Not everyone sees the magic in Jack
The success of MagicJack in numbers alone is without a doubt notable. The company is selling around 8,000 devices per day and has experienced 25% week-over-week growth since it first came onto the VoIP scene in September. Still, not everyone is singing Jack’s praises. The company has left many Jack users frustrated with its customer service department. While most seem willing to accept the technology glitches inherent in any new service, many have taken issue with the company’s response to dealing with these issues.
One customer emailed Telephony to say that, in his experience with customer support, he has gotten the same irrelevant response every time he’s contacted them – four times so far. “They run you through a bunch of ridiculous things to test and then say they will get back to you or at the end they hang up when you insist on a refund,” he wrote. “They have no telephone numbers, no address. It is a phony.”
Several blogs and discussion threads have also been devoted to trying to figure out the “magic” to get in touch with Jack, and the feedback seems to be fairly consistent: users love the service, but they hate the customer service.
The company’s customer service is entirely based on an online tech support chat function that allows consumers to instant message with a customer service rep. Inventor and founder Dan Borislow said that MagicJack will never have a number for customer service, a move he thinks is progressive and more efficient.
Despite the typical wait periods on customer service lines, calling a number to connect with a live person is the traditional mode of customer service. It might be that consumers just aren’t ready to let go of convention, however. The tech chat service seems to fall short of being useful, whether you like the method or not. While the staff has grown to more than 50 agents, their support is often not much more helpful than a computerized response system or outsourced tech staff. These responses more often than not are that they cannot address the issue or offer an alternative number to do so. Today, I couldn’t even access the support option from the company’s confusing Web site.
It is worth remembering that this is a relatively new service, at an undeniably solid price point, so there are bound to be some issues to work out in the early days. And, to be fair, customer service of most companies isn’t exactly known for being amazing. But that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be. MagicJack has clear potential as a game-changing device, but without the support to back it up, it might be lost on a market already frustrated with bad customer service experiences. In the long run, a computer-based tech chat support does seem like a progressive idea – but only if it is truly supportive.
Related Topics: VoIP, All Stories
May 12th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
Sarah
I will have over 1,000 chats today,average wait time of 4 seconds.I am curious why you had trouble finding the chat.Please be part of the solution and tell me why it is confusing and I will fix it for 500,000 people within minutes of you telling me.I want constructive input.
As far as returns are concerned,they are trained and do give back the procedure to do so right away.There is also an escalation path you may request as well,that is clearly spelled out to ask for help if you are not satisfied(who elkse does that).
I also noticed you do not have a Phone number readily available to talk to people who want to talk to you about your editorials.You must have found out that email or a response here is a better way to go.
MagicJack customer service on a relative basis is amazing already,but certainly not my best work product yet .Where else in this business can you wait just 4 seconds to get help and then have an escalation process to a super rep within minutes(soon to be seconds).Go try AT&T or Verizon.Comparing myself to them is the easy way out though,real easy might I add,and we will not do that.Not only will we have the best price,the best voice quality,but we will soon have the best customer service.I recieved a JD Powers award the first year we went retail in LOng Distancebe,and we will get one again
I will state it again,if I had somebody call on the Phone,I will not know if they have Highspeed or if their computer is working like I do now with chat.I will not know what your customer service experience was either,because how would I grade them on a phone call.It’s like Lexus and the car company calling and asking how was everything,it is such a skewed question when it is on the phone.People do not like saying,Oh you were horrible,but on chat they can say that.My customer satisfaction levels have tripled in one month’s time.I have the statistics to prove it,come down to the office or I will send someone there.
Did I say Thank You for all the wonderful things you have written also.It is not easy do soemthing that nobody else has ever done before and we take great pride at magicJack in making sure it will be the most succesful “new” thing going.Thank you,Thank you,Thank you
Dan
May 13th, 2008 at 9:19 am
I love MagicJack - I have had no reason to contact their customer service since I was up in running with it in 2 minutes - and I’m not a geek. Those who can’t deal with customer service via the Internet and want a phone number are missing the new age of service. Get over it.
May 13th, 2008 at 9:29 am
I think it’s worth noting publicly that Magic Jack has been one of Telephony’s most popular topics since I first wrote about it last fall. One reason is that people love the service. The other is that they hate the customer service. I know this first hand because many of the people who can’t get through to Magic Jack by phone call me at my Telephony office, and I can’t get them off of the phone.
