Techlearning blog

About 6 months ago I bought a gadget. In late December it went wrong. To be more specific, one day it was working perfectly ok, and the next it showed no signs of life whatsoever. I decided to phone their Technical “Support” line (the quotation marks are my own). This is what happened. Bear in mind that the phone number is an 0870 number (I live in England), which means that you pay a premium rate. (To get an idea of how much this can cost, see:
http://tinyurl.com/2sa6d.)

Technical Support: Good morning, how can I help you?

Me: My gadget appears to have stopped working.

TS: What do you mean?

Me: Well, nothing appears on the screen, and there is no sign of life.

TS: Is it fully charged?

Me: I don’t know. I’ve had it plugged in all night, but there is no sign of life, so I can’t tell.

TS: OK, can you read out the serial number please?

Me: I will try, but it’s really small: I can hardly see it.

TS: Well, if you switch the gadget on I’ll show you where to find the serial number.

Me: But I can’t switch it on. That’s why I’m phoning you.

TS: Oh yes.

Me: OK, here it is ---.

TS: I’m afraid your warranty has expired.

Me: What do you mean?

TS: The 3 month warranty has expired.

Me: What 3 month warranty?

TS: That product came with a 3 month warranty, and it has expired.

Me: So how come it says on my receipt that it’s guaranteed for a year?

TS: Could you hold on for one second?

Me: Yes.

There then followed nearly 10 minutes of cacophony which purported to be Christmas carols. (It was that time of year.)

TS: OK, there was a problem with our system. Let’s go through some diagnostics.

Me: OK.

TS: Have you tried connecting it with your computer?

Me: Yes.

TS: What happens?

Me: Nothing. It doesn’t register at all. It is dead.

TS: I can tell you how to reboot it.

Me: I’ve tried that already.

TS: OK, you will have to take it into one of our designated dealers so they can send it away for repair.

Me: Is it not possible for me to post it to you or have someone collect it?

TS: No.

I have since found out that this is possible in certain circumstances. But just out of curiosity, I checked what the situation would be for someone who lived on the Isle of Lewis, which is off the coast of Scotland.

They would have to make their way to Stornoway airport. Let’s suppose that the nearest dealer is in Inverness. To get there at a reasonable time you would have to get the 8.50 am flight (meaning arriving at the airport by 7.30 at the latest), arriving at 9.30. That would cost you £75 (just under $150). You would then need to get a bus from the airport to Inverness town centre (buses go every 90 minutes). Or you could get a taxi for around £10 ($20). You would then find the store, hand over your gadget, all of which would take perhaps 10 minutes, and then repeat the journey in reverse. Total time spent: one day. Total cost: at least £100 ($200), and even that assumes that you won’t need to eat.

Me: OK, well where can I take it?

TS: What is your postcode?

Me: ----

TS: OK, do you know --- Road?

Me: Why, where is it?

TS: London.

Dear reader, bear in mind that London sprawls over 620 square miles. What are the chances that I would know where one particular side road is?

Me: What’s the postcode?

TS: SW…

Me: That’s south London, which is nowhere near where I live and will take me 2 hours to get to. Isn’t there anywhere else?

TS: Well, there is central London.

Me: But I live in a different county altogether. What about --- (a shopping mall)?

TS: That isn’t showing up on my screen.

Me: Well, that’s strange.

TS: What is it?

Me: A shopping mall.

TS: Well it isn’t showing up.

Me: OK, thank you.

TS: Is there anything else I can do for you today Mr Fredman [sic]?

Me: No (I thought, but didn’t say, “You’ve done quite enough already: my blood pressure has gone through the roof.”

Total time spent on phone achieving nothing: 40 minutes.

I phoned the retailer where I bought it and insisted that they deal with it. They are located in the shopping mall I referred to earlier. They told me there was a gadget dealer there and that I could take it in there.

That wasn’t the end of the matter. I won’t go into detail, but in the end the retailer I’d bought it from sent it off for me – I think they were worried about my mental health. The gadget company replaced the faulty item, and to cap it all the retailer managed to lose it. It’s back in my possession now – over a month after it went wrong.

So, what do I conclude from this?

1. When you buy gadgets, make sure that you buy only from a retailer who is prepared to deal with repair and support issues: legally speaking (in the UK at least), the contract is between the buyer and the seller, so make sure you buy from a competent and trustworthy seller.

2. As a general rule, always consider repair and maintenance issues when making your initial purchase.