Replies

1. 
   forestgirl | Mar 14, 2007 01:35am | #1

   If you're not getting an answer to your emails, phone them!!!!  There's another thread going on right now about customer service, and it just mystifies me why the phone doesn't get used when email doesn't work.  Once you get someone on the phone, you've got them and you can get results.  Email is really not very dependable when it comes to solving a customer complaint.

   (Sorry if that sounded like a rant.  Good luck, hope they help you soon.)

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 
   

1. 
   ajoe | Mar 14, 2007 01:48am | #2

   "Email is really not very dependable when it comes to solving a customer complaint."

   It is if the company wants it to be!

1. 
   mapleman | Mar 14, 2007 04:44am | #3

   Joe,

   I agree with you wholeheartedly. I sent an email to spraygunworld.com last week looking for advice on which $400-$600 spray gun I was looking at from them would be the best for my needs. Never received a reply.

   Advice for companies:

   Don't put an email address for people to contact you if you have no plans to answer the emails or those peoples questions.

   just my $.02

   Lee

2. 
   forestgirl | Mar 14, 2007 07:11am | #4

   "It is if the company wants it to be!"  Yes, that's true.  But if some 20-something-year-old in a cubicle has a bad day and can't focus, and your email drops off the top of the pile, it's time to put in a phone call.  In half the time it takes to bat this around at Knots, the problem can be solved, and if necessary someone's supervisor alerted to the fact that an underling isn't doing their job.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

1. 
   ajoe | Mar 14, 2007 05:22pm | #7

   "Yes, that's true. But if some 20-something-year-old..."

   Why are so defensive about Taunton, and what do you have against young people?

   What if you get the same 20-something-year-old on the phone? Are you automatically assured complete satisfaction? Come on!

1. 
   forestgirl | Mar 14, 2007 05:45pm | #9

   I would go on the same mini-rant were it some company other than Taunton.  My personal experience, in general, has been if an email is not effective, it doesn't do any good to send another email. 

   I don't have anything against young people either.  It was just an example.  I could also have used an example of a burned out 45-year-old who has 3 sick kids at home and hasn't been at work for 4 days.  Whatever, doesn't matter.  The fact is, an email goes to a human who can easily overlook it in the midst of possibly hundreds of junk emails, missives from their supervisor, whatever, and never get back to it.  Or to someone who's new and hasn't gotten a grip on the job yet.  Or to someone who never should have been hired in the first place and is about to lose their bread-and-butter.

   People often seem to have a concept of customer service as if it's an singular entity, first name Customer, surname Service.  They are all individuals working under some kind of corporate structure with all the strengths and weaknesses any human has.  Not everyone does their job well, and even a good employee has a bad day or week now and again.  The only way to get a feel for what's going on when there's a problem is to communicate personally (i.e., voice to voice). 

    forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

2. 
   ajoe | Mar 15, 2007 06:57pm | #16

   "...email is not effective..."Then why does it work so well for some companies and not others?! Simple. Some companies don't bother to make it work. They feel if they put up a web site and publish an email address, all their problems go away.Just like this forum! This is a forum that is owned and operated by Taunton, so why aren't they responding the various customer service issues? I think I know.Edited 3/15/2007 11:58 am ET by ajoeEdited 3/15/2007 11:58 am ET by ajoe

   Edited 3/15/2007 11:59 am ET by ajoe

3. 
   MaxYak | Mar 15, 2007 09:58pm | #17

   Why hasn't Taunton responded to your complaint here?

   My understanding is that exactly one Taunton employee (MBerger) semi-regularly reads this forum.  This forum is primarily here for the purpose of us communicating with each other, not as a means of communicating with Taunton's customer service department.  It is unreasonable to expect Matt to respond to every complaint unrelated to his job, let alone to do so as quickly as you seem to expect, especially when there are other well-advertised means of communicating directly with Taunton's customer service.To the man with a hammer, all the world is a nail.

4. 
   forestgirl | Mar 16, 2007 02:41am | #18

   Though the forum is technically "owned" by Taunton, FineWoodworking.com is still a separate entity.  It's not like the magazine CS reps are reading this pages.  That's life, the way it is, reality.

