Does this actually work? I never receive a PM back when I try it.

You can send a Live Help Question to me any time you see me on the list. I try to answer every question I get in a timely manner, as do most all of the Volunteer Tour Guides. Sometimes there is a bit of a lag, if the question involves some research on our part. Sometime we need to reach out to another Tour Guide, another Tour Guide Leader or the Tour Guide Coordinator for some input before answering a question we are not sure about. Sometimes we have to ask a volunteer in Book Images or Book Data to get the correct information.  All of the volunteers here that I have had occasion to interact with have been helpful, kind, and very generous with their input and time. I am sorry you havent gotten an answer to your question.

I have used the live help and got an answer back right away.  They were great. 

I am just very frustrated with my problem. I am waiting a long time for an answer. It would be good if they would just tell me they got the PM, then I would know someone's on the case. I am losing faith with PBS on this question.

I would also like to add that I frequently receive Live Help messages after I have already logged off.  This is because when you began looking for help, I showed as logged-on.  By the time you composed and sent your message, I may have logged off.  I always answer Live Helps, but sometimes this does happen.

Please keep in mind it's not an "instant messaging" process - it's more like email.  There is some lag.

The Tour Guides are volunteers.  We do our best.  If you are not getting the answers you need from Live Help, I would try a second Tour Guide, or else you can post your question here if you'd like.

I hope you have a better experience going forward.  We really do our best.

I have never ignored any Live Help questions, but like Marjorie says, sometimes there might be some lag time or I've been contacted after logging off of PBS.  But even then, I have always replied, asking if they still needed help.   We get many questions during our time online and I'm sure a few have gotten by us, but it has never been our intent to ignore anyone.

Susan, please feel free to post your question here or contact one of the TG's who have replied to this thread. 

I actually heard back from 2. 1 nice and 1 not so,

As other Tour Guides previously posted, I also receive Live Help questions AFTER i have logged off.  However, I always answer and explain why I didn't reply earlier.  None of us would purposely not answer a Live Help question.  Please don't hesitate to try again if you need any help.

Wow! So sorry this has happened to you Susan...both the non-replies and the one that was not so nice!  :(  Never fun when that happens.  You've received several explanations and offers of help here, so I won't bombard you with more, but please feel free to add my to your Buddy list and tag me somehow so that you can contact me (or any other TG) whenever you need us. :) 

I feel very blessed that the 3-4 times that I have needed Live Help, I have always received prompt, polite replies. (BTW, Sherry ROCKS as a Tour Guide person). I am sorry to hear that you have had problems getting an answer or getting a rude answer. 

You can also contact your own personal Tour Guide, they are listed at the top of your Buddy List.

Marjorie suggested, "If you are not getting the answers you need from Live Help, I would try a second Tour Guide, or else you can post your question here if you'd like." This is a great idea, I'd just like to emphasize that you try a second Tour Guide. Please don't try more than 2 at the same time, though. Sometimes people send the same question to every Tour Guide who is online at the time, which really slows down our response time because you could have 10 TGs working on the same issue, when 1 can handle it nicely.

I frequently get questions after I've logged off, but I try to explain that when I log back on and answer the PM.

Let me just add in here, that the Tour Guides will try to answer Live Help questions in a timely manner.Other reasons for a slight delay is that the Tour Guide may be reading a message board and not realize that they have gotten a PM right away, or they may be writing an answer to another question, or researching the answer, or have stepped away from the computer for a few minutes, or have just logged out of PBS while you were typing your question.

If there is a greater than 20 minute delay for your answer, I would first check and see if the Tour Guide you contacted is still online, if they are not you may  have just missed them, and then you may need ask another Tour Guide your question.

We are all volunteers who like to help folks learn more about PaperBackSwap! At times we all have personal issues, or  get busy with our work or home lives. So, just be patient and you will get an answert to your situation.

If the Tour Guide is unsure of an answer they will either contact me or some of the other Tour Guides to make sure they are giving out the correct information to the members!

Just commenting here - I love Live Help.  I've used it several times for questions or problems I was having the site or sevices like BOB, and the TGs that have worked with me have all been wonderful & very helpful.  I have run into that situation where the TG I messaged logged off before she got my message and didn't log back in until the following day, but she got right back to me as soon as she got the inbox, and had an answer for me within a very short period of time.  I've dealt with something similar on other types of sites, and I already knew that it's not like an IM system where you get instant answers to your questions, so I wasn't expecting an immediate response to begin with.  Anyway, I think it's very useful, and if you have an issue you need some immediate help with, you can always post a thread here with something in the title asking for some advice from the TGs who watch this forum.