Re: DSC phone line technical support is terrible

[tourman <robercampbell@xxxxxxxxx>]

On May 10, 2:28=A0pm, Jim <alarmi...@xxxxxxx> wrote:
> On Thursday, May 10, 2012 9:05:33 AM UTC-4, tourman wrote:
> > I hope DSC is listening and getting this message ! Their phone line
> > support is not adequately manned, with wait times up to hours not
> > minutes. While I realize that a lot of questions are from installers
> > asking questions they should know if they were trained properly, or if
> > they would take the time to read the install manuals, that does not
> > excuse this terrible level of support. As installation companies, we
> > suffer the same thing, with questions from end users who can find the
> > answer on page one of their user manual; however, that is not an
> > excuse. Suck it up as we do, and continue to provide proper support !
>
> > Please fix the problem or you are going to find a lot of people
> > switching alarm suppliers to manufacturers who do support their
> > customers
>
> I have never used DSC all through the years. Occasionally, when I run acr=
oss their equipment I usually pull it out and replace but I do have a few t=
hat I've continued to service. The first thing I notice about their equipme=
nt is that it is "flimsey" Thin metal, soft plastic, "cardboard" PCB's, com=
ponents "look" cheap, etc, which translate to me as .... well ....."cheap".=
 It's not that their products don't work .... it's just ..... cheap.
>
> Awhile ago, someone asked me to evaluate their cellular radio. Getting th=
rough to technical support and waiting were a problem but getting their tec=
hnical support people to give me answers to directly asked questions was ev=
en a problem. Me, having a very questioning mind, there were things that di=
dn't make sense to me about the fucntioning of the device. I'd say that, ..=
.. I had to call as many as twenty times and gradually "PULL" the answers t=
hat I needed, out of them. That is .... the answers could have been given t=
o me at any time during our conversations but I guess that it may have seem=
ed better to the people I was talking with, to not open up the can of worms=
 of providing me a reason to ask more questions ..... of THEM.
>
> At the end of it all, my opinion was that each person I spoke with knew w=
hat the ultimate answers were that I was looking for but rather then THEM t=
aking the time to give them to me, they knew that I was going to have to ca=
ll back again and that I'd probably get someone else who would have to take=
 the time to talk to me. The problem was ..... everyone I spoke to did the =
same thing.
>
> In addtion to all of this, the reason I had to call and ask questions in =
the first place was because the "manual" that came with the product was a c=
rookedly made photo copy of a hand typed and stapled 12 page manual that ha=
d little more than hookup instructions in it. They utimately had a recall o=
f the unit because it was doing periodic checkin's even though it wasn't ab=
le to transmit during an alarm. NICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
>
> There are other products from manufacturers that are out there that I don=
't use, simply because I'm satisfied with what I'm using. But I don't use D=
SC on purpose.

RHC: Well.....I can totally agree with you on their tech support. Most
of the time, and generally speaking, I know as much as, or more than
their technical support phone staff. When I call Paradox tech support
though, those guys are right on the ball, and have the answer in most
cases. When they don't, it's most unusual.

On your comments regarding the cheapness of DSC equipment, I can't say
I really agree with you. They are no better or worse than most other
panels I deal with. If you compare to older makes of panels, perhaps
your comment applies, but I don't think it's totally fair otherwise.
Their products are simply the result of modern manufacturing
techniques and are used by the vast majority of Canadian alarm
companies.

DSC is not my primary line of panel; it's my secondary one, but
overall, I would rate the equipment as good. I just put up a new
partition on an older version 832 and I must say that was a bit of a
challenge, but I got it.  Needless to say, I didn't bother calling DSC
tech support for assistance....:((