Just for the Record – John Moses on Palm's customer support options

Palm’s Customer Relations Organization is constantly working to create an environment where customers have a range of support options and services available. I sat down with John Moses, Palm’s VP of worldwide customer relations, to get a deeper understanding of all the different customer support options that are currently available to Palm users. John shared information about many programs that Palm provides including self-support options, phone support, and other premium services. He also discussed Palm’s recently launched web IM chat offering, which allows people to communicate with a Palm agent in real time.

Here’s the video and below are links to additional information about the various customer support options available to Palm users.

-Paul Loeffler

Self Support:

-Web Pages and Knowledge Articles
The Palm Knowledge Library is a tool created for Palm customers that provides you with information on how to set up and use your device, or even troubleshoot a particular problem on your own. This is also a great tool for people who just want to learn more about their Palm products! The information available to you is up-to-date and accurate: http://kb.palm.com.

-Chat
Communicate directly with a support agent in real-time. Simply describe your issue, hit "send" and start a dialogue with a Palm expert. It's faster than email, and it's easy to use. Your support agent will guide you through troubleshooting to get you the answers to your questions: http://www.palm.com/us/support/help/chat.html.

-Help Forums
Learn from fellow Palm customers with information to help answer your questions, or answer others' questions in this online community: http://forums.palm.com.

Voice Support:

-Free Setup Help Line
Free* within 90 days of Smartphone purchase. Use our toll free number to reach an agent that can help you set up your Smartphone to get you up and running (phone numbers vary by product/carrier).
* Offer is subject to change without notice
Go here to select your product/carrier: http://www.palm.com/us/support/using.html.

-Phone Support (fee applies after 90 days)
Palm offers phone support with agents to talk you through device installation and ongoing maintenance. Get the highest satisfaction from your purchase with the assistance of Palm's phone technical support agents: http://www.palm.com/us/support/pop_using_phone_sp.html.

Premium Support:

-PEI: Palm Expert Installation (fee applies)
Get the most out of your new device with personal assistance and guidance by the experts at Palm using remote control technology. This service provides complete installation, easy device setup and one-on-one tutorials with our experts: http://www.palm.com/us/support/contact/expertinstallation.html

-PER: Palm Expert Resolution (fee applies)
Take standard support to another level and have an agent take remote control of your PC to solve the problem for you. Increase the speed and convenience of troubleshooting and fixing your Palm® device when you encounter a problem: http://www.palm.com/us/support/contact/per/index.html.

-Premium Enterprise Support (PalmES)
Palm understands you whether you are a small business or a large enterprise, whether you are just now considering mobility or are a veteran, and whether you have strong in-house IT capabilities or rely on third-parties. Our support programs are designed to meet your needs, whether you intend to completely outsource the management of your mobile solution or are just looking to augment your current capabilities with specialized support services: http://www.palm.com/us/support/PalmES/.

Comments

[Andrew S]

When did Palm start it's own help forums.

[Erica]

Anyone know who to go to if you have a non carrier device, but an AT&T card? I'm having trouble my email.

[John Artisan]

Thanks - Palm, you should have done an article like this a long time ago - back when the 700p problems were happening. Guess better late than never.

[Marietta]

I for one am glad to finally see Palm trying something a little new. So far the chat has been much better than email - I once had 15 emails to try and resolve a situation with my 650. So kudos. Please don't make it a couple years before you introduce new things like this.

[Steve]

I cannot find any place where Palm accepts consumer input for products. It seems like a "Take this and like it" method. Tell me I am wrong.

[Wendell S.]

I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing to have the VP of customer relations talking about what you have to offer, but at least you have someone saying it. Thanks for taking the time and hopefully he's truly being genuine. Palm you've got a long way to go, and please please get there quickly. Stuff like this is actually helpful.

[Ryan]

I know you get a good deal of negative comments on here, at least when it comes to customer relations. This is the kind of stuff you should be posting on the blog. I'm sure you do the other stuff and mean well, but things like this really help people. Oh, and it wouldn't be bad to talk about the new OS sooner rather than later.

[Antoine]

Thanks. How about the customer support you provide in Europe?

[Antoine]

Does chat work in Europe?

[Amy]

Thanks. It would be great to see more tips and problem solving videos.

[bill]

Please don't expect anything from a chat help session. It seems it is staffed with people who don't know anything and only do "searches" to reply to simple questions.

[Bonnie L]

Hi. I'm Palm's online support manager for North America. Among other things, my team manages the Palm Community Help Forums.

Upthread, someone asked when we started offering support forums. We kicked them off in late 2004, so this is our fourth year of hosting a support community.

Recently our forums were upgraded with tons of new features. Here's a cool one: users can mark a thread as "Solved." Most threads begin with someone asking a tech support question, so when you see the "Solved" icon, you know the answer's right there. The "Solved" icon appears in search results, so you can just scan the page for the icon – no need to click through multiple threads to find out if the question was answered.

There's lots more to explore:
http://forums.palm.com

[Eric Gregory]

Good step, but long way to go.

[sc3dover]

What a wonderful concept. I wish I had known that you kicked it off in 2004. In fact Palm was MIA when hundreds of thousands of 700p users was having problems. Can't wait for my 3G iPhone.

[Chris G. (Palm, Inc.)]

Palm customer support in Europe today is provided through voice and email together with an extensive 5 language knowledge base of technical solutions and information at:

-English http://www.palm.com/uk/support

-French http://www.palm.com/fr/support

-German
http://www.palm.com/de/support

-Italian http://www.palm.com/it/support

-Spanish
http://www.palm.com/es/support

Performance of the new chat support offering in the U.S.market is being closely evaluated with a view of extending the service into Europe and other geographic regions in the future.

-Chris G.