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Who handles support for this? Is it Google, or one of the carriers that Google's using? Who do you talk to if the handoff between carriers doesn't quite work? I

by luu 12y ago

Who handles support for this? Is it Google, or one of the carriers that Google's using? Who do you talk to if the handoff between carriers doesn't quite work? I've skimmed the FAQ and I didn't see that listed in there. For context, I use Google Voice, and while it's really nice in a lot of ways, it has some unfortunate bugs that have persisted for years that it seems impossible to get support for. I no longer unconditionally recommend it to people because while being able to take calls from my computer and get transcripts of voicemails is great, it also pseudo-randomly decides to only direct some calls to devices where I'm not present with no notification on devices that I'm using and also drops a small percentage of texts (my guess is around 1%). Most people I talk to are horrified by the idea of texts getting dropped, and I don't recommend GV to those folks, although it's fine if that's a tradeoff you're ok with. I understand that it's a beta and that bugs are expected, but it's a problem when you run into a bug that interferes with your ability to use your phone and there's no way to get support for it. Phone carriers aren't exactly known for their stellar customer service, but at least with them, if you call back enough times or escalate to higher level support, you'll eventually get a resolution. As far as I can tell, that's not true of Google's phone related products.

eli 12y ago
The typical MVNO model would be for Google to handle all the support. I agree that end-user support does not seem to be one of Google's strengths.
- fennecfoxen 12y ago
  Maybe that's okay -- end-user support isn't exactly one of the cellular industry's strengths either :P
  - zyxley 12y ago
    I dunno, I'd rather have "bad support" over "support that literally doesn't exist".
    - darkstar999 12y ago
      I'd defer to those who currently have Google Fiber. Is support any good?
      - bluthru 12y ago
        Google owns that network, though.
        darkstar999 12y ago
        So what's your point?
      - panopticon 12y ago
        Google Fiber customer here: it's not the best support I've ever interacted with, but other telcoms have set the bar so ridiculously low that it's comparatively great.
- tonyhb 12y ago
  Their support for the Nexus line of phones has been outstanding. Anyone can phone and speak to real humans with good tech knowledge, arrange a free replacement for (first time) cracked screens, and get next day replacements. I have no doubt that the support for this will be as good. Now, their automated side of advertising is crappy unless you're a large spender, but then that's just economies of scale.
  - eli 12y ago
    It's been a while, but even spending 5 figure a month, I found it difficult to get quality support from AdWords.
  - peeters 12y ago
    > Their support for the Nexus line of phones has been outstanding That hasn't been my experience, particularly with this issue: https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=82949 https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=82949 Basically you have to roll a dice whether you'll have sound in voice calls on a Nexus 4 running Lollipop. 500 comments, 1200 stars, and the issue is simply closed as "wrong forum" with no other comment than "contact customer support". I mean, I'm glad that Google supports so many camera features, as that's clearly the most important function of a Nexus 4, but at the end of the day I still expect my phone to be able to, you know, make voice calls. Related HN discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8898669 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8898669
    - bgc 12y ago
      Android support != Nexus hardware support. It seems like you're much better off support-wise if your phone's screen is shattered than if you are having any sort of issue with the software...
      - khuey 12y ago
        Ironic given that Google is generally believed to be a software company.
danielvinson 12y ago
If the past is any indication, Google will have really good support at first for this, similar to how it worked for Glass. Then once the product has been received well by early adopters (and received good publicity), they will layoff/downsize until everyone is unhappy.
schneidmaster 12y ago
Obviously I understand your trepidation regarding Google's support, and the proof will be in the proverbial pudding, but they at least claim they'll be providing better support than for most of their other products: LIVE SUPPORT AVAILABLE AROUND THE CLOCK If you need help, our support team is in the US and available all day, every day. Give us a call, and don't be surprised when you connect right away to a Fi Expert without pressing 0.

by luu 12y ago

eli 12y ago

The typical MVNO model would be for Google to handle all the support. I agree that end-user support does not seem to be one of Google's strengths.

fennecfoxen 12y ago
Maybe that's okay -- end-user support isn't exactly one of the cellular industry's strengths either :P
- zyxley 12y ago
  I dunno, I'd rather have "bad support" over "support that literally doesn't exist".
  - darkstar999 12y ago
    I'd defer to those who currently have Google Fiber. Is support any good?
    - bluthru 12y ago
      Google owns that network, though.
      - darkstar999 12y ago
        So what's your point?
    - panopticon 12y ago
      Google Fiber customer here: it's not the best support I've ever interacted with, but other telcoms have set the bar so ridiculously low that it's comparatively great.
tonyhb 12y ago
Their support for the Nexus line of phones has been outstanding. Anyone can phone and speak to real humans with good tech knowledge, arrange a free replacement for (first time) cracked screens, and get next day replacements. I have no doubt that the support for this will be as good. Now, their automated side of advertising is crappy unless you're a large spender, but then that's just economies of scale.
- eli 12y ago
  It's been a while, but even spending 5 figure a month, I found it difficult to get quality support from AdWords.
- peeters 12y ago
  > Their support for the Nexus line of phones has been outstanding That hasn't been my experience, particularly with this issue: https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=82949 https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=82949 Basically you have to roll a dice whether you'll have sound in voice calls on a Nexus 4 running Lollipop. 500 comments, 1200 stars, and the issue is simply closed as "wrong forum" with no other comment than "contact customer support". I mean, I'm glad that Google supports so many camera features, as that's clearly the most important function of a Nexus 4, but at the end of the day I still expect my phone to be able to, you know, make voice calls. Related HN discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8898669 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8898669
  - bgc 12y ago
    Android support != Nexus hardware support. It seems like you're much better off support-wise if your phone's screen is shattered than if you are having any sort of issue with the software...
    - khuey 12y ago
      Ironic given that Google is generally believed to be a software company.

danielvinson 12y ago

If the past is any indication, Google will have really good support at first for this, similar to how it worked for Glass. Then once the product has been received well by early adopters (and received good publicity), they will layoff/downsize until everyone is unhappy.

schneidmaster 12y ago

Obviously I understand your trepidation regarding Google's support, and the proof will be in the proverbial pudding, but they at least claim they'll be providing better support than for most of their other products: LIVE SUPPORT AVAILABLE AROUND THE CLOCK If you need help, our support team is in the US and available all day, every day. Give us a call, and don't be surprised when you connect right away to a Fi Expert without pressing 0.