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.
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Reader Comments (Page 2 of 4)
4-06-2008 @ 5:28PM
mark said...
when my console got a disc drive error and replaced it for $100 they explicitly told me that if i get a new console then that is covered with a 1 year warranty and the 3 years of RROD. i asked several times "so if i get this new console and it has the same error...which it is going to because you put a cheap $20 disc drive in, it's covered?" response..."YES"
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4-06-2008 @ 5:42PM
mark said...
it was a store bought 360 1 year and 3 months old that got a disc error and when i called they said the new box is covered again for 1 year and 3 years of RROD dating from when they send the 360.
I'd fight it saying "it shouldn't matter what i sent it in for...It's not working and you sent it to me...YOU fucked up NOT me. YOU fix it!"
with customer service agents i just start flipping a shit until they give me something...usually works (learned it from my mom)
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4-06-2008 @ 5:59PM
eugene said...
The 360 reminds me of a girlfriend who cheated on you but then you take her back because you love what she can do in bed... but in the back of your head you know she'll eventually step out on you again.
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4-06-2008 @ 6:02PM
EmptyEnergy said...
Kind of an eye opening story here. Had only my first replacement since May of last year and it's working just fine. Now to know if, by some means, I get a non-RROD error, I have to pay $100. Fair enough. But, I will probably use it towards the purchase of a PS3 (if I don't have one by then). M$ customer service at its best.
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4-06-2008 @ 6:08PM
ericdrum said...
In related news, water is wet.
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4-06-2008 @ 6:20PM
Davis said...
Microsoft... fuck you.
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4-06-2008 @ 6:23PM
Squirrels said...
this is actually my piece...the part about the whole affair that frustrated me the most was the fact that they wanted $100 up front for repairs they wouldn't list before or after the work was completed...poor business practice.
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4-06-2008 @ 6:27PM
Taco Truckz! said...
Are you upset about the customer service you've had to deal with regarding your Xbox 360? Have you had multiple consoles go the RROD?
Has you disc drive stopped working for no reason?
Then contact Bill Gates directly at:
[email protected]
That's Bill's email address. Contact him, and tell him what's happened with you and your 360....
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4-06-2008 @ 6:32PM
Gabriel said...
I don't know if this is the case for everybody, but I got exceptional service on my first repair. You see, I let my XBOX 360 get really dusty. Not dusty like that one PS3, but dusty enough to make my discs stop reading. I sent it into Microsoft and paid the fee and assumed that I would never see that money again. Two months later, I open my mail box to find a full-refund check from Microsoft - a refund for a problem I caused. I finally got the RROD in February and din't have to pay at all and had back in just over a week. Does Microsoft just love me or is it luck that my repair experience is more exceptional?
On a side note, both times I had to send my XBOX in, I had just started thinking I was playing too much and needed to take a break. (God, did you break my XBOX?) So, I really didn't feel bad about either malfunction, since it gave me time to focus on more important things.
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4-06-2008 @ 6:35PM
fragilefilter27 said...
When you buy a new 360 there's a card offering you to buy a extended warranty (2years) after the one year runs out. IT covers RROD, disc read errors and a bunch of other crap. The only ppl that complain are the ones who toss that crap aside and not think to themselves about, "instead of blowing $60 for a game maybe I should send MS that $60 dollars just in case shit happens with the console."
Doing that saved my ass $100 when my 2 year old daughter decided to whack my 360 with a 3 lbs flashlight. It's safe to say that I got ALOT of disc read errors and the drive was making a grinding noise when it slowed down and guess what happened after I called MS; they replaced the console free of charge (and there was no rrod).
So instead of bitching about spending a $100 for a repair maybe ppl should take the time and look and read over all the crap that's stuffed into the box of 360 and consider spending $60 for a piece of mind instead of buying another game and getting screwed for a possible $100 down the road.
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4-07-2008 @ 3:39PM
James said...
...or, uh, treat your stuff better. I have a 2-year-old daughter as well (so I feel your pain!), but when she breaks stuff, I consider it my own fault (usually). I might start getting those "for any reason" warrantys now that I have her adventurous spirit to worry about, but I'm more likely to just put the sensitive electronics up where she can't reach them.
