12 ms·

The nexus 7 will be sabotaged by google's crappy customer service. I bought one at 10:37 am the morning they were available. It's 11 days later and there's no

• joshma 14y ago
  This seems like a lot of fuss over 1) an unannounced ship date and 2) a web page that deleted your carefully composed message. Personal anecdote: I wanted to change the credit card on the order. So I went to the Nexus page[1], clicked "Customer support" in the sidebar, clicked "Managing your order", and called the number they show, 1-855-83-NEXUS. Someone picked up in maybe 30 seconds (and I expected really bad wait times for Google customer support...). I explained I wanted to change the credit card, and he asked me for my email address + a piece of personal information. He told me he couldn't change the credit card, but could instead issue an order cancellation and I could rebuy the Nexus 7. Not ideal, but I said it was okay (after confirming that they weren't out of stock or anything). He saw that I only had one order on my account, cancelled it for me, and we ended the call. No order number needed; took all of 4 minutes. Granted, I'm a pretty big fan of Google so I'm definitely biased. And I do agree that Google's customer support sucks. But it's a bit disheartening to see the top comment be such a petty complaint. [1] https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_7_8gb&feature=banner https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_7_8gb...
  • earl 14y ago
    For $300 I expect order status and a customer service webapp that remembers my info. Amazon, apple, etc all make this happen. Google could if anyone there cared.
    • yock 14y ago
      But, why? Is the product alone not enough for your money? If you feel so strongly about this, why not wait for it to be released officially before making the purchase?
      • jrockway 14y ago
        Indeed. Just buy the thing from Amazon when it comes out.
      • wpietri 14y ago
        Why should he expect Google to have the kind of customer service anybody else does? Why shouldn't he?
        • yock 14y ago
          Google's customer service isn't the issue here. They offered the product for pre-order without making any statements about a shipping deadline. To then turn around and expect them to set one just because you gave them money is foolish.
          • modfodder 14y ago
            Google's customer service is the issue here. How a major tech company that focuses on the delivery of data designs a system that can't provide even the most basic of ordering information in 2012 is beyond me. It's what I expect from a small start-up (and even then it would irritate me). Why isn't there an estimated shipping timeline (nothing specific, just what they've also stated in the press, est. 3-4 weeks/subject to change). And why do I have to call to change billing information? I'd expect that from Sears or a behind the times brick&mortar, not the company that has helped define the internet. I understand there are alot of Google apologists on HN, and Apple get's the lion's share of positive tech press (they also get the majority of negative press too), but they should be pushing Google to be a better company, not insulting first adopters that pre-ordered a Google product.
• nostromo 14y ago
  Companies with several disjoint business units always seem to end up in this quagmire. My favorite example is this famous email from Bill Gates: http://blog.seattlepi.com/microsoft/2008/06/24/full-text-an-epic-bill-gates-e-mail-rant/ http://blog.seattlepi.com/microsoft/2008/06/24/full-text-an-...
  • felipemnoa 14y ago
    Wow! This is a very enlightening and entertaining email. These two quote stand out for me. >>I thought for sure now I would see a button to just go do the download. In fact it is more like a puzzle that you get to solve. It told me to go to Windows Update and do a bunch of incantations.<< >>So I got back up and running and went to Windows Update again. I forgot why I was in Windows Update at all since all I wanted was to get Moviemaker.<< Funny as hell but very true. A lot of things that I take for granted in the Mac always gives me problems in Windows. Simple things like connecting to the internet either by wifi or ethernet are not always smooth. There is always some obscure setting I have to tweak.
  • earl 14y ago
    I giggled at: So they told me that using the download page to download something was not something they anticipated.
• WalterBright 14y ago
  It reminds me of all those support centers that first ask you to key in your account number. Once a person (finally) answers the phone, the first thing they ask for is your account number. Me: But I already keyed it in! Them: Sorry, sir, but we don't have access to that.
  • jrockway 14y ago
    I've never had that experience with anyone.
    • dandrews 14y ago
      And I have, with IBM and Oracle (nee Sun nee StorageTek). Is this a poll?
    • Terretta 14y ago
      Odd. I've never not had that experience.
  • underwater 14y ago
    That's do you'll have the details close by. Otherwise the operator is left hanging when you have to go look for information they need.
• nickgeiger 14y ago
  Yeah, I second that. The tablet sounds great, so I placed a pre-order on Jun 28. Never got an estimated ship date then and seeing this post reminded me about it. I checked my order status on Google Wallet just now and it still gives no estimated ship date or any status whatsoever. Sorry, in a world of Amazon and Apple that have this basic delivery status down, this is a failure for Google. I'm hoping it will eventually ship and that it does prove to wow me, but this experience is definitely bad. I'm left to basically hope it arrives someday. If they just said, it'll be 5 weeks or 6 months or whatever, that would be far superior to saying nothing. Setting expectations is a key part of customer service that is missing here.
