Avoid Norton’s chat option at all costs.
First, despite their claim that “agents are available to answer any questions you may have,” they’re not interested in answering your questions. They want to ask YOU questions. They will do their best to ignore your question and instead start peppering you with sales questions: “How many computers do you have?” Etc.
Second, they immediately pressure you to switch to the phone. It’s always the first or second thing they say: “Can we switch to the phone because it’ll be faster?” Well, if I wanted to be on the phone, then I would have chosen the phone option. But I chose the chat option.
Third, they will cut you off or put you on hold if you persist in staying on chat instead of switching to the phone.
Before you get a “specialist,” you first get a person who takes your initial question and routes you accordingly. So here’s the question I had: "Please point me to a URL where it specifies which version of Norton Family comes with Norton Security Premium."
The first time I chatted with Norton, I got “Regis.” I must have asked my question three times. But Regis kept asking to switch to the phone. Finally, annoyed with my refusal to go to the phone, he said “Try norton.com and read about it. Meanwhile, the purpose of chat is so that we can ask you questions to assess your needs” and he ended the chat! No, Regis, per the initial boilerplate verbiage when I started the chat session, your job is to “ANSWER detailed questions about our products.”
Next I got “[Removed].” Here’s the entire transcript of the chat:
-----[Support]: Hello, welcome to Norton sales support, please let me review what you have entered
-----[Support]: Depending on your specific situation, there may be a few areas that we should discuss to ensure that your goals are going to be met. Therefore, this may be quicker over the phone. May I call you to answer your questions and ensure this is the best product for your needs?
-----Me: Thanks, but I’m asking for a URL. It will be much easier for you to copy and paste that into the chat window instead of saying a long URL over the phone.
-----[Support]: I can definitely help you. I do apologize. I am currently assisting another customer. However you will maintain your priority sequence and I will be with you in approximately 10-15 minutes. Please leave the chat open. Thank you for the patience.
First, notice how she immediately wanted to switch to the phone. Second, notice how she apparently had all the time in the world to answer my question OVER THE PHONE, but as soon as it’s obvious that I want to continue chatting, oh dear, suddenly she’s “assisting another customer” and can’t get to me for 10 to 15 minutes!!!! Wow.
So Norton chat folks have two goals: Get you on the phone and ask YOU questions so they can sell you something. They are NOT interested in answering YOUR questions.
[Admin Edit: Removing personally identifiable information to conform with the Participation Guidelines and Terms of Service]