# Tivo Customer Service Roamio



## tamathat (Sep 11, 2011)

So I called Tivo this afternoon to inquire about the Premier vs Roamio, the operator actually told me to google search it on my own. I was shocked that an agent of the company would actually tell a potential customer to do their own research instead of taking the opportunity to sell the product. I got the impression that this customer svc agent was maybe a 3rd party hire. Does Tivo outsource their customer svc agents? She told me that before she bought her Roamio she google'd to find out the difference between the premier and roamio and that is how she made her decision to buy the roamio.


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## socrplyr (Jul 19, 2006)

Are you still interested in the difference? Or just want to vent about the poor customer service?
We can help with the former.


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## lessd (Jan 23, 2005)

tamathat said:


> So I called Tivo this afternoon to inquire about the Premier vs Roamio, the operator actually told me to google search it on my own. I was shocked that an agent of the company would actually tell a potential customer to do their own research instead of taking the opportunity to sell the product. I got the impression that this customer svc agent was maybe a 3rd party hire. Does Tivo outsource their customer svc agents? She told me that before she bought her Roamio she google'd to find out the difference between the premier and roamio and that is how she made her decision to buy the roamio.


It has to cost about $30-$40/hour for each CSR (gross inc SS, work comp, unemp insurance, and health benes if any) and just telling you about the differences is maybe not the best use of their time.


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## Rkkeller (May 13, 2004)

I agree, just go to the Tivo.com website and the differences and comparisons are all over.


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## bob61 (Apr 23, 2002)

tamathat said:


> So I called Tivo this afternoon to inquire about the Premier vs Roamio, the operator actually told me to google search it on my own. I was shocked that an agent of the company would actually tell a potential customer to do their own research instead of taking the opportunity to sell the product. I got the impression that this customer svc agent was maybe a 3rd party hire. Does Tivo outsource their customer svc agents? She told me that before she bought her Roamio she google'd to find out the difference between the premier and roamio and that is how she made her decision to buy the roamio.


Did you contact sales? If not the rep is probably scored on time on the phone. Telling you info that is readily available on the internet is counting against their performance score and maybe their compensation.

Let me help you. http://lmgtfy.com/?q=tivo+premeire+roamio+compare /URL]
Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk 4


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## Grakthis (Oct 4, 2006)

Yeah, it all depends on how the rep said it.

If the rep was friendly, and said "Well, I can direct you to sales. But you know what helped me a lot? I used google to look up the differences and that really helped solidify in my mind what the advantages of each platform are."

Or did the rep said "ugh, google it yourself, kid. That's not my job."

See the difference? In one case the rep is not the right person to ask, but is giving you their own real world experience on what helped him or her. In the second one, the rep is pawning you off on google cause they don't want to do it.

If it's the latter, yeah, that's bad customer service. I don't care what the reps incentives are... it's poor incentives then.

If it's the former, well, that was nice of the rep. Hopefully she did transfer you to sales though.


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## jmpage2 (Jan 21, 2004)

tamathat said:


> So I called Tivo this afternoon to inquire about the Premier vs Roamio, the operator actually told me to google search it on my own. I was shocked that an agent of the company would actually tell a potential customer to do their own research instead of taking the opportunity to sell the product. I got the impression that this customer svc agent was maybe a 3rd party hire. Does Tivo outsource their customer svc agents? She told me that before she bought her Roamio she google'd to find out the difference between the premier and roamio and that is how she made her decision to buy the roamio.


So, did you try to call them again, or do you just like to vent about one bad customer service experience? If that is your criteria I have about 2000 other companies you can add to that list.

It is also VERY easy to find information about the difference between the Roamio and the Premiere.... including TiVo's own website. If you'd put as much effort into doing just a bit of research as you did into this flame-bait post you'd have your answers already.


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## uw69 (Jan 25, 2001)

Customer service should either explained the differences or transferred the call to sales or marketing. No excuse for that kind of behavior.

