Tivo's Customer Service Sucks
Jun. 3rd, 2006 04:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
csberryLast weekend I got the cool Series 2 Tivo w/ a dual tuner for my birthday. Since we have a ton of stuff to still watch on the old Tivo in the bedroom, I wasn't in a rush to hook it up. Today I decide to reconfigure the electronics in the bedroom to add the new Tivo and put the old Tivo in a position so I can easily remove it once we've finished watching the 8 or so L&Os (original, SVU, and CI). I pull everything out of the box. The quick guide says that since I don't have a cable box, I only have to open Bag A. I look for Bag A. I have two Bag Bs and no Bag As. Bag A has such things as phone cords, RCA cables, power cord - the essential wires and such - while Bag B is all the junk you need of you have a cable box.
I go to Tivo's website to see about getting a Bag A or swapping a B for an A. The page that comes up says for me to contact the manufacturer. "To find manufacturer contact information, see *link* Contact Customer Support *link*" I click the link and am sent back to the Support Search page. I try different combos of keywords to find the contact info for manufacturers...even going to the point of copy/pasting "manufacturer contact information" for the damned sentence quoted above. Nothing. Finally I drop the manufacturer and find Tivo's support number. Don't you know that the page that has that info -and all the manufacturers' contact info- is called "Contact Customer Support." WHY THE FUCK DIDN'T THE LINK GO TO THIS PAGE RATHER THAN THE SEARCH PAGE!?
I dial up Tivo's help number since I believe they are the manufacturer. I try to use the automated system but none of the options are pertinent and it doesn't recognize my request for "missing parts" or whatever. I give up and press 0 for an operator. Thankfully, I get one immediately...but before we do anything she wants to look me up in their computer. I now have three Tivos, all of them were presents from the in-laws and each one was purchased when I lived in a different location. She asks for my phone - nope, doesn't work. I try to explain my mobile situation and she suggests looking me up via the serial number off the back of one of my old Tivos. I do that and she needs to verify my name and email addy. I give her mine - nope. I give her my father-in-law's and she said the name was right but the addy was different. I try two of his other addresses. She finally gives me a hint that the domain name was correct the first time but the name before "@" was different. I give her JD's addy - FINALLY, success!
I tell her that I'm missing Bag A. While I have plenty of coax and RCA cable, I do need a power cord. Then begins a series of her putting me on hold for 3-5 minutes, coming back to ask for additional info (she verified all my contact info 3 times, wanted me to tell her everything that was in Bag B -the bag I have two of?), putting me back on hold again, and then she came on to tell me that she's still working to solve my problem and lists everything in Bag A except for the power cord. Finally she claims that there isn't any way for her to just order another Bag A for me, but will have to order each of the parts that are included in Bag A. Not only that but she claims that she would get in trouble with her supervisors if she put all of the parts on one case file. She must complete a separate case file for each part! After spending 57:03 on my phone, she assures me that the parts have been ordered and will be in the mail soon. She says she's going to transfer me to a supervisor to get my feedback. Instead of a supervisor, I get a 5 question automated survey.
That wasn't enough for me. I've wasted an hour of my afternoon...I WANT SATISFACTION!
I call back and wend my way to a supervisor. I provide a quick backstory to why I called to begin with and ask that since there's a part number on the bag of parts I have wasn' t there a way to just order another Bag A. Nope. I ask about the policy the previous person mentioned about having to file separate case files for each part. "Yes, sir, that is our policy." That was it - no empathy, just cut and dry - "that is our policy." I let her know that it is poor customer service to require me to wait for an hour and get asked my information for each case. I suggested that my Tivo boxes have completely satisfied me but the company needed to work on how they dealt with customers and processed these sorts of things. She then says that she's going to compensate me for my time. I say thanks. She then says that she has credited $25 or some similar amount to the credit card they have on file and for me to expect the parts (separately) in the mail in, at least, 14 business days.
WTF? 14 BUSINESS DAYS - 3 weeks for a fucking power cord!?
Not only that but the card they had on file was my f-i-l's card. I told her that my f-i-l might appreciate getting the money but how was she going to compensate me. She says nothing. I ask again. She says she compensated the credit card. I repeat my question about ME getting compensated. "What would you like me to do, sir?" *deep breath* I told her that I would like for her to take the money she would credit to the card and use it to FedEx my power cord to me. I would be completely satisfied if she did that. Nope. "Sir, you have to wait 14 business days for the parts."
So, here I sit steaming at the computer waiting for them to transport my parts via rickshaw/packmule/bottle thrown into the sea.
I love Tivo - I HATE TIVO CUSTOMER SERVICE!
