My 360 woe

SNL

So i buy need for speed carbon on the 7th of this month over 2 weeks now on the 9th my console freezes, worried i transfer game saves (luckily as it then got bad the whole thing broke red rings) so i call up MS, at first everything is nice and friendly all sorted i wait for my ups service label.

Three days pass no label call up MS again the girl sounds confused this time says she will send it by post, i wait another 5 days call back, guy on phone states i should have it by now something i already bloody know this guy then says that ups will come with label i was ok sorted, i miss ups man first time, take a day off work to catch him the next day he calls and looks at me as if i have two heads when i explain he is supposed to have label so again no xbox gone, call microsft again they say it will be sent out in two days via email, so today comes no ****in email:mad: . I am just off the phone to them there were the girls advice is have ****in patience. I explained i have been waiting 2 weeks she says sorry nothing i can do

I am extremely ****in pissed off with this poxy company and there stupid serivce, i know i could just go to gamestop but seen as it was a present the person has no idea of were receipt is so thats out the window is there anybody here who had the same problem and knows anything i can do to try get it fixed

Also i asked about my xbox live subscription which will surely be a month gone she says it aint there fault so there is nothin they will do to help for that either:mad:

Ciaran500

Are they getting stuck in your email spam filter?

Kick up a fuss and see if they will give you anything. People have got free things off them before when they mess up.

Gizzle

Yup, my two Xbox 360 calls were bordering on infuriating as well. The first time it all seemed fine and dandy, they said they'd send the label to my e-mail etc. Didn't receive it after three days so I called again, and it turned out they misheard my e-mail on the phone (despite the fact that I registered my console with Microsoft and I receive e-mails from Xbox news every second day) and so they sent a box to my home address. But I couldn't pick this up because I work during the day. Anyways, they eventually sent me the label to the right e-mail address and I'm currently waiting to get my 360 back from Germany. It could have been a lot easier lemme tells ya.

Gummy Panda

I'm in the same boat mate. Its pretty bad and some of reps on the customer care don't care. Some not all.

I wrote an email into them today and forwarded a copy to Major Nelson. I also fang and kicked up. I demanded a replacement and was told that my request would be forwarded on to a team leader who will ring me back in 24 hours.

Here's a copy of the email for your entertainment

---

Hi

I logged my Xbox 360 console for repair on the 28/10/06. The rep who i logged it with was great, and very enthusiastic about the service. He said it should be back to me in 2 weeks with a maximum of three weeks. He gave me the reference of SRX***********ID.

It was then collect by UPS on the 31/10/06. On the 9/11/06 I received an email from your service centre that it was being repaired. On the 13/11/06, I rang your customer care line to check on the repair, the rep took my ref number and checked. He came back and said that it was been repaired and that i should give it another week to allow for the maximum of three weeks. Fair enough.

I rang again on the 17/11/06 as i had received no word that it was fixed or being sent back. I got through to a rep called Olga. I asked Olga to check the repair and she asked for the reference code. I gave it to her but she said she wanted the UPS code instead. I informed her that i knew it was delivered and i was checking if my 360 was ready to be sent back fully repaired. She told me that she can only check the UPS website and that was all she could do. I tried to argue that i wasn’t checking delivery but the status of repair on my 360. She informed me again that she can only check the UPS website. I found this to be ridiculous customer care. I basically got the feeling that i shouldn't be bothering her with my repair query.

I rang again on the 19/11/06 hoping to get someone besides Olga. I got another rep and I believe her name was Michelle. She was very helpful. She took the reference code and checked the repair. She said that it had been repaired and that there was a note saying ‘ship to customer on 17/11/2006’. She checked for a UPS tracking code but couldn't find one. She asked me to hold while she checked it with another colleague. She came back and told me that the repair was cancelled but couldn’t see why. She couldn't check with the repair centre as it was a Sunday. Fair enough. She did her best for me and i was grateful for the service.

I rang back on 20/11/2006 to get this problem solved. I got another rep who checked it and came back and said that my repair was delayed and I had to wait another week. No explanation why or if I would be moved to the top of the repair queue.

To be honest, I'm very annoyed at the service I have experienced. Whether its been told that i can only check the UPS website or that i'm going to have to wait over 4 weeks to get back my console without explanation despite being promised a 3 week turn around max. I knew the explanation already as i'm not the only person to receive this level of incompetent service. Apparently, your policy is that if the console has not been looked at for 10 days you cancel the repair order, do not inform the owner, and then wait for the owner to contact you.

