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purchasing computers with customer service in US?

Posted By: lilac on 2007-08-08
In Reply to:

okay.here it goes.  I thought it might be worth asking if anyone know of any companies that sell computers where you don't have to go through customer service outside of the US?   TIA. 


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customer service

We tried for five solid weeks to get signed up with Vonage.  Wasted well over six full hours over the telephone (we just have a plain old residential house, some question of a second line coming out of the house, but no other complications) with 99% ESL's who could not communicate properly with us.  The savings were the carrot in front of our face, which is why we were so patient with having them try to get us set up, but because of one fiasco after another with JUST TRYING TO GET US SET UP, we decided it was not worth it.  We will wait until it has been perfected.  Also the 9-1-1 was a very important factor, as was Privacy Manager for us.    Weigh your options.  Best of luck to you.


For customer service.....
Someone filled me in that if (when) you get somebody from overseas, all you have to do is ask them to transfer the call to somebody in the states.  That way you don't have to try to decipher what they are trying to say, and you get someone from the U.S.  I tried this, and it worked well with no problems. 
Those Customer Service Centers
You have to do what I do. Sometimes if I call and I can't understand a word the service rep is saying to me (after telling me his name is Paul), I ask them to send me back to an office in the United States. They generally don't know what to say at that point because they have no scripted answer to that type of question. It gets your point across without having to resort to nastiness (not implying that you were in any way), which I used to resort to and you have stumped them to the point where they generally will return you to the main office which is in the U.S.

Take care and good luck with the doctor.
Have to talk to Customer Service. There are only one or two
models available with XP. I got one about a year ago. Saw a post recently that someone had just got one with XP through them, an Inspiron I think, and that they had a few left at that time.
Dedication to customer service? Are they SERIOUS?
x
Here is customer service email

Shame on them for not letting you know would cost $10!!!!!


click the link and send Paypal an email with your question


Just talked to offshore customer service
I just got off the phone to my CC company. The sales rep that answered had no accent but on a hunch I asked where she was located and after much hesitation, she replied she was in the Phillipines.  I told her I wanted to speak to a rep. in the US.  She put me on hold and a few seconds later returned, asking me why.  I told her I was totally against offshoring.  Once again I was put on hold and after a long wait, her supervisor got on the line.  This was a male with no accent so to be sure I asked him where he was located and again, the answer was the Phillipines.  I told him I wanted to speak to a US rep.  He asked why and I told him I was against offshoring.  He said it was not possible to tranfer me to a US rep.  I explained that I had made this same requist before and had been transferred but he said it was not possible this time.  I told him I will email the company and try to get a US phone number that way.  I will let you all know what happens.  I am so angry I could spit.
working as a customer service rep from home....sm

taking phone calls like orders for things, etc.,  showed very pregnant woman with little kids with phone headset working on computer . Raved about flexibility, own hours, fit her schedule, blah, blah....   Had to be able to work alone, etc., all the work ethics we have to have, and good typist.  Full time, they said pays VERY well, with emphasis on the "very."  I think this woman was making 12-15 an hour, can't remember exactly.  Said there were about 10,000 women doing it and it is the up and coming thing.  Check out the GMA website... I think it was "Women at Work"...... something like that. 


Call Nicole at customer service...
This is THE best company I have ever dealt with. I downloaded the trial and in a day or two received a very nice personable email from Nicole wanting to know how I liked the Gearplayer. Then my trial ran out before I really got to try it because we had to go out of town so they let me try it an additional 5 days. On my fifth day I had just started working and was so behind because I took my mom for a test. It was last Thursday actually. I placed my order over the phone and was going to have to wait until Monday for the software to come in. Nicole gave me a third extension so I would not lose money and the software arrived the very next day!

I do want to add that when trying the 3rd trial I had the same problem you are having and I called their tech depatment. Mike had me back on within minutes without putting me on hold even one time!

The customer care is unmatched and the product itself has the best sound quality and the settings are so easy to use. I can't recommend them enough. Good luck!
Their customer service is pretty good when you have
s
That's because Dell's customer service is outsourced to India. sm

The guy probably answered yes, yes, yes to all your quesions and didn't understand a single word.


I wish customer service departments would stop hiring
these people who have this terrible nasal twang of those wannabe CSI Miami blonde bimbos (the so-callled  bullet expert).  You cannot understand a word they say, everything is nasal and words run together.  If doctors ever pick up this habit we are sunk.
Does anyone have a contact # for Medword? They have awful customer service!

After contacting HomeEx I ordered the Absolute Experience tapes through them. I wrote under additional instruction to tell the delivery person "Do Not Knock!"


Today the postman bangs on my door and needs a signature confirmation. If he had those instructions he would have delivered it to the apartment office. If I had been working, I could have lost my job for the backroud noise!


