Best & Worst Customer Service Lists

"Dave Hinz" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> Verizon Wireless takes the prize in my book.
>
> I just tried to call a co-worker on his Verizon cellphone (it's
> lunchtime).
> It didn't ring. It was on his desk...in downtown Milwaukee. No missed
> call
> notification, no ring, no nothing.

Problem with all cell phones (and beepers) is the building. Where I work, it
is rare to get a signal at all no matter who the carrier is. Same at our
warehouse in a metal building. Walk 3 feet inside and it is DEAD. Few
years back I looked into 2-way radios. The guy assured me it would be just
perfect. We could not get them to work 200 feet apart, but they had a 10
mile range outside.

In article <[email protected]>, Avraham
<[email protected]> wrote:

> And you have more options for buying hardware upgrades from Apple?

That's the beauty of Apple. You don't need to spring for hardware
upgrades, sound cards, video cards, fans, boards, etc. every couple of
months. You don't play computer technician, you just compute. We've
just added an iMac G5, what a marvel of design.

Gerry < experienced with both platforms, Machead by choice >

In article <[email protected]>, J. Clarke
<[email protected]> wrote:

> If you think that you _have_ to upgrade PCs every couple of months that
> shows that you don't have enough PC experience for your opinion to be worth
> listening to.

OK. I admit you can piss farther than me.

Gerry

BEST
Lee Valley
Grizzly

THE ABSOLUTE ALL-TIME MOST SINCERELY BUTT-UGLY WORST:
Dell Computer
http://members.cox.net/valk_ryder/dell/

Okay, good point:

BEST
Lee Valley- Everyone knows this, right? Great and helpful service.
Going out of their way to help. No questions asked on returns- I have
even returned stuff after months.
Grizzly- Immediately respond to questions, sends replacements without
fuss. Dito above.
Lie-Neilsen- Personalized service : )

WORST
General International- Ignored repeated emails for seven days, then-
not only did they not apologize- they layed blame on me for not using
telephone! Would not send missing parts on brand new tool(!), They
market to home users, without adequate support. Bad all the way up...
(took it to the Pres- no personal response, just more defensive
posturing from an underling).

Milwaukee- Completely refused to honor their warranty on a brand new
tool. Was mocked on the phone by customer service (no kidding!) when
asking to speak with supervisor.

BEST
Jet - replaced my entire saw when signficant manufacturing flow
discovered in sliding table. Paid for two people to deliver and set up
replacement saw. In cooperation with excellent dealer - The cutting
edge in Houston.
Jet - sent replacement parts on drill press when manufacturing defect
suspected - no questions asked.
Jet - replaced belt with new design and no cost after warranty expired.
Lee Valley - excellent - replaced defective veritas part purchased
through local dealer, even though they did not handle original sale.
Amazon - fast consistent internet purchasing and delivery. no hassle
returns.
Coastal tool - provided good, personalized precise advice on the phone
and via email.

WORST
Coastal tool - shipped order 7 days after they said it shipped with no
communication about delay. shipped wrong parts for new Bosch jigsaw -
provided replacement but never communicated that it was handled. I
left information and they promised to look into it but never
communicated back. 10 days later replacement part arrived (1 part to
replace the 5 that I originally ordered). They are personal and well
intended but I sense their business has outgrown their capability to
keep up. Amazon has spoiled me with their flawless internet sales model
and followup.

Bob
Houston, Texas

Robert Wagner?

The best: Hitachi - I screwed up my M12V, sent it to their service
center and had it back in less than a week at no charge.

The worst: Northwest Airlines - bumped me from a flight and gave me a
voucher that I was unable to use. I would call to make a reservation
and would invariably get the answer that there were no seats available
on the flight that I could use the voucher on. When asked when they
had a flight with seats that I could use the voucher on, they refused
to tell me.

Dick Durbin

I used to work with a guy that flew Northwest through Minneapolis to
Duluth. He said invariably if the plane was less than half full they
would develop "mechanical problems" and cancel the flight.
Unfortunately it was the last flight of the day and he would then have
to rent a car and drive home or try again the next day.

CD

On 6 Apr 2005 15:44:47 -0700, [email protected] <[email protected]> wrote:
> What have been your best and worst customer service experiences and how
> would you rate them? Just service, not the tools themselves. Here's
> mine:
>
> WORST
> Milwaukee

The one time I had a problem with a Milwaukee tool, they took care of me
right away without problem.

On 6 Apr 2005 16:52:21 -0700, JC <[email protected]> wrote:
> BEST
> Lee Valley
> Grizzly
>
> THE ABSOLUTE ALL-TIME MOST SINCERELY BUTT-UGLY WORST:
> Dell Computer

And my experiences with them have been all positive as well. Used to have
a couple hundred Dell PCs in a corporate environment, and a handful of
personal machines. No problems.

> http://members.cox.net/valk_ryder/dell/

Sounds like a true clusterfuck. I'm glad I switched over to Apple.

On Wed, 06 Apr 2005 18:11:12 -0700, No-One <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> Worst:

> Cheaper than Dirt - Sent the wrong item, refused to make it right. Got
> nothing but lip service from the person on the phone.

Yup, I've heard this from enough people that I avoid them. Sarco is
slow, but at least they're competant.