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auronsgirl, I did my best to channel you while on the phone. If I had been able to successfully make that psychic connection, I bet she would have FedEx'ed the parts to me. *sigh*
I go to Tivo's website to see about getting a Bag A or swapping a B for an A. The page that comes up says for me to contact the manufacturer. "To find manufacturer contact information, see *link* Contact Customer Support *link*" I click the link and am sent back to the Support Search page. I try different combos of keywords to find the contact info for manufacturers...even going to the point of copy/pasting "manufacturer contact information" for the damned sentence quoted above. Nothing. Finally I drop the manufacturer and find Tivo's support number. Don't you know that the page that has that info -and all the manufacturers' contact info- is called "Contact Customer Support." WHY THE FUCK DIDN'T THE LINK GO TO THIS PAGE RATHER THAN THE SEARCH PAGE!?
I dial up Tivo's help number since I believe they are the manufacturer. I try to use the automated system but none of the options are pertinent and it doesn't recognize my request for "missing parts" or whatever. I give up and press 0 for an operator. Thankfully, I get one immediately...but before we do anything she wants to look me up in their computer. I now have three Tivos, all of them were presents from the in-laws and each one was purchased when I lived in a different location. She asks for my phone - nope, doesn't work. I try to explain my mobile situation and she suggests looking me up via the serial number off the back of one of my old Tivos. I do that and she needs to verify my name and email addy. I give her mine - nope. I give her my father-in-law's and she said the name was right but the addy was different. I try two of his other addresses. She finally gives me a hint that the domain name was correct the first time but the name before "@" was different. I give her JD's addy - FINALLY, success!
I tell her that I'm missing Bag A. While I have plenty of coax and RCA cable, I do need a power cord. Then begins a series of her putting me on hold for 3-5 minutes, coming back to ask for additional info (she verified all my contact info 3 times, wanted me to tell her everything that was in Bag B -the bag I have two of?), putting me back on hold again, and then she came on to tell me that she's still working to solve my problem and lists everything in Bag A except for the power cord. Finally she claims that there isn't any way for her to just order another Bag A for me, but will have to order each of the parts that are included in Bag A. Not only that but she claims that she would get in trouble with her supervisors if she put all of the parts on one case file. She must complete a separate case file for each part! After spending 57:03 on my phone, she assures me that the parts have been ordered and will be in the mail soon. She says she's going to transfer me to a supervisor to get my feedback. Instead of a supervisor, I get a 5 question automated survey.
That wasn't enough for me. I've wasted an hour of my afternoon...I WANT SATISFACTION!
I call back and wend my way to a supervisor. I provide a quick backstory to why I called to begin with and ask that since there's a part number on the bag of parts I have wasn' t there a way to just order another Bag A. Nope. I ask about the policy the previous person mentioned about having to file separate case files for each part. "Yes, sir, that is our policy." That was it - no empathy, just cut and dry - "that is our policy." I let her know that it is poor customer service to require me to wait for an hour and get asked my information for each case. I suggested that my Tivo boxes have completely satisfied me but the company needed to work on how they dealt with customers and processed these sorts of things. She then says that she's going to compensate me for my time. I say thanks. She then says that she has credited $25 or some similar amount to the credit card they have on file and for me to expect the parts (separately) in the mail in, at least, 14 business days.
WTF? 14 BUSINESS DAYS - 3 weeks for a fucking power cord!?
Not only that but the card they had on file was my f-i-l's card. I told her that my f-i-l might appreciate getting the money but how was she going to compensate me. She says nothing. I ask again. She says she compensated the credit card. I repeat my question about ME getting compensated. "What would you like me to do, sir?" *deep breath* I told her that I would like for her to take the money she would credit to the card and use it to FedEx my power cord to me. I would be completely satisfied if she did that. Nope. "Sir, you have to wait 14 business days for the parts."
So, here I sit steaming at the computer waiting for them to transport my parts via rickshaw/packmule/bottle thrown into the sea.
I love Tivo - I HATE TIVO CUSTOMER SERVICE!
auronsgirl, I did my best to channel you while on the phone. If I had been able to successfully make that psychic connection, I bet she would have FedEx'ed the parts to me. *sigh*
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no subject
Date: 2006-06-04 12:00 am (UTC)Glad you think so much of my phone kung-foo, Cory. Was this a first-line supervisor, or a second-line supervisor? Do you have their names and/or case numbers?
It's time to go bear hunting, my friend.
no subject
Date: 2006-06-04 03:03 am (UTC)I recommend you hit http://www.tivocommunity.com/ and send a private message to the user TiVoOpsMgr - he is, as the handle implies, the TiVo Operations Manager. He's good at helping folks out and he's the one who can do something about the way these cases are handled in general.
Just be polite and calm with him, he's a good guy and he's good about helping users out when the system fails.
Good luck.
no subject
Date: 2006-06-04 12:26 pm (UTC)My first job often required me to work the returns/customer service desk (at the long-dead Service Merchandise). It's very much a thankless job, so I always try to be as nice as possible. After the first hour, however, I lost all confidence in the folks' ability to use logic and find a better way to help me.