Seems to be a Habit with some new companies to do this. How do other people feel about this. When I put a order in for over $2000 for
something I like to talk to someone about it and make sure it will do what I want. Not just text back and forth for ever.
Taking Paypal does help protect the buyer. How do you feel about this?????????
Caveat emptor will always be applicable no matter what technology does.
Yes I worry about a company on the net that doesn't put a contact phone number at the bottom of their webpage. You would think they would be glad someone is calling to
ask about and buy their product. Hmmmmm
What are they afraid of?????
My phone number is printed on every printer.
While not the whole reason, this was one of the reasons I didn't go with Printrbot. Kinda too bad, in that they seem to have an overall good product that seemed to match my needs well. Buuut..., while pushing all support as they have off onto the community has probably helped to keep costs lower, it means that a noob such as myself was unable to get definitive answers to even the simplest of questions, and hence could never really feel comfortable about a purchase.
Interestingly, it was someone on the printrbot "knowledge base (or whatever it's called)" that suggested I might want to go with something more rep-rappy. I balked at first, but as I perused the scene, it really did make sense given the current state-of-the-shelf of hobbyist 3d printing.
I know things change, but I have no regrets going the MakerFarm/Reprap route.
I insist on a phone number and a physical address before I do business.
That is goodQuote:
Originally Posted by Davo
I see Type A Machines with their Series 1 printers has good support and phone number on their page. They make it a point
to let you know they have people there to help you on the phone or email...
The problem is that phone numbers are now about as much use as a chocolate teapot with all the call centres and musical keyboard aps that you have to go through to get anywhere, it is rare to have real people anywhere near them now.
If you are going to embrace new technology such as 3d printing then you should also embrace more efficient communication systems as well. Email is far superior and essential than any phone nowadays.
Sorry don't agree with that.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mjolinor
Strange large companies in the CNC, Laser cutting and large format printing world still have a salesperson on the phone and for tech support.
You are talking about large long term existing companies. I am talking about a new technology where (with a few notable exceptions) there are few employees, a high proportion of those employees being technical people and generally companies with little spare cash that are trying to make something from nothing.
That is very hard work and phones are expensive to man. With the best intentions in the world technical people make crap phone operators. They can email sensibly with the needed information but they cannot generally man phones and talk to planks about why the printers don't work when they are not plugged in.
That is why, for the sake of the industry newer forms of communication should be embraced, endured and accepted.
To each his own, many won't be around down the road so it won't matter after that.
Im old school and better to get off on the right foot with your customer. Any way will see how these companies do
for the long haul.
No freaking way I will ever write wall of text to every customer supports.....
Company such as Solidator DLP never replied to my 5 emails address .... until my boss called them, which they finally replied. They told me a salesman will contact us shortly, and guess what ... they never called us back.
Hate phones - love email :-)
Should you be daft enough to publish your phone number on the net your quota of nuisance phone calls will go up so high you'll think you've got permament tinnatis from the constant ringing.
So no, I don't look for a phone number when buying online.
Seem like a really dumb reason for not buying a printrbot.
This is NOT a new anonymous company. The guy's on facebook and probably the other social media stuff. His track record is excellent, almost nobody posts bad reviews of his printers. His company is about as open as it could be.
What do you want, his personal home number ?
Sheesh
I wouldn't buy a Printrbot for other reasons then that.
I will stick to companies that have phone tech support.
Not just in buying 3d printer or purchasing my 3d models, but in general I only do business with a certain company or website if their email, phone number and physical address(it would be better if it's incorporated with Google Map) are present on the website. In that way I am confident that the company is not a scam and truly exist. Even better if they put some certificates or some proof of documents that their company or business is legit. Reviews from past clients helped too.
I can only say that most of the negative comments I read about printrbot were on the Printbot "Answers Forum"..., and there were more than a few. At the time, what were undoubtedly simple problems related to power supplies found no definitive answers.
I agree that the company's reputation was overall excellent, but for many folks, the inability to reliably find simple answers to simple questions could be a deal breaker.
Quote:
Originally Posted by curious aardvark
From a companies point of view, having a customer service phonenumber is incredibly inefficient.
I used to work in customer service for a small european software start-up which had a hugely success mobile RDP app. We only offered email support and that ensured that two people in part time could handle all requests. If we had to answer a phone, each ticket would have taken twice to three times as long as it had to solve the issues and the quality of service wouldn't have increased (I my job satisfaction would have massively decreased).
The next thing is, due to globalization, time zone differences become a bigissue. A smallish company (lets say a start-up for arguments sake), just can't hire people to answer phones 24/7. Our office was located in Vienna, but most of our customer base was in the U.S. If a customer would call us on 0800 EDT, it would be 1400 MET in our office. Which leaves a time frame of about 4 hours for the closests US customers on the east coast and 1 hour for customers on the west coast. You might consider outsourcing your costumer service to a 24/7 call center in Bangalore or wherever, but in my opinion nothing good will ever come from this course of action. .
Hmmmm who buys from the company, the customer. Enough said.Quote:
Originally Posted by Miker_D
Yes, so what? Do you really think, that not having phone support makes a serious dent in the sales figures, if you sell a good product?Quote:
Originally Posted by spaceman
Yes it does.Quote:
Originally Posted by Miker_D
I own a Printrbot and I always get a very fast answer from them on their helpdesk, they even put a guy in the UK to avoid delays due to different timezones from Europe to US ! (IanL, if you read this I really like your work). Actually, it is much more efficient that way as you can attach PHOTOS, models, Gcodes...Quote:
Originally Posted by spaceman
Yes, initially their forum was manned by the community but now, while this still is available, their helpdesk is real pro.
I worked a while for the tech support of a big aeronautics company : all customers vary but the really pro ones understand that better information = better & faster troubleshooting. Sorry to break it to you, but the phone : no longer the best communication tool. A simple drawing can save hours of discussion.
" 'nough said"