View Full Version : India and the Internet
flyu2there
05-20-2008, 09:52 AM
I don't know about the rest, but this India thing is really starting to frost my hockey puck!!
Example....
I am due a payment on some vehicle insurance, so I wait until the due date and use a credit card that gives me some benefit (cruise miles in my case). I log on, enter my account number and nothing.......no payment due. I know better so I call customer support and end up with Sanjee in Bombay (actually Mumbai to be correct) who introduces himself as "Steve" So I explain the problem to "Steve" he counters with 20 questions...name, rank, serial number and after verifying my identity, he puts me on hold. 23 minutes later, "Steve" is back and informs me to call him back in 24 hours, followed by the usual "have I satisfied all of your needs" routine to which I answered NO!
I call again, this time I get a Hindi Chik using the name of Barbara...have you ever heard an Indian try to pronounce Barbara?? Same routine, 20 questions and then onto HOLD! Babs is back an announces, "Oh sir, I am so sorry but it is not possible to pay today, not possible"....click, buzz!!
So I send an e-mail to customer Support and 8 hours later I get an explanation how there system was down, yadda, yadda, yadda....signed by Chuk Lew Ming.
So, I presume the e mails go to China and the telephone queries go to India.
This or a routine so similar that it is frightening happens every time I call somebody's customer support........I wonder if Prevost is next.:mad:
Jon Wehrenberg
05-20-2008, 10:22 AM
Just because everybody is picking on you it does not mean you are paranoid.
My experiences wth this type of issue were with XM. At one time we had it on 2 vehicles and my Garmin 396 for aviation weather. When I found I could not get a renewal despite having given them my credit card info I gave up. 3 or 4 months after they got my info and told me all was renewed they sent a notice saying my account was overdue.
Further chasing determined they never processed the information, yet they insisted after about three or four calls my credit card was refused. All of this after the first person acknowledged I was all set with my renewals.
I wonder if the folks whose primary language is other than English have as much trouble understanding me as much as I do understanding them. The companies that use offshore call centers are losing business because most of the stuff that requires me to call for service is stuff I did without before, and can do without now.
Following behind XM, credit card companies, and the phone company is Direct TV when it comes to ease of communications. However, despite the difficulty some have had with service from Prevost, I have found the folks on the other end of the phone line to be very helpful. If they ever switch to an offshore call center it will undoubtedly be located in Stockholm.
Just because everybody is picking on you it does not mean you are paranoid.
My experiences wth this type of issue were with XM. At one time we had it on 2 vehicles and my Garmin 396 for aviation weather. When I found I could not get a renewal despite having given them my credit card info I gave up. 3 or 4 months after they got my info and told me all was renewed they sent a notice saying my account was overdue.
Further chasing determined they never processed the information, yet they insisted after about three or four calls my credit card was refused. All of this after the first person acknowledged I was all set with my renewals.
I wonder if the folks whose primary language is other than English have as much trouble understanding me as much as I do understanding them. The companies that use offshore call centers are losing business because most of the stuff that requires me to call for service is stuff I did without before, and can do without now.
Following behind XM, credit card companies, and the phone company is Direct TV when it comes to ease of communications. However, despite the difficulty some have had with service from Prevost, I have found the folks on the other end of the phone line to be very helpful. If they ever switch to an offshore call center it will undoubtedly be located in Stockholm.
Who knows, but pretty soon the Chinese will be using Americans to offer Tech support to their citizens because it cheaper than using their own.
I can see a day when Chinese XM customer starts complaining that his tech support /customer service people are difficult to understand, especially those difficult accents from Maine, Tn, and of course Tx.
They will long for the day when they can have a normal high pitched ear piercing conversation with one of their own.
flyu2there
05-20-2008, 04:52 PM
Jon,
The prize really belongs to HP or Compaq, whoever they are. So there I sitz with a new computer, using Vista and the only thing running good on it was the paint! I am on the line with "Bob" or whomever and he has me taking cards out of the thing......so I pull out a card as per "Bob" and the connection goes dead! There I sit with a semi-vascular schizofrenometer in my hand, screws by the dozen on the table and NO BOB on the line...just my girlfriend saying "if you would like to make a call, hang up............." I didn't even bother to call "Bob" again...wrapped up the whole mess including the screws and took it back to the store.......NEVER AGAIN.
John
Jon,
The prize really belongs to HP or Compaq, whoever they are. So there I sitz with a new computer, using Vista and the only thing running good on it was the paint! I am on the line with "Bob" or whomever and he has me taking cards out of the thing......so I pull out a card as per "Bob" and the connection goes dead! There I sit with a semi-vascular schizofrenometer in my hand, screws by the dozen on the table and NO BOB on the line...just my girlfriend saying "if you would like to make a call, hang up............." I didn't even bother to call "Bob" again...wrapped up the whole mess including the screws and took it back to the store.......NEVER AGAIN.