On Thu, 07 Apr 2005 17:05:10 GMT, Doug Miller <[email protected]> wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>, lgb <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>Naah! I nominate ANY cell phone service!
>>
> Verizon Wireless takes the prize in my book.

I just tried to call a co-worker on his Verizon cellphone (it's lunchtime).
It didn't ring. It was on his desk...in downtown Milwaukee. No missed call
notification, no ring, no nothing.

"Can you hear me now?" Indeed not.

On Thu, 07 Apr 2005 14:17:46 -0400, J. Clarke <[email protected]> wrote:
> Wes Stewart wrote:
>
>> I'm typing on a Dell. I decided some time ago I would never buy
>> another. It's worked okay for several years until the built-in modem
>> failed and I gave up and installed an external hardware modem. But
>> when I tried to add memory I learned that Dell stuff is proprietary;
>> Kingston, etc won't work.
>
> Did you go to the Kingston site and find the right part number then order
> it? There are very few machines for which Kingston does not have
> guaranteed-compatible memory.

I agree. Kingston is top-notch for availability and for service. And if
Dell is doing the "you can only buy parts from us" game, that's another
reason to avoid them. For what it's worth, I never ran into that with
a Dell, but again my experience with them ended about 4 years ago when
I went to Apple.

On Thu, 07 Apr 2005 14:19:17 -0700, David <[email protected]> wrote:
> It isn't always the cell phone company's fault a phone doesn't ring.
> I've got a Star Tac that won't ring where other phones (my wife's, for
> example) ALWAYS ring.

Well, put it this way. Some coworkers have Sprint phones, and they
don't suck, where those of us with verizon phones do have service that
sucks. And they're the same models of phones, so...

>> "Can you hear me now?" Indeed not.

On Thu, 07 Apr 2005 16:37:50 -0400, J. Clarke <[email protected]> wrote:
> Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
>
>> Problem with all cell phones (and beepers) is the building. Where I work,
>> it
>> is rare to get a signal at all no matter who the carrier is. Same at our
>> warehouse in a metal building. Walk 3 feet inside and it is DEAD. Few
>> years back I looked into 2-way radios. The guy assured me it would be
>> just
>> perfect. We could not get them to work 200 feet apart, but they had a 10
>> mile range outside.
>
> I just shelled out 400 bucks for a repeater so that my cell phone will work
> inside my house--foil vapor barrier is death on electronic signals.

Do you have a link? I can ask my boss to spring for one, next time I
miss a work-related page/call.

Dave

On Fri, 08 Apr 2005 18:22:24 -0400, J. Clarke <[email protected]> wrote:
> G.E.R.R.Y. wrote:
>
>> In article <[email protected]>, Avraham
>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>> And you have more options for buying hardware upgrades from Apple?
>>
>> That's the beauty of Apple. You don't need to spring for hardware
>> upgrades, sound cards, video cards, fans, boards, etc. every couple of
>> months. You don't play computer technician, you just compute. We've
>> just added an iMac G5, what a marvel of design.
>
> Uh, what leads you to believe that you _need_ to spring for hardware
> upgrades, sound cards, video cards, fans, boards, etc every couple of
> months? The only hardware upgrades I've done in the past two years or so
> were a couple of gigabit boards and upgraded a 120 gig disk to a terabyte
> RAID. And both of those were on a PIII machine.

I must have missed Avraham's message. Of course, with an apple, you
can buy hardware from whomever you want. Standard RAM, drives, cards,
monitors, whatever the heck you want. Apple has been doing open architecture
since the early 1980's at least.

>> Gerry < experienced with both platforms, Machead by choice >

Same here.

> If you think that you _have_ to upgrade PCs every couple of months that
> shows that you don't have enough PC experience for your opinion to be worth
> listening to.

Well, I wouldn't say that myself, either. But the options are equally there
for upgrading a PC tower, as they are for upgrading a Mac tower.
Maybe Gerry was saying it's less necessary which is arguably true, but
the options are there in both (heh) cases.

On Sat, 09 Apr 2005 16:11:33 -0700, Mark & Juanita <[email protected]> wrote:
> On 9 Apr 2005 21:19:29 GMT, Dave Hinz <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>I must have missed Avraham's message. Of course, with an apple, you
>>can buy hardware from whomever you want. Standard RAM, drives, cards,
>>monitors, whatever the heck you want. Apple has been doing open architecture
>>since the early 1980's at least.
>
> Maybe early 1990's, but definitely not early 1980's.

Ever seen an Apple ][ ? top lifts off, card slots right there. Might
even date to 1979 but I'd have to go check.

Dave Hinz wrote:
> On 6 Apr 2005 16:52:21 -0700, JC <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>BEST
>>Lee Valley
>>Grizzly
>>
>>THE ABSOLUTE ALL-TIME MOST SINCERELY BUTT-UGLY WORST:
>>Dell Computer
>
>
> And my experiences with them have been all positive as well. Used to have
> a couple hundred Dell PCs in a corporate environment, and a handful of
> personal machines. No problems.
>
>
>>http://members.cox.net/valk_ryder/dell/
>
>
> Sounds like a true clusterfuck. I'm glad I switched over to Apple.
>
That was Corporate Customer Support. Dell outsourced them for a short
while, then brought it back to the US. their large corporate customers
wouldn't put up with offshore support.
We regularly spend $5M a year with them for workstations and servers.
Joe

[email protected] wrote:
> Robert Wagner?

