topic Re: Top Gear Special Edition in News and announcements

Top Gear Special Edition

Ditte — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 11:30:09 GMT

Hi all,

We've teamed up with Top Gear to launch a special edition GO LIVE.

Not only does it have HD Traffic, it also includes Stig Mode, Jeremy Clarkson's soothing voice and unique Top Gear POIs.

Please visit http://www.tomtom.com/topgear for more information.

Thank you,

Ditte

Re: Top Gear Special Edition

cjd82187 — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 01:56:45 GMT

I'm trying to buy this in the US Store, but there is no buy button on the site. Is it not available for purchase yet?

Re: Top Gear Special Edition

Stefan — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 15:39:17 GMT

When the navigation devices are back in stock then the 'buy now' button will be visible on the products page. Regularly visit the product page to verify when the devices are available.

Re: Top Gear Special Edition

Robcorky — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 13:48:26 GMT

And will soothing Jeremy Clarkson's voice be available to download to my 825 any time soon. Or any other premium voice?

Re: Top Gear Special Edition

Stefan — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 14:12:14 GMT

I'm not working for TomTom so i'm unable to say which voices would become available, however a Voice Shop was announced to become available this month for the myTomTom devices. For more information, read the following topic:

myTomTom Update 14th September 2011 (hyperlink)

Re: Top Gear Special Edition

Robcorky — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 14:47:03 GMT

I don't see any reference to Voice Shop in your hyperlink, but then, I've not trawled through all 7 pages. Point is - premium voices are not actually available although promised (I believe) for some time.

Re: Top Gear Special Edition

Stefan — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 16:55:54 GMT

Its on page 1 or page 7, the first or the last post (depends on the forum settings):

'Hello all,

Today we are releasing an improvement to the online experience of MyTomTom that enables you to:

Purchase and install ‘Travel Maps’
View / manage your maps and Map Update Service

Within a month we will also be releasing the ability to view and select speed camera downloads under 'new items' and a new voice shop for premium and free voices.

Another update is also planned before the end of the year including other improvements.

We will keep you posted of any relevant developments.

Kenneth'

Re: Top Gear Special Edition

dannysullivan — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 10:00:53 GMT

Like cjd82187, I spent a ton of time trying to figure out why there was a big banner telling me that the Top Gear edition was available and yet no way to actually buy it. In the end, I figured it hadn't yet been released, and that you'd just gotten ahead of yourselves.

But then I stumbled into this forum -- um, we should just check back each day to see if you have more. OK, but here's a thought. How about somewhere on the many pages you have about the product saying something like "Currently, Out Of Stock."

That what any decent online merchant would do. It's crazy you're not already.

It might be nice if you also said what version the Top Gear edition based on. OK, so we're probably paying a huge premium for Jeremy and a few add-ons, but at least let us know what unit it's based off of.

Re: Top Gear Special Edition

KrisOverstreet — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 14:48:37 GMT

Alternately, when you send out a press release to over a hundred different motor news outlets saying that "as of today" a product is available in twenty countries, you COULD have it, oh, actually AVAILABLE in those twenty countries.

Or, alternate to that, you could set staggered release dates based on adaptation time, shipping transit time, etc. and include those in the press release, or at least on the product listing on the website.

Also, if you're planning on an exclusive deal in the USA with one retailer, such as there is in the UK, you might try posting on the product info page on your site what retailer it is, so that people who want your product know WHERE AND WHEN TO FIND IT.

You've done none of these things. Instead we Americans are left to look at a webpage that touts a product we want enough that common sense is temporarily overridden... but gives no hint as to where, or even IF, we can buy it before the magic wears off.

Right now, for all we know, only three copies of TomTom Go LIVE Top Gear Limited Edition will be released in the United States, and they'll go to the first three fans who make the drive to Presque Isle and find the one truck stop that has them. (Which would be a very Top Gear thing to do, in that it would be utterly absurd... but we would trust a business actually intending to sell product would find a better way... and then TELL PEOPLE ABOUT IT, ACCURATELY.)

