Burn in HELL, Microsoft!!!

Arkay Firestar

Arkay Firestar

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So, my fairly new, COMPLETELY UNMODDED and UNHACKED Xbox just died...just a couple hours ago. My roommate came in and we were going to play a game I just rented for 8 bucks from Blockbuster...Green/Red light...error 8 (No HDD Found).

I call their customer support, and a pre-pubescent sounding rep tells me that my warranty has expired and I need to send in my system and pay 80 dollars and outgoing shipping fees. I ask him what alternatives I have, and possible solutions. He, of course, doesn't know s**t, so he just tells me thats my only option. So I resist the urge to cuss him out, but may have let one slip, and I hang up.

I just bought a few new games, have a couple preordered, and most importantly, I got a really good Xbox version (the one with the samsung drive, which is irreplaceable IMO). And now its useless. I can't even get to the dashboard. Seems to me like either the HDD is broken or the Controller on it is fried. I'm so pissed right now...I have absolutely no options except to somehow get my system back home to my brother and his asian roommates who once in a while have Xbox modding parties in the hopes that they can get a new HDD in there. I will repeat that I have never altered, opened, or fondled this system in any way, and now, after only having the thing for a few months, I will have to let some people crack it open just so i can f**king use it.

I'm so disappointed. I wanted to vent here, because I like this site. But I'm so disappointed. I had just gotten DoA:Ultimate for 27 bucks, was about to preorder MLB 2K5...and now...ugh.

Someone say something funny and cheer me up, or post a photo of you taking a baseball bat to an Xbox Customer Support rep.

Ugh...
 
Man, this is such a sad night for me.

Do I go and sell all my games to make the biggest profit? Do I keep them regardless of whether the system is fixed or not in case Xbox 2 is backwards compatible? Do I pay Microsoft to fix my Xbox (90 bucks)? Do I buy a new/used Xbox (100-150 bucks)?

F**k you, Microsoft.
 
Dude, systems break. Been happening since the 70's. Just send yours in if it's so important to you, or go buy a new one. Solutions are usually simple.
 
[quote name='roland13x']Dude, systems break. Been happening since the 70's. Just send yours in if it's so important to you, or go buy a new one. Solutions are usually simple.[/quote]

Spending 100 bucks for something that cost me 150 bucks is not simple.
 
bs to MS in a nice way and should be able to get it for free at no cost and they will send you a pre-paid shipping box. Trust me MS will replace anything for free but they will give u the runaround at first. To date I have gotten 4 headsets replaced(clips broken mic stop picking up voice), 1 xbox console fixed 1 1/2 years after purchase, Links Golf,and 1 xbox controller, all for free!!!! All you have to do is keep calling and find the right person and try to be very nice and you won't pay crap. Maybe it helped sinse im 15, guess they felt bad for me.
 
[quote name='MrFriday18']bs to MS in a nice way and should be able to get it for free at no cost and they will send you a pre-paid shipping box. Trust me MS will replace anything for free but they will give u the runaround at first. To date I have gotten 4 headsets replaced(clips broken mic stop picking up voice), 1 xbox console fixed 1 1/2 years after purchase, Links Golf,and 1 xbox controller, all for free!!!! All you have to do is keep calling and find the right person and try to be very nice and you won't pay crap. Maybe it helped sinse im 15, guess they felt bad for me.[/quote]

Thats probably because your xbox was still under warranty. I've had my system 4 months. 1 month too late to get all that "nice" service from MS.
 
He said he had a console fixed 1 1/2 years (18 months) after purchase. That's well out of warranty.

Not saying the scenario is possible, but if he speaks the truth, then it would be out of warranty.
 
I've called twice...first time spoke to someone here in america, second time with someone overseas in India...and you know, I don't think they will do it for free. Maybe they were mistaken about when you bought your xbox, and I'm curious to know exactly what you said, but it just doesnt look like ill have an alternative other than cracking open my xbox and fixing it myself.
 
I have to agree... I have had to replace THREE XBOX consoles in the last few years. Microsoft builds crap... honestly... my Gamecube and Playstation 2 have had no problems. But the XBOX... bad DVD-ROM drives... bad HDD once...

The customer service BLOWS. Plain and simple they have a bunch of total idiots running the show. But then again, I can't even recall any place that offered customer service with reps that actually understood or cared about the products they represented.

