Companies that have burnt...

Chewy509

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I'm starting this thread as a vent due to the poor customer service I've received over the last few weeks, and to announce that due to extremely poor customer service I will not purchase any of their products in future...

1. Panasonic. (My wife has been dealing with this one). The in-laws split system air-conditioner is roughly 2 years old, however has been serviced 7 times by Panasonic due to ongoing poor performance. (It dripping water inside the house, gas levels dropping rapidly even though they can't find a leak, and most recently it's being tripping the safety switch for the electrical circuit). It only took daily phone calls to Panasonic for 3 weeks, escalation to a senior manager at Panasonic Head Office, and 4 visits by different technicians in those 3 weeks to get the matter resolved - they ended up replacing the outside unit completely as they couldn't find any faults even though it was clearly demonstrated their was a fault with the air con.

Also the in-laws microwave died 3 weeks within warranty period, however it must be sent away for repair (which is fine, as it's clearly stated in the warranty statement), however it's expected to take 6-8 weeks before someone at Panasonic will even look at it, let alone repair or replace the unit.

2. Samsung - specifically mobile phones. I'm the not so proud owner of the Samsung Ultratouch (GT-S8300T) mobile phone and have found some significant issues with the phone. I've made several inquiries to Samsung support and only on the 3rd request for information did I get a response, other than "someone will get back to you". I left it 3 weeks between each inquiry to give them adequate time to respond.

The issues I have found are:
1. When the phone is in MTP (Media Transfer Protocol) mode, it will only work with Windows. Mac OSX, Linux or any other OS, MTP mode does not work - in fact the phone reboots itself (and more on this later) when you attempt to connect. I've most likely found the issue to be how the phone expects the MTP init packets to occur, (it requires 2x sets of init packets without read back of information - but the MTP spec says this should only occur on device timeout if the USB stack says unable to send data - that is a send timeout). I've reported this to Samsung, and they responded with - See if Apple or your Linux distro has updates in regards to MTP!

2. When the phone reboots due to the above condition, ALL unlock codes are bypassed - this includes your SIM pin code, both PUK codes, etc... Samsung did not respond to this.

3. The S8300T when in USB Mass Storage mode says it's a GT-M8800 mobile phone (USB Device Name String), and when in MTP mode shares the same USB ID as the GT-M7600 mobile... FYI USB IDs should be unique for each USB device and mode. Samsung response:
In regards to the USB vendor ID enquiry, we do have technical specifications in regards to this. Samsung does not release any design details about our products. This enquiry is unfortunately beyond the standard boundaries that we provide technical support.

4. The phone has the ability to run widgets/gadgets on it's desktop, however if the phone powers off due to loss of battery power all widgets get reverted to factory default? They said to return it for repair to have it's firmware upgraded, but it's already running the latest firmware? Speaking to a customer service rep on the phone also says that flashing the firmware will do nothing as it's already on the latest version.

5. The phone has the ability to record short video clips as mp4. However on closer inspection they are actually encoded using 3GPP and the file has a mp4 extension.
Mplayer, VLC and Windows Media player can all view the video, but you get no audio as you need to install the AMR audio codec. Samsung do not supply nor provide the ability to download the codec from their website. They suggest they I use their "Samsung PC Suite" to view the videos... who cares that you may actually want to email the clip to someone, or heaven forbid, make a DVD from the clip! This makes the camcoder mode useless for most people. (I do have the AMR codecs installed on Solaris/Linux, but for Windows users the only way to get any form of the AMR codec is to install the K-Lite codec pack and enable it in the setup).

6. The phone supports SyncML, but there are no settings on the phone to setup SyncML (not even via Bluetooth) nor do Samsung provide conduit software to access the phone to sync with Outlook (which is the main reason for SyncML). Samsung customer service also says:
This mobile phone does not support Email sync through any software. Samsung does not have a list of compatible SyncML servers.

7. The phone has a GPS unit but does not come with any GPS software, and Samsung will not give you a list of compatible GPS software that will work on the phone. (The GPS as far as I know can't be accessed via the JavaVM that comes with the phone, which rules out any generic GPS software).

8. The phone can work as a modem when connected to your PC, but Samsung won't provide any documentation on the GSM AT commands the phone supports? (Which is needed to get the modem init string correct to ensure you use 3G/UMTS and not just GSM). Also in modem mode it's possible to access the internal memory of the phone including SIM card data, TXT/MMS messages, contacts, etc, but these are left as extensions to the normal GSM AT command set.

9. In USB Mass storage mode, you can only see the MicroSD card storage and none of the internal phone storage. It is possible to move pics, movie clips and other data between internal storage and the MicroSD card, but to do this requires you view the video/image/etc individually on the phone and then select 3 menu options to move it.

