Netgear support experience

I've had a Netgear DG834G since last November on a Pipex 1Mb ADSL
service. I have rung Netgear support only twice in all that time and
have only had to reset the router about 3 or 4 times.

I rang their support yesterday on a national rate 0870 number ( who
says it is expensive?).

The agent I spoke to may well have been in India but could have been
on Mars for all I care.

He was polite and helpful. I was on the phone for about 15 minutes.
Half of that time was taken up by him asking my details - email
address, router serial number etc. If I ever have to ring them again
I now have a customer number so that information won't need to be
supplied.

My query was about upgrading from 1.02 to 1.04 firmware. I was
advised to upgrade to 1.03 first which I did successfully. I'm now
running 1.04 and it is fine. My particular query about whether a
known issue in 1.03 had been resolved in 1.04 was answered in the
affirmative.

I'm glad I bought Netgear. It's quality kit, does the job I want with
no hassle and on those rare occasions when I have needed advice it has
been there promptly and cheaply. On both occasions I rang support, my
call was answered in less than 2 minutes of queuing time.

Well pleased and satisfied......(with Pipex as well....)


Filthy Rich
Music House

In article <(E-Mail Removed)>,
Filthy Rich <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
:I'm glad I bought Netgear. It's quality kit, does the job I want with
:no hassle

A ... friend of mine... had an... interesting... experience recently
with an enterprise-class device purchased from a company better known
for its consumer-level products. My friend did some elementary testing
of the device using a professional quality network testing device, and
soon noticed some alarming packet error counts. Knowing, though, that
the test being done was not rigerous, my friend spent pretty much the
next work week attempting to test the device thoroughly.
Unfortunately, my friend encountered so many problems and oddities in
both the CLI and GUI interfaces that my friend was unable (in 5 days
work) to configure the device to the point where it could be properly
stress tested.

As time is money and RMA deadlines are seldom flexible, my friend
attempted to return the device as being essentially unsuitable for its
advertised uses. My friend then discovered that the famous-brand
company apparently has a company policy of never accepting returns for
refunds -- only returns for replacement. Yes, that's right -- if the
device software is horribly organized and configurations disappear and
reappear depending on which obscure incantations you use, then as far
as the Famous Brand Manufacturer is concerned, it's just because your
particular device was mismanufactured, and it just needs to be
exchanged with another identical model with identical software for
everything to come out fine.


By some strange coincidence, my friend now only visits Famous Brand
Manufacturer's web site "at times of special celebration."
--
Any sufficiently advanced bug is indistinguishable from a feature.
-- Rich Kulawiec

> A ... friend of mine... had an... interesting... experience recently
> with an enterprise-class device purchased from a company better known
> for its consumer-level products. My friend did some elementary testing
> of the device using a professional quality network testing device, and
> soon noticed some alarming packet error counts. Knowing, though, that
> the test being done was not rigerous, my friend spent pretty much the
> next work week attempting to test the device thoroughly.
> Unfortunately, my friend encountered so many problems and oddities in
> both the CLI and GUI interfaces that my friend was unable (in 5 days
> work) to configure the device to the point where it could be properly
> stress tested.
>
> As time is money and RMA deadlines are seldom flexible, my friend
> attempted to return the device as being essentially unsuitable for its
> advertised uses. My friend then discovered that the famous-brand
> company apparently has a company policy of never accepting returns for
> refunds -- only returns for replacement. Yes, that's right -- if the
> device software is horribly organized and configurations disappear and
> reappear depending on which obscure incantations you use, then as far
> as the Famous Brand Manufacturer is concerned, it's just because your
> particular device was mismanufactured, and it just needs to be
> exchanged with another identical model with identical software for
> everything to come out fine.
>
>
> By some strange coincidence, my friend now only visits Famous Brand
> Manufacturer's web site "at times of special celebration."


Amusing story, please share with us what this "famous-brand" is or you have
wasted your time and my time.

