Community discussions

[fredneck]

Real customer service people are being outsourced to AI in many areas of the Tech Industry. Unfortunately, speaking with live humans for customer service is going to get more and more scarce moving forward.

What particular problem are you having with your Roku? This forum has many helpful Roku fans willing to help,  just have to ask. 🙂

Some other great resources where you can ask for help are the Roku subreddit on Reddit and the Roku Rocks Facebook group. You can also reach out to Roku directly on their Facebook or Twitter pages.

[Iona-D]

If the more traditional Telephone Operators are going extinct right before our own eyes, why should companies like Roku offer similar services:

"......In 2021, there were fewer than 4,000 telephone operators, down from a peak of around 420,000 in the 1970s, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.......But there are still people who call the operator and request directory help.......“411 usage is not insignificant,” the FCC said in a 2019 report. The FCC estimated then that 71 million calls annually were placed to 411......."-https://www.google.com/amp/s/wraltechwire.com/2023/01/09/directory-assistance-411-going-extinct-at-a...

See what I mean?  It has nothing to do with you,  me, or anyone. Even if there is real demand or need of good  human intervention is called for.   It is simply boils down to the Company's own bottom line and simply channeling the same funds to the proper bank accounts of the owners & their shareholders. Nothing else matters.

Cost Cutting-along with a healthy dose of GREED at it's foundation-at it's very  best!

[bmp66]

@fredneck 

With all due respect (I am new to this site), I don't think anyone wants to discuss their personal account or financial information on the internet.  I certainly don't.  I may be in the minority, but I would much rather speak to a live person.  I would be willing to pay more for a subscription as well, IF it meant better customer service.

I recently changed banks.  Before I moved my account, I called every bank in town and asked about their customer service hrs. so I would never be stuck talking to a computer if I had a problem on a wkd. or after 5:00 pm.

Not everything is about the bottom line.  If you're someone who's good with numbers & technology, great.  I find I often need help figuring out this new world.  For some people, service does make a difference.

[bmp66]

@AvsGunnar 

How some people worship the almighty dollar!

It may be true, but that doesn't make it right.  My local Walmart has self-checkout and the lines are still a mile long.  I hate it!

I usually shop at a supermarket where a real person checks out my groceries, and she/he is much faster and more efficient than I am.  It's worth it.  If necessary, I just do without something else.

By the way, what happens when the self-checkout computer breaks??

[Framys88]

I am frustrated as well.  My Roku channels will not play.  I hit play, it lads then nothing.  Everything is up to date. This is so frustrating 

[RokuDanny-R]

Hi Community users,

Thanks for the inquiry.

If you have an issue, can you please provide more detailed information about the issue you are experiencing so we can assist you further?

For account and billing related issues, please reach out to our Support team directly here for your 'Account, payments & subscriptions' issue. They will be able to further assist you.


Thanks,
Danny

[Fukr0ku]

I have no idea. I'm trying to WATCH ROKU LIVE on Android phone. I spent 2 hours on chat with support almost all time "waiting" on AI. 1st AI was getting solution but lost chat conn. 2nd AI was bad ... said "some channels work and some dont" and asked what I wanted to watch live ... gave AI list of channels ... said "we at ROKU have elevated this to top priority " ..  never heard back. 

[RokuDanny-R]

@Fukr0ku

Thanks for the post.

Please be aware that utilizing the Roku mobile app will have limited streaming capability in comparison to streaming on the Roku device.

Thanks,
Danny

[bmp66]

Danny,

"Limited streaming capability", you say?  Thanks a whole bunch.  After spending several days pouring over your support advice, trying to figure out what was wrong, now I know! 

My internet connection is fine.  I was trying to catch up on an old tv series that I had never seen, without having to spend a small fortune renting every episode.  I thought the Roku Channel would be great.  Eventually I got frustrated with the constant freezing and watching the "spinning circle" waiting for video that never seemed to load.  However, I noticed that the video always seemed to start buffering at the same places in the program, no matter how many times I rewound or how long I waited.  The glitch was with the channel, not the computer or the transmission.

I gave up and searched the internet for a site where someone had posted a video of the episode from a tv recording or DVD.  It might be illegal, I don't know.  I have to go through about half a dozen ads before I get to the video but, once it starts playing, IT PLAYS.

Forget about tech. support.  I solved the problem by watching elsewhere.  Sorry, Roku.

[axg9999]

I've always been a fan of Roku, but lately I find that support is getting to be the pits. I remember when I got my first ROKU and had a problem receiving high definition streams someone (technical) helped me through the setup of my TV. I find that there is no real technical support or support from someone who has an overall grasp of the problem. All you get is someone who reads a possible remedy that "we found to be helpful in problems of this kind". You get the equivalent of "power off your box and power on again" that I always got from DIRECTV. For example they ask me "what is the software version on your device", after I just told them I checked for updates and I have the latest build (and they should know what that is). 

There are obviously some very smart technical people in development who should be interested and be able to list some probable causes for your intermittent problem but it seems that your problem never gets their attention because of how the front line support is set up.

It's not just device support. I returned an Ultra unopened box and 14 days after they received it, they now say (today) it is escalated and I should receive my refund soon. Two weeks ago their chat rep, assured me that they were looking at it and I should be hearing from them soon. Obviously an uninformed and incorrect answer.

So, as the bra commercial used to say "No visible means of support". And that is bothersome to me. Maybe I'm being too picky.