Microsoft just can't seem to do much right on the customer support front. So much so that we're rather tired of hearing about it. This time however, the story has more than a few new wrinkles that made it insightful enough to take a second look. The story begins with a review of the whole crazy situation and in it the author remains relatively fair and calm. Then comes the fifth paragraph, and specifics about repeat failures begin to surface.
Things like the fact that the 3-year warranty won't extend to any problem other than the RROD for any replacement console that you are sent by Microsoft. Things like the fact that if Microsoft sends you a replacement console that does not function, you're then stuck with the original 1-year warranty that came with your first 360. Basically, if your 360 RROD'd between 366 and 1095 days after purchase (just over one year to three years) then Microsoft will send you a replacement console. But if that one has something wrong with it other than the RROD, then it'll cost you $100 to send it back to Microsoft to get it fixed. Remember kids, it's wrong to screw people over if you're not a multinational corporation.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
4-06-2008 @ 4:53PM
Lance M said...
just wrap it up and leave it in a towel till it gets the red rings...
Reply
4-06-2008 @ 7:36PM
Tom said...
Yeah, if it red rings, it's not OUR fault that the console also happened to have a non-functional disk drive. ;)
4-06-2008 @ 8:55PM
vanhelsingh said...
is it not possible to just lie, and claim you have RROD?
4-10-2008 @ 5:47PM
bubba pants said...
I did! And it worked!!
4-06-2008 @ 4:57PM
vidGuy said...
So the warranty service that they extended to cover RROD only covers RROD? **Shocked** /sarcasm
Um, duh?
Reply
4-06-2008 @ 5:22PM
Terrence Stasse said...
Your reading comprehension needs work.
You're supposed to be "shocked" about the fact that MS can send you a defective console and then charge you $100 to fix something that they should have sent to you in full working order.
4-06-2008 @ 6:26PM
vidGuy said...
I comprehend fine. What I find shocking is the fact that a bunch of whiny gamers think that a RROD Warranty means "you will always receive a magical replacement console with no hardware problems."
Yeah, it sucks. But it's not surprising considering the language of the warranty. Talk about a RTFM moment.
4-07-2008 @ 11:16AM
xenocidic said...
I could understand if they were sending out brand new consoles, but they're sending out refurbs -- which are going to have a higher rate of failure due to having more mileage on them.
4-06-2008 @ 5:05PM
fragilefilter27 said...
I'm glad I sent them money for the extended warranty and that doesn't expire untill April of next year. I learned my lesson with consoles; pay extra for the manufactures extended warranty and don't have to worry about crap like mentioned in the article.
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4-07-2008 @ 11:19AM
Sean said...
Actually I just sent my xbox back for the fourth time on Thursday. I purchased the extended warranty. Unfortunatly, they told me that the extended warranty does not cover the replacement system I received. It only covers the original xbox I bought.
I said that was a bunch of bull and they told me I needed to call the warranty department there was nothing they (service) could do about it. Warranty said it was my fault for not following up when I received my replacement to transfer the warranty over to the new xbox. Nowhere in the documentation I received or anywhere on the warranty contract states I needed to do this.
I shouldn't have to work this hard for them to do the right thing.
I love my xbox I just want it to not break and when it does I want them to fix it and STFU.
4-06-2008 @ 5:05PM
kcandfamily said...
you want to hear a freakin MS customer service problem. I ordered my transfer cable to transfer the data from my Pro to my elite back in DECEMBER 2007 and now...april 2008 I still don't have it
Three freakin times i spoke with non-english capable customer service reps...and still no cable
Reply
4-06-2008 @ 10:21PM
CrimsonOkie said...
Get an order form from Xbox.com and fax it in. You'll get a cable in about a week. Painless. Good Luck.
4-06-2008 @ 5:14PM
Jean said...
Anyone have any advice on how to spur Microsoft customer support to some action?
