Man vs. Eternally Broken Xbox 360: A Novel (via Consumerist)

I was flipping through headlines on Google Reader this morning, and came across this article over at Consumerist:

Being a jaded Xbox 360 owner who’s watched his console give up the ghost five times, it takes a lot for a tale of Microsoft customer service woe to move me. And yet a reader named Gower accomplished just that by sending a novel-length soliloquy about his maddening run through Xbox 360 hell. What follows is the Cliffs Notes version (grab your hankies):

I had purchased an Xbox 360 about two years ago and during that time I had to send it to Microsoft four-five times for repairs under warranty for various things- red rings, cd drive not working etc.
Because of all the issues with the Xbox Microsoft extended the warranty to three years for additional issues, and in mid May my Xbox stopped working after giving red rings and error messages before having no video on the screen at all.

Gower called customer service and set up the repair. Or so he thought.

The next day I get a message from Sam saying he needed to talk to me further about the issue with no further explanation. All calls made to Sam to try to reach him went unanswered. I did get calls back from Sam at times I specifically said I could not be reached and he left messages telling me to call him back. This went back and forth for a bit until one day it looks like he made a mistake and called me when I told him I was actually available. So what does he do? He hangs up on me as soon as I answer! He then calls me back a half hour later, after I was at work and tells me that due to not being able to reach me he is closing my case.
I then resorted to contacting the BBB on May 26thand a few days later I was contacted by a supervisor named Sean at Xbox support. He apologized and said they would send a box out to return my Xbox through UPS and overnight it to me and I received a tracking number a little later.

Gower’s 360 coffin was shipped not to him, but to someone down the road who wasn’t there. He had to convince UPS to get the package to him at his proper address. Then he sent the 360 to Microsoft, which promptly told him he’d receive his refurbished unit in short order. Bet you can guess where it was shipped.

I checked the tracking number and it said they tried to deliver but nobody was home at another address that was not mine, again. I called UPS and told them again that they are trying to deliver to someone elses house and to deliver to the correct one tomorrow. I again told Sean about the shipping problems and he told me again he would contact them to straighten the issue out. I was a bit upset at this point as someone was being careless and I didn’t like the thought of UPS giving a $300 console to complete strangers.
I got the Xbox delivered to me the next day, however I was quite shocked to find the console was damaged! The USB door was missing from the console and the front of the console was covered in deep scratches like someone had dropped it on the ground several times, and there was the sound of something broken and rattling around inside the console. The box it shipped in had no dents or signs of damage, and there was no sign of the missing usb door in the box so it must have been damaged by the repair center.

Gower e-mailed his good pal Sean, who blamed the damage on UPS and said he’d get another console out to him. Guess where the package ended up?

I waited again for the box to come, and YET AGAIN no box showed up. I went online to check the tracking number and it said in the notes it was delivered to someone elses house yet again, but this time a woman accepted the package at this address and signed for it.
I called UPS quite mad at this point about the errors. It was at this time I found out that nobody from Microsoft called to report the shipping errors or the damage to the console! I emailed the supervisor Sean back relayed back what UPS told me, and he had the nerve to say he never promised to contact UPS about the damage, and that its not his responsibility to contact UPS about the shipping errors! First of all, Microsoft is the shipper so they are in fact required to contact UPS about the errors, as they should have anyways. Added to this, I have save email transcripts from Sean telling me that he would contact them. I even copied quotes from him about him promising to contact UPS about the damage and the shipping errors. So what does he do in response? He emails me back saying that arguing is not going to solve anything and he is ceasing contact with me and will send another shipping box to my address and will only send electronic updates once my Xbox is received and replaced. At this point I had to call Microsoft several times and report how Sean was treating me and handling the case and was able to get the case transferred to another supervisor named Michael who communicated from there on.

When Gower finally got his “like new” 360, which turned out to be the exact same console he had sent in, broken USB door and all. He contacted Michael, who acted as though he didn’t believe him and requested pictures. Michael said he didn’t know why the repair or replacement wasn’t made and sent out another coffin. Gower tried to escalate his complaint and sent two dozen e-mails out but got no replies.