Re: Top Gear Special Edition

Ditte — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 09:13:11 GMT

KrisOverstreet wrote:

Alternately, when you send out a press release to over a hundred different motor news outlets saying that "as of today" a product is available in twenty countries, you COULD have it, oh, actually AVAILABLE in those twenty countries.

Or, alternate to that, you could set staggered release dates based on adaptation time, shipping transit time, etc. and include those in the press release, or at least on the product listing on the website.

Also, if you're planning on an exclusive deal in the USA with one retailer, such as there is in the UK, you might try posting on the product info page on your site what retailer it is, so that people who want your product know WHERE AND WHEN TO FIND IT.

You've done none of these things. Instead we Americans are left to look at a webpage that touts a product we want enough that common sense is temporarily overridden... but gives no hint as to where, or even IF, we can buy it before the magic wears off.

Right now, for all we know, only three copies of TomTom Go LIVE Top Gear Limited Edition will be released in the United States, and they'll go to the first three fans who make the drive to Presque Isle and find the one truck stop that has them. (Which would be a very Top Gear thing to do, in that it would be utterly absurd... but we would trust a business actually intending to sell product would find a better way... and then TELL PEOPLE ABOUT IT, ACCURATELY.)

Hi KrisOverstreet,

Thanks for your comment.

My apologies for the inconvenience, I forgot to add in the initial post, that the message was aimed towards the European market.

The Top Gear device should be available for purchase on the US market here: http://www.tomtom.com/en_us/products/car-navigation/top-gear-edition/ by the end of the week. It could be earlier though.

Thanks,

-Ditte

Re: Top Gear Special Edition

KrisOverstreet — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 16:04:46 GMT

Order placed late Friday night, when it became available. Thanks- probably I wasted money on express shipping, unlikely UPS will get it here by Tues. morning, but we'll see.

Re: Top Gear Special Edition

KrisOverstreet — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 00:15:35 GMT

... yep, DEFINITELY wasted the money on express shipping.

I ordered Friday night. It is now Wednesday night, the payment has quite definitely processed, but the order is still listed as "PENDING"- with no ETD or hint of why the order is delayed.

Re: Top Gear Special Edition

Edwood — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 10:13:03 GMT

I placed an order recently. But I'm worried about it ever even being shipped, since BBC decided against Jeremy Clarkson endorsing it.

Are the North American orders (USA) going to be honored until the remaining 54,000 units are sold out? That is, is the USA getting some of those units that were agreed upon with the BBC?

It would seem that sales will continue until they are sold out, according to this Twitter post:

@TomTomUSA TomTom USA

We are still planning to sell the announced TomTom/Top Gear product. The deal was cut for future products, not the one we announced.

Re: Top Gear Special Edition

Ditte — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 13:36:45 GMT

Hi Edwood,

Don't worry, although it is a limited edition unit, we will do our utmost to ensure that you also receive the item that you've ordered.

Should you have any questions about your order, please feel free to get in contact with us again. :)

Have a nice weekend!

-Ditte

Re: Top Gear Special Edition

rich123 — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 17:52:30 GMT

When is the actual anticipated ship date for those of us who have purchased the Top Gear addition?

Re: Top Gear Special Edition

KrisOverstreet — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 17:05:09 GMT

OK, I've gone through this site backwards and forwards looking for anything which would give me more of a clue as to when my order will be shipped. The only thing I found of any use was one vague statement in the FAQ that device orders would be shipped "within 5 to 7 days."

Today, Monday, is the tenth day. I placed my order Friday evening, October 14th, The credit card authorization was processed on Monday a week ago, the 17th. Since then the order has been marked "PENDING," with no hint as to why the order should continue to pend. There have been no public announcements, no statements, nothing related to this product's arrival in the United States.

Right now I'm feeling a total fool for blowing money on express shipping for this product, when thus far there's been nothing express whatever about this order (nor expressed neither). Keeping customers completely in the dark is a good way to make them feel foolish about buying your product at all. Meaningless "don't worry, you'll get it someday" statements will NOT help; some actual verifiable facts will.

