't going to help. Sure, support personnel should be trained to deal with this but really, why should they have to take abuse for a problem they didn't create, are there to fix, and may be hindered in doing so by crappy systems and uncaring management?
I agree about how the customer would be better off calming down before he makes the first call to the support centre. His goal is to have his problems solved, not to tick off the support person or himself. Yelling at the poor soul on the other end of the line won't help at all.
Having said that, we can't always be rational either. You know better than to start off angry but emotion will get in the way. I have no grudge against support personnel; they just have to accept that taking the heat is part of their job and learn not to take it personally.
Good contribution, torx, and you reminded me of something.
Penguinbait, I said I wouldn't post to you but I think you'd like this: I went through my assortment of old 770 and N800 parts and found an entire back housing with stand, never used. You can have it for free + shipping/handling, if you're interested.
That's why I try to get irate customers to understand that starting off angry isn't going to help. Sure, support personnel should be trained to deal with this but really, why should they have to take abuse for a problem they didn't create, are there to fix, and may be hindered in doing so by crappy systems and uncaring management?
Yeah, if there is someone to be yelled at I make sure to ask if that person is available. If not I tend to remain pretty calm.