   BTW, I did not make a blanket statement that "email is not effective" as implied by your post.  I said "if an email is not effective" it has been my experience that another email isn't going to solve the problem.

   I suspect (suspect) that the companies that are really good at keeping up with emails are the ones that can afford the software to send out automatic responses, with tracking numbers, and then keep track of what's been responded to and what hasn't.

   I'm not absolving all email-slacking companies of responsibility for their sins, just saying (a) there are possible reasons they slip up and (b) there are other ways to solve the problem.  What mystifies me is why, when one approach doesn't work, some folks just insist on beating their head against the wall, and screaming bloody murder when it doesn't work.  It's going to be a few years before 90% of problems can be solved easily using this form of communication.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

   Edited 3/15/2007 9:39 pm by forestgirl

   Edited 3/15/2007 9:46 pm by forestgirl

2. 
   BruceR | Mar 14, 2007 01:43pm | #5

   Hi forestgirl,

   You make a good point.  I'll try the phone later this morning.  But you make it sound as if all one has to do is dial a number and speak with the person answering.  My telephone experience with large companies lately has been that I'm connected to a menu tree which lists options I don't need, then, if I'm patient enough to listen to all the recordings, eventually connects me with a person in Bangalore, India.  But you are right; I will try to call them in addition to e-mailing. 

   Best,

   BruceR

1. 
   forestgirl | Mar 14, 2007 05:33pm | #8

   I share your grief about customer service in the 21st Century.  I, too, dread calling big companies (Earthlink comes to mind, my ISP; or any computer software support).  What really tics me off is the voice-activated menues.  With those in effect, I can't even cuss inbetween punching various buttons!!

   BTW, here are a couple of ways to try and short-circuit the voice menue and get to a live human:  one is to punch zero twice.  If that doesn't work, try not responding to the voice commands.  I've had both of those tricks work quite a number of times.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

3. 
   BruceR | Mar 14, 2007 06:17pm | #11

   Hi forestgirl, All

   Because of bad experiences trying to telephone other large companies, I didn't bother to try to call Taunton about my problem with their DVDs; instead, I e-mailed them a couple of times to no avail.

   But I took forestgirl's advice and called Taunton at its 800 customer service number, which was easy to find.  I was pleasantly surprised to learn that here was no pre-recorded menu tree, no waiting,  just a friendly customer service agent who instantly offered to send replacements for all of the DVDs that did not work. 

   Because I aired my original complaint online on this forum, I feel it is only fair to explain promptly that Taunton has promised--with no hassle involved--to make things right.  I hope to receive the replacement DVDs soon.  Thanks to forestgirl and thanks to Taunton.

   Best,

   Bruce

    

1. 
   JJV | Mar 14, 2007 06:29pm | #12

   Bruce-

   I had the same problem with one of the Taunton DVDs a while back and they responded immediately to my email, and sent a duplicate out to fix it.  (The duplicate doesn't work all the time, either, so I think it might be a quality control issue.)

   Taunton customer service has always been good IME.

   John 

   Maybe someday I'll know a little something.

1. 
   BruceR | Mar 14, 2007 10:43pm | #15

   Hi JJV,

   Thank you for letting me know that you had similar problems.  I believe you must be right; it's a quality control issue.

   Best,

   BruceR

2. 
   Hastings | Mar 14, 2007 04:28pm | #6

   Bruce:

   I do not have any Taunton DVD's so I don't know what copy protection they have but your problem sounds like it might be related to anti-piracy mechanism.

   Fair use doctrine has been weakened by the DMCA, but if I were you, I would make back-up copies. It's a grey area, but if you do not share them, then I think it's kosher (under fair use). Besides all you want to do is use the product you paid for!

   If the copy-protection is the same as any commercial DVD, the process of "ripping" it is pretty easy. There's lot's of info and software available on the web.

   This should solve your problem. BTW, not sure what you expect from Taunton, beyond a replacement set, but why would they be any different? I don't think it's fair to expect them to be familiar with all the possible hardware permutations.

   Another reason why copy-protection makes life difficult for honest users, while doing nothing to stop piracy. - Just my opinion!