I think we are at a watershed moment in customer service. There is a group within the population — and I count myself as one — that still want to be able to talk to a human being when the technology doesn’t work. Luckily for me, my husband is an IT guy and he can usually help me out.
There are also a growing number of companies that don’t see the value of live customer service, because of the cost. Magic Jack is far from alone in this — have you ever tried calling Apple about iTunes or to get help with an iPod?
So there are going to be situations like what we are seeing here for some time to come.
May 13th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
I’ve owned 2 Magic Jacks since December 2007. I gave one to a friend and we use them constantly to talk back and forth. I haven’t tried traveling outside the US with it yet, but plan to take it with me to Mexico when I go on vacation later this year.
Only had one problem, the one I gave my friend, the blue light inside stopped working, and the Magic Jack would not boot up, used the online tech service, took only a few minutes to connect, went through the troubleshooting procedure, and figured it was indeed defective. They sent a new one out Next Business Day, and paid for the return of the defective one back. Totally satisfied!
Only have a few problems with the service quality, cuts out occasionally, but not for long and is not too annoying, but that may be due to bandwidth of RoadRunner and my neighborhood.
My laptop has a built in microphone and speakers so I use it as a speaker phone for conference calls.
Totally Happy, Great Product!
May 13th, 2008 at 8:51 pm
Is there a way to invest in Mr. Borislow’s fantastic invention? BEAN
May 13th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
I am impressed that Dan Borislow Inventor responded to the article. Also in response to Carol’s comments about Apple; I have called Apple about my wife’s iPhone and iPod and my MacBook Pro. I have always (and I don’t use that word much) been impressed by the high quality of people that help me. True, they don’t answer in 4 seconds, but when they do, they take care of my problem.
May 15th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
People who work in customer service like getting paid and so customer service costs money. MagicJack is cheap (or more politically correct, is at a “solid price point”) and is trying to save money on customer service. So, if you have complaints, just remember you bought a product because it was cheap and wanted to save money, not because you wanted high-end customer service. This product will work for some and not for others. For the ones it doesn’t work for, just give up, throw it away and use something that does work. Don’t waste your time and effort and use the new-found free time to go play with your kids or do a hobby. Also, I NEVER buy anything from a company unless there is a physical address and real telephone number on their website-call me old-fashioned, but being able to talk to someone is important. Finally, MagicJack makes their money from access charges charged to telephone companies. If that regime continues, they’ll be fine (until the Bells stop paying them). It is important to note that many CLECs have tried that strategy (making most of their money from access charges) and all have reverted to collecting the vast majority of their revenue from their customers (or they have gone out of business). The only companies still doing that are the independent, rural telephone companies and the FCC is trying to change that.
May 16th, 2008 at 6:53 am
I’ve tried to resolve a handful of prblems that I’ve experienced from the first day I received the unit. The live-chat customer services reps all work from the same cookbook of hierarchial troubleshooting techniques. Some give more information than others. All, and I mean all, of the advice they provide is helpful if and only if you’re not able to get the magicJack to work the first time after your first attempt at installation. The fact that English is not the native language of the reps does point to the fact that their support is outsourced.
All the reps give the same rely—”you must use magic fix”, “did you use the restore tool?”, “try another USB port”, “are you using the USB extension cable?” Some reps had me edit some entries in the registry. This whole procedure only resulted in re-installation of the software. Some advice was ridiculous—after confirming that I had the correct G.711 Codec, I’m directed to divx.com to download their application to make sure i get the latest Codec—nonsense. I had to forawrd some TCP and UDP ports in my router configuration as well. This one bit of advice made a slight improvement, but, there were more ports that required forwarding than what I was told.
After you’ve made more than “enough” chats, the link to the LivePerson URL is obscured so that it’s more difficult to engage. You’ll have to login to your account to find a link that will work.
I was told that “my account would be updated on their servers to fix the problem” yet the rep did not have my account data. Their is no escalation path. You ask for a network engineer or explicitly ask for a “super rep” and you get no where.
I made my purchase based on a video clip of Dan Borislow stating in an interview that I could get a number in any area code—this is not true.