10. The built-in media player has several faults, including some severe UI faults. eg The next clip button will take you to the previous clip, and the previous clip button takes you to the next clip? WTF? No response on this issue.

All my other questions regarding the phone have either been unanswered, or the general response of - we'll get someone to call you back (and no one ever does). This includes dropped calls, the phone not ringing (but the display says incoming call) even though ring volume is at maximum, the TXT interface being slow and awkward (there is no way to move the cursor backwards and forwards in the TXT), and their is no way to recalibrate the touch screen (my registers about 5mm down of where I touch). Also in some instances the touch interface can take 1-2 secs (that's full seconds) to register a touch?

Also, if you choose to use the email support option, it must be done via a web interface (which I have no problems with). But when you get a response from Samsung, and you need to reply to it, there is no reply option to the email. You must start a new support incident via the web interface!

So both Samsung and Panasonic are on my "do not buy list" due to poor customer service (and the crappy products I or others have received from them).

Who do you have on your do not buy list?
 

Handruin

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I can't think of any specific tech companies that I've banned entirely. Hating companies as much as Mercutio does, takes too much energy and stress to be worth it. :) I'll pick and choose within a company when they sell a variety of products. The only company I won't buy from any longer is Walmart.

Chewy, I had a positive interaction with Samsung related to my TV while under warranty. I know yours was specific to a mobile phone, but my experience related to a television was fine. I guess the customer service level depends on the product division.
 

Mercutio

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Hating companies as much as Mercutio does, takes too much energy and stress to be worth it. .

Properly direct vitriol is always worth the time and effort. If nothing else, I always know why I'm not going to make certain choices.

6. OCZ
7. Gloria Jeans Coffee (not a tech company but fuck them anyway)
 

Mercutio

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That's Diamond Distribution, whose principle claim to fame is that they're the only company in the US that is allowed to distribute printed comic books. They also suck and are a horrible company, but it's not Diamond Multimedia.
 

Chewy509

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Chewy, I had a positive interaction with Samsung related to my TV while under warranty. I know yours was specific to a mobile phone, but my experience related to a television was fine. I guess the customer service level depends on the product division.

I've heard similar with Samsung, it depends on the product division and how dead it is. If the product is dead, Samsung are generally pleasent to deal with, but if you have a minor fault, they don't seem to give a sh*t.
 

Chewy509

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1. S*ny
2. Western Digital
3. Adobe
4. Symantec
5. Apple
6. OCZ
7. Gloria Jeans Coffee (not a tech company but fuck them anyway)
Adobe, Symantec, Apple and OCZ - yes I know why, they make crappy products or it's their buggy way or no way.

Why WDC, S*ny and GJC? I've always had decent products and decent support from S*ny... GJC has always given decent coffee (except the local store - they are crap), and I haven't bought enough WDC products to be burnt yet?
 

LiamC

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+1 for Samsung mobile phones. Look up U700 ribbon cable. That's an engineering/design fault, and they get away with it because consumers are too lazy to take action.

On the flip side, I have had excellent service from Samsung's Monitor/TV unit.
 

Mercutio

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Adobe, Symantec, Apple and OCZ - yes I know why, they make crappy products or it's their buggy way or no way.

Why WDC, S*ny and GJC?


Once upon a time, I owned nine Western Digital Hard Drives, yet I found myself doing 13 RMAs that year. Years prior to that, I had another bout of WDC shittiness that cost me cost me almost a whole year of coursework and two years of well-written libraries of code I had made for my classes.

S*ny.

Gloria Jeans: Stood waiting in line for a drink for about 10 minutes. Guy comes in behind me and is immediately acknowledged by the cashier chick. She does his order. And then another guy's who was also behind me. At that point I dig out a $5 and start waving it around. She takes someone else's order. By that point, the first two guys had actually gotten their drinks. Bitch takes someone else's order. I start asking for a manager. No one acknowledges me. I got on their web site and complained. They sent back a form letter meant for someone who got regular when they asked for decaf.

Wendy's and Joe's Crab Shack are also on my list for awful customer experiences.
 

LunarMist

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There would be nothing left to buy If I were to develop and adhere to a similar list. :mad::
 

Pradeep

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That's Diamond Distribution, whose principle claim to fame is that they're the only company in the US that is allowed to distribute printed comic books. They also suck and are a horrible company, but it's not Diamond Multimedia.

All those products have "Diamond Multimedia" in the image icons? Tho that would explain the figurines. Generally when I think Diamond I think mediocre video cards with frigging horrible driver support.
 

LunarMist

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Sorry, but Sony products have been fairly good for me, not that I've needed much factory service in the last couple of decades.
 

ddrueding

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Sorry, but Sony products have been fairly good for me, not that I've needed much factory service in the last couple of decades.

That is the new standard, isn't it? I know OCZ and Acer have uber-crappy customer service, but they have/had such a price/performance edge that I couldn't stay away. As others came into their space, and their products got out of the "disposable" price range, they became less and less attractive.
 