Which would make the best Natalie Woods. Reminds me of Blake and
Shatner.

Dave in Fairfax
--
Dave Leader
reply-to doesn't work
use:
daveldr at att dot net
American Association of Woodturners
http://www.woodturner.org
Capital Area Woodturners
http://www.capwoodturners.org/
PATINA
http://www.Patinatools.org/

Doug Miller wrote:
> OK, so now we're drifting back toward somewhere approaching on-topic...
> Q: What kind of wood doesn't float?
> A: Natalie.

Sorry about getting back on topic, I'll try to avoid it in the
future. %-)
It's too bad thst their kid looks so much like her dad. What
really sucks is thst Natalie was silly enough to get in a boat
with him if she couldn't swim. Good memory, BTW.

Dave in Fairfax
--
Dave Leader
reply-to doesn't work
use:
daveldr at att dot net
American Association of Woodturners
http://www.woodturner.org
Capital Area Woodturners
http://www.capwoodturners.org/
PATINA
http://www.Patinatools.org/

On Thu, 07 Apr 2005 17:05:10 GMT, [email protected] (Doug Miller)
wrote:

>In article <[email protected]>, lgb <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>Naah! I nominate ANY cell phone service!
>>
>Verizon Wireless takes the prize in my book.

<<< Snipped for brevity >>>

>It took them *five*months* to get the billing straightened out. Every month,
>for five months, I had to call them and make them adjust the bill. Idiots.

Same thing happened to me with Sprint PCS. I had my cell for three
years on the same plan- 300 anytime minutes, 2500 night and weekend
minutes. When I signed up for the thing, the night minutes started at
7pm (IIRC), but they later changed their standard time to 9pm. They
sort of honored my long-standing account for 4 or 5 months, but then
my phone started showing the word "duplicate" on the screen every time
I used it. The detailed bill showed that I was billed twice for every
call- when I tried to get them to fix the service, they said I had to
upgrade my plan to get more minutes (said minutes to be counted by the
new 9pm standard), and denied that the plan I had had for years ever
existed. My cell bill went from $25 a month to about $280. Needless
to say, I dropped those sobs like a bad habit, and haven't even been
tempted to get another cell phone from *any* company.

Of course, I'm sort of a freak without a cell phone these days, but I
actually think it has improved my quality of life- not having a phone
in my pocket leaves a lot more time for actually doing the things that
I am doing. I don't think I'm ever going to get one again.


Aut inveniam viam aut faciam

Hasn't Sprint always been a company without scruples? Weren't they one
of the offenders in the slamming schemes years ago, or am I thinking of
MCI? or both?

Dave

Josh wrote:

> Sweet Jesus add Sprint to that list of worst customer support ever.
>
> I had a cell phone that kept thinking it was charging and then not charging,
> about 10 times a minute. The phone made a nice little beep every time a
> "connection" was made or broken. It sat on the counter of the Sprint store,
> beeping incessantly, for 2 hours before someone got to me to look at my
> phone. They took it in the back and said "see that green on the connection
> terminal?" "no." I replied. "Well, that green on the connection terminal
> is corrosion, which means that the warranty is void." Then the woman voided
> out my warranty and said "you can buy a new phone for $170 or you can add
> another line and get two "free" phones for $69.95."
>
> After I informed her that $69.95 was not free, I said "well, since you just
> sat there and voided out my warranty, I'm gonna get a screw driver and take
> the damn thing appart and see if I can't fix it myself." I took it apart
> and cleared out a piece of sand or salt that was on the circuit board and
> the problem was fixed. There was no corrosion. Bastards.
>
> Josh.
>
> <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
>>What have been your best and worst customer service experiences and how
>>would you rate them? Just service, not the tools themselves. Here's
>>mine:
>>
>>BEST
>>Lee Valley
>>Grizzly
>>Lie-Neilsen
>>
>>WORST
>>General International
>>Milwaukee
>>
>
>
>

In article <[email protected]>, reply-to, is, disabled, to, stop, spam wrote:
>Doug Miller wrote:
>> OK, so now we're drifting back toward somewhere approaching on-topic...
>> Q: What kind of wood doesn't float?
>> A: Natalie.
>
>Sorry about getting back on topic, I'll try to avoid it in the
>future. %-)
>It's too bad thst their kid looks so much like her dad. What
>really sucks is thst Natalie was silly enough to get in a boat
>with him if she couldn't swim. Good memory, BTW.

Some of those sick jokes just seem to stick around forever... Here's another:
Q: Why didn't Natalie Wood take a shower on the boat?
A: She wanted to wash up on shore.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt.
And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?

Vagner, the German musician guy.

> Robert Wagner?
>

"Wes Stewart" <n7ws_@*yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I'm typing on a Dell. I decided some time ago I would never buy
> another. It's worked okay for several years until the built-in modem
> failed and I gave up and installed an external hardware modem. But
> when I tried to add memory I learned that Dell stuff is proprietary;
> Kingston, etc won't work.

I did not have that problem when adding memory to my Dell.