John
That is why we only own and use Apple computers. We own two Mac Book Pro laptops, they are the best bar none, just check out the latest Consumer Report and one Mac G5, the big boy with 3.5 TB's. First Macs (Apples) do not get viruses, second we get to talk with real people, and third there is an outstanding users group trouble shooting web blog on apple.com.
Finally when we have ever had problems like when the computer gets scaled across the RV, Apple has always been there to repair or replace the units.
We do own a 12 Dell laptops for our business, but they have been a hassle and the virus issues and updates are a pain not to speak about the service communication headaches over seas.
If you have not made a purchase consider the Mac Book Pro 15" laptop, and oh yes Macs can run most windows programs without problems.
Ray Davis
05-20-2008, 05:33 PM
First Macs (Apples) do not get viruses
Although I'm a total Mac fan, and Pixar uses a LOT of macs, I want to dispell this myth. Mac's CAN and DO get viruses. They are a much smaller target, and less likely for sure. But do not believe that you cannot get a virus on a Mac. I've seen it happen, and Pixar deploy's all of it's Macs with virus checkers.
Ray
Ray Davis
05-20-2008, 05:35 PM
Although still limited, here's some documention which confirms. OSX virus started being discovered in 2006. There's more now.
http://www.sophos.com/pressoffice/news/articles/2006/02/macosxleap.html
Ray
Although still limited, here's some documention which confirms. OSX virus started being discovered in 2006. There's more now.
http://www.sophos.com/pressoffice/news/articles/2006/02/macosxleap.html
Ray
Hello Ray,
I would not try to dispute your claim about the possible risk for a virus, but I think it is rare occurrence as opposed to the rule with PC's.
Pam and I have been using Mac's in our business environments since 1984, in the publishing field, graphic etc and have never experienced one virus.
Pixar is a much larger work place with greater chances for such an occurrence, but if it had been a PC house it would have had a different experience.
The clear fact is that Mac's are superior machines getting better with each release. I must admit that my wife and I are not completely satisfied with Leopard just yet, but overall it is pretty cool software.
jello_jeep
05-21-2008, 08:01 AM
Love Macs, I have never had a virus, compared to countless ones on PCs, although I know it could happen.
I am waiting on a new macbook pro 17 as we speak! My windows laptop for work keeps getting the blue screen of death and it takes 10 minutes to boot.. With the advent of Vmware Fusion, I can run windows crap if really necessary so I will have the fun of taking a windows computer to the desert for 12 ga final virus scan.
I run a 17" Imac at home, a G4 laptop that the wife loves, a Mini Mac in my AV equipment rack, and a 24" Imac at work, also running fusion for those moments when Mr Gates is necessary.
The screen on the 24 is stunning as well.. Very remarkable.
Love Macs, I have never had a virus, compared to countless ones on PCs, although I know it could happen.
I am waiting on a new macbook pro 17 as we speak! My windows laptop for work keeps getting the blue screen of death and it takes 10 minutes to boot.. With the advent of Vmware Fusion, I can run windows crap if really necessary so I will have the fun of taking a windows computer to the desert for 12 ga final virus scan.
I run a 17" Imac at home, a G4 laptop that the wife loves, a Mini Mac in my AV equipment rack, and a 24" Imac at work, also running fusion for those moments when Mr Gates is necessary.
The screen on the 24 is stunning as well.. Very remarkable.
I thought we were alike.
Pam and I just got our new Mac Book Pro, with all the goodies. Pam's is 17" and mine is 15". They have been great.
As for Viruses, same here none in over 20 years. I am sure that when I say this i will get my first one, but for years when my friends have warned me about various virus attacks heading my way I just keep on telling them about owning a Mac and they just stay with their Dell's or HP's and think that everyone gets those nasty red virus alert windows popping up on their screens, I'll never understand why good folks put up with the nonsense. associated with PC's.
Alan__
05-21-2008, 08:49 AM
Warren - Did you evaluate Parallells vs. Fusion when making your choice?
jello_jeep
05-21-2008, 10:49 AM
Yeah Bruce, its a bit frightening! You don't drive a yellow jeep do you?? :)
Alan, I actually called Apple business support to order it, and after a lengthy conversation with the chap, he advised me to do it. It has been awhile ago and I don't remember all the technical reasons for it, but it boiled down to being able to operate window/window both at the same time and compatibility with programs I needed to run... If all that makes sense.
I am also getting Aperture 2, and seeing if I can make that work for me too. Do you use that Alan?