They just read a script and follow the orders that they are given. Soo... if you hope for ANY action... just get past the first level support and go for broke with someone higher up.

At the very least, places like Costo or other places that simply do not check the serial number upon return are always a good bet. The crappy product just ends up right back at Microsoft anyways.... at Microsoft's expense. Not that I'm telling you that is a good option or anything... a-hem... :roll:
 
[quote name='tanis']I have to agree... I have had to replace THREE XBOX consoles in the last few years. Microsoft builds crap... honestly... my Gamecube and Playstation 2 have had no problems. But the XBOX... bad DVD-ROM drives... bad HDD once...

The customer service BLOWS. Plain and simple they have a bunch of total idiots running the show. But then again, I can't even recall any place that offered customer service with reps that actually understood or cared about the products they represented.

They just read a script and follow the orders that they are given. Soo... if you hope for ANY action... just get past the first level support and go for broke with someone higher up.

At the very least, places like Costo or other places that simply do not check the serial number upon return are always a good bet. The crappy product just ends up right back at Microsoft anyways.... at Microsoft's expense. Not that I'm telling you that is a good option or anything... a-hem... :roll:[/quote]

I haven't had any problems with the xbox, gcn, or the PS2's that I have. Maybe people just have a lot of bad luck with these things ... even my 3DO FZ-1 from back in the day still works :)
 
Same here. The only game platform I've ever had trouble with was the GBC and GBA. Everything else, smooth as silk. Including my launch PSX, PS2, and Xbox.
 
[quote name='Arkay Firestar']I've called twice...first time spoke to someone here in america, second time with someone overseas in India...and you know, I don't think they will do it for free. Maybe they were mistaken about when you bought your xbox, and I'm curious to know exactly what you said, but it just doesnt look like ill have an alternative other than cracking open my xbox and fixing it myself.[/quote]

When you call them, how do they get the info on when the warranty expired. If all they do is ask you when the warranty is up, I wonder what would happen if you accidently said that it hasn't expired yet.

If it works, I doubt that you would have any problems getting it fixed.
 
This might not be optimal, but you can sell your broken XBox (They specifically mention your red/green flashing light problem as acceptible) to the Llama for $50.

So if nothing else, it's worth $50 to you. Might be best sell the broken one and cough up the difference to buy another new one, instead of just having the current one fixed.

Link
 
yep i speaking the truth i bought my xbox on launch date NOV 15 and it stopped reading disks aroundmarch of 2003. I told MS that I have purchased a ton of xbox games, that im a subscriber of xbox live and purhcase many 1st party accesories, and i told them i would appreciate it if they would fix it for free, sinse i have gave them hundreds of my own money and they agreed to do it for nothing, they sent me a pre-paid shipping box and everything.
 
My launch day Xbox is still going strong, as are all of my other consoles. I guess I just take good care of them. My only major problem ever was with a very early Jaguar (serial number in the 4000 range) had a chipset bug that affected Doom. They exchanged it with a new unit for free but I had to pay for shipping. Silly me, I used the original box thinking it might be the best way to insure it arrived intact. They sent the new one back in a plain box. It's now the only conssole I purchased at retail for which I don't have the original box.

I really don't miss the companies run by the Tramiel family.
 
Yeah, you can EBAY it also.....just be honest in the auction, you can probably get $50-$80 for it. Especially with the Samsung drive.

I know I did that when my XBOX gave me DDE.
 
take credit card
go to walmart
buy xbox
take sticky wrapping paper off new xbox
place sticky wrapping paper on old xbox
return to walmart and get pissed, tell them it looks like they sold you a used product. get money back.

it works, and it' the best way to replace a console that doesn't work. I've had to do it once with my xbox. I refused to pay another 149 for a console I payed 300 for in the first place.

~b
 
[quote name='raveneyes']take credit card
go to walmart
buy xbox
take sticky wrapping paper off new xbox
place sticky wrapping paper on old xbox
return to walmart and get pissed, tell them it looks like they sold you a used product. get money back.

it works, and it' the best way to replace a console that doesn't work. I've had to do it once with my xbox. I refused to pay another 149 for a console I payed 300 for in the first place.