I finally get yet another replacement box, ship it out, and after a week I get confirmation that my Xbox is being sent back. I check online while at work to see the status of the delivery, only to find the message says it was left on front steps of the house (whose, I don’t know) at 11:30am, at least seven hours before I get home. I am alarmed since all my other packages have required signatures and I don’t know whose bright idea it was to leave a $300 Xbox on the steps without a signature. Ive called UPS and Microsoft and each are placing the blame on the other and neither wants to help me now. Microsoft said they need to run an investigation as to what happened but I have not heard from them about what theyre doing yet. I did get a call from my supervisor Michael yesterday, but he address me by someone elses name (he dialed the wrong customers number). When I told him my name, he hung up on me. No apology or explanation, he just hung up on me. Wont answer his phone or return emails either.
It’s now two and a half months since I contacted Microsoft to have the Xbox repaired under warranty. I have resorted to buying a brand new console at the store since I have many Xbox games and HD-DVDs that are useless without a console to play them on. I don’t know what to do at this point…

It was the HD-DVD part that really hit home, because the obsolete high-def movie format is a symbol for all the trust Microsoft’s customers have channeled into its products, only to be trampled on. I once owned a bunch of HD-DVDs but ended up making the walk of shame to sell them at a used book store. And I’ve been through console repair misadventures. Most of us have. To suffer through poor customer service, dream of a better tomorrow and double down on your investments is the way of the Xbox 360 gamer.
(Photo: dirtyblueshirt)

I won’t buy a 360 until they’re reliable, and at this point, it doesn’t look like they’re EVER going to be reliable.

What really bothers me, is the people, like Gower here, that even despite having had their system repaired/replaced 4-5 times, AND getting mistreated by customer service on this latest failure… will still go out and buy another 360, knowing what a piece of crap it is, and how horribly they can expect to be treated in the future.

Masochists. No other word for it.

Were I in this situation, I’d chalk it up as a lesson learned, sell the HD-DVDs and 360 games, and be done with this mess. I don’t care how good you think the games are, nothing is worth putting up with this abuse. Besides, most of the games are on PC and/or PS3 anyway, if you really feel you need to keep playing them.

Putting up with the abuse, AND buying replacement systems even when your current one is still under warranty because you’re getting shafted, all you’re doing is validating and justifying their abusive practice. And sending the message that you don’t care how incompetently they design their systems, or how badly they treat you as a customer, you’ll keep giving them your money for the privilege of letting them abuse you.

This article also kind of hits a personal note, as I have a few friends who’ve been bitten by the ever unreliable 360. One of whom has also purchased a second (possibly even a third now, I don’t remember) system, while his warranty system was actually out for repair.

/facepalm
/shakehead
/sigh

Merry frackin’ Christmas!

Another one’s finally come and gone. I swore to myself that this year I would keep it all online. No stores.

And then Amazon screwed me over with their promise of free shipping, and items arriving on or before the 24th if ordered by a certain date (which my order was placed days before the cutoff). They hide the fact that that guarantee only exists for items coming directly from Amazon. Yet almost everything they sell, is not from Amazon, but other vendors.

BAH!

Yeah, it’s partially my fault for procrastinating. Doesn’t make me any less bitter about it though. That meant that more than half of my order wouldn’t make it until after xmas… some of it wouldn’t even ship until after the first of the year. So I had to dump more than half the cart, and scramble to the local stores and find reasonable equivalents.

But I got it done. All went fairly well. And xmas itself proved most bountiful. I make a list every year, I have since I was a kid, so it’s kind of my thing. And in later years, I find it harder and harder to figure out what people want. They’ve usually already bought it themselves.

I got thanked this year, for having a list. I’m apparently not the only one finding it difficult to figure out what people want. I got a lot of stuff I had on my list, some of it rather surprising because I know how much the stuff costs. I also got stuff that wasn’t on my list, and that’s awesome! It’s like being a kid again on xmas morning. Don’t get me wrong, I’m going to keep doing my list, but damn if I don’t like that rush of opening a gift and not having any idea what to expect.