MaxBurn

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I forgive a crappy product once and a while, happens to all vendors. More along the lines of evil business practices that gets my attention.

Surprised that sony isn't on the shitlist here, oh wait there is with the censor marks. How they are handling the PS3/PSP jailbreak situation with geohot is deplorable. I don't even have a good understanding how he got targeted for that, the news/videos I saw for the security bypassing didn't mention him at all. Think all he did is post a couple keys.

OCZ, a company that builds rep on overclocking something and charging more for it. Somehow they polished that turd though, I was thinking they would slip under the icy waves of defeat long before now.

Apple. I don't like some of their business practices either. Two of their products right here though and they could be so much better if they pulled their head out. Shouldn't have to jailbreak to get things to do what I want. Damned if the things aren't nice after I get them out from under lockdown though.
 

LunarMist

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If I had to pick 3 brands from personals, they would be GM, Canon and BMW.
 

Santilli

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I've had a bunch of OCZ vertex turbos that are incredible, and, great values.

Kingspec 50% sucks.

Panasonic is THE Jap company, from my experience. Sony? Not THAT bad.

WD
Deathstars
and now Seagate SATA drives suck.

More later.
 

Santilli

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Let's see.

Dell comes to mind. I remember all the time I spent trying to get an IDE raid to work.
Then, after six months, I'm talking to a Dell tech and, they find buried somewhere that the ide channels on my Dell only support ONE device per channel, not TWO.

I've managed to block out the name of the raid card maker that had a bunch of claims about what their cards would do, and they didn't. Their support sucked because their product was not capable of doing what the advertizing claimed. Pretty much they tried to cover that up.

I thought only Apple used sub-industry standard chipsets, like the Grackle chipset. I was wrong.
 

LunarMist

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Let's see.
I've managed to block out the name of the raid card maker that had a bunch of claims about what their cards would do, and they didn't. Their support sucked because their product was not capable of doing what the advertizing claimed. Pretty much they tried to cover that up.

Could that be the Promise FastTrak and 4x Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 5120 drives. :D
 

MaxBurn

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I think both my 3Ware cards were like that, could only use the primary. Now that was a cabling mess for an eight drive setup.
 

LunarMist

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Yes, but only one drive per IDE channel was desirable for performance. I had the Escalade 6410 back in the day. It had four ports for four drives and worked well.
 

Santilli

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I guess Promise would be the number one spot for me.

Can't really EVER see using a product from them again.
 

Santilli

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I think I'm adding Nero to this list. 6 won't work on 7, 9 I bought, and, with added downloads, and, they won't even answer an email concerning my account.
 

Santilli

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6 doesn't appear to work on 7 64 bit.
Does it work on 32?
Feel free to post something more informative.
 

Handruin

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Version 6 is pretty old. Nero 7 works on Win 7 64-bit with no problems.
 

Santilli

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As I said, I bought 9, and it worked fine with 7. I also bought their extended download package, and, they won't even email me back on it.

When I try and load 6, with 7 Ultimate 64 bit, I get a message from MSFT that this program has known incompatibility problems, and, it won't load.
 

Handruin

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You can try calling them rather than wait for an email:

Phone:
(818) 956-7551
(Available Monday through Friday, from 9:00am until 8:00pm EST)

Did you try enabling any of the compatibility modes in win 7 to see if you could get around the issue? What about trying Windows XP mode in windows 7? Again, why use version 6 when newer versions work? Why put Nero on the list when your 7 year old product doesn't work with a modern OS?
 

Santilli

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My issue is more the less then 2 year old version, 9, that I bought extra downloads for, that I don't have access to.
 

Santilli

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When I first install, it says that this program has known compatibility problems with 7, and to check online. I check online, they say there are no solutions.
This time, thanks to your advice, I proceeded to install, and, it just finished successfully.

Now that it's installed, I'm trying to download a later version.
But their is no indication that the update is downloading.

Thanks for the tough love, Sechs.
 

Santilli

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Apparently 6.6.1.4 is the latest update, but, it won't download, and, it's 12.95 and I think shipping for a DVD to install the update. Not sure why I need the update?

Been sick as a dog today, and slept most of the day. Busy weekend for work, and, I hope this thing is on the down side.
 

Handruin

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When I first install, it says that this program has known compatibility problems with 7, and to check online. I check online, they say there are no solutions.
This time, thanks to your advice, I proceeded to install, and, it just finished successfully.

Now that it's installed, I'm trying to download a later version.
But their is no indication that the update is downloading.

Thanks for the tough love, Sechs.

You mean you never actually tried to use Nero 6 on Windows 7 and you stopped because windows told you there was a compatibility problem? You need to get some sense of adventure in you and try things even when you don't think it will work.
 
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