Yeah Bruce, its a bit frightening! You don't drive a yellow jeep do you?? :)
Alan, I actually called Apple business support to order it, and after a lengthy conversation with the chap, he advised me to do it. It has been awhile ago and I don't remember all the technical reasons for it, but it boiled down to being able to operate window/window both at the same time and compatibility with programs I needed to run... If all that makes sense.
I am also getting Aperture 2, and seeing if I can make that work for me too. Do you use that Alan?
No jeep yet Warren, but I do regret the purchase of my current Toad, may consider one next time.
We stay away from any PC type programs for mac. We once used Virtual Terminal for mac but it slowed everything down, so we took it off. keep a couple of PC's around if we need to look at PC only stuff.
Our thought is to keep the Mac's clean no PC stuff and we will never have any problems.
Ray Davis
05-21-2008, 12:03 PM
I think we are all in agreement, but when I hear comments that Macs (or Linux) cannot get a virus, I cringe a bit.
Certainly, less likely (by a huge margin), but possible.
Fusion is a great product, too.
Ray
I think we are all in agreement, but when I hear comments that Macs (or Linux) cannot get a virus, I cringe a bit.
Certainly, less likely (by a huge margin), but possible.
Fusion is a great product, too.
Ray
Hi Ray,
You are like a women scorned. You must have really had a serious virus at Pixar.
We create websites using the Linux open source programs with MySqL and PHP and Flash. Again with little or no problems. I use Dell Enterprise servers that we own and operate for the delivery platforms for our websites. I had a choice to use windows based servers and decided to stay away, have again been very satisfied.
Jim_Scoggins
05-21-2008, 05:49 PM
You guys aren't really Poggers. You are a bunch of geektoids.
Joe Cannarozzi
05-21-2008, 06:19 PM
That's pretty good.
tdelorme
05-21-2008, 10:28 PM
You guys aren't really Poggers. You are a bunch of geektoids.
Damn, Jim, what kind of word is that "geektoid" deal and where how long have you been waiting to use it in a sentence? I'll bet you learned that word from the guy in the picture, right?
Alan__
05-21-2008, 10:42 PM
Warren - Hope this gets through the riff-raff of the non-geeks. Haven't tried Aperture as had already moved to Adobe Light Room.
Jim_Scoggins
05-22-2008, 06:05 AM
Ted:
Geektoid: My home made word for a geek on steroids. A really powerful, knowledgable geek--not an everyday pretend geek.
It is actually a complement but most geeks don't know it.
Jon Wehrenberg
05-22-2008, 06:54 AM
My VCR still flashes 12:00. For those of us still using the English language could you geektoids translate?
My VCR still flashes 12:00. For those of us still using the English language could you geektoids translate?
Hi Jon,
This usually means that you have had a power failure, check your main breaker.
I'm no geek, I rely on Pam for all tech support, and Jim for my transmission support. Mac's do not need mush, if any support.
flyu2there
05-22-2008, 08:30 AM
My VCR still flashes 12:00. For those of us still using the English language could you geektoids translate?
There is, of course, another possibility...ITS NOON. Yes I said possibility not possibilities, Jon has not been awake past 8 PM in years:D:D
John
truk4u
05-22-2008, 08:52 AM
Fly Dude, it could easily be midnight, he for sure hasn't seen that in many years except to drain his lizard!:p
Jon Wehrenberg
05-22-2008, 02:34 PM
Two brilliant answers from the AARP crowd. Don't you two former pilots have to take some Metamucil or something?
jello_jeep
05-22-2008, 02:46 PM
NOTAM
Metamucil is not for pre-flight consumption!! :D
Two brilliant answers from the AARP crowd. Don't you two former pilots have to take some Metamucil or something?
flyu2there
05-22-2008, 06:41 PM
Two brilliant answers from the AARP crowd. Don't you two former pilots have to take some Metamucil or something?
What do you mean former??? I bounced my Seneca 15 times today so I am good for the next 15 months...right...
:o
May I recommend to you Jon, a 6 months supply of ALLI......I know you will look that one up..
Alli Weight Loss Pill Side Effects......
The most common side effect is unexpected, sudden, and explosive diarrhea. Literally pooping your pants. So while you’re at the drug store picking up your Alli, you may want to be like the Astronaut Lisa Nowak and buy yourself some diapers. Alli users are having to carry an extra pair of pants wherever they go - seriously!
OLD but still flyun...:eek:
JOHN
Jon Wehrenberg
05-22-2008, 08:28 PM
That response took you 4 hours and seven minutes John.
Did you go up without oxygen again?
ATC accused me of bouncing the other day. They questioned my altitude. They said I was bouncing between 8300 and 22,000. So you bounce on the ground, I bounce in the air.
It was in today to get the encoder fixed.
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