ONSTAR ISSUE

[nychot]

I now have about 6000 miles on my '07 h3 lux that i leased last december. just had my first service -- tire rotation, oil change, etc. Onstar notified me it was due. I think onstar is a great thing to have, and i love the hummer. but i just had my first real-life experience with onstar and was not thrilled. the other day i pulled into a parking lot, put the gear into park and routinely turned off the ignition and tried to take the key out. it wouldnt budge. it seemed locked in place. after a few attempts i noticed that the key would only go as far as accessory and not turn completely off. after a number of attempts, i figured the ignition switch was jammed in some way and i made my first call to onstar, calling the emergency number. the woman said she'd give me an extra 30 minutes free (i'm not sure why) and turned me over to a service tech, or as i now call him 'the *******.' i explained the problem and he said that since the car was driveable i should take it to the dealer. when i explained that that was impossible, that the dealer was far away, that it was late in the day, and that i had to get home with a prescription i had gone out for, he said, well, the vehicle's driveable so we won't come out to try to repair or tow. i explained that if i drove home i wouldn;'t be able to turn off the vehicle and the battery would run down. he gave me the same boilerplate response. i hung up. in the end i resolved the problem, which actually was my error -- my cellphone was behind the gear lever and by about 1/16th of an inch was keeping the gear shift lever from fully going into park, even though it showed it was in park, and as a result the igniotion wouldnt turn off and the key wouldnt come out. once i moved the phone slightly, i turned the key and the ignition turned off. whew! so the reason the ignition didnt shut off was my stupid cellphone. still, i was a bit upset by the lack of help and interest by the onstar service rep. not only did he not offer any help, or ask any questions like -- is something blocking the shift lever, or whatever, but he seemed totally disinterested in my problem. i was thrilled to have fixed the problem mysdelf but i drove home wondering just how good onstar really is when it comes to solving driver issues on the road. anyone else have an onstar issues?

[subunix]

Hate to hear it, Ive never had to use onstar in that way. You might have just gotten that operator on a bad day, if it happens again then I might think more about it

[bonzaiii]

Sounds like he could have been more helpful, maybe suggested you check if it was fully in park. At the same time I can see why he would not send someone out on there dime. if the car was drivable but was just an inconvience to you to take it to the dealer then I think it would be your responsibility to have it towed to the dealer or call someone out to repair it.

[nychot]

Originally Posted by bonzaiii

Sounds like he could have been more helpful, maybe suggested you check if it was fully in park. At the same time I can see why he would not send someone out on there dime. if the car was drivable but was just an inconvience to you to take it to the dealer then I think it would be your responsibility to have it towed to the dealer or call someone out to repair it.

their dime? hey, don't you think WE'RE paying for onstar in one way or another. It's not HIS dome, it's MY dime.

These companies, that have these tremendous call centers to resolve customer service issues are all the same.
They pay a wage that allows their emplyees to make ends meet, but really do you think the person on the other end gives a damn about the customer?
I don't.
I think that in some cases, you get what you pay for when it comes to employees. Most folks work becasue they must, not because they want to. and further, most folks work at jobs they don't like. It is reflected in their performance.

I'm unhappy to hear about the lack of Onstar's customer service, but am not too suprised.

[tower]

I am surprised. I have had only good experiences with Onstar (when their signal could reach me). I once had a flat which (because of physical limitations) I could not change by myself. I am a preferred customer with AAA supposedly entitling me to faster response time) so I called them and then Onstar. The Onstar guy showed up first, so I cancelled the AAA call. The Onstar kid got me rolling in about 5 minutes. Onstar did have a hard time hitting my vehicle in Yosemite valley in the analog days.

[bonzaiii]

Originally Posted by nychot

their dime? hey, don't you think WE'RE paying for onstar in one way or another. It's not HIS dome, it's MY dime.

oops my bad, next time I'm in bed and to sleepy to go out I'll just call Onstar and have them pick up the car to have the oil changed, wonder if they'll stop on the way and pick up some pizza

Come on you said yourself the car was drivable, you COULD take it to the dealer but it wasn't convienient, so you want them to send someone out to do it for you. Where should they draw the line ?

[wpage]

Just re-upped my onstar for my 3rd year. Its been great for me. Just saw something on the news where law enforcement is trying to partner with GM onstar with a plan. If some thug steals my rig they call onstar and they shut it down from the onstar center!
The other thing I like is the cell phone reception is superior to my motorola. And its hands free is legal here. Plus the call center agents are always perky and
extremely courteous in my experience.

[Hucky]

Originally Posted by nychot

I now have about 6000 miles on my '07 h3 lux that i leased last december. just had my first service -- tire rotation, oil change, etc. Onstar notified me it was due. I think onstar is a great thing to have, and i love the hummer. but i just had my first real-life experience with onstar and was not thrilled. the other day i pulled into a parking lot, put the gear into park and routinely turned off the ignition and tried to take the key out. it wouldnt budge. it seemed locked in place. after a few attempts i noticed that the key would only go as far as accessory and not turn completely off. after a number of attempts, i figured the ignition switch was jammed in some way and i made my first call to onstar, calling the emergency number. the woman said she'd give me an extra 30 minutes free (i'm not sure why) and turned me over to a service tech, or as i now call him 'the *******.' i explained the problem and he said that since the car was driveable i should take it to the dealer. when i explained that that was impossible, that the dealer was far away, that it was late in the day, and that i had to get home with a prescription i had gone out for, he said, well, the vehicle's driveable so we won't come out to try to repair or tow. i explained that if i drove home i wouldn;'t be able to turn off the vehicle and the battery would run down. he gave me the same boilerplate response. i hung up. in the end i resolved the problem, which actually was my error -- my cellphone was behind the gear lever and by about 1/16th of an inch was keeping the gear shift lever from fully going into park, even though it showed it was in park, and as a result the igniotion wouldnt turn off and the key wouldnt come out. once i moved the phone slightly, i turned the key and the ignition turned off. whew! so the reason the ignition didnt shut off was my stupid cellphone. still, i was a bit upset by the lack of help and interest by the onstar service rep. not only did he not offer any help, or ask any questions like -- is something blocking the shift lever, or whatever, but he seemed totally disinterested in my problem. i was thrilled to have fixed the problem mysdelf but i drove home wondering just how good onstar really is when it comes to solving driver issues on the road. anyone else have an onstar issues?

Nychot

I feel for you but-- As stated in this thread, they have to draw the line somewhere. You are not the only customer out there, if they sent somebody out for silly things like what happened to you the other night, then the rest of us who would of checked out our whole scenario before calling onstar would be paying a fortune for dues.

Im not trying to put you down or be a dick here, but we all must think for ourselves, then when we have exhausted our efforts we then call onstar, its not a genie in the bottle that comes out when we feel like it, Im not singling you out, but there are alot of people out there who feel this sense of entitlement.

Glad you got home and found the issue, get a cup-holder accessory that holds the phone and pencils and such and you wont have that problem.

Cheers

[fourfourto]

I had no problems with Onstar (yet)
In march 06 the battery was dead on wifes lunch time and she called and asked them to be there at 5 pm and when she got off work they were waiting for her.


Also I was told the monthly fee was going up $2.00 in october,you can save about $4.00 a month ($48.00 a year) if you prepay.

[tower]

Originally Posted by bonzaiii

oops my bad, next time I'm in bed and to sleepy to go out I'll just call Onstar and have them pick up the car to have the oil changed, wonder if they'll stop on the way and pick up some pizza Where should they draw the line ?

They should draw the line at meat pizzas. But they should deliver veggie pizzas. Especially ones with a lot of garlic.