People are not bitching about the original warranty's failure to cover bludgeonings by a toddler -- they're bitching that Microsoft sends them a RROD replacement with a dodgy disc drive, and when it finally craps out 91 days later, they're stuck with the bill. That's bullshit.
Frankly, I guess you get what you pay for -- if I had bought a $200 top-of-the-line server-grade optical drive for my home PC, and it just "wore out" after a year or two of modest use, I'd be hell of pissed. But you got a game console as powerful as a $500-600 PC for a third that much money, and sometimes they are able to do that by using sub-par components or otherwise cutting corners on design. It's like when I get the ultra-bargain TV at Wal-Mart for 1/4 the price of an equivalent e.g. Sony unit. I know I'm gambling on quality to save on price. I used to do a lot of that, but after having a few PDAs, laptops, and other assorted gizmos die out on me because I bought the absolute cheapest I could find, I'm starting to be more willing to shell out for quality in the first place.
4-06-2008 @ 6:36PM
Adam B said...
This isn't entirely true. I apparently had a problem with the GPI or GPU, not sure which, but I didn't get the RROD. I called them anyways and they said they were going to send me a new one, even though my xbox is 14 months old.
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4-06-2008 @ 6:50PM
zzebedee said...
I sent my console off for a RROD fault, MS sent me it back 2 weeks later, that one went kaput after just 1 evening's use with a non-RROD fault (locked up during the splash animation whn turned on).
I called MS and they had me send it back for a free replacement, 2 weeks later a "new" console arrived which has worked fine ever since so this situation is certainly not a set in stone policy
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4-06-2008 @ 7:15PM
Jeff Tronti said...
I had to pay 100 for my repair even though the issues cause of my problem was the same cause of the RRD.
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4-06-2008 @ 8:38PM
Tony said...
I'm not sure what you mean exactly, but if you paid for fixing the RROD you should call them and tell them so. They're not supposed to charge for that.
4-06-2008 @ 7:20PM
Anticrawl said...
Hrm, this reminds me of my 5th console I just got back in February. It arrived as a replacement rather than a repair and after 15 minutes of playing the xbox gave me an error, froze and later found out that the drive was faulty. They wanted to charge me for it but I raised enough hell to a point where I got the damn thing for free because they console the repaired that broke was sent to the wrong address and I had to have a replacement sent initially. Bah if it wasn't for the 360 having a fantastic library I wouldn't put up with this bullshit.
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4-06-2008 @ 7:36PM
The Master of Truth and Justice said...
Buying a better warranty is NOT the answer.
Microsoft is making a machine that doesn't die IS.
Why the hell do people defend this, instead of violently attacking Microsoft with words?
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4-06-2008 @ 8:03PM
bruce said...
I am currently waiting on my 5th 360 to be replaced with yet another crappy refurb. I have also contacted corp office and have been chatting back and forth with some dude named Mike in Customer service. He left me a message a few weeks ago stating that Microsoft will NOT be replacing consoles with new ones for their customers.. that is something they do not do.. I had asked for a new system due to the fact that I have have 4 replacements withing 2 years and not much luck. if you want to hear the actual call check out my site. bruce.white.googlepages.com.... has the recording there.. Its a great system when it works.. the problem is out of the 19 months i have owned it i have been without it for 5 of them... That just sux...
4-06-2008 @ 8:40PM
Bravelionheart said...
What makes me annoyed is that my console has been plagued by a myriad of problems -- but not the RROD. The disc drive has undergone epic failure (it makes grinding noises and it can take upwards of 10 tries to get a disc to read), the console overheats, etc. It's very frustrating.
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4-06-2008 @ 8:40PM
Vcize said...
What's the problem here? They don't even check to see if a console has RROD or not so long as you say it does, they just send you another one.
So, if you get a RROD after day 365 and your replacement 360 has a broken disk drive or the video out problem then just call them up and say the replacement has a RROD too.
Whoopdee-do, that was so difficult.
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