Nexus One reputation issues
It seems that the BBC hit the nail on the head :
“Many people are unhappy with Google only responding to questions by e-mail”
If you release a consumer product you need consumer support IMO when your only support is http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Google+Mobile/label?lid=18bf75ad33b7d554&hl=en I can see a big problem
DaveN
Ralph Windsor 754 days ago
http://www.daydream.co.ukGoogle’s customer service has always been a bit of a mess – across all their products and services. They’ll do anything to avoid direct contact with end users (like providing phone numbers etc). It’s their key weakness and will be their ultimate undoing, imho.
Jonathan Allen 754 days ago
http://www.twitter.com/jc1000000It’s the same problem for all Android phones and i’m glad it’s finally come home to roost on the Nexus!
My HTC hero suddenly locked me out of the phone completely and would not accept my Google Account credentials. Orange could not do anything at all and recommended i contact Google or HTC. In the forums, there were plenty of users all over the world who had the same problem and the only responses were from other users who unreasonably skeptical about the skill level of the complainants- imagine, it was like reading a youtube comments thread looking for REALLY IMPORTANT information. The Google branding of the page was about the only thing to stop the thread descending into a flame war. Of the only useful and informed answers, were random app developers saying that this was a known bug on Android but, to their knowledge, there were no official plans or roadmap to deal with it. This bug thread has been open for almost a year now. Not one Google or Android rep bothered to chime in to confirm/deny the problem or confirm/deny the solution. Unbelievable.
I eventually found an answer that was an effective fix but it was basically to wipe my phone and start again. Wiping my phone *should not* count as a fix to a company as big as Google, Orange or HTC.
If Orange and HTC (and other mobile network operators and manufacturers) are not careful, totally outsourcing support for their latest handsets and operating systems to a company that then, in turn, *only* crowdsources their product support to other people with the same problem will destroy their reputations. Meanwhile Google need not give a monkeys… dolphin, panther or whatever freaking stupid voice/data/txts bundle they offer whether these companies survive as Android is still a strategic rather than revenue generating play.
KP 754 days ago
http://www.kevin-pike.comThe only Google Product that gets phone support is Adwords – and you have to spend a ton of money to even get that.
All other Google apps get an email or referred to a support site with the answer. Is it the best solution, maybe not – but you do get used to this level of support. In fact, it makes you a smarter/more tech-savvy person to research and figure these things out on your own.
Take 5 minutes, read a manual. Or better yet, “Google” your issue and I bet you find a solution out there. I changed my HTC hero’s Google credentials without doing a hard reset. Google search provided me with other sites that had a discussion and solution.
I have personally seen (and helped with) some of the questions that pop-up in Google forum sites. I must say, I don’t blame Google for adding staff to answer dumb questions all day.
…. if only the world had more people like me
Dave Dugdale 754 days ago
http://www.rentvine.com/blog/I’m laughing at google because they are failing a customer support for the nexus phone. Looks like the google engineers can’t scale well.
Becky 754 days ago
It always surprises me (not sure why it still does) that big companies don’t get the customer service / support water tight from the off. Their main focus always goes on the launch and the marketing of the new product, but they tend to neglect one of the most important aspects of the after sales and support. Its certainly an area that will put off customers buying again or recommending the product to a friend.
Jonathan Allen 754 days ago
http://www.twitter.com/jc1000000KP – yeah to be fair, you do get used to that level of support in the end. And as you say it worked… in the end. However you have to be a tech nerd (no offence intended) at the end of the day to make such a system work.
For example, changing Google credentials as you suggested is a different bug – and would not have solved the specific problem i had – and that’s what i find unacceptable and annoying. Most people can’t describe why things fail on a device on any level, let explain the steps they took so that others can re-create the bug.
Most people are playing £1k+ a year for a phone contract and are not remotely technically minded. They pay the cash to not have the hassle – and to have someone at the other end of a phone line who can deal with their problem, or at the very least, acknowledge that the problem exists. With Crowdsourced support, if no-one can re-create the bug you have and then the customer is left wondering whether they are going mad… which can’t be great for the network operators or manufacturers brands.
Uttoran Sen 752 days ago
http://technascent.comwell, that is expected from all big companies, look at yahoo hosting, do they ever talk back to any of the queries, they don’t even email, same goes for the other big brands, it really is a big problem for the consumers but the bigger brands will always get clients, no matter how bad the support it, sad but true