> When tech "support" went to India, that sealed their fate. I called
> them one time about the modem... "Sir, you are going to have to
> reformat your hard drive."
>
>

"JC" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> BEST
> Lee Valley
> Grizzly
>
> THE ABSOLUTE ALL-TIME MOST SINCERELY BUTT-UGLY WORST:
> Dell Computer
> http://members.cox.net/valk_ryder/dell/

Yeah ... but add Gateway to the short list. 83 year old Mom: "I have a USB2
port on my 2 year old Gateway, but it won't work with my iPod anymore?".
CustomerServiceoxyMORON: "Sorry lady, you're going to have to buy a new
computer for that to work".

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 11/06/04

Worst

Anything with Wagner's name on it.

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> What have been your best and worst customer service experiences and how
> would you rate them? Just service, not the tools themselves. Here's
> mine:
>
> BEST
> Lee Valley
> Grizzly
> Lie-Neilsen
>
> WORST
> General International
> Milwaukee
>

In article <[email protected]>, "J. Clarke" <[email protected]> wrote:

>I just can't figure out these people who seem to be unable to survive
>without a phone stuck in their ear. And I do wonder why the lot of them
>are too cheap to get a headset.

They're not too cheap to get a headset, they're too important. If they used
headsets, then they would be unobtrusive, and no one else would notice how
important they are.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt.
And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?

> > THE ABSOLUTE ALL-TIME MOST SINCERELY BUTT-UGLY WORST:
> > Dell Computer
> > http://members.cox.net/valk_ryder/dell/
>
>
Naah! I nominate ANY cell phone service!

--
Homo sapiens is a goal, not a description

JC says...

> THE ABSOLUTE ALL-TIME MOST SINCERELY BUTT-UGLY WORST:
> Dell Computer
> http://members.cox.net/valk_ryder/dell/

Agree Dell is awesomely bad. I didn't know a company could treat its
customers the way I was. Long story, don't get me started...

In article <[email protected]>, reply-to, is, disabled, to, stop, spam wrote:
>[email protected] wrote:
>> Robert Wagner?
>
>Which would make the best Natalie Woods. Reminds me of Blake and
>Shatner.

OK, so now we're drifting back toward somewhere approaching on-topic...

Q: What kind of wood doesn't float?
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
A: Natalie.





--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt.
And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?

[email protected] wrote:
> What have been your best and worst customer service experiences and how
> would you rate them? Just service, not the tools themselves. Here's
> mine:
>
> BEST

I should think that at least one line as to why in each would be
appropiate; it isn't right to knock a company without at least "refuse
to take back product damaged during shipping" or the like.

PK

Best:

Grizzly
Milwaukee
Porter Cable

Worst:

Dell - Took countless calls, e-mails, etc & 6 months to get a
rebate...Would not recomment Dell to anyone, unless you enjoy the worst
service ever.

Cheaper than Dirt - Sent the wrong item, refused to make it right. Got
nothing but lip service from the person on the phone.



[email protected] wrote:
> What have been your best and worst customer service experiences and how
> would you rate them? Just service, not the tools themselves. Here's
> mine:
>
> BEST
> Lee Valley
> Grizzly
> Lie-Neilsen
>
> WORST
> General International
> Milwaukee
>

Sweet Jesus add Sprint to that list of worst customer support ever.

I had a cell phone that kept thinking it was charging and then not charging,
about 10 times a minute. The phone made a nice little beep every time a
"connection" was made or broken. It sat on the counter of the Sprint store,
beeping incessantly, for 2 hours before someone got to me to look at my
phone. They took it in the back and said "see that green on the connection
terminal?" "no." I replied. "Well, that green on the connection terminal
is corrosion, which means that the warranty is void." Then the woman voided
out my warranty and said "you can buy a new phone for $170 or you can add
another line and get two "free" phones for $69.95."

After I informed her that $69.95 was not free, I said "well, since you just
sat there and voided out my warranty, I'm gonna get a screw driver and take
the damn thing appart and see if I can't fix it myself." I took it apart
and cleared out a piece of sand or salt that was on the circuit board and
the problem was fixed. There was no corrosion. Bastards.

Josh.

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> What have been your best and worst customer service experiences and how
> would you rate them? Just service, not the tools themselves. Here's
> mine:
>
> BEST
> Lee Valley
> Grizzly
> Lie-Neilsen
>
> WORST
> General International
> Milwaukee
>

> Which Ryobi planer do you have? I was having trouble finding
> replacement blades for my model AP12 12 inch planer, and found that
> the Delta brand Cat 22-562 that I got from Lowe's fit just fine. The
> only differences I have observed is that the delta blades have 3 index
> holes where the factory blades had 2. All other dimensions are
> exactly the same within .001 on my calipers except overall length.
> the are 1 MM longer but still fit and turn cleanly
>
Same machine and you had the same experience I did just this week. A fellow
at HD was glad to let me open the package and stand there and measure the
Delta blades. The Deltas fit fine. I almost had a heart event when I found
out what the aftermarket blades cost.

BEST : Lee Valley, Busy Bee.

MEDIUM : Sears (craftman)

WORST : Canadian Tire (Mastercraft)

S.B.

