03-26-2010, 05:50 PM | #1 |
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So I used sony's live chat today for the first time...
it's a cool feature, but the experience was a little bizarre. I would have expected the tech to be a little more adept with typing quickly, kind of felt like I was operating on a different temporal plane (the chat showed when he was typing, and it took a *long* time for one sentence to appear... thought maybe he was looking up stuff as he went or using a dictionary to translate or something. He was very formal, even apologizing for his one typo.
When I asked about why my reader library might be freezing up every time I tried to return a borrowed book (it returns it, but it freezes and has to be turned off and restarted to continue), he told me to try a soft reset, it's a reader problem. HUH?? My reader isn't always even connected when I return library books. Since I had already asked him my major question and gotten an answer, and it had taken so long to get to this point, I just said ok, thanks. A soft reset, really? After that call, I found I couldn't even *open* my reader library. The last time I had this problem with the old sony library, I was never again able to open it. I called my husband, who suggested I redownload the reader library program, which I did, and it seems to be ok, for now. Anyone else use the sony live chat help? What kind of experience did you have? |
03-26-2010, 07:18 PM | #2 |
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I tried using Live chat today and couldn't get it to work, so I sent an e-mail and I'm still waiting for a response. I'm not holding out much hope, either. I used Live Chat when I first got my PRS 600 (Christmas 2009). The techs seemed to retype my question multiple times (I'm sorry you're having trouble with [repeat my question], etc.) and there was a lot of time in between responses. Lots of time wasted being polite - not that that's a bad thing, but I'd rather have a quick answer than all the niceties. The first person I chatted with wasn't able to get me an answer that made sense, so I finished up with her and tried again. The second person was able to answer my question
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03-27-2010, 03:47 AM | #3 |
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Yes, thatʻs what it was like- overly polite and solicitous. He used my name a disturbing number of times. I did like the fact that I had someoneʻs attention, though, and I didnʻt have to call. Iʻm really adverse to calling, for some reason. And emails... sometimes Iʻve gone back and forth many times before getting anywhere.
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03-27-2010, 08:40 AM | #4 |
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I just bought the second volume of Proust's In Search of Lost Time, which is broken.
First I tried the chat line. The made me jump through a lot of hoops to prove my PRS-900 was authorized and then gave me an email address to try. The email rep answered a completely different complaint. When I restated my complaint he gave me the phone number for specific Reader support. The rep on the phone knew exactly what I was complaining about, admitted that the file was corrupt and that Sony was trying to resolve the issue with the publisher with no estimated completion date, and gave me a coupon worth the price of the book I paid for to make up for my trouble. The chat and email lines seem to be Sony generalists. Stick with the phone support for the Reader: (877) 263-2863. |
03-31-2010, 06:38 PM | #5 | |
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Quote:
Come on sony, get with the game and get decent email support! |
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04-02-2010, 08:00 AM | #6 |
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I general rule of thumb: If Sony chat tech support wants you to do something and they say "I know that this will solve your problem", it probably won't.
Be very wary when dealing with Sony tech support. They have no problem screwing up your reader. |
04-02-2010, 03:19 PM | #7 |
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Yep, I didnʻt soft reset my reader (couldnʻt see the point, and am not touching that unless itʻs a necessary thing). Thatʻs pretty scary though, where do you go for help when you are stuck? Well, MR, I guess, as there are plenty of experts here.
Itʻs a shame, though, things like live chat and email assistance have so much potential for their convenience factor. |
04-20-2010, 04:12 PM | #8 |
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I just finished with chat support for my ebook problems. I had purchased "Supreme Courtship" by Christopher Buckley (ePUB format), and the text doesn't change size when you attempt to enlarge it. The chapter headings change size, but nothing else.
They were rather slow in response and used a grammar that suggested the Indian subcontinent (such as an overuse of verbs with an "-ing" ending, such as "I am not finding" instead of "I can't find"). They had some interesting suggestions, but I had already thought of them all. In the end, they gave me the phone number for call support. Call support says it's going to ask the publisher to reformat the book, and will get back to me on it by email. And gave me a reference number. We'll see how all that turns out. But I think the chat thing helps, if only to cut down the time everyone else spends on hold waiting for call support. It seems they are good at catching the obvious (things like, have you charged your battery, is the USB cable connected to the computer, etc.). But I think I'll keep the phone number handy... |
04-20-2010, 05:15 PM | #9 |
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Smell Computer Tech Support
I guess that I've been lucky. No problems with my 600.
If you want some really juvenile humor search YouTube for "tech support foamy" Last edited by HorridRedDog; 04-20-2010 at 05:29 PM. |
04-20-2010, 05:31 PM | #10 |
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Yes, most support chats seem to be to an absent minded human, with the propensity to use my name and the same inane phrases ("I'm sorry you're experiencing this problem") a bit too much.
I imagined the following causes:
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04-21-2010, 02:53 AM | #11 | |
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Using PRS+ with my 505 I am able to set up css files for my epub books and when I set a specific font size in pixels (px) it froze the fonts at that size even after changing to medium or large settings. This is why I strip the drm off of books I buy. I want to be able to adjust the book to suit my needs. |
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04-22-2010, 10:44 AM | #12 |
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I had the same problem with Sony support chat only yesterday, the only advice they could offer was a soft reset and then a hard reset, both of which I had tried before seeking help, then was given the US tech support phone number...................I'm in the UK. as I explained this she kindly spent 5 minutes searching for the correct number, so while they are not completely helpful, they do all that they can and I assume all they are required to do in their job description.
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