I wish there was no Part IV to this saga, or at very least, I wish Part IV was the conclusion, but it's not.
So I called 1-800-4 MY XBOX today to inquire about my X360 repair status. I can't post the Purolator Tracking Number here because it might violate some kind of agreement, but the last update on their site is
2007/04/13 11:58
Delivered to PUTMAN
at RECEPTION of
TELEPLAN 101
COURTLAND L4K5N5
This means that Purolator has proof of receipt at noon on the 13th. That was 18 days ago. If we subtract out the 6 days of weekend in there, we're still at 12 days. It was supposed to be fixed and shipped back within 6-8 days according to Michelle who I spoke to on the 8th. There is no realistic circumstance under which I should not have Olsen in my living room right now... so what's going on?
I dealt with the voice-recognizing customer service bot 'Max' (who is much less charming than another Max I know), who passed me on to Customer Service Rep Dave. Dave was pleasant and in a good mood - though I could hear a LOT of chatter in the background, and got multiple warnings of higher than normal call volume. Sounds like they are busy - probably with the Elite launch. Regardless, I have nothing but positive things to say about the attitude and general helpfulness of the people who I have spoken to so far.
Dave verified my ID and then immediately looked up the status using the same Purolator Tracking Number I have, and upon verifying that it had been recieved on the 13th, immediately (but politely) put me on hold.
Five minutes passed.
Dave came back on line with Mark - the Service Center Supervisor - on the line. Dave kindly explained that he was going to turn me over to Mark's care and that Mark would help me now. This is when I knew things were going wrong.
Mark reverified my ID, and then told me that he was very sorry for the delays, and then went on to explain that they would "get someone to look into it and call me back within 1 working week."
Hmmm. What happened to 6-8 days from the 13th? One working week from today is already one full month from the date that I first contacted them and spoke to Jessie, which was more than 3 weeks since the box actually failed (Olsen records my last day playing was the 12th of March).
First I asked Mark what was the problem, as no one had actually explained what was so catastrophically wrong that the repair would be delayed by ~100%. He told me that they had changed the location of their Canadian Service Center and were having 'problems' sorting out the new address. That seems kind of odd when you consider that my box has been recieved... it's not like it got shipped to the wrong place, because that's what is implied. Anyway, that's the reason, and so be it. But an extra week just to wait for them to get back to me? That doesn't even make sense.
So now I'm a bit unhappy, and now the horror stories that I have heard before which I assumed to be the exception and not the rule are spinning in my head.
So I complained. I know it's lame, but I told Mark who I was and what games I had worked on and I explained to him that as a guy who makes games for his console and who provides content for a few million of his customers, well, it's important to me to know that our shared customers are getting good service. I love my 360 and I love the games I play on it, and I have always appreciated working with Microsoft... but I know I am a developer... what is it like for real people? Does every guy like me who happens to work at a tuna factory instead of a game dev shop have to wait an extra week because they lost his XBox? I hope not. That's a week when he could be playing my game instead of playing some other game, or going to see 300 or something. It's a competition for hearts and minds and I don't wanna lose by not showing up for the battle.
So Mark tells me that because I complained, he is going to 'elevate' my issue and that he will have someone from the RSS (Repair Replacement Specialist) Team contact me tomorrow between 1pm and 3pm my time to give me a new update on the issue. I made it clear to Mark that I did not want special treatment - nor to butt in line... I explained that I was simply dissatisfied with the service, but he insisted, and so I will expect the call tomorrow.
Anyway, I'd be happier to not have to deal with this. I'd rather finish Gears, or get into Project 8, or pop in Double Agent or Vegas (both still in the plastic) or give Viva Pinata a whack (thanks Kim), but instead of a good time as Cmdr Greedo, I have responsibility.
Shit... didn't I just finish talking about that?
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