"3 year on-site next business day": a sad joke by Sony in The Netherlands

[Mihaita]

Hello,

I tell you how "next-business day" is >6weeks at SONY-Netherlands ...

I'm a researcher at University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and I recently got into a kind of stupid game about "repairing" my VAIO-SZ4 laptop, though I do have the 3years on-site (expesive) guarantee pack in addition to one of the best professional (exensive) laptop from Sony. I write the followings for whom is interested to read my story, that I say it became sad because I could not use my laptop for 6 weeks and is still not ready despite the fact that I always trusted the japanese work and never thought that I will be dissapointed so much that I'll never buy a SONY. Here it is:

In the end of November 2008, I started to hear a strange noise from the laptop's FAN. My room-mate, at Amsterdam, warned me that I should fix the FAN problem asap.
So, I called (for the first time) SONY on-site service on 2nd December 2008. After I explained the problem, I was told that the next day, someone will contact me. Fine, I put my laptop aside, and tried to get my work done on the office desktop for the next couple of days.

Well, every day during the first week of my claim (2-5Dec), I received a call in the evening from SONY-service department, asking me if the problem was fixed!!! Unfortunately, nobody called me to ask me for an appointment!

However, at the end of next week I was called and told that someone might come and fix my FAN (from the dutch service company HarXXXX). Therefore, I had the repair-man looking at my laptop after about 1.5 weeks. No problem, I said, it might happen even at big companies like SONY. So, I was happy to have the guy fixing my laptop on Friday 12Dec.

Surprise: after he replaced the FAN from my laptop (taken from another "service" laptop partly used) - and I saw the job was not quite simple because the laptop has to be open completely in order to get to the FAN and replace it - the laptop started to complain about g-shock sensor, every 3seconds after bootup, like when you shake it.

I told the repairman just before he wanted to leave - that he made new a problem to the laptop, and he should re-opened it and look again if he missed any wire. Surprise again: the guy simple left saying that's over 5 o'clock and he must go home! I was begging him, saying that might be something simple to fix it, and he should stay a bit more and fix!. No, he simply left, and I was stunned !!!! BTW., it's useless to tell you how "fast" this repairman tried to replace the FAN: he sometimes simply lost some screws down the floor ... and he thought I don't pay attention. But I gave him the screws back from the floor saying "take it easy".

Then, I took the phone number of the service company (that was on the copy of the service-paper that I was stupid to sign it before checking my laptop) and I talked to the boss of the repairman, that he simply told me that will talk to his repairman and will come back. Well, indeed, after about half'n hour, the guy came back, and he said that'll look again over my laptop. Well, he did so, but when I asked him "look over the service manuals for this kind of error" he said that he has no service manual with him; they're in the office.
Then I admitted that he couldn't do anything more and he promised me that'll come back next week with a solution.

Indeed, in the last week after (the 3rd week from my complain), he came WITHOUT the solution and he offerred me to take a replacement laptop (similar model, but less performant) till he'll fix my original laptop. I agreed on this, as I knew that the winter holiday comes and I will not need the laptop that much. I never intended to re-install all my applications on a "temporary" laptop because it takes me days to install and tune all the tools I need for research and development at the University.

To short the story, I only say that at the moment of writing these words, 3rd week of January 2009 I have 6 weeks since I cannot use my SONY VAIO-SZ4 laptop!
The service guy from SONY-NL is still calling me every 3 days, asking me if the problem was solved and saying again that he contacted the HarXXXX service company and they'll come and fix my laptop in the next days. .... this is going for several weeks and now I'm TIRED!
I only know that now, some of my working partners know about my laptop problem, and I'm only one with Sony, told me that this story is STUPID: best professional laptop (paid 3400euro in Feb2007 for laptop, dock-station, accessories, from which 380euro was this ON-SITE service). For example, one of my colleague that has a DeXX laptop (one of the most vendor preffered at UvA) had a similar problem and he told me that the service engineer came indeed in the next morning, looked at the laptop and said that he cannot repair on-site within the same day because of lack of parts - and he came again in the evening with a same laptop on which he replaced the keyboard and hard-drive of original laptop. So, I was told that THIS is what I should expect from a professional company.

Unfortunately, despite good products and a good brand, I cannot say anymore that SONY is a professional company (at least the service they do in The Netherlands). I don't care about the sub-contractor they use for service, now it's about the way they handle the problem with me: post-poning the repair endless despite the laptop bought by a research institute (University of Amsterdam), despite the huge amount of money paid for an "all-inclusive", and despite the ON-SITE service guarrantee pack...

Kind regards,
Mihai

[Thalamus.]