I ordered a 3 CD set and in the enevelope there is only 1 CD and transcripts that do not match it.


The outside cover says Package 1 of 2. Why wouldn't they send 3 CDs and the transcripts in the same package? From the ad it is a "set" of 3 CDs. I go to the website to contact them and I need an invoice # to email them about a shipment! There is no original invoice or copy or anything in my package!  I called the # on my package but it's HomeEx not Medword.


Does anyone have a contact #?


GearPlayer customer service stinks - if you need to reload onto another computer (i.e. you get a new
You have to call them to get a new install code,but first they have to fax you a request sheet to be completed and faxed back,then they have to okay the reinstall and give you a new code. They are NOT available after hours or on weekends, so if you have an emergency such a computer crash,you are out of luck.
Check your boxes and stuff for some sort of customer service...
I think you got a bad one. Return.
Does anyone know of computers with service in US?
I had a dell once and after they agreed to take it back I thought I would never get a dell again.  Every time I called I got a foreign speaking person and it drove me nuts.  I can believe the other post about people actually having fits with them.  I do not want to have to struggle to have a computer run properly for my job.  TIA! 
Like customer service everywhere - people don't care, no self-respect, no respect for.
nm
Dell customer service is overseas. I have had a Dell, a
Toshiba Satellite, and an HP.   The Dell was a piece of junk from day 1.  The HP hard drive crashed after 4 to 5 years, but otherwise no problems.   I bought a Toshiba about 6 months ago and it is okay, nothing special.  I was looking at the Sony Viao and the salesman said that some laptops are made to be portable, but that the Sony was not one of them, but the Toshiba was.   My keyboard also has a numerical pad on it, but it throws the other keys off a bit, so when I'm in a portable mode and don't have room for an external keyboard it really slows me down.  I have a Duo Core processor and notice no difference whatsoever in speed, the number of programs I can have open, etc.   I have also noticed that even when I am not on battery power that every so often the battery is charging.  I don't know if this is a defect or something that is supposed to happen, but I need to investigate it. 
If I were you, I'd hold off on purchasing anything sm
until you find a position with a company as many (if not most) companies will supply you with the pedal and software. All you would need to do is plug the pedal into your computer. The companies usually will install the software for you via your phone line or will send you a CD, whatever.

USB is the type of "plug." It's small, about a quarter-inch wide and has a little design on it with a circle, an arrow that points to the plug, and a little square.

The other type of pedal outlet has the little pins inside. You will need to count the little pins to find out what kind you have.

Good luck to you!

When purchasing a used copy...sm

Be sure to have the person that sold it to you notify Textware Solutions that they are no longer using it and that you are now the license owner. This will allow you to take advantage of all the benefits of being the license owner such as discounted upgrades, free tech support, etc.


 


Don't even THINK about purchasing Speedtype. There are absolutely no

medical words whatsoever and you have to add everything.  Why in the world would the AAMT support this product and not any of the others? I spent over 160.00 on this product and my productivity has increased by ZERO.


I emailed for a refund and have heard nothing. I just hope that when I go to "resell" it they allow me with their licensing regulations!


Now I have to spend an extra 200.00 for InstantText which I should have purchased in the beginning - Can you imagine? 500.00 in the hole just to find which expander is best for you??/ I am highly livid right now. 


 



How do you like the program? I am interested in purchasing it. *nm*
x
Purchasing Lanier Equipment
I just purchased a Lanier Transcriber from Transcribe Solutions.
Computer Purchasing Suggestions!
I have posted this before, but not for a while. To me, one of my biggest hurdles to leave MQ was the computer issue. I had another one of my own, but it was a dinosaur relic. I absolutely had zero money to pay for one in full, and my credit cards were melted.  So, you have 2 very viable reliable options. QVC and HSN.  QVC specializes in Dell, HSN Gateway.  I have desktop PCs from both, and they all were great. I do not recommend laptops from either, though.  They both offer easy monthly payments on select computers. Sometimes the selections change daily, other times weekly. If you browse on line and see a computer you like, below the ad it will even say when a show may be running, and on that day there will be lots more choices. You can shop online and see which ones are on Easy Pay with QVC or Flex Pay with HSN.  They sell really nice models, and for usually around $600 to $800, you can get a fully-loaded great computer with flat screen monitor, printer/scanner, the works and they divide it into 6 to 8 payments for you. All you need is a debit card.  Even a brand new customer qualifies for these payment plans.  It saved me, literally, and enabled me to apply and get several IC jobs and get my life and happiness and freedom and money back again! Yet I could never have afforded to buy a computer any other way at that sad time in my life.  Just in case some are thinking this is an obstacle, please check this out. With both Dell and Gateway, you get your own personalized service # as well, not the one regular customers get, and the service was great, the rare times I needed help. We've purchased computers for the whole family this way. 
To get info regarding purchasing Lanier equipment
This was on the Classified board