So, I would like to know when I should expect to receive my fully repaired and pristine condition Xbox 360, if not a brand new one as compensation for all the trouble and hassle on my part chasing down your reps to find out the information that should have been communicated to me throughout this process. A full apology for being treated in this manner and also consideration for some form of compensation considering I haven’t had access to my 360 for almost a month which also means my Xbox Live gold account, (Gummy 360), has had a months subscription wasted because of this incompetence. Your suppose to be building brand loyalty and this is no the way to go about it.

Julez

nice

omalleyTown

Thats the way, get in there with both feet kicking

SNL

So it seems i aint alone with this shambolic service, is there anyone i can call to bypass the customer service and get proper answers i have had enough of being asked if my first name is wat i wanna be called or my second and with there pretending they care wat games i played, although the bloke asking if i enjoyed gears of war and me saying i dont have a poxy machine kind of got a chuckle when he kept apologising for the question.

Gizzle

ROFL

Ah Olga, dost thou's incompetence/apathy know no bounds? She's the one that cocked up my e-mail address in the first place :rolleyes:

My situation at the moment is still waiting for the console back after two working weeks. I haven't received any e-mail saying they were repairing the console and on UPS's site it just says the console/package was delivered, nothing whatsoever about return dates or progress etc.

So should I give the (lack of) helpline another buzz, or take the strongly worded e-mail approach? Or just wait?

00sully

eek! nasty stuff lads, i got mine no hassle. 5 minute email with labels. drop to ups. in germany for a few days back within 2 working weeks fixed (err not that it was broken just a noisy dvd drive!)

customer service seems a bit random

ntlbell

00sully wrote:

customer service seems a bit random

Where is it not.

Gummy Panda

Well i kicked up for a replacement rather then a repair and was told yesterday a Team leader who ring me back today.

No call so i ring back and am told that its 24-48 hours for a callback. I ask the rep to pass onto his team leader that i was on looking for word.

Terrible service!!!

mcgarnicle

Gummy Panda wrote:

Well i kicked up for a replacement rather then a repair and was told yesterday a Team leader who ring me back today.

No call so i ring back and am told that its 24-48 hours for a callback. I ask the rep to pass onto his team leader that i was on looking for word.

Terrible service!!!

The fact is that the 360 you receive back is unlikely to be the one you sent in and could well be a new one anyway. I can't see them sending you a new one as a result of your email as, despite the fact so and so may have said such and such it is not written anywhere that they will have it back to you in 3 weeks or send you a new one. Someone saying something to you isn't worth a curse, if it's not in writing or part of official policy you may forget about it.

To be honest a three week turnaround for repair of a piece of electronics is nothing drastic and while it is a pain in the arse for you I'm sure Microsoft have the law on their side here.

I'd imagine you are entitled to have the month of Xbox Live added to your account but I'd say that's it.

Worth noting that a few weeks back MS released a botched update that totally screwed up new 360s for a couple of days, I would imagine that is what has caused their service to slip as they try to deal with this unexpected surge in repairs.

Microsoft have been hated by a lot of people for years, lately this has changed as some have found their service good and are anxious to jump on the anti-Sony bandwagon. The fact is they are the same company and didn't get to the top by dishing out free replacements.

Bill Gates to Homer Simpson: "I didn't become the richest man in the world by writing a load of cheques."

Gummy Panda

I wouldn't mind the wait if the customer care agents were decent. Alot are very poor on the line and not willing to do much. Tbh, thats whats actually making me more annoyed. The whole "I only check UPS website" thing. Then cancelling my repair ticket. Asking for a update on your repair is an ordeal sometimes.

I didn't expect a new console. I expected a refurb. Thats how sony deals with repairs. Refurb comes to store. Faulty gets taken. Usually better then waiting for a repair.

If you don't kick up about poor service how is it going to change. I really don't expect any thing other then my xbox but it doesn't hurt to throw in some demands. Another friend of mine who had his xbox gone for nearly 42 days. I think he got offered some MS games for compensation.

I'm kicking up now so i don't end up like him. Also i believe if an agent tells you that the policy is 2-3 weeks then you have comeback if the service isn't reaching that standard. Infact, we really should be emailed terms & conditions of the actually repair.

BTW, i work in customer care myself.

Karmafaerie

Believe me that's nothing!
I had the same problem, game freezes which led to the red ring of death.