Hi Mihai,

I'm hoping someone from Sony should be in contact soon..

Please check the registration contact details are correct using the following link:(click here )..

[Mihaita]

Thanks for compassion, Thalamus. The problem is not my registration: they have such a long file about my laptop now - that become important to Sony-Europe! Unfortunately, there is still no prompt reaction. I will write another topic about how the service goes in The Netherlands and post it here.
Notice that is now 9 weeks since my Sony laptop doesn't work.

Regards,
Mihai

[Thalamus.]

Thanks for compassion, Thalamus. The problem is not my registration:

Sorry I think I have may have confused you with my earlier post.. :smileyblush:

After reading your 3 year on-site next business day post I escalated for the attention of our contact at Sony Vaio support.

As they could possibly contact you I wanted to ensure that your contact details were correct..

Notice that is now 9 weeks since my Sony laptop doesn't work.

What reason have you been given for the delay.?

[Mihaita]

What reason have you been given for the delay.? 

I think SONY should explain why there was no effective action until now! Well, I understand that the first 2 weeks they used a subcontractor, Hartman in The Netherlands, but in my humile opinion, when you see that the problems are not solved or even getting worse, I would expect 2 fast actions:
- send an identical (temporarily) replacement for the laptop and ask the customer only to backup/restore his drive on the next laptop;
- take the customer's laptop and send it to the SONY repair centre.

An important observation: in case there will be no identical model laptop available for replacement, then simply offer a permanent similar (newer) model from same class with the respective apologies that the customer needs to reinstall his software again.
The same observation applies when the repair takes more than 1 month since the claim (the moment customer had no working laptop).

At this moment, the only reason for this HUGE delay is that I had lots of phone calls from SONY with various questions, various trials that next day/next week will be solved. Still not solved!

Let me know if SONY does not offer such service policy.

BTW. A follow-up to this story, as it became evident that is something going worse, is written in this topic.

Kind regards,
Mihai

[Thalamus.]

Hi Mihaita,

how is your case progressing.?

I understand you refused the offer to have a temporary loan of a Vaio whilst yours was being repaired..

Has your Vaio now be collected.?

[Mihaita]

Hi Mihaita,
how is your case progressing.?

well, I can say that I start using different laptop for time being.

I understand you refused the offer to have a temporary loan of a Vaio whilst yours was being repaired..  

Why would I use a laptop that is different model?
- I cannot use the backup from my original laptop (installing all my tools is out of question since it takes more than 2 working-days, it needs licenses),
- loan laptop has different windows versions,
- and loan laptop will be send to me only after I've sent the original laptop to the repair-centre. See below (I should have the loan laptop since December last year!).

Has your Vaio now be collected.?

Yes, the DHL finnaly sent me the box on Tuesday, 10th Feb, and I've put my laptop in and sent it back next day, Wednesday. The interesting news is that I received a repair report that includes many items which I know they worked fine! For example, the FAN was replaced by the local dutch service company, Hartman!
And to be more interesting, they're claiming all the issues are out-of-guarantee and simply made an invoice of about 400euro to me!
I appreciate their promptness, but I think they don't know what they DO!

See the attached file for this stupid repairment! The last reported problem is the fact that laptop switches off by itself while doing the VISTA benchmark index!
Has nothing to do with CD-ROM, FAN, wireless-button, etc!

[Mihaita]

Hello,

I didn't pay attention to the way Hartman worked on my laptop until now, when I was accussed that the last problem with my laptop (the self turn-off) comes because I broke it myself!

Please check the history of the claims, see that the only problem I reported was the FAN noise and higher temperature. That was on 2nd Dec2008. Since then, Hartman broke the HDD flat-band (as proved in their report) while their mechanic replaced the FAN. Then, I reported myself the new problem regarding the self turn-off.

However, if you want to see how a Hartman's mechanic mount a laptop back, check the attached picture. Fortunately, the laptop in this picture was not mine, it was the loan laptop I had from Hartman during the weeks they took my laptop to find and replace the HDD flatband.
Anyway, just see how the keyboard was dangling and the cover of speakers was not properly inserted. I never minded because it wasn't mine, but this is a proof on how they usually work! Fast, and bad. Shame Hartman!

[jonnybg]

That's why I'm buying DELL for proffessional needs. Rude design, havy and ugly, but most popwerfull and with TRUE NBD on site replacement program- I used it many times- about 10 for the last 5 years ( for different DELL laptops) and it works every time- even they once changed my display due a small mot on it! It was a small piece of dust from my cigarette! DELL rocks!

P.S.  If you want to byu spmething to your wife- Sony, but if you want to have real desktop replacement- Dell Prescion is the cure!