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Helio is a Purple Cow

I love to read Seth Godin. Even though he says nearly the same thing over and over in every one of his books it never gets old. And believe me, if people listened, maybe he wouldn’t have to repeat it so damn much! I am always on the hunt for Purple Cows (Godin’s term for remarkable products that stand out from the boring and every day). My recent Purple Cow experience has been with Helio, the ‘don’t call it a phone’ company.

Ok let’s start off the bat so I don’t sound like a fanboy - the company and its products are not perfect (who is?). But they are very very remarkable. What’s remarkable?

Well, besides the fact that their customer service actually replies within hours by email with a real personal response (not “you have been issued ticket #[random] please wait 48 hours for a reply), they also have a very cool blog. What would you expect on a company blog? Features of their products? Press releases? No!

Helio’s blog contains things ranging from interviews with psychedelic filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky (and psychedelic is an understatement if you have seen his films) to comic book stuff, to interviews with independent filmmakers and musicians. Now this is what every company blog should aspire to be.

Having a company blog about such topics is really exciting, and it is even more exciting when it’s a essentially cell phone company (oh quit it with the “don’t call it a phone”, that’s the one thing I think is a bit silly. What am I supposed to call it when I tell my friends I got a new ____?).

We have come to expect that cell phone companies have pretty much the lowest customer service experience known to man (besides maybe the bankruptcy prone airlines). They don’t care about their customers, the only way they’ll give you anything is if you threaten to quit, and they certainly won’t try to say something interesting on their blogs (if they even have them). For me the overall experience of Helio ownership has transcended the minor problems (say the short battery life in my Ocean). To me, Helio is by and large heading in the right direction to creating a consumer experience with a rich story behind it. That’s the way to create a real product. Good luck guys!

I have had every possible provider over the last 8 years and I have to say that the customer service is spot on as mentioned above. It has always seemed that when I found a cool phone, the provider sucked…and vice versa. This time I seem to have stumbled on a happy marriage between service and product! As in any marriage, there are good points and bad points but hopefully the good outweighs the bad. With all the customer service going in the crapper these days, Helio has risen above the sludge and is forging a killer new concept. Let’s hope they maintain the service level when they get big. It’s always easy to provide good service when your the new guy but it’s what you do after you’ve grown that makes who your company is. I give a thumbs up, 8of10, whatever, excellent rating for Helio and I would recommend anyone to try their 30 day Total Happiness Guarantee.

I can’t believe I found a killer Mobile Device with great service that meets all my messaging/email needs yet is not another ‘windows’ device to have to manage every day. I think I’ll buy a couple extra batteries and go on with my life happy. :)

I’ve had my ocean for about a month now & it has never once occured to me to try & return it. Not only is the phone very well designed, but the service has far exceeded my expectations. My Ocean has even passed the ultimate cell phone torture test: it doesn’t drop calls when I get on an elevator. In fact, most of the time, the people I’m talking to have no idea I’ve just gotten on an elevator.

As for battery life, I user my Ocean as an MP3 player at work all day (6-9 hours/day) and for browsing the web & text messaging in between and the battery easily lasts at *least* a day and a half. I realize that we’ve come to expect to not have to plug our cell phones in as much, but that’s still better battery life than I was expecting when I bought the phone. Especially considering the size of the screen. Just plug it in at night before you go to bed & you’ll be all set.

I’ve read a lot of people complaining about the phone, and I agree with a small portion of it, but the good has far out-weighed the bad in my opinion. I think in the end it all comes down to what you use the phone for. I use it as a cell phone, I listen to music (constantly), I use the google maps, I use the AIM messaging on the go, and I take tons of pictures and videos of my kids ;) Throw in being able to look up quick info on the web from time to time, check my email, and amuse myself with Tetris if I get really bored and this has been a fantastic phone for me so far.

As one who has been in the service industry (Advertising/Marketing) for more than 20 years, I sadly say that I have never had an account of customer service (CS) so awful that I have written a letter.

The ultimate verdict is in the balance currently - I am 14 phone calls and roughly 10 hours of concentrated phone time invested in this project. At this point, I have to call it a process - here is why:

The product I purchased (Helio Ocean), a Qualcomm product made by Pantech in South Korea, and I am extemely limited as to service carriers that can fill in for the great deal that is offered at Helio. Here’s the rub:

* Helio offers excellent service plans that provide gratis web-enabled experiences, and affordable phone time inclusion

* Has the worst customer service in the world.

What started off as an inquiry about terminating my program with Helio, has ended up such an absolute catastrophe that, 2 weeks and some $250 worth of Helio-expensed discounts (battle pay) later, I am still with out service.

Yet I cling to this exceptional product. I have used an iPhone, and the cost benefit ratio greatly favors the Ocean device. Approximately half the cost with approximately 30% added benefits, the Ocean is - hands down - a better device. I know that I may get blow back from this statement - but I don’t remotely care. I implore anyone with an iPhone to try out the Ocean.
It will bring you heartache - unless you take advantage of Apple’s 30 day customer service stance.

I am hoping that Pantech starts dealing with the big boys, and that Helio ascends to less obismal CS ratings.

I hope this does not encroach on your product endorsement statement. I just like the Ocean.

Bruce

Hi

Hi, man! Your site is cool!