<[email protected]> a écrit dans le message de news:
[email protected]...
> What have been your best and worst customer service experiences and how
> would you rate them? Just service, not the tools themselves. Here's
> mine:
>
> BEST
> Lee Valley
> Grizzly
> Lie-Neilsen
>
> WORST
> General International
> Milwaukee
>

It isn't always the cell phone company's fault a phone doesn't ring.
I've got a Star Tac that won't ring where other phones (my wife's, for
example) ALWAYS ring. I tried another phone, but didn't like the
features so I'm hanging on to the Star Tac until a better phone with
speaker phone capability comes out. I tried on of the LG's but it was
so loud on the softest setting (earphone; not spkr) that I couldn't
stand it. And I don't want the V710 either.

Dave

Dave Hinz wrote:
> On Thu, 07 Apr 2005 17:05:10 GMT, Doug Miller <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>In article <[email protected]>, lgb <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Naah! I nominate ANY cell phone service!
>>>
>>
>>Verizon Wireless takes the prize in my book.
>
>
> I just tried to call a co-worker on his Verizon cellphone (it's lunchtime).
> It didn't ring. It was on his desk...in downtown Milwaukee. No missed call
> notification, no ring, no nothing.
>
> "Can you hear me now?" Indeed not.
>

"Dave Hinz" wrote in message

> I agree. Kingston is top-notch for availability and for service.

... and been around a loooooonnnggg time! I remember ordering memory from
them out of the old BBS mag, _before_ Al Gore invented the Internet.

My first two 8 MB sticks were bought as an "investment" (so I told SWMBO),
because it didn't look like memory prices would ever be low ... in excess of
$400, IIRC ... Boy howdy, was that stupid, or what?

Funny though, she still believes what I say ... go figure.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 11/06/04

"JC" <[email protected]> wrote in news:1112831541.647781.61170
@l41g2000cwc.googlegroups.com:

> BEST
> Lee Valley
> Grizzly
>
> THE ABSOLUTE ALL-TIME MOST SINCERELY BUTT-UGLY WORST:
> Dell Computer
> http://members.cox.net/valk_ryder/dell/
>

Best
----
Lee Valley
McMaster-Carr
Ace Hardware
My local hardwood yard (Sears-Trostel)

Worst
-----
Home Depot
Dell Computer (I'll second your nomination)
Any HMO or PPO in existence

In article <[email protected]>, lgb <[email protected]> wrote:

>Naah! I nominate ANY cell phone service!
>
Verizon Wireless takes the prize in my book.

Four years ago, they ran an ad in the paper touting basic cell service, 30
min/month during prime time and 1000 hours night/weekend service, free
phone, no activation fee, for $19.95. Called the toll-free number and ordered
one for my wife. Couple weeks later, I ordered one for myself, same plan. Only
difference was that I ordered mine in person at a kiosk in the mall, so I
actually had a signed contract for mine.

First bill comes in the mail for each account: $29.95. Plus charges for night
and weekend use.

Called them up and asked "what gives?" They denied that they ever offered such
a plan. I read them the plan code off my contract. They denied that such a
plan existed. Faxed them a copy. Turns out they *did* have a plan like that
after all. So they promise to fix my account.

What about my wife's account, the one I ordered by phone? Well, sir, since you
don't have a contract to prove that's the plan you signed up for, we can't
give you that rate.

I said, Don't go there. That works two ways: without a contract, *you* can't
prove that I agreed to pay *anything* for the service. You can't prove that I
agreed to any kind of early termination penalties. Fix the account, or I won't
pay.

She said if I didn't pay, they'd see me in court.

I pointed out that without a contract, they would have a pretty hard time
proving anything, and it would just be easier on all concerned if she would
just concede that since I'd already *proved* that I was telling the truth
about the first phone, I'm probably telling the truth about the second one,
too.

It took them *five*months* to get the billing straightened out. Every month,
for five months, I had to call them and make them adjust the bill. Idiots.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt.
And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?

On 7 Apr 2005 18:52:37 GMT, Dave Hinz <[email protected]> wrote:

>On Thu, 07 Apr 2005 14:17:46 -0400, J. Clarke <[email protected]> wrote:
>> Wes Stewart wrote:
>>
>>> I'm typing on a Dell. I decided some time ago I would never buy
>>> another. It's worked okay for several years until the built-in modem
>>> failed and I gave up and installed an external hardware modem. But
>>> when I tried to add memory I learned that Dell stuff is proprietary;
>>> Kingston, etc won't work.
>>
>> Did you go to the Kingston site and find the right part number then order
>> it? There are very few machines for which Kingston does not have
>> guaranteed-compatible memory.
>
>I agree. Kingston is top-notch for availability and for service. And if
>Dell is doing the "you can only buy parts from us" game, that's another
>reason to avoid them. For what it's worth, I never ran into that with
>a Dell, but again my experience with them ended about 4 years ago when
>I went to Apple.

