topic Re: Map of Thailand practically unusable - do not buy it! in Map quality

Map of Thailand practically unusable - do not buy it!

jirik — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 04:01:45 GMT

We found the TomTom map of Thailand to be surprisingly detailed and reasonably up-to-date. However, the classification/rating of the roads is completely wrong. The map often does not make difference between large roads and tiny, even unpaved ones. Therefore, in many cases the proposed route is completely unusable, leading along tiny unpaved roads even if there are major roads nearby. Following TomTom navigation wasted us many hours on our trip, instead of helping us and saving us time. At the end we put away TomTom navigation and used our road atlas that we fortunately brought with us.

TomTom refused to refund us for their defective product.

Re: Map of Thailand practically unusable - do not buy it!

Megalos — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 06:36:55 GMT

Which version of the map do you have? Could you tell this?

Re: Map of Thailand practically unusable - do not buy it!

jirik — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:55:06 GMT

From December 2011.

Re: Map of Thailand practically unusable - do not buy it!

Megalos — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:54:02 GMT

Okay, so a very old map is not the problem here. I think the best thing you can do in this case is reporting the issue here on the forum (you already did that) and perhaps make one report on the online MapShare Reporter (just a general report saying that the road categories need to be updated). Then the next step is just to wait and hope TT will improved those areas soon. I don't think you can do anything else unfortunately.

Re: Map of Thailand practically unusable - do not buy it!

jirik — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 03:59:23 GMT

The issue is that TomTom refused to give refund for a defective product, a product that does not do what it is advertised to do.

Re: Map of Thailand practically unusable - do not buy it!

Zsolt — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 07:26:40 GMT

Try to contact their Head Office in Netherlands. Or just push it a bit harder with your local customer service. Obviously you are not going to Thailand every day to ask for an updated map. Damage had been done, Tomtom should bite the bullet and refund it, and thank you for reporting the issue.

Re: Map of Thailand practically unusable - do not buy it!

Zoe — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:50:13 GMT

Hi jirik,

I'm sorry to hear about your experience with our Customer Care team, I've also looked into this incident and I agree it's not up to the usual standards we expect - so I am sorry about the overall experience you've had.

I'll forward this on for further investigation and I'll get back to you when I have more information on this.

Thanks,

Zoe

Re: Map of Thailand practically unusable - do not buy it!

Shorty — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:17:48 GMT

I agree with you jrik - the classification of any road is THE primary component of any routing exercise (I rank it even above street names and numbering. The reason being is if the classification is wrong, then routing will yield the result you mention. I will be making direct ciontact with the Production Team responsible for Thailand.- just need to scavenge for an e-mail addie.

Re: Map of Thailand practically unusable - do not buy it!

jirik — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 03:18:32 GMT

Thank you Zoe for following up on this. The incident # is: 120123-001056.

From the sequence of email exchanges in this incident you can see how TomTom Customer Support just keeps sending canned or computer generated responses.

Re: Map of Thailand practically unusable - do not buy it!

Shorty — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 01:14:27 GMT

Well I trust this won't be one of them :smileyhappy:

On query of the road classification Thailand this note came directly from the Production Team. In another (internal msg exchange) the person in charge of the Roads Team there was tasked to review all Road data.:

We have done some fine-tuning on FRC classification in 2011 As such, the overall network is good and should not lead to major issues*. The only area of potential concern could indeed be in remote areas where tourists might go to visit some touristic villages (eg Golden triangle area) and where unpaved roads are not described as such leading to poor routing. This is something we will need to work upon in the course of the year.

* You mentioned that the maps of Thailand were detailed ... but

The Team asked me to thank you for that part of your original post

Re: Map of Thailand practically unusable - do not buy it!

jirik — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 06:25:28 GMT

Thanks Shorty for following up. We drove from Phuket to Bangkok and the roads were wrongly classified along the way, even around Hua Hin and Bangkok that can hardly be described as remote areas.