Your friend could have returned this device (unspecified) to whoever
(unspecified) it was purchased from if not for money back then for credit
toward a different brand.

Did the device perform the functions that your friend purchased the device
for, or did your friend just discover that the device's software had flaws?

Did your friend work with CSR to try to successfully configure the device,
or did your friend attempt this by themselves without assistance?

Some people need to hire a professional to purchase the proper equipment and
setup a network. Is your friend an IT professional? (unspecified)

(E-Mail Removed) (Walter Roberson) wrote in news:c52422$ndg$1
@canopus.cc.umanitoba.ca:

> A ... friend of mine... had an... interesting... experience recently
> with an enterprise-class device purchased from a company better known
> for its consumer-level products.

What what company is this?

--
Lucas Tam ((E-Mail Removed))
Please delete "REMOVE" from the e-mail address when replying.
http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/coolspot18/

In article <al1dc.3114$Vo.763@fed1read03>, scram <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
:> A ... friend of mine... had an... interesting... experience recently
:> with an enterprise-class device purchased from a company better known
:> for its consumer-level products.

:Amusing story, please share with us what this "famous-brand" is or you have
:wasted your time and my time.

Have I? And next time you look at networking equipment, you aren't going
to take a moment to check the details of the return policy? Or if you
are in a larger organization, you aren't going to take a moment to
check what your standard purchase agreement language says about
the purchase being subject to "technical acceptance" ?


:Your friend could have returned this device (unspecified) to whoever
unspecified) it was purchased from if not for money back then for credit
:toward a different brand.

When contacted, the vendor involved stated that there
would be no possibility of a return for refund or credit unless
a refund was authorized by the manufacturer. The manufacturer's backline
support (the part authorized to issue RMAs) stated flatly that the
manufacturer never authorizes returns for refund. Catch 22.


id the device perform the functions that your friend purchased the device
:for, or did your friend just discover that the device's software had flaws?

If you purchase a radio with dozens of knobs, that is advertised as
(say) supporting shortwave, and you have a benchmark-quality shortwave
station sitting transmitting right nearby the radio, and you find that
no matter what -logical- ordering of knobs you twiddle, you can't bring
in the shortwave signal, then your conclusion is likely going to be
that the radio doesn't work -- though you might admit there is a small
possibility that the radio just -might- work if you knew to tilt the
radio at just the right angle and twiddle a number of simultaneous
knobs with no known relationship to each other, including having to
change some of them to unmarked settngs.

Did the device perform the functions my friend purchased the device
for? My friend could not prove conclusively that it could not be
coerced to do so: my friend could only prove that it did not do so when
configured in accordance with the manuals and online documentation.

id your friend work with CSR to try to successfully configure the device,
r did your friend attempt this by themselves without assistance?

The CSR's response was "upgrade to the latest firmwave and all the problems
will be solved". My friend did the upgrade, and found that none of the
problems were solved. After that, the CSR had no reconfiguration
suggestions to try.


:Some people need to hire a professional to purchase the proper equipment and
:setup a network. Is your friend an IT professional? (unspecified)

Well, my friend doesn't have any certs, if that's what you mean. But my
friend does have a computing degreee, decades of IT experience,
actively works on SME {small/medium enterprise} networking, had
researched the features of the device in detail, and is generally
considered fairly knowledgable about the networking layers involved in
that particular project. (e.g., it wasn't a case of a PC administrator
trying to impliment VOIP.)

If you buy a car, and you have a fair bit of experience with
maintaining and repairing cars, and after 5 long days of intelligent
study and experimentation, you still can't find a way to make it turn
left without the back wheels falling off, then do you say "This car
doesn't work right", or do you say "It's all my fault: I should have
hired an Automotive Consultant trained in this make of car, because I'm
just Not Good Enough to know that when you turn left, you are supposed
to put your right foot in the glove compartment, pull up on the
seat-back adjuster with one hand, reach back to the back seat and tug
on the middle seat belt until it locks, use your other hand to press
the accelarator, and steer the car with your teeth!"
--
Before responding, take into account the possibility that the Universe
was created just an instant ago, and that you have not actually read
anything, but were instead created intact with a memory of having read it.