After about one week, I derived my own fixes. Having the proper drivers from TigerJet was helpful (as the default drivers in XP were out of date), modifying several network settings was also mandtory. You’ll need “TCP Optimizer” to make some adjustments to get optimal network performance on you computer. If you use a WiFi adapter, you’ll want to use RTS/CTS and set the fragmentation threshold to a value of 1024 or less if you experience any “choppy’ audio.
You’ll also want to check the quality of connection provided by your cable or DSL supplied by runnning one of the several VOIP test tools you can Gooogle out there.
May 16th, 2008 at 9:58 am
MagicJack is perfect…and cost effective!!!
It is as good as your internet connection so if your connection is slow or unreliable you may have some issues. As long as you have a good DSL or broadband connection you will be very pleased. I have two of these units and tell as many people as I can to buy one and do away with their POTS!
I had no reason to contact CS other than to ask when a certain area code were to open up and Dan Borislow provided an accurate answer, new area code is open, I switch my number (one time for free) and it worked great!
May 17th, 2008 at 5:32 pm
magicJack Works! Plain and simple.
I am a happy Reseller.
Remember this quote from this article “MagicJack attacks
May 2, 2008 4:16 PM, By Sarah Reedy ………….. Magic Jack is focusing on starting small, not only in size and service, but also in functionality. Considering they are selling everything they make, Borislow doesn’t feel pressure to innovate right now. As sales volumes continue to increase, however, he plans to expand the device’s capabilities into number porting and 911 services in which the device will take the form of a cell phone. Further down the product roadmap, MagicJack will evolve into a base station for a handset and a station for a femtocell. ”
I think Dan Borislow has other companies shaking in their boots because he surprised everyone when he introduced the magicJack, AFTER HE BUILT HIS PHONE COMPANY.
Can you imagine what will happen when he starts selling cell phones? YIKES!
If Dan sells the cell phones for $79.95 the first year, and $39.95 the second year, say goodbye to other cell phone companies because I think people will jump from other companies, just to make free calls with the magicJack cell phone, the rest of the year.
I can visualize over 100,000,000 cell phones sold by magicJack !
This if truly TELCOM REVOLUTION II !!!!!
Keep up the good work Dan !
Dan, please allow the Resellers to sell the bulk of them.
If any of you doubt what I just said, just visit my website at www.pevoosow.com, and leave me a nasty gram. LOL
Bob
May 19th, 2008 at 9:41 am
To Zena,
Tell ‘em girl
Bob
May 19th, 2008 at 11:11 am
Just reading your stuff, I am surprised that it is a cell phone service. How can I
offer this service in my area (Ventura County). I have been a telephone man
for over 40 yrs
Thanks
John Bryson
805 816 0021
May 22nd, 2008 at 11:43 am
First, as an I.T. tech, let me say that at the time I bought mine, there is NO UNINSTALL utility to completely remove the software from your system, so before you even plug the device in, I would suggest the following:
1. Download an installation monitoring utility Like Total Uninstall (You can Google for the last freeware version of it.) Install the monitoring utility but don’t run it just yet.
2. Use System Restore and create a restore point, name it so you know it will be associated with pre magic-jack installation.
3. Now use the silly MSBACKUP utility (start>accessories>system tools>backup) and backup SYSTEM STATE ONLY. (Get help from a knowledgeable person if you don’t know how to do this.)
4. Now run the installation monitoring program and let it scan your computer, if using Total Uninstall, make sure that the two unchecked registry scanning areas are checked, then let it scan, when the scan is done, select Install Multiple Programs (Exit).
Now plug the MJ in , let it install, run magicfix or whatever, complete the resgistration or whatever, make a few calls.
Now leave it plugged in and re-run the installation monitoring program and let it detect changes to the computer and log them.
To remove MJ completely, unplug the MJ boot into safe mode, use the install monitoring program to undo most changes, let the system boot normally, boot back into safe mode, use MSBACKUP to restore the system state, let the system boot up normally, reboot once again to safe mode and use system restore to reset the system to a point before MJ was installed.
(Yes, I know an easier way would to create an image file of the system before the install, but not everybody has an extra drive, I was also hoping that some programmer out there may do this and write an uninstaller for it.