Thank God I’m out of this apartment in a few months. I’m SO running out of room, it’s not even remotely funny. MUST FIND A HOUSE!

update 11pm: The bounty!

I’m typing this on my new Apple wireless keyboard. This thing rocks. MEGA tiny, and thin, and just a bundle of awesome. Sits pretty next to my new Logitech MX Revolution mouse.

See, when I make my list I go balls out, and put on outrageous stuff that I know is WAY too expensive, but I always think “Hey, if you never ask…” Case in point, the keyboard and mouse I received. Though they were on my list, it was still an amazing shock actually opening them, because I know how much they are, and they were only on the list as wishful thinking.

I also got a Kodak EasyShare 5300 printer. And the “holy shits” keep coming. It’s a printer/scanner combo, and the ink cartidges are half or less the price of the ones I’ve been having to buy for my HP printer (which is on it’s last legs anyway, and I was needing a new printer soon).

I got some stuff for my camera, a mini tri-pod, an extra battery pack, more memory, and a case to hold memory cards so they’re not flying free inside my camera bag.

Games are always welcome, and I got plenty to keep me occupied for some time to come.

But like I said earlier, it’s the off-list stuff that really sticks out.

A japanese table set, with embroidered napkins and place mats, and chop sticks. An oriental style cabinet/end table. A couple rotary tool sets (was going to say dremel, but they’re not dremel brand), which I’ve been meaning to get for myself, for years but never do. Now suddenly I’ve got two! A wine set with a thermometer, foil cutter, cork screw, and extra corks. A set of etched wine glasses. A pocket flask (something else I’ve been meaning to pick up but never do). A new xmas decoration… that makes 2 now, I’ll soon be rolling in them!

And finally one thing I can’t WAIT to get started using! It’s a stove-top pop-corn popper… but I won’t be using it for pop-corn. Oh no. With it came a book on roasting your own coffee. That’s right… roasting my own coffee! Words cannot adequately describe how insanely awesome and exciting the thought alone is. I started grinding my coffee a little over a year ago, and it really is indescribable how much fresher coffee tastes by doing that. The next logical step has been the ultimate in freshness, roasting. It wasn’t until the past few months that I learned things like air poppers and stove-top pop-corn poppers could be used, instead of the $1000+ home roasting machines. I am ridiculously excited!

My favorite gift to give was a set of Guinness pub glasses. After Amazon screwed me, it became my personal mission to make sure, if I got nothing else, that I would get these glasses. Her reaction was priceless and made the effort well worth it.

Goddamn my gadget lust

Last Tuesday Apple announced the refresh of their iPod line. To be expected, certainly. And what I completely expected, but apparently some did not, was the announcement of the iPod Touch. Or as I put it: “the iPhone, minus the ‘Phone’”.

I called that the moment the iPhone was announced back in January, but people thought that would be crazy. They’d never do that for an iPod! Just doesn’t make sense to have internet browsing, or gps/maps, or email, or blah blah blah on a music player!

And now, it’s happened. Though sans the Google Maps app for some odd reason (but you can still access the mobile version by going to their mobile website, in case they never get around to adding the native app). And granted, I fully expected the camera to make it as well, so needless to say just a slight disappointment.

I was moments away from placing my pre-order as I watched the keynote. $299 – $399 is far more reasonable for near-iPhone capability. So of course, imagine my utter dumbfoundedness (yes, it’s a word. Trust me) as I continued watching the keynote, and Steve Jobs announces a $200 drop in price on the iPhone. Bringing it to $399.

Aw SHIT! Now I’m torn.

And I’ve not been able to make a decision all week. Do I want the iPhone and be chained to an exorbitant data plan for the next 2 years? Or do I say “to hell with it!” and get the iPod Touch, keep my EX-Z75 for the quickie pics, and be content?