Does anybody actually know when my order is going to ship?

If the GO LIVE Top Gear Edition has not yet made it to the US shipping warehouses, is there any rough ETA?

If there isn't even a rough ETA, is there at least some sort of reasonable explanation for the delay? Are the devices stranded in Customs? Was there a defect that requires repair or replacement of units? Is the container ship with the devices on board being towed across the Atlantic by rowboat?

Answers will be appreciated; empty reassurances will not.

Re: Top Gear Special Edition

Stefan — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 18:30:00 GMT

Good evening Kris

I'd suggest to contact the TomTom Support Team so they can verify that the product is being send to your home. Normally you'll receive a email with a tracking number so you are able to know where the package is at any time of the day.

Note: 5 - 7 days are working days from monday untill friday, weekends excluded.

Contact Details - US Support Team

Click here to contact the TomTom Support Team

866 486 6866

Monday - Friday: 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. EST
Saturday: 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. EST

Re: Top Gear Special Edition

Edwood — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 19:59:09 GMT

I've called and emailed. TomTom customer support is terrible. They can't find any info. THEY CAN'T EVEN CANCEL MY ORDER! They recommended having my credit card company do a chargeback to reverse the charges once it processes? Then I'm stuck trying to return ship my order if they ship it?! Really?

Quite disappointed with TomTom support, does not bode well for the quality of their products either. Given the mixed reviews of their products lately, having to rely on TomTom Support is a bad idea since they can't even handle basic sales inquiries and actions.

-Ed

Re: Top Gear Special Edition

KrisOverstreet — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 20:34:20 GMT

I spent the better part of an hour doing a go-round with TomTom customer service.

1st call, after much cross-talk with an Indian call operator who had serious trouble understanding me (Southern US/Texas accent), boiled down to: "We haven't shipped your order because we haven't received payment from your bank." (When I look at the listing for my order under Support, the listing shows "Payment Authorized"; when I look at details, it says, "Payment in Process." Looking through their support FAQs reveals that company policy is to authorize the transaction, but not actually process it UNTIL THE ORDER SHIPS. TomTom CS is sounding like a run-around at this point.)

Call to credit card issuer CS: "Oh, yes, we authorized that transaction over a week ago. The only glitch is, we never got a receipt back from TomTom, so you need to call them and ask them to call us to get a manual authorization from us, and that should clear things up." (So OK, it's still possible that this is an honest glitch... but WHY WAS I NOT NOTIFIED LAST WEEK, if it was?)

2nd call to TomTom CS- another Indian operator who apparently could understand me fine, but occasionally ran through script so fast that I couldn't understand him: "Yes, I hear what you are saying; let me get this down and I'll send it to Finance, who will get someone on it right away. You should receive an email confirming the transaction within three business days. Just let me bump this order up." (So, one way or the other, they've just put me off until Friday from taking any further action. Fun.)

In both cases, not only was it obvious (as expected) that these were bottom-tier phone operators working off a script, but that for all practical purposes they had no contact at all with anyone who might have direct knowledge of what was going on: they were stuck with the script, sink or swim. In neither case was any explanation forthcoming as to why, if there was an issue with my payment, I was not informed of it at the time the issue came up. Considering the policies on the website (which you have to do some serious digging and wandering to stumble over- NOT easy to find AT ALL) the excuse does not seem very credible. In fact, the ONLY reason I give it any credence is the report about "missing receipt" from my credit card company.

So right now I'm frustrated, deeply dissatisfied, and growing more and more of the mind that fulfillment of my order is a feeble "IF" rather than a confirmed "WHEN."

Re: Top Gear Special Edition

Robcorky — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 20:44:58 GMT

I started to read this last entry in the voice of Clarkson himself - made it much more interesting! But Big Jezza would probably finish with "TomTom has the worst company support........ IN THE WORLD!"