And you have more options for buying hardware upgrades from Apple? <G>
A

JC wrote:

> BEST
> Lee Valley
> Grizzly
>
> THE ABSOLUTE ALL-TIME MOST SINCERELY BUTT-UGLY WORST:
> Dell Computer
> http://members.cox.net/valk_ryder/dell/

The thing that I see missing there is the snail mail to Michael Dell,

"Dear Mr. Dell,

Enclosed please find a copy of my recent correspondence with your customer
service department and a photo of my computer next to today's newspaper to
demonstrate that I do indeed have it in my possession at this time. All I
want is the WiFi card that, according to the order and the service tag, was
in the machine, but which in fact was never provided. I will call your
office on (date 7 business days after postmark of letter) to discuss this
matter"

And the transcript of the phone call, in which you talked to Mr. Dell's
secretary (in a company that size, the secretary is more in the nature of
the Executive Officer on a warship--she or he is empowered to implement
policy, including kicking ass and taking names, but not to create new
policy) in which you reiterated the situation--since you enclosed a photo,
the secretary will probably remember your letter, and in which the
secretary agreed to "look into" the matter.

And the the result, whatever it might have been, of that "looking into". In
my experience, the result is either whatever was expected with something
added to sweeten the pot or a phone call from an obviously terrified
customer service rep that will give you anything you want, possibly
including a BJ, in order to be allowed to keep their job.

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

Wes Stewart wrote:

> On Thu, 7 Apr 2005 06:17:02 -0500, "Swingman" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>
>>"JC" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>>news:[email protected]...
>>> BEST
>>> Lee Valley
>>> Grizzly
>>>
>>> THE ABSOLUTE ALL-TIME MOST SINCERELY BUTT-UGLY WORST:
>>> Dell Computer
>>> http://members.cox.net/valk_ryder/dell/
>>
>>Yeah ... but add Gateway to the short list. 83 year old Mom: "I have a
>>USB2 port on my 2 year old Gateway, but it won't work with my iPod
>>anymore?". CustomerServiceoxyMORON: "Sorry lady, you're going to have to
>>buy a new computer for that to work".
>
> I'm typing on a Dell. I decided some time ago I would never buy
> another. It's worked okay for several years until the built-in modem
> failed and I gave up and installed an external hardware modem. But
> when I tried to add memory I learned that Dell stuff is proprietary;
> Kingston, etc won't work.

Did you go to the Kingston site and find the right part number then order
it? There are very few machines for which Kingston does not have
guaranteed-compatible memory.

> When tech "support" went to India, that sealed their fate. I called
> them one time about the modem... "Sir, you are going to have to
> reformat your hard drive."

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:

>
> "Dave Hinz" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>>> Verizon Wireless takes the prize in my book.
>>
>> I just tried to call a co-worker on his Verizon cellphone (it's
>> lunchtime).
>> It didn't ring. It was on his desk...in downtown Milwaukee. No missed
>> call
>> notification, no ring, no nothing.
>
> Problem with all cell phones (and beepers) is the building. Where I work,
> it
> is rare to get a signal at all no matter who the carrier is. Same at our
> warehouse in a metal building. Walk 3 feet inside and it is DEAD. Few
> years back I looked into 2-way radios. The guy assured me it would be
> just
> perfect. We could not get them to work 200 feet apart, but they had a 10
> mile range outside.

I just shelled out 400 bucks for a repeater so that my cell phone will work
inside my house--foil vapor barrier is death on electronic signals.

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

G.E.R.R.Y. wrote:

> In article <[email protected]>, Avraham
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> And you have more options for buying hardware upgrades from Apple?
>
> That's the beauty of Apple. You don't need to spring for hardware
> upgrades, sound cards, video cards, fans, boards, etc. every couple of
> months. You don't play computer technician, you just compute. We've
> just added an iMac G5, what a marvel of design.

Uh, what leads you to believe that you _need_ to spring for hardware
upgrades, sound cards, video cards, fans, boards, etc every couple of
months? The only hardware upgrades I've done in the past two years or so
were a couple of gigabit boards and upgraded a 120 gig disk to a terabyte
RAID. And both of those were on a PIII machine.

I do have to replace a first-generation Geforce board pretty soon
though--fan froze up and it's showing artifacts even with a new fan, so
it's pretty clearly fried. That's on a dual PII-Xeon machine. Although
given the use to which I put it these days I may just stick an old TNT2
board in it.

> Gerry < experienced with both platforms, Machead by choice >

If you think that you _have_ to upgrade PCs every couple of months that
shows that you don't have enough PC experience for your opinion to be worth
listening to.

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

Prometheus wrote:

> On Thu, 07 Apr 2005 17:05:10 GMT, [email protected] (Doug Miller)
> wrote:
>
>>In article <[email protected]>, lgb
>><[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>>Naah! I nominate ANY cell phone service!
>>>
>>Verizon Wireless takes the prize in my book.
>
> <<< Snipped for brevity >>>
>
>>It took them *five*months* to get the billing straightened out. Every
>>month, for five months, I had to call them and make them adjust the bill.
>>Idiots.
>
> Same thing happened to me with Sprint PCS. I had my cell for three
> years on the same plan- 300 anytime minutes, 2500 night and weekend
> minutes. When I signed up for the thing, the night minutes started at
> 7pm (IIRC), but they later changed their standard time to 9pm. They
> sort of honored my long-standing account for 4 or 5 months, but then
> my phone started showing the word "duplicate" on the screen every time
> I used it. The detailed bill showed that I was billed twice for every
> call- when I tried to get them to fix the service, they said I had to
> upgrade my plan to get more minutes (said minutes to be counted by the
> new 9pm standard), and denied that the plan I had had for years ever
> existed. My cell bill went from $25 a month to about $280. Needless
> to say, I dropped those sobs like a bad habit, and haven't even been
> tempted to get another cell phone from *any* company.
>
> Of course, I'm sort of a freak without a cell phone these days, but I
> actually think it has improved my quality of life- not having a phone
> in my pocket leaves a lot more time for actually doing the things that
> I am doing. I don't think I'm ever going to get one again.

