[rwireless]

I get the feeling that the cell providers just don't get people that love the devices they sell or support!!!

Is it just me or after a short time of LOVING a blackberry you will be able to outperform most of the tech support provided by the providers???? Have I just had bad experiences or has this happened to you?

[JSanders]

I'm with you.

All in all, many many of them do try hard. I had a CSR today from AT&T who was exemplary in his effort. But the carriers probably have no idea how much money they are saved by the good members of this forum.

[rwireless]

Yes, I had to explain what a service book was to a Telus tech then sit and wait while he looked it up.

[Sith_Apprentice]

wow.. that one is bad :( but keep in mind the people you talk to on the phone are basically triage. You need to talk to data support to get people that are "trained" on the devices.

[rwireless]

Originally Posted by Sith_Apprentice

wow.. that one is bad :( but keep in mind the people you talk to on the phone are basically triage. You need to talk to data support to get people that are "trained" on the devices.

That was data support:( No every one can know everything but hey it gets to point they need to say sorry! let me get someone that can help you.

[akosnitzky]

Wirelessly posted (Verizon 8830)

If the tech support were better, may be I wouldn't have discovered this site.
Heck. I learned how to remove .cod files from the java folder today. : -)

[chirayu]

Continuation of your topic title...


YOU know you are a BB forums member ;)

[hdawg]

Originally Posted by Sith_Apprentice

wow.. that one is bad :( but keep in mind the people you talk to on the phone are basically triage. You need to talk to data support to get people that are "trained" on the devices.

triage is the key word there.

Most people that call up have no clue what they're talking about ... even "educated" people really don't know much of anything.

That first contact is to weed out people with really simple issues and to properly route more complex issues. Welcome to the world of tiered customer / technical support.

[greggebhardt]

You got to insist on talking to people above the normal tech support people. If not most techs are clueless when it comes to Blackberry!!

[sloopercat]

The Verizon folks were great for support. And I did have some issues getting started with the 8830 and the tethered modem mode.

[FynxSyndct]

So far, i have had more problems with verizons billing dept than tech dept. The guys are pretty helpful and have not wasted my time....yet.

[itsagiven]

My job is technical support for Blackberry devices in my company. So it is very interesting for me when I have to call the wireless carrier because the problem is on their side. I have also found that I know more about Blackberrys than the carrier's data tech support.

I hear your pain.

[SteveO86]

I just have to comment, from the Help Desk perspective. I did tech support for Verizon for a year and BlackBerries where one of the hundreds of things we supported. I must say whenever I got a call about a BlackBerry it was always a bit freaked out because I knew it was usually a highier up type person and they always wanted results on the spot, and the most times they called in it due to an outage or just had some random questions and at the time I knew nothing about BlackBerries and the information available was quite limited.

So its probably that they are just not trained on normal BlackBerry procedures which is more on par with the company themselves then the individual you are speaking with. After I doubt any company would give thier Help Desk Techs a Blackberry to play with.

But I just had to comment since I was on the "other" side of that spectrum, 2 years ago I knew nothing about BlackBerries, Now I can't live without them.

[michael12005]

I was unable to pair my 8830 (Verizon) with my car so called Verizon who were clueless. I then drove 8 miles to my local Verizon store and the tech guy there was also unable to do anything. He ended up ordering me a replacement BB becasue he said the bluetooth in my BB was faulty. (little did he know). The new BB arrived last week and still would not pair, even after spending another 30 mintes on the phone with Verizon. Eventually the verizon guy put me through to a tech guy at Blackberry who was able to pair my phone in less than 10 minutes (he had me download some software) and it was a piece o' cake!

Moral of the story-if you have a tech problem with your 8830, call BlackBerry direct and bypass the cell company you are with!!!

[dheida]

When calling the Alltel customer service they have an option of "...Blackberries or other data services..." and those people are good. You can tell just by their voice and the way they talk. I usually just hit that option even when it's not a BB issue.

[Hardwaregeek]

Problem is you cannot contact RIM directly as far as I know. The only way I have gotten them on the phone is by escalating through AT&T. I am an IT Network Administrator and have to support these devices and it would be awesome if I could just call BB direct and get the help I need.

[juansifu]

Tell me about it... I am in the same boat as you. I wish there was a way to get RIM tech support. Sometimes it isn't a hardware issue, and the AT&T Folks don't really have an answer for RIM OS problems except to wipe the device and start clean.

[jsntrenkler]

Is there room on the boat for me? ... Being able to contact RIM directly would be a fantastic alternative. It's too bad that you really have to raise heck to get to them. They normally solve my problems very promptly.

[entropism]

Dealing with Sprint CSRs are about as pleasant as being kicked in the nuts while being told you have cancer. At one point, I logged 60 hours over 3 months, just trying to get my plan sorted out,but they ended up giving me unlimited talk, texts, data, etc for $50/month to make up for it.

To give an example, this was the most recent conversation:

me: "Hi, when you guys lowered the price of the blackberry data plan from $50 to $30, Sprint threw in free Sprint Navigation for free. I'm on the OLD plan, and would like to be switched over to the new plan so I can access that feature. Thank yoU!"

(waits 2 minutes while she looks up the info)

Sprint CSR: "I'm sorry sir, your plan doesn't have that feature."

me: "Yes, I know... There's a new plan, and I'd like to switch my current plan over to it. I just need to swap the $50 blackberry plan to the $30 blackberry plan. Thanks for your help."

Sprint CSR: "Sir, if I understand you correctly, you're on an old blackberry plan, and would like free navigation, which the new plan offers, correct?"

me: "....yes?"

Sprint CSR: "But sir, you don't get free navigation with the plan you're on"

me: "...."

Sprint CSR: "Are you there sir?"

me: "I understand that. I want to SWITCH... to the NEW plan."

Sprint CSR: "But sir, you don't get free navigation with the plan you're on"

me: "....Quick question, do you hear a clicking noise?" *hangs up*

The simple fact is, if you need ANYTHING done at Sprint, you have to call, say you want to cancel your account, and deal with Retentions department, because they're the only people there with an IQ above eggplant level. Sad, no?