FWIW here is a nice comparison :http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2423377,00.asp


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## NJChris (May 11, 2001)

I'm shocked that anyone would think that is OK for customer service to do. (Based on what the OP said). Incredible.

So if you call AT&T or Verizon and ask about the plan differences and are told to google it, that would be OK?? Why should I have to research something before I research it with a customer service rep. THAT'S THEIR JOB TO HELP!

This is what the reps are paid for. It's not the consumer's job to worry about how much it costs a company for a rep to talk to a CUSTOMER. 


I'm all for being a cheerleader for a company I like, but to blame the customer for inappropriate customer service is ludicrous.


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## tigerspy (Jan 29, 2004)

I ended up calling to, mainly to get Tivo's response on whether or not the Premiere was still considered to them as being a supported and current product when standing next to the new Roamio line. I didn't get much assistance, other than pricing quotes. 

I ended up getting a Premiere because I value having antenna and cablecard access at the same time. The new Roamio base model doesn't offer this unfortunately. I would have bought a Roamio if they would allow antenna and cablecard at the same time.


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## jmpage2 (Jan 21, 2004)

The point that some of us are making is that he is lambasting the company over a single poor customer interaction experience.

While it's not acceptable, the chances of getting 100% great experiences with phone reps (often based in other countries) who make close to minimum wage is pretty much nil.

He got unlucky. If he was so upset he should have asked for a supervisor and/or gotten the name and # of the rep and reported her. He also could have simply spent 2 minutes making a 2nd phone call attempt and gotten someone who knew how to do their job.

For all we know the OP is not even a disgruntled potential customer but simply a plant from a competitor who is posting this to discredit TiVo.

Assuming the OP actually wants some kind of response. Here's a simple one. The information you were after has been provided... in nearly all cases the Roamio is a smarter buy than a Premiere.


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## bradleys (Oct 31, 2007)

NJChris said:


> I'm shocked that anyone would think that is OK for customer service to do. (Based on what the OP said). Incredible.


I think it really depends on what the rep was trying to accomplish and how she was approaching it.

By telling the OP to google it, he is going to see a lot of positive reviews on the Roamio line - the units that they definitely want you to purchase. TiVo is very proud of the response they have been getting on the Roamio line from the technical reviewers  I suspect she wanted him to see all that great feedback.

We don't know what the OP experienced on the phone, and we don't know what the intention of the rep was in making her recommendation. We also don't know what else she may have recommended.

What we know is that a guy with a single post said he didn't like the message. OK, got it.

I have never spoken with this guy, so that is all I know.

However, I did speak with TiVo customer service yesterday with a concern about my new remote and they were attentive, concerned, responsive and took care of my problem very quickly.

I will make a recommendation to the OP... If you want to understand the differences between the Premiere line and the Roamio line - ask away. This is definitely the forum for that.

Nobody in this forum profits from your purchase and I guarantee you will get a brutally honest opinion - FWIW


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## bradleys (Oct 31, 2007)

tigerspy said:


> I ended up getting a Premiere because I value having antenna and cablecard access at the same time. The new Roamio base model doesn't offer this unfortunately. I would have bought a Roamio if they would allow antenna and cablecard at the same time.


Did you get lifetime? Honestly, I am telling you that you made the wrong decision. The Premiere line is not going to be supported with any additional functionality and frankly, compared to the Roamio line it is dog slow.

Get the Roamio basic, I realize it doesn't handle antenna and cablecard at the same time (nobody does and nobody will again), but it is light years ahead of the Premiere line of TiVo's

That is my friendly advice to you...


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## tamathat (Sep 11, 2011)

There is no justification for an agent of the company to tell a potential customer to hang up and google for information on their own product. Thus my original question remains unanswered.. 

Does anyone know if Tivo outsources their customer svc agents? 

And yes I did google for the comparisons and no I was not ever offered a transfer to sales, it was a very cut and dry conversation. I am a 12yr tivo subscriber and have never had poor customer svc from them in the past but as I handle most of my account details online I have not had to deal with them in this manner before.