)
As for their tech support, I do NOT believe that their agents are paid and I am pretty sure that they pay liveperson.com to provide the services, if it was me, I’d get rid of liveperson and install the open source script Crafty Syntax Live Help (Shameless plug, but it’s free and works.) Then they wouldn’t have to worry about lengthy chats and possibly AHT’s as well..
Now I’m going to be sarcastic for a second, people need to learn how to use the internet, it took me 30 seconds to locate 2 cell phone numbers, a fax line, and two (now three) email addresses. I have been asked not to publish them but they are out there if people put one tenth of the effort that they do complaining.
Although, it doesn’t sound like it, I actually like my Magic Jack and for now, I don’t plan on returning it.
Now for Dan’s question “If they were to call on a phone, how could I tell if they have a high-speed connection?”
Hmmm…. How about asking them?
(Sorry Dan, I couldn’t resist)
Possible scenario:
Thank you for calling MJ support, if you have a high speed connection press 1
1
For DSL press 1, for Cable press 2, for Fios press 3
2
Have you ran MagicFix 1 for yes, 2 for no
1
If you obtained a MJ phone number enter it now or press the star key
*
Did you try online support? 1 yes 2 now
1
At the tone, please speak the reps name, then press the pound key.
Thank you, I have all the information I need, please wait on the line for a rep, your estimated wait time is:
)
two-hours and thirty two minutes. (I’m kidding here
Actually, maybe they should consider an automated phone support system, with the same or better database than the techs have, at least you can usually understand a computer voice.
Oh well, as you can see, even when I rant about something, I have fun with it.
And let me repeat, I do like my Magic Jack.
Jeff
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Got my MJ about 5 mos ago. Yes, some small glitches as one would expect. The support thing - don’t make me laugh. I’ve opened cases with a very prominent firewall company where it took weeks just to respond and we pay $35K for that experience. I’ve had my phone company and cable company run me around and just plain ask me if I’d like to disconnect my service, as if this was the path of least resistance. PLEASE, MJ support is quick and I’ve never had them not be able to fix me (generally just move to another USB port fixes most problems). Quality is better than my cell and the price is right. So what was the problem again?
May 23rd, 2008 at 7:39 pm
I’ve been skeptical and waited for quite a while to order a Magic Jack. Once I ordered the device, I couldn’t help but wonder why I wasted forty bucks. Once the ditty arrived, I began to play with it and noticed it needed a little tweaking to work the way I liked. I went to an online forum where hundreds of people pulled together to help each other. I also talked to chat support a couple of times during the process. All in all, I’m ecstatic over my Magic Jack. Once I learned how to use it and how to adjust it to fit my needs, the thing worked so well and paid for itself so quickly, I ordered a second year. Now, six months later, I’m still a very big fan and recommend the service to everyone I know who is sick and tired of getting gouged on their long distance. I should know. I live in a state where every call is a long distance call and have already been releived of several major bills. Sure, not everyone is happy, but you fail to mention that out of the millions sold, only a few dozen complaints were registered with the BBB and there are still millions more of us who are completely satisfied with our product and our service.
May 24th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
They don’t stand by there 30 day free trial. They charge you card the full amount and there no way to contact them. Why can’t they just do what they advertise.
May 25th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
Have used MJ for 2 months. I’ve experienced a few glitches, i.e. intermittent sound. Several other problems I experienced was resolved by being familiar with the product operational functions.
I have used it calling from the Carribbean. It works fine. Few glitches — might have more to do with DSL functionality.
Overall satisfied with the product. I realize in order to keep cost down, there will be some sacrifices, i.e. live person for tech support. I also realize the company is working to refine the product. This product has great potentials. I’ll be patient and allow the company to address them.
May 27th, 2008 at 8:25 am
I am not happy with MJ at all. I was charged for my free trial. I have spoke to several reps and no one will fix it. They keep telling me the money is just on hold but it is not. I have been charged. I am tired explaining over and over to their chat help and keep getting the run around. They refuse to give any type of address for the company so I can write to. Does anyone know how to be heard at this company. This does not make me want to even stay with this company.
