Why my after sales service sucked the big one today.

The BBQ Pit
1

I have a mobile phone. It won’t work. It just stopped.

So, I go to the retailer, during my lunch break (1 hour, starting at 1pm). The retailer says go to Motorola’s office, 9th Floor, Time Square, Causeway Bay.

So I go there, by train. They say go to Motorola’s service centre, in Wanchai. No customer service, no, “leave it with us and we’ll get back to you.”

So I go there, by train. I take a number, and wait. By this stage it is 1:35pm. I’m getting annoyed.

Time passes.

I’m called up at 2:10pm. The guy looks at my receipt. He tells me the warranty expired 18 days ago.

He tests it. It doesn’t work.

I have to pay a HK$200 fee (US$20) to have the thing “examined” by a technician. The technician will call me when he knows what the problem is. I will have to pay for replacement parts.

I get back to my office at 2:30pm. I’m starving, and really annoyed.
Why am I annoyed?

  1. the fucker of a phone won’t work, 18 days after the warranty expired. Do they make them so that they do this?;

  2. I got shunted around twice, by people anxious to pass the buck;

  3. I wasted my lunch hour, and was late back to work anyway;

  4. I have to pay to get the stupid phone fixed. With the cost of mobiles, I may as well just buy a new one, rather than pay money to get an old one fixed.

I am hungry and cranky.

That is all.

2

Chas is travelling in LA, and his cellphone battery charger dies, leaving him with a powerless, unusuable phone. He locates a land-line phone number for SprintPCS service with some difficulty, and is directed to a Sprint sales location in the heart of Beverly Hills. I walk in and take a number, and despite the crush of customers, I’m served in 15 minutes. The tech pokes numbers in a computer, determines that my phone is out of warranty. He says “Oh, that charger was a lemon. I’ll get you a new one.” I am handed a new charger (quite nicer than my old one) and he says it’s free. I am back on the road in just minutes from the time I stepped in the door.

3

I think you have done a whole lot better than me. I received a phone call from a Motorola technician last night.

Cost to repair the phone - HK$1200 (US$120). The phone cost only a little more than that to buy. I told the guy I’d rather buy a Nokia or an Erikson. Fuck that.

Let me just add that I rarely use this phone. I have it with me for emergencies. My wife has the number and precious few else.

I am decidedly shitty over the entire episode.