This is relevant info for anyone trying to call customer svc in the future for varied issues. It helps to know if you are dealing with a true tivo employee or a 3rd party stay at home mom with a headset on.


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## tigerspy (Jan 29, 2004)

bradleys said:


> Did you get lifetime? Honestly, I am telling you that you made the wrong decision. The Premiere line is not going to be supported with any additional functionality and frankly, compared to the Roamio line it is dog slow.
> 
> Get the Roamio basic, I realize it doesn't handle antenna and cablecard at the same time (nobody does and nobody will again), but it is light years ahead of the Premiere line of TiVo's
> 
> That is my friendly advice to you...


Nope, did not get a lifetime. I got the Premiere box for $78 new. I'm coming from a crappy Wave Broadband/Comcast DVR. I use a Roku 3 for Internet streaming apps. Am looking for a way to combine my ATSC and Cable sources into an interface that lets me easily search and record programming that I want. The cable company DVR is horrid for this. I had a Tivo HD a couple years ago that I LOVED that I transferred to my ex, been missing Tivo since.

I suppose if I get ticked off enough with the Premiere, going to the Roamio later won't be a big deal. I'll see how it goes.


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## jrtroo (Feb 4, 2008)

tamathat said:


> This is relevant info for anyone trying to call customer svc in the future for varied issues. It helps to know if you are dealing with a true tivo employee or a 3rd party stay at home mom with a headset on.


While your experience did seem to stink, knowing where the butt of the person on the other end of the phone sits is irrelevant. What is that going to gain you?

If you have a problem, either escalate or call and get someone else. Pretty much a universal truth for any CSR experience, regardless.


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## fdisker2000 (Nov 27, 2006)

tamathat said:


> So I called Tivo this afternoon to inquire about the Premier vs Roamio, the operator actually told me to google search it on my own. I was shocked that an agent of the company would actually tell a potential customer to do their own research instead of taking the opportunity to sell the product. I got the impression that this customer svc agent was maybe a 3rd party hire. Does Tivo outsource their customer svc agents? She told me that before she bought her Roamio she google'd to find out the difference between the premier and roamio and that is how she made her decision to buy the roamio.


All I have to say is: Who, in this day and age, calls a customer rep to inquire about one of their company's products? 
Obviously the OP has access to the internet, why not search instead.
Me personally; I can't stand contacting ANY company, even with support problems, unless absolutely necessary. To call to ask about the differences between two product lines boggles my mind.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

I know i would take anything a CSR (or rep at a retail store) says about a product with a grain of salt. They typically didn't know what they were talking about thirty years ago, and they still typically don't know today.


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## fdisker2000 (Nov 27, 2006)

socrplyr said:


> Are you still interested in the difference? Or just want to vent about the poor customer service?
> We can help with the former.


This^. Ask and get some real world opinions. This forum is full of TiVo users with vast knowledge and many years of experience who are eager to help. :up:


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## tigerspy (Jan 29, 2004)

bradleys said:


> Did you get lifetime? Honestly, I am telling you that you made the wrong decision. The Premiere line is not going to be supported with any additional functionality and frankly, compared to the Roamio line it is dog slow.
> 
> Get the Roamio basic, I realize it doesn't handle antenna and cablecard at the same time (nobody does and nobody will again), but it is light years ahead of the Premiere line of TiVo's
> 
> That is my friendly advice to you...


So , I tried the Premiere out for a while, and yep, it finally ticked me off enough, to the point of coming away thinking it was an unfinished product, slow for many of the exploration and suggestion features, and felt like it's not current in terms of being competitive with the likes of Roku in terms of UI. So, I returned the Premiere and got a Roamio Basic, and WOW. Really is night and day, I will admit. No turning back, it truly is an amazing difference in a plethora of ways. Called Tivo customer service and they gladly transferred my service to my new Roamio with no penalty or questions asked. I was within the 30 day guarantee period. Going to upgrade to lifetime I think.


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