TiVo

Full review
I wanted to get my husband a TiVo for his birthday, so I went to www.tivo.com and began researching it. They had a great rebate going on for their Series 2 boxes.

I had to call their customer service to ask some questions about compatibility with our cable company (it is), and whether or not a phone line would be required for set-up (it is not). I also asked how quickly it would ship out, and they said within 1-2 days of placing the order. This was important, because my husband's birthday is 7/21. Their customer service department, at this point, was very helpful and friendly.

So, I placed the order on Friday, July 6. Monday morning, July 9, I received an e-mail saying that my order had shipped and that I would receive it within 4-6 days. It also provided me with the UPS tracking number.

All week, I tried to track the shipment, but all it said was "Billing information received." According to UPS, this means that TiVo generated a tracking number, but the shipment has not been received by UPS. Basically...it hadn't shipped.

So, I called TiVo again on Friday, July 13. The customer service rep at first tried to tell me that the order HAD shipped. When I told her what "Billing information received" meant, she began to backpedal and said that it actually had not shipped. She berated me for choosing the free shipping option (stupid me!!) and said that I should have opted for a faster shipping method. She also said that the shipment email I received from TiVo was wrong- items take 7-10 days, not 4-6! When I asked her to find out why the item hadn't shipped and when it WOULD ship, she said she would have to turn the matter over to the Investigations Department, and they would call me within 24 hours. I verified that they would call me on a Saturday, and she said "absolutely."

Guess what...24 hours passed, and no call! So, I called them back on Saturday afternoon, 7/14. The lady I spoke with said that I never should have been told that the Investigations Department would call me back within 24 hours, because "no one had even looked at it yet." Huh?? Then she gave me a case number and transferred me.

I held for about 15 minutes, then a supervisor came on. He put me on hold to check on the order, then came back a few minutes later and said that he had verified that indeed, it hadn't shipped (gasp). He then went on to tell me that (a) he had no idea why it hadn't shipped; (b) he had no idea when it WOULD ship; and (c) there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.

I asked him if I could cancel the order, and he said no. He said my only option is to refuse the shipment and then they will issue a credit to my credit card. I asked about the monthly service plan, and he said that if they receive the box back within 30 days of activation (may I just point out that they activate it upon order, NOT upon shipment) then it will automatically cancel. If not, I have to call them back and arrange for cancellation so that I don't get stuck with the $150 cancellation fee.

He really didn't seem to care when I told him that all of this is making me really NOT want to be a TiVo customer in the future.

Bottom Line? TiVo has ZERO customer service. Beyond that...they have horrible customer service. I'm glad I found this out now, when I am still able to do something about it.

Now they have my money, and I have no gift for my husband's birthday.

I'll update if further atrocities are encountered.