I have purchase five Linksys products and with each product I have had to call the non Americans in Bombay for help. Why? Because the software is not user friendly.When launching into this wireless world nothing goes according to plan...so what is needed is software and pictures and voice that explain what the average consumer will understand and encounter in this hookup nightmare.
My second complaint are the non Americans they have hired to trouble shoot. First their accents are improving but still confusing. Also each service representative has a different take and approach on solving the same problems and lead you through a maze of windows and commands that would baffle a computer literate 12 year old...let alone an old person like myself who is struggling to learn computers in and out and has sold computers and has been using them since 1988...so I really feel sorry for the computer newbe who will be totally trashed and on his phone for hours.
I have sought help from WIFI trouble shooters in many RV parks, the RV park owners, strangers, and finally the Linksys Bombay scabs. No salesperson in any big box store understoods how Linksys products work nor can they intelligently offer advice on what product to purchase. So much for Linksys sales training.. Never have I spoken with a person from Linksys...an American Company? who I assume would hire Americans. What really grinds me is that the money I have given to the company for my product does not go to support American workers but Indians in India. Linksys greed is unbounded. But guess what... Linksys got me...I am still using their product and swearing at it every day while I continue to repair the connections every **bleep** morning...If there was a better game in town...I'd use it...if I didn't have so much invested in their little nightmare boxes...
So have others been there...done that? What would be a better game in town? Ralph Bowman
The fallacy of a lot of marketing today is that everything is simple. You do have to have a general idea what you are doing. A $35 router doesn't include (and it is unreasonable to expect) a networking course.
People seem to want cheap stuff. As soon as people refuse to shop at places like Walmart things will change. If not plan for even less knowledgeable support.
Unfortunately big box sales training is training to *sell* stuff not to understand how it works. Big box stores always claim that they are
*experts* but the reality is that they have an almost minimum wage staff who gets just enough training to push stuff and pickup a couple bucks commission by pushing the item of the day.
If you want someone who totally understands a product there are places that have that. But they won't be big box stores.
My mom is 86 years old, she had no problem setting up her Linksys WRT54G. She understood the menu system and knew what the embedded help was for. Ergo...seek out a high schooll kid to help you out.
May people do not have daily problem with their Linksys products. If they do, its related to a single unit, not several products. Ergo...its got to be at your end.
Exactly what type of problems are you having with the router?
Cheers!
ISPgeek
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I clipped the part about overseas support, because it doesn't contribute to solving the problem, and I don't find it different from the majority of companies doing business today, with big customer support needs.
I have purchased one Linksys router, and it is working fine since I upgraded the firmware to the latest available. The Linksys web site has diagrams and all kinds of info which I found very useful. Have you tried using their online "chat" support service?
Here's the link, if you want to try your luck on online:
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Or you could identify what you have [i.e. Linksys WRT54G version 6, or WHATEVER]... and what you are not able to do, and possibly someone here can help you. bj
Pictures? I thought we dumped hieroglyphics in favor of ASCII text about 2000 years ago. Just how basic do you need the instructions?
Linksys EasyLink Advisor. Walks you through setup and install:
Linksys Network Basics:
Linksys Network Security:
Glossary and buzzwords:
Read, learn, try, and understand.
No problem. If you expect hand-holding level support from a $50 product, just wait until you see the price with domestic support. Support is outsourced not because companies are greedy, but because consumers are unwilling to pay for quality support. You get what you pay for.
That also applies to customer (like me) that don't require personal support. I do not like to pay for *YOUR* support problems. If you have a problem, you can pay for it, not me. Linksys does not offer direct support, but I'm sure you won't have any problems finding dealers and consultants that will happily support your Linksys products, for a price.
The neighbors 12 year old knows more about hacking games than I'll ever pretend to know. His 15 or 16 year old brother has successfully hacked my wireless network and is building and repairing PC's on the side for his friends. At this time, he knows more about high end game hardware than me, and I do it as part of the business.
I'm 58. I've been using computahs of various sorts since the IBM
1620. I have no problems with them. If you're really been selling and using them for the last 18 years, you apparently have a learning impediment. The things one learns quickly in computers is RTFM, how to follow instructions, and how to get help when things go awry. If you spent 18 years avoiding these basics, I would consider you a lost cause and unworthy of operating complex machinery. I suggest you hire a 12 year old, and pay them to setup your Linksys products. I'm sure they could handle it.
I have some experience with phone support. With a few notable exceptions, I believe the current quality of outsourced support to be considerably better for beginning users and common problems than was ever the case with in house domestic support. All the outsourced support is designed to accommodate beginners and deal with installation and setup problems. They fail miserably with complex problems and sophisticated users, but for permanent beginners, such as yourself, they are perfect. Having had to deal with such permanent beginners, I'm not surprised that support would appear rather frustrated with your apparent lack of learning ability and unrealistic expectations.
To the best of my limited experience, qualified technicians and wireless experts are not found in RV parks.
Correct. If they did understand how wireless worked, they would not be working for minimum wage and minimum commission at a big box store.
It really grinds me to see someone expect me to pay for their support experience and then demand that it only be domestic. If you want quality support, be prepared to pay for it.
Incidentally, every buy a new car? Did you call the manufacturer to complain about something or ask them for driving instructions? Probably not. You went to a dealer, driving instructor, or mechanic. Linksys is not in business to supply you with an education along with their products. They do it anyway because customer demand "support". If that fails, as it apparently has in your case, I suggest you seek qualified dealers, instructors, and technicians.
Wanna be a bit more specific? Or is it more important to complain about Linksys than to fix your problem.
At the low end of the product scale (Dlink, Linksys, and Netgear), the manufacturers are roughly equal on their support services. If you want better products and support, try Cisco, 3com, or Sonicwall. However, don't expect the support to be free, or the products to be cheap.
Yes. When I don't understand something, I read about it. When I'm stuck, I ask someone that knows (usually not found in an RV park). When I need help, I have a long list of friends and accomplices that can help. When I can't do it myself or am in a rush, I pay real dollars to those that do it for me. If you haven't figured that out in 18 years of computer experience, then something is seriously wrong with your approach to problem solving.
Before you judge outsourcing as inadequate...consider that you have been selling and using computers for 18 years and are still struggling to learn them, much less able to install a Linksys device.
Without further information of exactly what Linksys product you are having difficulty with, can we assume its a Walmart purchased Linksys WRT54G wireless router.
BTW, our local Walmart sells "Wireless for Dummies" about eight feet up the isle of their Linksys products.
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