Honestly, I don’t know that the iPhone would even be in the running right now, if it weren’t for my current phone. It routinely doesn’t ring when someone calls. Sometimes messages take a week or more to show up. Leading, of course, to many “dude, why didn’t you call me back?!” moments. Of course, it’s been dropped a few times more than I care to admit. And I think it even got a bath once at some point in the 4 years that I’ve had it. But still, it’s a piece of shit. And I’m in need of a new one something fierce.

So it’s been either iPhone + 2 years of servitude, or iPod Touch + Moto RAZR V3xx (+2 year contract renewal, but at least I’m not forced into using a data plan). Fracking sweet ass phone/iPod/video player/mobile internet device … or fracking sweet ass iPod/video player/mobile internet device and an ok but completely unexciting phone.

And then today, to add more agonizing fuel to my A.D.D. riddled raging inferno of internal dialog, someone posted steps on how to unlock the iPhone. Great news for people not with AT&T, or people (like me) who are with AT&T, but don’t want to be forced into servitude for the privilege of using a $600$400 phone.

Unless I’m misunderstanding something, I can go to an Apple Store, buy an iPhone, unlock it, and then be using it on my current plan.

If that’s the case, I think I just settled my own debate.

I think there’s something wrong with me

I just spent the last 4 hours at Fry’s.

For a spotlight.

Serious.

I have a problem with Fry’s, and to a lesser extent Best Buy. My problem is that unless I go in knowing exactly what I want, and where it is, I wander. I browse. I peruse. And I take my sweet fucking time doing it too.

Today I went in, right after work, at about 4:30. I went in knowing I wanted to find some lighting solution for photography. I wasn’t looking for a flash, but rather a fill light. I went to the isle with all their lights. Flashlights, spot lights, work lights, lanterns… pretty much any light you can think of.

Except the one I need.

So I figured since I was already there, I might as well head over to the tripods. I’ve been debating on a few different mini tripods that I like, as well as a couple monopods. I know I could go to Wolf Camera, but their in-store selection is pretty dismal. And I like to actually see, and hold what I’m looking at. So that kinda makes online shopping useless for anything that I want to evaluate before purchase.

Of course, after 10 minutes of indecision with the tripods, I started browsing their HD video cameras. There goes another 30 minutes. And finally as I’m getting ready to leave, I catch a glimpse of a book called Digital Photography Hacks. Eh, what the hell? I’ll take a look.

I read through the whole thing.

Oh, not word for word, certainly. But I was standing there a good two hours (this is after I’d already been there an hour, you see). There wasn’t a whole lot worthwhile to me personally, as most of it I already know. But one interesting tidbit I pulled from it was using sunglasses as a polarizing filter. Never would’ve thought about that. For the quickie shots I still take with my Casio EX-Z75 which doesn’t have any way to attach things to the lens, that’ll come in handy.

After that I stopped by the Apple section to check out the sexy new iMac’s. Kinda irks me that I didn’t wait 3 months, and went ahead with the all white one. But meh, the only real change was the appearance, otherwise, same processors, and they didn’t add any larger screen configurations (I already went with the 24″. Had they announced a 30″, I think I’d have to punch someone in the face.)

Then finally on the way out, I stopped by for one last look over the lights to see if maybe something could work. I went back and forth between spotlights, flood lights, lanterns… ones with batteries, rechargable ones, ones with halogen bulbs, others with xenon, and still others with LED’s.

I picked up a couple cheap spotlights that use those giant 6v batteries. They were $6 each, and included the battery. I figured if they didn’t work, it was only $12. But then I thought, if they do work, and I’ll need to buy batteries, I should check the prices on the 6v batteries. $4 – $8. Not too terrible, but for as much as I think I’ll be using them, probably not worth it. So I put the spotlights back, and went back to agonizing over the selection again.

For the rest of the next hour.

4 hours! WTF is wrong with me?!

I finally ended up walking out with a Coleman 1 million candle power halogen spotlight. I figure it’ll be good to have when I’m out trekking around at night. And if it works out well enough for photography (I’ve got diffusion sheets that I’ll be using, of course), all the better.