  • huggyface 14y ago
    Never got an estimated ship date then and seeing this post reminded me about it. Aside from the fact that the order screen has always said ships in two to three weeks? You either have terrible attention or you're lying.
• kamaal 14y ago
  I used to work at the Dell technical support call center. And they used to tell us that customer service is a part of the product. At first it seemed they were taking overboard with regards to customer service. But our managers made it clear, customer satisfaction came first. Everything else came next. We would even support calls which didn't even have warranty. Sometimes even teach people how to use computers, like practical tutions. Especially to the elderly. We would even make follow up calls to ensure everything was right. Soon the results showed. I mean Apple fanboys might laugh at us. But we sold more stuff by good customer service and courtesy than apple would have sold by innovation.
  • flyinRyan 14y ago
    I like the intent of your message but the actual details sound suspicious and even wrong. I, too, did some work for Dell contracts (that stuff is sourced out to location) and I can tell you after seeing how that worked I never bought another Dell product and talked everyone I knew out of it as well. As for your assertion about "Apple fanboys", have you seen how much Apple innovation sells? The last article I saw said Apple makes more revenue from the IPhone than MS makes... full stop. Innovation sells well and Apple is consistently voted highly on customer service. Odd that you chose to pick on Apple instead of Google who have support so bad that not even Google fanboys try to defend it.
  • ceejayoz 14y ago
    > Soon the results showed. I mean Apple fanboys might laugh at us. But we sold more stuff by good customer service and courtesy than apple would have sold by innovation. Setting aside for a moment that Apple is clearly winning in the sales department, Apple's pretty well known for good customer support.
    • moron 14y ago
      Yeah, I have no idea what that remark was about. Apple """"""fanboys"""""" laughing about competent customer service? Huh?
• huggyface 14y ago
  A $200 tablet isn't for you. I'm serious: You appear to need expensive hand holding. Get an iPad and contact them all you want. I'm not trying to defend Google here, but they have only pushed the Nexus 7, thus far, to the tech industry. They have been very clear that it is not shipping for two to three weeks. If you're antsy and impatient about it, desperate to see a number counting down, it isn't for you. I guess my core point is that there are a lot of us who don't need the expensive hand holding. I pre-ordered right once it became available. And then I forgot about it. They don't bill until it ships, so whenever.
  • jkubicek 14y ago
    That's not "expensive hand holding", it's just basic customer service. Apple does it, Amazon does it, Kmart.com does it. To the best of my knowledge, there is no reputable online retailer that does not do it. The lack of transparency into Google's ordering process isn't going to the the exclusive downfall of this tablet, but issues like these are clearly something that Google needs to address if they want this tablet to have mass-market appeal.
    • huggyface 14y ago
      That's not "expensive hand holding", it's just basic customer service They said that it would start shipping in two to three weeks. It has been 11 days since the earliest possible orders and already the whining has begun by impatient, the customer-is-always-righteous-in-complaints sorts. Yes, customer service workers answering lines to tell you what you already know are expensive. Why should I bear that cost? The other complaint is about a billing change -- Google made it very clear on the original order if anything changes to simply cancel the order. Impatient customer doesn't want that, though. They want someone to hold their hand and change details for them so that they don't lose their position in line that they demand a date on even though they know it isn't yet.
      • modfodder 14y ago
        Sounds to me what he is asking for, halfway through 2012, isn't unreasonable. Not only isn't it unreasonable, but most large online retailers do just what he is asking, an expected ship date and the ability to revise billing. Why has Google, one of the world's leading tech companies, failed to implement such important and simple features. How much faith am I to have in Google as a retailer of consumer electronics if they can't even get this right? I expected this when I purchased the Nexus One on it's release, but I expect better 2.5 yrs later. And how asking for these two simple features make him an "impatient, the customer-is-always-righteous" customer is beyond me, unless you happen to be a Google fandroid who believes the company can do no wrong. Nexus 7 seems to be a great product that many people are excited about, the first truly worthy competitor to Apple's tablet monopoly and why you have to besmirch one such consumer when he points out a weakness in Google's consumer facing service paints you as the self-righteous *ss, not him, imho.
• hammersend 14y ago
  "The nexus 7 will be sabotaged by google's crappy customer service." Dream on. This is just how the Nexus 7 is being sold right now. Best Buy, Future Shop, and Amazon are already putting in their orders and will sell the vast majority of these devices. Google will be a bit player in the Nexus 7 market and their customer service for better or worse will be a non-issue as far as how well overall sales go.