Ranzy Luster ranzy@grandecom.net

They should provide software. I can see purchasing pedals that
s
purchasing mt equipment/filing taxes...& getting started, Help?
Thank you; I live somewhat remote so I appreciate your help! I am excited at the opportunity to get started in this business. I am just a bit concerned that I would make this huge financial investment up front, but its a risk I guess worth taking, because I want to do this. Can I ask, what tax form do you file, and do you find that the business balances itself out; in other words, do you have to end up paying a lot in taxes, or do the expenses balance it out? Also, anyone: advice for a newbie: how do you recommend starting out, when it is so slow in the beginning due to programming macros, auto texting, and looking up every other word when you're first starting out??
We have decided to add this to our current service not have a new service. It will be easier to sm

keep track of and will just be a different department. 


It looks like we will work out details over the next 6 months, talking with community college program directors as well as a few of the distance-learning course leaders to work on the recruiting end.


We will train current staff to mentor if they would like to do so and want to work in the office.


We are still working on production requirements, goals to set, pay, benefits and other fine details but we have 6 months to get it all in place with three months to pull it together after that with a tentative start date of 09/01/06.  We need to build the building as well, although that is already at the blueprint stage in a spot next to our current office. 


We did not want to cause flames and bashing by listing the company name as there are always so many negative people on this site, but we are national with over 200 transcriptionists, located outside of Chicago (40 miles west) and have the best team of transcriptionists around!


We will have an "official" announcement after the first of the new year. 


Thank you for all of your feedback and suggestions!


Vonage customer
No problems here. I wanted to go through Time Warner, as we already have cable and internet through them, and they display the number on your TV (very cool), but Vonage was still cheaper.
Up-date from CC offshore customer rep.

Okay, I found a phone number on my statement for thier "Premier" card so I called that number.  I asked where the rep was located and she told me Buffulo, NY and her name was Vivian.  I got the answer to my question and then told her I had initially called and got hold of a center in the Phillipines but I refused to talk to them.  I asked how I could go about lodging a complaint about the company offshoring.  She said she could forward the complaint for me but it probably wouldn't do any good.  I told her it would do some good if more people did as I was doing and also lodged complaints about offshoring.  I explained that in my profession offshoring a a huge problem and that it was only a matter of time before SHE lost her job to offshoring also.  I told her to include in my complaint that her bosses worked for  me and if I, and others like me, refused to use their services, her boss and the company's management would be looking for new jobs.  Vivian told me they have call centers all over the world and I just lucked out using the :"Premier"  phone number because I do not have a "Premier" card.  She said in the future if I want to get a rep in the US, I will probably have to hang-up and call back, several times maybe, until I got hold of a US rep.  (Yeah, right, I am calling the Premier number first thing).  But, at least I know what it might take to get a US rep.



I realise even the offshore people are just looking to make a living but what about all the US citizens trying to make a living, only to see their jobs go offshore? And I agree that it is "managament" that is responsible for this, but until we stand up for ourselve, no one else will.  Management works for us!!  Just like the managment of the MTSOs and even the Nationals have no job without us.  It it too easy to say, "Well, just this one time, I will use the foreign call center,  One time won't make a difference."  But it is that one time, added to your one time and added to her one time, added to my one time and on and on, that WILL make a difference.  It is too easy to sit back and wait for someone else to solve the problem.  That attitude will get us nowhere but out of work or working for slave wages




I realise even the offshore people are just looking to make a living but what about


Love it, I am a loyal customer
I have had it for over four years with no trouble. They have a 24 hour call-in center. You can also adjust your bandwidth settings on your Vonage account page, which was probably what was giving you internet problems. I have never experienced this. It was probably your equipment or your settings that you should have adjusted.

The only downside is when your cable or DSL is out, so is your phone. This only happens every now and then. Like once every few months. I kept a land line phone for backup in the past for an extra $20 a month, but I no longer needed it so I disconnected it.

You get all features, voicemail, 3-way calling, call-waiting with caller ID. I can't even think of them there are so many. In my opinion, Vonage is the way to go. I guess everyone has their own opinion of the company though.
That's fine, will give them another of their customer
service numbers when they figure this out. At least it has been a quiet day today!

They start calling at 7 a.m. and don't stop calling until sometimes after 11 p.m.

The bill is not late. As a matter of fact, I checked our account status and the payment was there as of noon today. It's actually due on October 23.