Re: Map of Thailand practically unusable - do not buy it!

Shorty — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:50:25 GMT

Correct - we used the wrong wording there methinks. However the fact that Roads has been tasked to check classification throughout would exclude any definition of a remote area as specifically as the words connote. I can't speak to the Thailand map but I can for Mauritius. There are paved roads that run through sugar cane fields and almost every one was classified incorrectly since there are "Private Road" notices at the start of some but not all.

Edit: Having mentioned Mauritius let's not take this thread off topic now :smileywink: :: Shorty

Re: Map of Thailand practically unusable - do not buy it!

fof — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:56:43 GMT

How are these "private roads" treated? I ask because I have seen the same thing on my map. Even though these streets are paved, they are not allowed for the public traffic. Is there a category for these streets?

Re: Map of Thailand practically unusable - do not buy it!

Shorty — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:05:04 GMT

Not a category as such - they carry a 'digital gate' (if I could describe it that way) which effectively makes it more difficult for the router to enter the particular roadway in the normal course - or (most usually) route through a zone if that be the case. This is a different case than installing a permanent road closure for example

If I could quote a local example where town A is due west of town B with a National Park in between. Even though the Park may have (excellent) paved roads easily accessible to the router, it has to route in such a manner that it will skirt the Park. Routing through such a 'gate' will and should take place if your destination or via points are within that zone of course.

If routing is normally permitted and is not, from the map-in-use then we would like to hear of that so as to remove restrictions which could be more in the form of a road closure.

Re: Map of Thailand practically unusable - do not buy it!

fof — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:40:51 GMT

"Even though the Park may have (excellent) paved roads easily accessible to the router, it has to route in such a manner that it will skirt the Park"

This also perfectly well describes the situation of our local university campus, which has one official entry gate, plus three or four streets that also lead there but have gates that are closed (either permanently, or during the night and on weekends). Routing should NOT use these streets. So, how can we report a "skirting" area?

Re: Map of Thailand practically unusable - do not buy it!

jirik — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 05:39:41 GMT

Zoe, any update? In the last two weeks I just received one more canned response from TomTom customer support and refusal to refund the defective map of Thailand.

Re: Map of Thailand practically unusable - do not buy it!

Zoe — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 10:55:11 GMT

Hi Jirik,

I've not got any new updates for you yet - I have sent this on to my colleagues in the US who are looking into this. Once I hear back from them I'll let you know. I'm sorry for the wait in the meantime.

Zoe

Re: Map of Thailand practically unusable - do not buy it!

Shorty — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 14:44:07 GMT

@ fof

Frank in the University case you mentioned the gates that are permanently closed you should report as a normal road closure. As to gates in and out of a facility where the gate is open for a certain time EVERY day x 7 then list it as a closure (in Other category) but report the times that it is open. The network designers for that zone could then decide ... but from my experience these are also marked down as closures (but this was for data for another client. Tom Tom maps & units may have software to cater for partial closures - don't have enough experience to tell - will ask tomorrow when I go to HQ here in RSA)

Re: Map of Thailand practically unusable - do not buy it!

fof — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:05:31 GMT

I can live with those gates marked as "permanently closed" - people who are allowed to enter know the opening hours (every day during the day, but not on weekends), and others should not be routed through these gates anyway.

Re: Map of Thailand practically unusable - do not buy it!

jirik — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 19:52:36 GMT

Thanks Zoe. I called TomTom customer support at 866-486-6866 and talked with Jonathan (employee id GAJO0511).

He refused to refund the defective map of Thailand because it was already downloaded and it has been more than 14 days ago. He also offered that I can correct the defective TomTom map myself.

How can anybody know that the map is defective without downloading and using it, and how can the map be returned within 14 days when someone is on a 3 week vacation in a distant country?

He also didn’t care when I told him that I am going to post my experience with TomTom on other discussion and review boards so that other potential customers know.