~b[/quote]

Ummmm, that would be illegal....you are well on your way to getting banned son
 
The only problem I have ever had with a console is when I got a used Gamecube from Gamestop. The internal battery was dead(a stupid message popped up every time I turned on the system, and I would have to set the time before I put in a disc). Nintendo said it would cost $80 plus shipping to fix. So I took it back and got a refund. Then I went to EB who had just got a shippment of new cubes and got one from them.

I hear a lot of people complain about DREs on their ps2s, cubes, and boxes. It does worry me that some day one of my systems will stop working and there won't be any for sale except on ebay at a ridiculous price.

I suppose shorter console life expectancy is the price to pay for having disc based systems with built in batteries, hard/disk drives, lasers, and such. Then again I have had this crappy chineese walmart dvd player for three years and it still works with no problem.
 
Looks like I may have talked my way into a much more agreeable deal. He's going to knock 50 percent off and send me a box to send it to them. So thats 40 bucks. That's tolerable. What's funny is that there is some unwritten rule or something it seems that on certain problems they actually give an extra 3 months for getting 50 percent off and free shipping both ways...guess when I bought my system...4 days too early to get that.

But the guy "went and argued with his supervisors" (yea right, though he does seem like a nice old guy) and "even though he doesnt want to take the heat from his boss" he talked him into getting me 50 percent off and free shipping anyways (It was entertaining to hear him describe how he argued with his bosses, but I don't believe it...although if it was true then that surely was nice of him).

Anyways, now I'll get a box from them and I'll only spend 40 bucks and I should have a brand new system. Only trick is that theyre going to give me a new warranty for 90 days, not 1 year like if you pay full. But the jokes on them.

They revealed that you can get extended warranty any time for 20 bucks, and next time I'll just call and get that, and then call a day or two later reporting the problem.

Anyways, thanks for all the suggestions, even the dishonest walmart scam (though I really could never do something that dishonest, but thanks anyways).

I'm happy now. The guy just told me he wrote a long paragraph covering his ass...maybe they really dont give away free services anymore, and maybe he did stick his neck out a bit for me...I was nice to him, which probably helped. Yay. I don't have to pay for shipping. Yay.

Thanks again, guys. I love this site...
 
All you need to do is tell them its their fault your system broke...and that your not willing to pay for their mistake and if they dont correct their shotty hardware your going to go to the BBB about it. Thats what I did and now I have a brand new xbox...oh and keep in mind they dont fix it and send it back...they send you a different one so all your saves will be lost
 
You know, alot of people hate the Replacement plans most places sell with systyems, I however find them much more conveinent and easy especially given that anymore warranties from the manufactuers are nothing but crap. 90 days, what the hell is that crap. It's true they fix some things for free but not without alot of hassle on your part and it's only certain problems they'll fix. And to be honest, though it's not very cheapass of me I don't mind that much about paying another $20 or so when I'm shelling over about $200+ for a new system. But maybe that's just me.
 
Meh. I tried all that. But the truth was I only wanted them to meet me half way. They BETTER not send me a new one. I want my old one. It had a samsung, and was just a flat out good xbox aside from the HDD.

If I don't have a samsung when they send it back I'll be pissed.
 
[quote name='Duo_Maxwell']You know, alot of people hate the Replacement plans most places sell with systyems, I however find them much more conveinent and easy especially given that anymore warranties from the manufactuers are nothing but crap. 90 days, what the hell is that crap. It's true they fix some things for free but not without alot of hassle on your part and it's only certain problems they'll fix. And to be honest, though it's not very cheapass of me I don't mind that much about paying another $20 or so when I'm shelling over about $200+ for a new system. But maybe that's just me.[/quote]

You're right...the next time I buy a non-nintendo system I'm buying it from BB and I'm getting that 2 year replacement plan. It really is a smart thing to do. I just never thought a system could die after 4 months.

I will ride out the 90 days they give me, then call MS and give them 20 more bucks and buy 1 year extended, which you can apparently do at anytime. That should last my Xbox till I no longer need it.
 
I have had an xbox since launch and have had no problems, my gamecube is fine as well...I have had 3 ps2, all of which i shipped back to sone first to get fixed...I would buy a new/used one if I were you
 
Might be time to invest in the warranty, since my replacement plan through BB is done with. And $20 is much easier per year than hunt down a new one. Especially with all the mileage I've been putting on it daily with Halo 2.
 
