Pixel Theories | a gamer getting older...

A phonecall from MS.

I just got a phone call from Glenn at Microsoft.  Apparently they have a US based call center somewhere on the east coast that handles disgruntled customers such as myself.  Funny, because I sent the letter back in April which only puts them 90+ days behind the curve.  Moving on, in talking to Glenn, he was interested in seeing if my two boxes were still working; I confirmed that the were.  Then good ole Glenn starts to pitch me on re-upping the extended warranty on both 360's.  Talk about brass ones. 

This is sorta where I took over the conversation and informed Glenn that their main customer service department had "promised" me a new console and what I got in return was my original box that had been refurbished.  I went on to explain that two departments thousands of miles apart should have a common understanding of each others functions and one should not promise what the other cannot deliver.  In his response the drone went on to tell me that MS does not replace broken 360's with brand new ones.  If there is a unit beyond repair then they'll replace it with a refurbished one. 

"I am Jack's complete lack of surprise."

I refused the extended warranties and good ole Glenn gave me a 19 digit password so I can reach him in an emergency.  I wonder if and when I do call him, I may just call to bust his balls, will it take him 90 days to get back to me?

The Letter to MS's Legal Dept.

I have come to the conclusion that 360's are like jaguars, which is to say that you have to buy two of them.  Why?  Because one of them will always be in the shop.  Anyway the below is the address to Microsoft's Legal Department which accepts letters of complaint against both their Xbox 360 Customer Service and Repair Center Dept's.  Not even sure if it'll get read, but it helped just to write it.

It should be noted that all letters sent to the following address should include contact info, as well as the Serial No. for your 360, and the ticket number that you got when you filed a repair order through Customer Service.

Attn. Legal Department
Microsoft Corporation
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA.
98052-9953

 

To Whom It May Concern:

I am A. Armstrong, a client of Microsoft’s Xbox Live service and an Xbox 360 owner. The following is my formal complaint towards Microsoft’s outsourced Xbox 360 Customer Support Team overseas, and Microsoft’s Xbox 360 Repair Center in McAllen, Texas. Since the initial purchase of my Xbox 360 on the launch night of November 11, 2005, I have sent three Xbox’s in for repair. This does not include the two units that are on their way to McAllen right now.

Let me first say that I have been an Xbox Live member since the summer of 2003, and have been an advocate for Microsoft's gaming platform for the last five years. While I have found sending my faulty units in for repair frustrating, I understood the process. I even bought a second unit, a Falcon 75nm chip set, while I had one in repair last year. But it has not been until recently that I have lost my patience with your protocol for processing repairs.

  If I had bought a new automobile and that automobile had broken down while under warranty, it would be reasonable to assume that the dealer I bought the car from would give me a loaner car to get around while my car was being repaired. This of course is not the case when a 360 breaks down or fails due to any one of its numerous errors. What I get as a loyal customer who needs help processing a repair order when I dial 1-800-4MY-XBOX, is what could only be described as a trial in frustration and a display of apathy. Quite simply put, I find the personnel within the aforementioned departments seriously lacking.

Back in March, I sent my initial 360 (Serial # XXXXXXXXXXXX) to your repair center for DRE (disc read error prompts). I was promised priority in the procurement of a new console in addition to a quickly turnover, considering it had been the third time I had turned a unit in. To my disappointment the console I got back was not new, and would not power on. So in summary, the unit I sent in came back three weeks later only it had not been repaired, in fact it had been broken in a whole new way. I can only surmise that these two departments, which one would assume should be in sync with one another, have no idea what the other is doing. That is to say that the “right hand has no idea what the left foot is doing.”

My latest unit, the Falcon (Serial # XXXXXXXXXXXX) suffers from some form of video card failure. The screen essentially started to turn pink, where there should have been white and now the unit while powered on cannot send a video/audio signal to the television. Though I expect this unit to get repaired, I can only hope that I do not get an inferior unit (one without HDMI output) in return. My faith in your employees’  due diligence has been shaken, to say the least.

Lastly, I would just like to say that I would appreciate some form of acknowledgment that this time, the unit that needs to be replaced will. And that my second unit will be repaired or replaced with a unit with a similar chip set, and output capabilities. I am not looking for some form of “handout.”  I just want to get back to what I like the most, which is gaming. If this time you cannot deliver on the promises of your Customer Support Team, or the basic functions of your Repair Center, I will be left with no alternative other than to switch platforms and become an owner of your competitions product.

Xbox 360 #1 Ser No. XXXXXXXXXXXX; Ticket # XXXXXXXXXX

Xbox 360 #2 Ser No. XXXXXXXXXXXX; Ticket # XXXXXXXXXX

Thank you for your time,

A. Armstrong

A Mass Burial

Agh.  I can't stand this.  Both, I repeat, BOTH of my 360's are dead.  The eldest suffers from some form of power brick failure.  Ironically this is the unit I just got back, which was sent in in February due to disc read errors.  The newest is a failure somewhere in the video card.  Three days ago I was playing PES 2008 and the screen went pink and I knew instantly that I was f*%#ed.

Why two 360's you ask?  Well the first unit I have sent back now for the fifth time.  And in between various postage trips over the last 2.5 years I got a little sick of the 3 week turnover time to get back to gaming again.  I heavy point of which I will make in a letter to Microsoft's legal department (I'll post it when I'm finished, I'm trying to take as much emotion out of the letter as possible).

So for now, I'll have my DS and Wii to keep me busy, don't get me wrong I appreciate both platforms, but it's not like I can take out terrorists, or call in airstrikes with 4-7 friends on a DS or Wii.  Advance Wars Dawn of Sorrow, here I come.