Rang them up, no problem. They said the labels would be emailed out.
Since then I've had to ring them a few times

First, they got the e-mail address wrong. Then, it still didn't work so they posted them. They never arrived so they emailed them again. Eventually I got a preliminary email, telling me that the labels would be sent soon. A few days later, still nothing, so I rang them up, and asked to speak to a supervisor.
I was told to ring back in an hour, I did so, and the line had closed!
The bit€h knew that the line was closing and just fobbed me off.
I rang back early the next day, and was told that a supervisor would ring me within 24 hours.
I had no work the next day, so I thought fine and stayed at home all day.
That was on a Monday. There was no call the next day. Same thing on the Wednesday (no work either).
On the Wednesday evening I rang back and was told that it can take up to 72 hours, not 24, and that it would definitely be tomorrow.
I had to take Thursday and Friday off work to wait for an imaginary phone call!
By Saturday evening 5 days after I was promised a call in 24 hours, I rang back again. I was put on hold to talk to a supervisor, but an hour later the phone went dead! I rang back to be told that the supervisors had all gone home for the night!
Fobbed of again!
I finally got through to a supervisor on Monday, who promised me that he would personally send out the labels to me and that it would be at most 48 hours. I was angry, but the guy was very apologetic, so I said I'd give them one more chance.
Guess what, 48 hours later, still no labels!
I rang up on Wednesday, and they refused to put me onto a supervisor, and offered to get one to call me back in 24 hours!
I told them that I wouldn't accept that, as they'd told me that before and never called me, but she still wouldn't put me through.
I told her I'd ring back again tomorrow, and if I wasn't put through to a supervisor, I'd seek out legal actions.
I rang on Thursday, and finally got through to another supervisor, who told me that it was all a mistake, and that the labels would be e-mailed to me within 48 hours!

I almost exploded! The whole time, I'd been very polite, but this went too far.
I basically told her where to go, without shouting or cursing so she couldn't hang up on me.
She kept promising me that they'd be there, even when I told her that I'd been told the exact same thing by the supervisor on Monday!
So basically, before hanging up on her, I told her that if the labels weren't here within 24 hours, that I'd be getting in contact with my solicitor, and that even if they did arrive, that this was by no means over. That I'd be ringing again to complain and seek compensation.
Then I hung up on her!

I first rang them about the problem 6 FU€KING WEEKS AGO!!!!!

Believe me when I say I was at the end of my tether!
I have almost €300 worth of games, that I'd reserved before the problem, sitting at home never played, gathering dust!

I finally got my labels at about 2 am this morning, but they had fu€ked up both my name, and my address, so much that I couldn't use them!

I rang back up, but this time it was a different call centre.
I was put straight through to a supervisor, who straight away sorted out the problem by emailing me fresh labels while I talked to her.
She also gave me the address of the Microsoft complaints centre, and e-mailed me a log of every call I'd made to the other call center, so I can cite them in the letter of complaint.
She gave me advice on what to write to Microsoft in order to get compensated, and told me that she would also e-mail them on my behalf.
She then offered me a free game (choice of 4: Viva Pinata, PGR3, Perfect Dark Zero or Kameo), which is been sent out to me as well as whatever compensation I get from Microsoft.

It seems that all of my problems originated from the Egyptian call center. When they finally got round to sending me the labels they gave me a new reference number, so when I rang back I was put through to the Estonian call center instead.
She told me that they get about two dozen complaints about the Egyptian center a day.

Basically, if you're having these problems, ask them to re-issue your order, and with any luck you'll be sent away from the incompetant Egyptian center.

The Estonian center seems to be very efficient, and anybody who's had no problems with MS must have been lucky enough to get through to them first off.

I may be two months without a console, but at least I'm getting a free game, getting reimbursed for my missed Xbox Live months, and may end up getting more off MS when I send in my complaint letter.

(Sorry about the massive rant!;) )

SNL

Any chance we could all get that microsoft complaint center address from ya, this is honestly a shambles of a service the egyptians if it is them i keep gettin on to just continue to just say the same old tripe to everyone, this will continue to be like this until we stand up and tell them we cant deal with it.

Macker1

Bad luck to go thru it once but twice is poxy. Having said that I found the customer service person quite helpful. On both occasions my system was collected and returned in quite a timely manner. If memory serves it was no longer than 3 weeks each time. A positive experience both times.

Gummy Panda

I've been told now that call backs can take from 48 hours to 5 days. If i had said i was waiting 48 hours it would its 72 hours. And now that i say its 72 hours its 5 days.