[quote name='Arkay Firestar']It had a samsung, and was just a flat out good xbox aside from the HDD. If I don't have a samsung when they send it back I'll be pissed.[/quote]
I don't think you'll have to worry about that. From my understanding they only replace the part that is defective. So if it is indeed the HD then they will only replace that part and not touch the DVD-ROM at all. Speaking from experience, I had to send my Xbox in twice for repairs within almost exactly a year of each other. In my case it was a faulty DVD-ROM (Thompson) which they supposedly "fixed" and I got it back with the same brand of ROM (talk about being pissed). Maybe that's why almost a year later it started acting up again and I had to send it in again. But I was smart and bought the extended warranty both times and still have it on my current Xbox (which is my second Xbox since I have since then exchanged my old Xbox for the LE Halo one that came out last year). With the LE Xbox I got the Philips drive and haven't had any problems since...although I was still sure to renew my extended warranty contract when the time came.

-K
 
[quote name='Kraven'][quote name='Arkay Firestar']It had a samsung, and was just a flat out good xbox aside from the HDD. If I don't have a samsung when they send it back I'll be pissed.[/quote]
I don't think you'll have to worry about that. From my understanding they only replace the part that is defective. So if it is indeed the HD then they will only replace that part and not touch the DVD-ROM at all. Speaking from experience, I had to send my Xbox in twice for repairs within almost exactly a year of each other. In my case it was a faulty DVD-ROM (Thompson) which they supposedly "fixed" and I got it back with the same brand of ROM (talk about being pissed). Maybe that's why almost a year later it started acting up again and I had to send it in again. But I was smart and bought the extended warranty both times and still have it on my current Xbox (which is my second Xbox since I have since then exchanged my old Xbox for the LE Halo one that came out last year). With the LE Xbox I got the Philips drive and haven't had any problems since...although I was still sure to renew my extended warranty contract when the time came.

-K[/quote]

Good news, man. Thanks for posting that. I'm pretty excited I dont have to worry about shipping it myself. 40 bucks is a good lesson for me to always get replacement plans in the future.
 
I haven't really read all the posts in this thread, so excuse me if this is a re-post:


OK. What I would do is take apart your system. Start with the screws in the bottom. Take those out and lift up the top. If you know what an HDD looks like, then you should see it when you take off the top. Look at the back of the HDD and make sure the cord coming into the back of it is all the way in. If that still doesn't work, then I guess you should sent it in.
 
[quote name='XboxMaster']I haven't really read all the posts in this thread, so excuse me if this is a re-post:


OK. What I would do is take apart your system. Start with the screws in the bottom. Take those out and lift up the top. If you know what an HDD looks like, then you should see it when you take off the top. Look at the back of the HDD and make sure the cord coming into the back of it is all the way in. If that still doesn't work, then I guess you should sent it in.[/quote]

ok time to read the rest of the posts then :D
 
If you have the time and the tolerance, I'd call customer service back. I'm assuming you don't have a bunch of experience calling places and demanding something to be done (I've had to do it with the cable company too many times).

1) Explain your problem to person number 1. They won't help you. After they say no, ask to speak to a supervisor. Don't hang up until you get transferred to one.

2) Explain the problem to the supervisor. Odds are, they don't want to help. Fine (also, get names throughout the process, they are good to throw around later). If he/she refuses to help, ask to speak to their supervisor (until your on the phone with Bill Gates, everyone there has a boss, no matter what they say). Get that number. Keep going up the chain. What happens when you get high enough is that people start to think they are too important for your problem, so they will fix it to make you go away.

Don't kid yourself, this will take awhile, possibly days, and you will be on hold a lot. But, always be honest, try to be nice but firm, and eventually, you will get some satisfaction.

That being said, don't expect it to be free. Figure if they start with $80 and you pay for shipping, you might get it down to about $40 with free shipping. If you get that, you may need to take it. There is only so far you can push for something, and if you push past that, you usually get nothing. But, good luck.
 
This is why microsoft offers extended warranties. It may not seem like it at first but I got my xbox the black friday it was available (@$300), and I extended my warranty for 2 years and ran in to trouble about a year later, they sent the box , i shipped it back and turn around time was less than a week. IMO, the price is worth it if you truly cherish your xbox.

1st time I sent back they ended up replacing drive, have samsung now.
2nd time the updated dashboard, and ended up erasing all my saves :evil:

It pays to spend a little to protect an investment nowadays when everything is so over priced.

and their customer service was good as well. at one pointthey may have changed the contracts, so they said i had to pay for shipping but i read them my contract which stated shipping should be free, and they took care of me.
 