It is simply harrassment. They want us to pay check by phone and we refuse. No way in H@!! am I going to give them our banking information.
BOS is just a style guide... do what the customer wants! sm
If my client does not have a preference I go by BOS.  If they do state a preference I do what they want.  If I feel the *BOS* way is better for proper interpretation of the report, I will advise that, but otherwise what they say is golden. 
I May Get a Radiology Customer and Need Advice

 


Can anyone advise me on radiology transcription. I've never done it. (I have a small MT service and would try to find someone to do this work)... I'm looking for advice on:


-- Pricing, I understand you usually charge by the page and not the line.


-- Is it advisable to pursue this, since I have never done it. I hear Radiology is "a different animal" - Good/Bad idea as owner of a small service to pursue this? 


Thank you,


Dave


they will not provide you with customer support.
I had problems tyring to defend that I should have customer support if I did such a thing. They will help you load XP but they will not give you any customer support afterwards, I never loaded with XP but after telling them the sales person gave me the wrong info (I wanted to make sure I could still use this computer if a company was still with windows XP and the sales person said no problem)  This was last summer.  After fighting tooth and nail they credited my account.  Tell them you want it for a business so that way you get someone who knows what they are talking about, hopefully. 
I am a Comcast customer (HSI/cable TV) and wonder if I

should go with Comcast for long distance calling.   Or, is there a better plan?  Vonage perhaps?  I have AT&T right now, maybe they have a package that includes free long distance calling. 


Signed, Just got a new Job


Maybe call customer support? HA! sm
But if your warranty has run out, they'll charge $20 or more, and as often as not they probably don't know what they're talking about. At least that's been my experience.

Have you installed ANY new software into your laptap lately, such as a new virus protector. They can do really treacherous things to your computer software. If you have, maybe try uninstallling it and see if that helps.

Once I put in a new antivirus and it locked up by browser--years ago, but that's what came to mind.
irrelevant what MTSO charges the customer...
as long as you feel the price they pay you is sufficient for you. nuff said.
very unhappy verizon customer, i switched about 6 months ago
nm
They also use tactics based on "sale points" which tease the customer
to the specific area (such as a microwave for $25.00) and then consider that if the customer took 10 additional steps, he would see the microwave he realloy would prefer (say a GE for $69.00) and since the customer is so thrilled with the dirt cheap price of the initial microwave, he purchases the GE microwave which is ACTUALLY PRICED HIGHER THAN OTHER STORES!!!!

Dastardly!
My telephone service is VOIP, but it s through my cable service, along with my cable internet. .
We have had VOIP for about a year now and I love it. I really can't tell a difference in traditional service, except the price. One of the best calls of my life was to Bellsouth to cancel our service!
I am not asking for a service, I AM the service looking for recorders
nm
computers
You can get 56K modems for 5.00 now. We build our own and each piece of hardware we put in, including the case, are warrantied separately so if something breaks, you aren't fighting companies and having to send back the whole thing. It's much cheaper to do it yourself and really very easy.
computers
I use Dell laptop with DSL, VPN and Lanier. No problems. Had problems with VPN and Hewlet/P.
I only buy 1 and put it on 2 of my computers- nm
x
I really think in the age of computers

I think this is why EMR has become popular.  My daughter has been typing on the computer since she was 4-years-old.  My son is a pretty quick typist at 12 years of age. 


My PCP uses his computer, but a lot of times PCPs do not use transcriptionists at least in my state/experience.  It is mostly specialists.  I have noticed the bigger the practice/facility, the larger the transcription company.


Part of an ortho practice I transcribed for went with C-Bay because they wanted to go digital and have 24-hour TAT; however, three out of seven physicians were older and still used tapes.  It all depends on the circumstance and preference.


We have 3 computers
using the wireless router and we would sometimes get this problem. We are allowed up to 5 computers to be used on the router. However, sometimes when my kids were downloading or IM-ing, the router was treating those tasks as another computer on the network. So when I went to get online, the router would think there were already 5 computers on and not allow me to connect to the internet. I used to have to unplug router to reset it and then I could get online. Kids are more careful now about logging off and/or shutting off computers, and we haven't had a problem since.
It may be different on different computers.
You can find it easily by going to search and typing in *.acl.
computers
Hello:  Try Tigerdirect.com and see if they have any computers with Windows XP, do not believe they have Dells, but they have other brand name computers that are just as good.  Also, that site you can build your own and it is not really expensive either.
HP is the best. All 3 of our computers are HPs.
My desktop that I work on is an HP, and I have never had a single problem with it. It's about 2 years old. I also just got a brand new HP laptop for X-mas. My husband's desktop is also an HP that is a little less than a year old. We have always gone with HP and have never been let down! My parent's even just bought a new HP. You can get some really good deals on them.
I just use two computers...
I have a switch box and it works great.