   Hastings

1. 
   BruceR | Mar 14, 2007 05:58pm | #10

   Hi Hastings,

   Thank you for pointing to the possible anti-piracy issue.  I hadn't thought of that.  But it it were an anti-piracy issue, I don't understand why the Taunton DVDs don't work on my regular DVD but do work on my computer.   Out of more than a hundred DVDs I've had, I've never had trouble with any DVDs--other than those from Taunton--on either my regular DVD or my computer DVD.

   You ask what I expect Taunton to do.  If their DVDs don't work, I expect them to refund my money or send me DVDs that do work.  I'd like to have the DVDs, but if they can't provide working copies, I  would expect a refund.

   Best,

   BruceR

1. 
   Hastings | Mar 14, 2007 08:41pm | #13

   Bruce:The advantage of digital technology is that it permits flawless reproduction, i.e., the millionth copy is the same as the first. Given the present start of the art, it is surprising to find any defective DVD's - I think it truly is a 6-Sigma process.I do know that Region coding can cause difficulties with some hardware, but I am hard pressed to see how that is relevant to your problem.Computer DVD drives are built to a much higher standard than set-top drives because of the read/write and burning demands. I find that, if all else fails, my computer can usually read a disc whereas my set top drive is pretty finicky.Pretty soon we will store all our media on a hard drive and "network" the TV's. It's pretty easy to do today but not yet ready for prime time!Hastings

1. 
   BruceR | Mar 14, 2007 10:42pm | #14

   Hi Hastings,

   Thank you for taking the time to explain this to me.  I believe this may explain why the odd NetFlix disc, which is a bit physically dirty and won't boot on the tv DVD will boot up fine on the computer.

   Best,

   BruceR

1. 
   KiddervilleAcres | Mar 16, 2007 04:10am | #19

   Bruce,

   Just a thought, do you have a DVD cleaner for the TV connected DVD player/recorder?

    Bob @ Kidderville Acres

    

   A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!

2. 
   BruceR | Mar 16, 2007 05:56am | #20

   Hi Bob,

   Good thought about the head cleaner.   I do have a cleaner.  The DVD player is only a few months old, so I don't think that's the problem.  When I was rechecking the Taunton DVDs, I alternated them with older discs I grabbed at random.  All the other discs worked fine.  Again, I need to say that the customer service guy at FWW instantly offered to send replacements.  I did appreciate his help.

   Best,

   Bruce

3. 
   KiddervilleAcres | Mar 16, 2007 04:57pm | #21

   Bruce,

   Another brain f*rt, have you tried them on another DVD player, not one on a computer?  If they don't work on another one then that would lead one to conclude that they were recorded on a device that could be way out of alignment.

   I've always thought that computer based players, specifically the driver/software combination can compensate for variances in the accuracy of the read/write head (laser) vs inconsistencies with regard to the tracks on the disk.  This compensation may or may not be doable with a non computer based player.

   Years ago our software engineers could massage data read from marginally accurate floppy disks and make a (read educated) best guess as to the actual data on the floppy.  Floppy drives are notorious for mis-alignment problems, perhaps a factor relating to their demise........

   Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres

    

   A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!

3. 
   EricAnderson | Mar 22, 2007 09:34pm | #22

   Is it my imagination, or do some of the DVDs FFW is producing have editorial flaws?  I noticed it on a few in the past and just recently I got the DVD version of the FWW Kelly Mehler tablesaw DVD.  I had the VHS version and it was fine, but the DVD sound was all over the place.  It was like a 3 year old was editing the soundtrack.  The part where he talked on screen would come out of one channel and the overdub was at a different volume from another channel.  The cannel for each was not consistent either.  I thought it might be my sound system, but I have only noticed it on some FWW DVDs.

1. 
   BruceR | Mar 22, 2007 09:59pm | #23

   Hi Eric,

   I don't have the Kelly Mehler tablesaw DVD, but I do have about a dozen other FWW DVDs.  I never had any trouble with the audio, as you have, only the video.  Four of the DVD's played once, then lost all of the video; audio was fine.  I tested other (non-Taunton) DVDs, and the player worked fine on those.  I called FWW customer service, and they said they would immediately replace the defective DVDs.  They were as good as their word, and the replacement videos arrived immediately.  They seem to work fine.  I like the subject matter of the Taunton videos; hope they get it all worked out.  They really help me with stuff I couldn't learn anywhere else.

   Best,

   BruceR