It took me 3 months of phone calls to get them to pick up my 360 with RROD. When I finally got it back it lasted 3 days before RROD again. The best they could offer me? Sticking it back in the same lengthy repair process yet again. By the time I got it back 6 months had passed. I had bought a new generation 360 in the meantime since I really wanted to play all the cool games i'd shelled out for. I promised the one in repair to my brother in law after an assurance from MS customer service management in the UK that they would actually replace rather than repair the dud unit. Got the 3rd replacement over to his house, plugged it in and it was RROD straight out of the box.
I would have been annoyed if the thing had failed right in the beginning and Microsoft had offered me a route to pay to have it fixed. But to offer to fix it for free and then put me through six months and literally more than 40 phone calls to customer service, broken promises, having to arrange to be home when the UPS guy comes to pick up or drop of the box - not to mention the embarrasment of giving my brother in law a dud machine... Now i'm really pissed. I sent letters to various managers as well as a family friend in a director position at MS head office in Seattle. I demanded that they replace the box with a brand new retail one (not some refurbished piece of garbage like the last time)
Still waiting for a reply. What they hell can one do?
Reply
4-06-2008 @ 5:24PM
Bryan said...
That's an interesting and sad story. There are a bunch of stories just like it, and I'm wondering how lucky I have been. The RROD has happened to me twice. I purchased a box the day after it was released, and it lasted until Aug of 2006. The second RROD happened Sep of last year. Each time, I had a box to ship out within 3 days, and then a new 360 within the next week. Total time total? Maybe 15 - 20 days.
4-06-2008 @ 5:48PM
Jean said...
I'm not usually critical of Microsoft - I think their products are pretty cool - never had a problem with Windows (blasphemy) and actually think Vista isn't bad at all (heresy!)
But in this case I see all the negative traits of a monolithic company. The customer service reps forced to read out the same boring scripts to every call and have no power to take any initiative to solve a particular problem. The customer service managers who themselves are trying to make the best of a bad situation but have their hands tied by corporate.
I'm always amazed by the sense of cameraderie and desire to help one sees in online communities. It reminds me that human beings are actually generally pretty compassionate and wanting to help each other out. Its in stark contrast to the feeling one gets from dealing with the public facing arm of a company like Microsoft. I'm virtually forced to buy their products since there isn't really a great alternative (Sony...??) but it just leaves a bad taste in one's mouth. That these people who are providing me with entertainment in my home just couldn't give a ___.
Even that guy who got all the Halo goodies... I had this image of MS corporate carefully weighing up the cost of negative publicity and making a special offer - not out of some human value but out of pure hard nosed pragmatism.
I think this soulessness is really what hurts them as they try to cross over into the entertainment arena.
4-06-2008 @ 5:19PM
Bryan said...
Okay, so I am supposed to be shocked that when Microsoft said they were extending a warranty for RROD issues, they meant only RROD issues?
Or is it that I am supposed to be upset that Microsoft charges $100 for other issues? Looking at the information that I received with my Xbox 360, it says that I will be charged a fee on non-warranty repairs.
Okay, so there are a whole bunch of things that could go wrong with my xbox. There are a bunch of things that won't cost $100 on my box. Will I be happy to pay $100? No. But suppose that the repair is to replace the motherboard, or another expensive repair, that way, at the end of the process, if everything goes well, I will be happy to pay the $100 fee.
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4-06-2008 @ 6:33PM
Swamp Donkey said...
Please reread the article and you will see that they are sending out broken units with no warranty. That sucks period.
4-06-2008 @ 5:28PM
Roto13 said...
Repaired consoles are automatically given a three-month (if I recall correctly) if the remaining time on the actual warranty is less than 3 months.
Reply
4-06-2008 @ 5:34PM
Roto13 said...
Then it's three months.
4-07-2008 @ 7:56AM
prence said...
Yeah, you're right. I had my 5th 360 replaced a few months ago and they give you a 90 day any-problem warranty on it.