[quote name='doubledown'][quote name='raveneyes']take credit card
go to walmart
buy xbox
take sticky wrapping paper off new xbox
place sticky wrapping paper on old xbox
return to walmart and get pissed, tell them it looks like they sold you a used product. get money back.

it works, and it' the best way to replace a console that doesn't work. I've had to do it once with my xbox. I refused to pay another 149 for a console I payed 300 for in the first place.

~b[/quote]

Ummmm, that would be illegal....you are well on your way to getting banned son[/quote]

LMAO
 
[quote name='lordxixor101']If you have the time and the tolerance, I'd call customer service back. I'm assuming you don't have a bunch of experience calling places and demanding something to be done (I've had to do it with the cable company too many times).

1) Explain your problem to person number 1. They won't help you. After they say no, ask to speak to a supervisor. Don't hang up until you get transferred to one.

2) Explain the problem to the supervisor. Odds are, they don't want to help. Fine (also, get names throughout the process, they are good to throw around later). If he/she refuses to help, ask to speak to their supervisor (until your on the phone with Bill Gates, everyone there has a boss, no matter what they say). Get that number. Keep going up the chain. What happens when you get high enough is that people start to think they are too important for your problem, so they will fix it to make you go away.

Don't kid yourself, this will take awhile, possibly days, and you will be on hold a lot. But, always be honest, try to be nice but firm, and eventually, you will get some satisfaction.

That being said, don't expect it to be free. Figure if they start with $80 and you pay for shipping, you might get it down to about $40 with free shipping. If you get that, you may need to take it. There is only so far you can push for something, and if you push past that, you usually get nothing. But, good luck.[/quote]

About 7 posts up you must have missed one...I did exactly what you described and indeed got 40 bucks and free shipping out of them. They wouldnt do any better unless I had an old one with a thompson and I brought up the words "ongoing lawsuit".

But your advice is spot on for anyone else in my shoes. I DO feel guilty though...it was my third time calling and it was really early in the morning so I wasnt even expecting anyone to answer, so I was sitting on the john having myself a merry number two and someone picked up. Due to poor lavatory acoustics, he couldnt hear me very well, which sent me scrambling to finish up (god bless hands-free...I needed both hands) and running out. I wonder if he heard the flush...good thing that wasn't the supervisor...just the first tier...

Man, talk about being caught with your pants down...
 
MY Xbox gave me some Red ringed "Your Xbox needs service" the third yime I ever turned it on. Hasn't happened since though. And that sucks about it being a Samsung. Why do the pretty ones always break? You could throw my Thomson Xbox out a speeding bus, and it would be fine.
 
[quote name='Arkay Firestar'][quote name='lordxixor101']If you have the time and the tolerance, I'd call customer service back. I'm assuming you don't have a bunch of experience calling places and demanding something to be done (I've had to do it with the cable company too many times).

1) Explain your problem to person number 1. They won't help you. After they say no, ask to speak to a supervisor. Don't hang up until you get transferred to one.

2) Explain the problem to the supervisor. Odds are, they don't want to help. Fine (also, get names throughout the process, they are good to throw around later). If he/she refuses to help, ask to speak to their supervisor (until your on the phone with Bill Gates, everyone there has a boss, no matter what they say). Get that number. Keep going up the chain. What happens when you get high enough is that people start to think they are too important for your problem, so they will fix it to make you go away.

Don't kid yourself, this will take awhile, possibly days, and you will be on hold a lot. But, always be honest, try to be nice but firm, and eventually, you will get some satisfaction.

That being said, don't expect it to be free. Figure if they start with $80 and you pay for shipping, you might get it down to about $40 with free shipping. If you get that, you may need to take it. There is only so far you can push for something, and if you push past that, you usually get nothing. But, good luck.[/quote]

About 7 posts up you must have missed one...I did exactly what you described and indeed got 40 bucks and free shipping out of them. They wouldnt do any better unless I had an old one with a thompson and I brought up the words "ongoing lawsuit".