May 27th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
If 500,000 magicJacks have been sold, and only 5,000 people have complained. That means, let’s see here, 5,000 is what percent of 500,000, hmmm, ah, 1%. WOW. Only 1% of magicJack users are complainers. WOW! FANTASTIC! STUPENDOUS! YIKES!
Watch out telephone companies - magicJack is leading Telcom Revolution II - monthly phone bills are now a thing of the past! WOW! No more phone bills! YEAH! HIP HIP HOOHRAY! HIP HIP HOOHRAY! HIP HIP HOOHRAY!
May 30th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
This company did not honor the thirty day free trial period. My account was charged the full amount within a day, in which, caused items to be returned to my bank. My overall opinion of “Magic Jack” is not too good. I later tried to call to speak with a CS representative…No number, No address! I feel like I’ve been ripped off.
I’m not sure of how I would even cancel this purchase!!
June 2nd, 2008 at 1:45 pm
I purchases my magic jack on april 5, 2008. It worked fine until may 25th. (hmmmm just over 30 days) First it started going down now and then, but if I unplugged it and plugged it back in, I could get it working again. Now it wont work at all, windows gives me an error message that the usb device I am trying to plug in has malfunctioned. Ive tried it on other computers and the thing just doesnt work anymore. Now the fun begins. I open a live chat with customer service and they have me try all of these things and give me links that dont take me anywhere but to their progaganda page. I asked and got higher levels of help (five to be exact) who all started from the same place like they were reading a script. I could not get across to any of them that the thing had malfunctioned. It is now going on four hours of chatting onlline with these people and one of them even told me that NOT ONE MAGIC JACK HAS EVER FAILED. Out of the millions sold, mine was the only defective one???
I finally get to number six, and he agrees to replace the jack. He said it was on its way to me and to send the defective one back within two weeks. Yay, finally someone is helping me. I asked him the address to send it back, and he said it would be in the confirmation email. It was not. After I got the email, I realized that he put in an order for a new one…..with a new credit card charge. I responded to these emails and told them I was not paying 40.00 every 40 days to use this thing. They will not issue me a working jack until I give them a new credit card. (Thank goodness I changed the level of my original card since purchase or they would have already charged me again). Now we are on day three, I go back online and immediately ask for a supervisor. She tells me that they wont replace it because my 30 days have expired. I immediately went into CAPS LOCK and demanded a full refund plus the two years of service in advance I paid for. IT IS DEFECTIVE, IT STOPPED WORKING. She finally sent me a link that didnt take me back to the propaganda page and was a return form. I am taking this thing to the post office today, but after this past three days experience with them so far, I doubt this is going to be smooth sailing the rest of the way. I was paying 40.00 per month for a phone and so far this thing has cost me more. A MESSAGE TO THE INVENTOR: Dont try to sell something on such a mass basis unless you have the customer service to back it up.
June 3rd, 2008 at 5:28 pm
This is an update to my last post in hopes that someone else can find satisfaction. I found an email address for Dan Borislow and emailed him. He responded this morning and apologized and agreed to send me a new magic jack at no charge with my number programmed in. My faith in humanity is restored! If you go to the YMAX website they have a list of all of their officers. On that home page, there is a link to each States tariffs with Ymax and in there you will find their physical address in Florida. The email I just stumbled on reading someone elses complaint. I hope this helps.
June 14th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
I have only had it for a week now, but I love it. My landline connection has gotten so poor over the years I hate the home phone and almost always use my cell - now this is a viable and affordable alternative. I don’t expect it to be perfect, but so far it’s awesome! ALso, I have had no reason to call support which lets face it even at the largest companies has fallen by the wayside in today’s marketplace. I have no doubt the founder of this company will continue to tweak the product and make it better, but better will most likely come at a cost but for now I’m in heaven!
June 27th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
I just ordered Magic Jack and then changed my mind. I have no
idea how to cancel this. If I don’t cancel in 30 days I will
be charged.
July 4th, 2008 at 8:42 am
Hello,
I ‘ve ordered the magic jack but have not installed it yet. How safe is it if you bank online is there away for them to trace your info? Is it a secret monitoring device? Sounds great if this was settled I would buy many many more and tell lots of people!
Thanks
Leave a Comment
Advertisement
Categories
Recent Posts
Calendar
Archives
Your Account
Subscribe
© 2008 Penton Media, Inc.