Filthy Rich <(E-Mail Removed)> writes
>
>I've had a Netgear DG834G since last November on a Pipex 1Mb ADSL
>service. I have rung Netgear support only twice in all that time and
>have only had to reset the router about 3 or 4 times.
>
snip
>He was polite and helpful. I was on the phone for about 15 minutes.
>Half of that time was taken up by him asking my details - email
>address, router serial number etc. If I ever have to ring them again
>I now have a customer number so that information won't need to be
>supplied.
snip

My experience as well. Tried to upgrade firmware DG834G to 1.04. Trashed
router and recovery software wouldn't touch it. Rang Netgear support and
had replacement router delivered within 4days (included weekend). New
router now upgraded to 1.04 working fine.

Thanks Netgear.
--
Andrew Case

So what's the secret. I call with carefully documented problems, am
polite (until the 5th or 6th attempt anyway), ask reasonable questions
for which they should have answers and I get the run around. Honest, I'm
not making this up. I've been on the other end of enough support calls
that I think I know how to hold up my end.

You actually got useful information. I get "...will escalate and call
back within 24 hours" which they NEVER do. What am I doing wrong? Does
calling from outside the US take you through some other path or
something? I was talking to somebody with an Indian accent part of the
time but there was no language barrier or anything they just didn't have
any answers.

I really like their products. I have so many registered I must have hit
a bug in their web page because it won't take anymore. Enlighten me. How
do I deal with this company?

Andrew Case wrote:
> Filthy Rich <(E-Mail Removed)> writes
>
>>
>> I've had a Netgear DG834G since last November on a Pipex 1Mb ADSL
>> service. I have rung Netgear support only twice in all that time and
>> have only had to reset the router about 3 or 4 times.
>>
> snip
>
>> He was polite and helpful. I was on the phone for about 15 minutes.
>> Half of that time was taken up by him asking my details - email
>> address, router serial number etc. If I ever have to ring them again
>> I now have a customer number so that information won't need to be
>> supplied.
>
> snip
>
> My experience as well. Tried to upgrade firmware DG834G to 1.04. Trashed
> router and recovery software wouldn't touch it. Rang Netgear support and
> had replacement router delivered within 4days (included weekend). New
> router now upgraded to 1.04 working fine.
>
> Thanks Netgear.

On Wed, 07 Apr 2004 23:20:55 +0100, Filthy Rich
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>
>I've had a Netgear DG834G since last November on a Pipex 1Mb ADSL
>service. I have rung Netgear support only twice in all that time and
>have only had to reset the router about 3 or 4 times.
>
>I rang their support yesterday on a national rate 0870 number ( who
>says it is expensive?).
[...]
>Well pleased and satisfied......(with Pipex as well....)

You don't have to pay as much as before to call Pipex now, they use
0845 numbers (not as bad as 870 ones - which are premium numbers).

My Netgear has been as solid as a rock on the same ISP, though the
512k service. Uptime = since it was plugged in.

Others' mileage may, and unfortunately does, vary!



Headers spam-proofed. Use cmylod at bigfoot . com

On Thu, 08 Apr 2004 15:50:34 +0100, Colum Mylod
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:


>You don't have to pay as much as before to call Pipex now, they use
>0845 numbers (not as bad as 870 ones - which are premium numbers).
>

0870 numbers are not really classed as premium rate numbers such as
0901 which are often £1.50 per minute

0870 is charged at national rate like calling London to Birmingham.
0845 is local rate e.g. calling to a nearby town and 0800 is free.


Filthy Rich
Music House

Your friend should contact the Better Business Bureau and ask for assistance
in getting satisfaction.