TomTom are considering their own forums, good idea?

flyingfuzz · Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 12:48 pm Post subject:

I suspect the main driving force is a belief they can save money.
If you have a self correcting forum then you do not need so many first line support personal.

I know from personal experience that this has been tried by other manufactures.

Do they work, To an extent.

People that work for a company tend to love their products and don’t see the product the same as a user. Take the hands free issue, for me a big problem as I purchased the product to do just that. For the support person who has lived the product and may see the product as a navigation device not as a hands free device, that issue to him is insignificant. This then leads to some issues being pushed aside as unimportant. However if it needs reloading or additional files to make it work then that tends to work.

Ask any salesman about his product, he will up the product until you cant imagine life without it. He has to believe in it or he cant sell it with enthusiasm.
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dhn · Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 2:18 pm Post subject:

One issue not addressed so far is what languages (yes, plural) would these TomTom support forums operate in?

While there are English speaking community forums in the UK and North America, there are also community forums in other countries such as France and Germany.

Does TomTom expect users in those countries to deal with English support forums?
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David

Darren · Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 2:27 pm Post subject:

dhn · Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 2:30 pm Post subject:

Good question, I don't know.

Mind you, unlike Microsoft, Tom Tom is a European company.
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David

Darren · Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 2:32 pm Post subject:

Mullet · Frequent Visitor Joined: Dec 12, 2005 Posts: 1051

dhn · Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 2:39 pm Post subject:

Sorry, Darren.....I wasn't clear. While MS is a world-wide company, its start was in the States. Tom Tom, having started in Europe, should have an obligation to its European customers.
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David

Darren · Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 2:46 pm Post subject:

dhn · Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 3:26 pm Post subject:

I marvel at how many people know many languages, Darren, but the fact is that if your mother tongue is not English and you are forced to describe a specific issue with your TomTom, something may get lost in translation and the true problem not getting resolved.

You know from your moderation here as I do from moderating the forums that I am involved with just how useful it is for the user to describe his/her problem in as much detail as possible so we can help diagnose properly.
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David

GerryC · Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 3:52 pm Post subject:

An important thing about support is being there when users need it - eg after they have just opened a Christmas present.

Whether it's phone support or a forum, you should not really get this message from an international support line...

AndyVaughan · Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 4:16 pm Post subject:

And they close on Dutch Bank Holidays as well ......

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