Sounds like a good reason to avoid Sprint, however if you had your contract
in hand I suspect that a letter from a lawyer (costs about 50 bucks
typically) would have straightened this out right quick.

Verizon continued trying to bill me for a year or so after I switched to
AT&T.

Personally I don't find that a cell phone takes up any of my time at all.
But I turn it on when I want to use it--it's for _my_ convenience, not that
of the rest of the world.

I just can't figure out these people who seem to be unable to survive
without a phone stuck in their ear. And I do wonder why the lot of them
are too cheap to get a headset.

> Aut inveniam viam aut faciam

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

Dave in Fairfax wrote:

> [email protected] wrote:
>
>>Robert Wagner?
>
>
> Which would make the best Natalie Woods. Reminds me of Blake and
> Shatner.
>
> Dave in Fairfax
Natalie? Isn't that one of the only woods that doesn't float?

;-)
Glen

In article <[email protected]>,
Dave Hinz <[email protected]> wrote:

> On 6 Apr 2005 15:44:47 -0700, [email protected] <[email protected]> wrote:
> > What have been your best and worst customer service experiences and how
> > would you rate them? Just service, not the tools themselves. Here's
> > mine:
> >
> > WORST
> > Milwaukee
>
> The one time I had a problem with a Milwaukee tool, they took care of me
> right away without problem.

My experiences with Milwaukee have been stellar.
Having said that, I'm also aware of the fact that ANY company can have a
hiccup at some point.

On Mon, 11 Apr 2005 06:17:10 -0500, Prometheus <[email protected]>
wrote:

>On Thu, 07 Apr 2005 17:05:10 GMT, [email protected] (Doug Miller)
>wrote:
>
>>In article <[email protected]>, lgb <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>>Naah! I nominate ANY cell phone service!
>>>
>>Verizon Wireless takes the prize in my book.
>
><<< Snipped for brevity >>>
>
>>It took them *five*months* to get the billing straightened out. Every month,
>>for five months, I had to call them and make them adjust the bill. Idiots.
>
>Same thing happened to me with Sprint PCS. I had my cell for three
>years on the same plan- 300 anytime minutes, 2500 night and weekend
>minutes. When I signed up for the thing, the night minutes started at
>7pm (IIRC), but they later changed their standard time to 9pm. They
>sort of honored my long-standing account for 4 or 5 months, but then
>my phone started showing the word "duplicate" on the screen every time
>I used it. The detailed bill showed that I was billed twice for every
>call- when I tried to get them to fix the service, they said I had to
>upgrade my plan to get more minutes (said minutes to be counted by the
>new 9pm standard), and denied that the plan I had had for years ever
>existed. My cell bill went from $25 a month to about $280. Needless
>to say, I dropped those sobs like a bad habit, and haven't even been
>tempted to get another cell phone from *any* company.
>

My experiences with Sprint have been similar. They appear to be
ethically challenged.

>Of course, I'm sort of a freak without a cell phone these days, but I
>actually think it has improved my quality of life- not having a phone
>in my pocket leaves a lot more time for actually doing the things that
>I am doing. I don't think I'm ever going to get one again.
>

I have a cell phone, but it rides in the pickup glove box, turned off,
most of the time. It's only on when *I* want it to be on. I like the
security it offers as far as making sure I have a means of getting help
should I have problems somewhere.





>
>Aut inveniam viam aut faciam



+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
The absence of accidents does not mean the presence of safety
Army General Richard Cody
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

On Thu, 7 Apr 2005 06:17:02 -0500, "Swingman" <[email protected]> wrote:

>
>"JC" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> BEST
>> Lee Valley
>> Grizzly
>>
>> THE ABSOLUTE ALL-TIME MOST SINCERELY BUTT-UGLY WORST:
>> Dell Computer
>> http://members.cox.net/valk_ryder/dell/
>
>Yeah ... but add Gateway to the short list. 83 year old Mom: "I have a USB2
>port on my 2 year old Gateway, but it won't work with my iPod anymore?".
>CustomerServiceoxyMORON: "Sorry lady, you're going to have to buy a new
>computer for that to work".

I'm typing on a Dell. I decided some time ago I would never buy
another. It's worked okay for several years until the built-in modem
failed and I gave up and installed an external hardware modem. But
when I tried to add memory I learned that Dell stuff is proprietary;
Kingston, etc won't work.

When tech "support" went to India, that sealed their fate. I called
them one time about the modem... "Sir, you are going to have to
reformat your hard drive."