Also there is a system fault so they can't access my account details.

Karmafaerie,

If you could post up that address for complaints i would be most grateful.

Karmafaerie

They only have a postal address for customers.
The supervisor told me that they used to have an e-mail address, but they got rid of it to make it more inconvenient, so that less would complain!

FAO XBOX SUPPORT MANAGEMENT
MICROSOFT LTD
THAMES VALLEY PARK
READING
RG61WG
UK

If you don't have copies of them, ring up the call center and make copies of all the reference numbers that you've been given, and quote them in the letter.
Also, I was told that if you want to get reimbursed for all of the time that you missed on Xbox Live, you have to quote your gamer-tag.

From what I can tell, the way to distinguish between the two call centers, is that the Estonian center have waiting music, while the Egyptian center doesn't.

Every time that I got through to the Estonians, "La Femme D'Argent" by "Air" was playing, while with the Egyptians it was silent.

I'd definitely suggest to anybody having these problems to do everything that you can to switch to the Estonian center.

Hope all this helps, I'm off to write a long letter to Microsoft!

SNL

so again no email today so i take on karmafaerie's ideas call up first call no music so i hung up second i get the song, stay on with the "your estimated wait is less than 2 minutes lie"

Get on to klaus, the worlds funniest german i explain my situation which starts him on a rant about egyptians and the sham of a service they run. He tells me this is the 18th complaint today and he has had enough of his job dealing with them, he says and i quote " this pisses me off i dont know what there smoking down there in the pyramids they should all go get a job in mc donalds cleaning toilets".

so yet again i get the new service label line, the new reference number but i think i may be onto a winner this time as klaus states he has never had a problem. So my advice is to hang up when u hear no music and keep trying to you get to talk to a efficient central european

Gummy Panda

Good stuff SNL!!

I tried ringing again today. keep getting the egyptians. Was told my previous calls were never escalated to a supervisor and asked if i wanted a callback. I demanded to speak to one immediately and was told none where there. I had a rant and was told i was being transferred to one. I was left off the hook hearing people move around an office for 30 mins then i just hung up.

I rang ODCA and asked for legal advice. They said ring Gamestop and stop ringing MS. Rang Gamestop customer care and they are organizing for the console to be sent back to me ASAP and to be swapped out in store.

Got a headache from that xbox line!!

dave oc

SNL wrote:

" this pisses me off i dont know what there smoking down there in the pyramids they should all go get a job in mc donalds cleaning toilets".

Greatest line ever!!!!!

SNL

gummypanda do happen to have ur reciept thats my problem with going to gamestop.

Gummy Panda

yeah i actually do.

SNL

Success called up gamestop explained my situation and asked if they had any record of me booking it on there system they said call up shop ya got it in talk to manager and see what happens, talk to manager he says he will check and call back 15 mins later he calls says bring it down and they will change it wooooooooooooooooo

hshortt

Very interesting, I have my receipt and my xbox has just started giving trouble. Wonder if they'll change mine, as I'm kinda thinking that if MS take it away I won't see it again till after Christmas.

Cheers

SNL

The woo conitinues i just got home set up xbox,power button on nothing happens,i check and recheck cords see the light is on the power box try again nothign so back to gamestop i go to continue this comedy of errors :mad:

Gizzle

Just rang the support line there, defo the estonian branch. Asked to check on the status of my 360 repair and after 3 minutes of silence and furious typing on the rep's behalf she told me I'd get it back before the end of the week. Sounded to me like someone's forgot to return a fixed xbox :rolleyes: ...fingers xd I actually do get it now. I'm pretty sure my collectors edition GoW has formed it's own society in the dust settled on it.

Gummy Panda

SNL,

I'd swap the power brick aswell. Gamestop came true and organised to have my xbox sent back. They're gonna swap it out in store this week.

Not to write me letter of complaint to ms.

SNL

yup i went straight down and it was swapped without any hassle so i am back on live woooooo back to pro ev after a 3 week stint and i would write a letter of complaint i should really include this page address but i dont have my reference codes anymore and am just glad its sorted

Karmafaerie

My Xbox finally got collected today. Hopefully it can get back before Christmas.

I sent off a two page rant to MS aswell, I'll let ye know what reply they give me.

hshortt

Gamestop came through for me too, xbox support got the label wrong, imagine getting the name, serial number and address wrong with the same call. I even spelt everything out and confirmed back, surprised they got the email address right.

Anyway, tis all sorted thanks to the excellent support at my local game stop.

Cheers