I purchase 2 of these racks and went through HELL getting them to even come
close to functioning.
I won't bore you with the 3 pages of documentation of "try this, uh try
that, um lets try this" stuff. But here is a snapshot of my experience with
hayes, I spent 365.00 on long distance, 66.06 on shipping (back to hayes)
and lost 40 customers because it took Hayes 3 weeks of screwing around to
admit they didn't have a clue to what the problem was, and sent 2 more racks
to test.
1) Hayes Tech support is pitiful and a toll call
2) Hayes Tech support is woefully understaffed and poorly trained
3) Hayes Tech support is not setup to make PPP or SLIP test calls
4) Hayes was only able to do a Windows Terminal login (for crist sakes Hayes!!!)
5) In desparation they send me 2 more racks to try, this time they
"preconfig" it for me, slap them babies on line and same'ol crap.
6) Knowing better, I order 30 USR Courier v.everything modems and have them
ready to go (modem tables, racks built, etc) THE INSTANT I PLACE THE USR'S
ONLINE ALL OF OUR TROUBLES GO AWAY, no kidding.
7) RMA time, oh boy, is this fun or what?? Send original 2 racks back with RMA
8) Send 2nd two racks back without RMA per Waynes instructions (bad mistake)
9) We know better and use UPS GROUND-TRAC and get delivery confirmation when
they reach Hayes (5 days later)
10) I call Hayes, they ask for proof of delivery
11) I call UPS and get faxed documents of them signing for 4 boxes of Century2's
12) I fax said papers to Hayes
13) I wait 1 week for call from Hayes, NO CALL
14) I call hayes, and get to Customer support, "what racks?"
15) I call hayes, and get a supervisor, "please fax the UPS stuff again, we
cannot find it
16) I fax all of the crap again, it took 3 hours to fax the paper work due
to some problem on their end... jeez, musta been a hayes fax modem.
17) I call Hayes, that supervisor is on leave, I get another supervisor
18) I get to tell my whole story again, AND get to fax (for the 3rd time)
the UPS info.
19) I wait for a call back from the last supervisor, but not for long, I
call again (remember NO 1-800 number!!!)
20) I get a different customer support person, she says "I'll have someone
call you" I ask "today?"
21) I get a call from the original Engineer (Nate), and he asks "why do you
need to SEND the racks back?" (recall I had ALREADY SENT THEM BACK) ARGH!!!!
I lose it, and start, saying things like, Better Business Bureau, Attorney
General, my legal counsel and I'll see you on your door step at the end of
the week kind of stuff...
But wait, theres more... I get to FAX the WHOLE DAMN MESS OF PAPERS TO HAYES
AGAIN!!!
But this time I had my Attorney fax the paper work, along with his prose,
I'm sure I'll be hearing from Hayes soon.
Moral of this story...
1) document your entire purchase history
2) do not give Hayes the benefit of the doubt, I did and it got me zip
3) use a credit card to purchase your racks, I used a cashiers check,
otherwise I could have gotten my money back 3 months ago, (yes, they have
had my money 3+ f*cking months)
4) Actually this should be the first item, DON'T BUY HAYES, GET US ROBOTICS!!!
********************************************************************************
Just to note, I am not an idiot, I know how to use and configure modems,
this was clearly a problem with the Hayes Century2 product and my system.
I fault Hayes for not having decent tech support, I fault Hayes for being
incompetent in handling customer affairs. If they had handled this
situation better I'd just let it go but I cannot in clear conscience be
silent about my experiences with them, as a telecommuncations product and
company in general.
Buyer beware,
Nuff said.
- Mike
____________________________________________________
Mike Greene (mikeg@rockisland.com) / Internic (MG42)
Rock Island Internet / Office Ph. 360.378.5884