On Fri, 08 Apr 2005 09:22:37 -0400, "G.E.R.R.Y."
<[email protected]> wrote:

>In article <[email protected]>, Avraham
><[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> And you have more options for buying hardware upgrades from Apple?
>
>That's the beauty of Apple. You don't need to spring for hardware
>upgrades, sound cards, video cards, fans, boards, etc. every couple of
>months. You don't play computer technician, you just compute. We've
>just added an iMac G5, what a marvel of design.
>
>Gerry < experienced with both platforms, Machead by choice >
Unless, of course, you want to stay at the bleeding edge. :) And if
you don't, a PC isn't particularly difficult, either.
A
software & hardware geek

On Thu, 07 Apr 2005 14:16:03 GMT, Leon <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> "Wes Stewart" <n7ws_@*yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> I'm typing on a Dell. I decided some time ago I would never buy
>> another. It's worked okay for several years until the built-in modem
>> failed and I gave up and installed an external hardware modem. But
>> when I tried to add memory I learned that Dell stuff is proprietary;
>> Kingston, etc won't work.
>
> I did not have that problem when adding memory to my Dell.
>

Crucial (http://www.crucial.com) sells memory for proprietary
architectures.

PC Power And Cooling (google it) sells power supplies for Dell computers
from the "Not Quite an ATX Power Connector" era, and I think the other
PS manufacturers sell them too.

"JC" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> BEST
> Lee Valley
> Grizzly
>
> THE ABSOLUTE ALL-TIME MOST SINCERELY BUTT-UGLY WORST:
> Dell Computer
> http://members.cox.net/valk_ryder/dell/


If you think Dell is bad, don't ever consider another brand. My last 5
computers have been Dell since 1999 and before that it was AT&T 1986,
Gateway 1992, Compaq 1996, 2 Dell's 1999. 1 Dell 2000, 2 Dell's 2003.

>> Gerry < experienced with both platforms, Machead by choice >
>
>If you think that you _have_ to upgrade PCs every couple of months that
>shows that you don't have enough PC experience for your opinion to be worth
>listening to.

Agreed. I now have a two-year rule when it comes to technology. I
don't buy anything that hasn't been out at least that long- sure, some
technogeeks would cringe at my PIII processor, but it's screaming fast
compared to the last computer I owned (a celeron 233) and I don't know
a damn thing about how fast a 2.5Ghz processor is, so I can be
perfectly content with this old dog. Still runs almost every peice of
software around, and it cost me a grand total of $200.


Aut inveniam viam aut faciam

On Wed, 6 Apr 2005 20:12:54 -0500, "RonB" <[email protected]> wrote:

>Best:
>Grizzly - Quick delivery even after backorder warnings.
>Sears - Not the finest grade of tools but they do provide service and parts
>for a long time.
>Jet/Powermatic - Released a very poor and inacurate manual on their model 45
>jointer. BUT responded to complaint quickly and positively with promises to
>update. Also provided good tech support on JET lathe speed control
>problem - it worked.
>
>Worst:
>Ryobi - They seem to be abandoning their customers to the aftermarket after
>relatively short time. Recenly saw my planer blades go from $19 to $70. No
>source but aftremarket.
>

Which Ryobi planer do you have? I was having trouble finding
replacement blades for my model AP12 12 inch planer, and found that
the Delta brand Cat 22-562 that I got from Lowe's fit just fine. The
only differences I have observed is that the delta blades have 3 index
holes where the factory blades had 2. All other dimensions are
exactly the same within .001 on my calipers except overall length.
the are 1 MM longer but still fit and turn cleanly

Only $24.95

Brian

Best:
Grizzly - Quick delivery even after backorder warnings.
Sears - Not the finest grade of tools but they do provide service and parts
for a long time.
Jet/Powermatic - Released a very poor and inacurate manual on their model 45
jointer. BUT responded to complaint quickly and positively with promises to
update. Also provided good tech support on JET lathe speed control
problem - it worked.

Worst:
Ryobi - They seem to be abandoning their customers to the aftermarket after
relatively short time. Recenly saw my planer blades go from $19 to $70. No
source but aftremarket.

[email protected] wrote:

> Milwaukee- Completely refused to honor their warranty on a brand new
> tool. Was mocked on the phone by customer service (no kidding!) when
> asking to speak with supervisor.

Pay with a charge card?

--
dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

On 9 Apr 2005 21:19:29 GMT, Dave Hinz <[email protected]> wrote:

>On Fri, 08 Apr 2005 18:22:24 -0400, J. Clarke <[email protected]> wrote:
>> G.E.R.R.Y. wrote:
>>
>>> In article <[email protected]>, Avraham
>>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>
>>>> And you have more options for buying hardware upgrades from Apple?
>>>
>>> That's the beauty of Apple. You don't need to spring for hardware
>>> upgrades, sound cards, video cards, fans, boards, etc. every couple of
>>> months. You don't play computer technician, you just compute. We've
>>> just added an iMac G5, what a marvel of design.
>>
>> Uh, what leads you to believe that you _need_ to spring for hardware
>> upgrades, sound cards, video cards, fans, boards, etc every couple of
>> months? The only hardware upgrades I've done in the past two years or so
>> were a couple of gigabit boards and upgraded a 120 gig disk to a terabyte
>> RAID. And both of those were on a PIII machine.
>
>I must have missed Avraham's message. Of course, with an apple, you
>can buy hardware from whomever you want. Standard RAM, drives, cards,
>monitors, whatever the heck you want. Apple has been doing open architecture
>since the early 1980's at least.
>

Maybe early 1990's, but definitely not early 1980's.




+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
The absence of accidents does not mean the presence of safety
Army General Richard Cody
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+