But your advice is spot on for anyone else in my shoes. I DO feel guilty though...it was my third time calling and it was really early in the morning so I wasnt even expecting anyone to answer, so I was sitting on the john having myself a merry number two and someone picked up. Due to poor lavatory acoustics, he couldnt hear me very well, which sent me scrambling to finish up (god bless hands-free...I needed both hands) and running out. I wonder if he heard the flush...good thing that wasn't the supervisor...just the first tier...

Man, talk about being caught with your pants down...[/quote] :rofl:
 
Since I work in tech support, at some point I'm going to write up a huge thing about what a pain in the ass it is to deal with customers that get pissy with level 1 techs, but not right now.

I just want to say that level 1 people - the guys like me dealing with assholes day in and day out - normally CAN'T do anything for you in terms of replacing anything or getting free repairs. Don't blame us - if it were up to me, I'd tell everyone that they can shit on the computers I service, send them in, and have a new one sent within 24 hours.

But I can't do that. But don't blame me for being the messenger. 99% of the time I'm just doing what I'm told and doing what I can only do. It's not my fault that corporations would rather screw the end customer in the end by making you pay for repairs when it gets out of warranty...

Yea, I'm goign to write all my thoughts down in a biggass message and hope some people read it. Maybe it will snowball around the net or something and I'll get less idiots on the phone bitching at me because "MY COMPUTER DOESN'T COME WITH OFFICE? WTF."

I swear. It would be like buying a car with a cassette player and trying to jam a CD in it, and then bitching to the customer service people that "WTF I CAN'T PLAY A CD IN MY CAR" when they had every chance to research that beforehand...

fucking moronic Americans...

None of this is aimed at the OP btw, just my thoughts in general.
 
I'm sorry, but a product that is rendered totally unless becuase of a hardware defect, and requires service and there are no other solutions to the problem, that product should not require 67 percent of the cost of replacing the product in order to repair it (this became a very confusing sentence...sorry).

I understand my warranty was expired...I understand that MS isn't obligated to do anything...but its also about keeping customers happy. I went to an asian bistro called Pei Wei one time with my brother. Now my bro loves this place, but I wasn't getting hard over the menu or service or anything...We order and then go find a table and prop up our little plastic number to wait for our food. My brother had ordered his hot and sour soup...it came. Then they brought his food. I told him to go ahead and start and that my food was likely right behind his. 15 minutes later they brought my food, and it was actually cold.

I got up and took it to the manager and told him how long I'd waited and how my food actually arrived at my table (It was supposed to be some crunchy variation of chicken...it was soggy when it got to our table). The manager apoligized, and 3 minutes later he brought a fresh plate of what I'd order, obviously just prepared. I thanked him and started to eat, content and likely never going back to that place.

The manager then proceeded to put back 8 dollars on our table, effectively refunding my food. I thanked him and said it was really alright. He then took out a 10 dollar gift card and put it on the table. Finally, he took out a card for a free asian lettuce wrap appetizer. I was really impressed.

He didn't have to do any of those things, but he did, likely to save a customer. I went up to him when we were both done and let him know that the service had initially made me vow to never come back, but the extra mile he went had won me back.

Wow...this whole reply now seems pointless and stupid, but it would break my heart to just delete it all and not post it...darn...oh well...sorry if you actually read this far down...
 
[quote name='Arkay Firestar']

They revealed that you can get extended warranty any time for 20 bucks, and next time I'll just call and get that, and then call a day or two later reporting the problem...[/quote]

$20 bucks? The Service Contract form on their site is $49.90.

http://www.xbox.com/assets/en-us/support/ExtWarrantyInvoice.pdf

The Service Contract from that came with my Xbox is $39.90. I wonder if you call, that's the only way to get it for $20 or $19.90?
 
[quote name='bmarquardt']$20 bucks? The Service Contract form on their site is $49.90. The Service Contract from that came with my Xbox is $39.90. I wonder if you call, that's the only way to get it for $20 or $19.90?[/quote]
You do know MS offers two separate plans for the contract? A 1 and 2-year contract. The 1-year contract is about $26 and change, and the 2-year contact is $49. Simply call M$ and ask them yourselves. Unless they've recently changed and are not offering the 1-year any more, I don't know. All I know is I have bought the 1-year contract twice and I am still covered under it until this November.

-K
 
(Off topic) I've been to Pei Wei here in Dallas, and they're like that. It's amazing how some companies understand service, but others have completely given up on it.

(On topic) With large companies like Microsoft, who serve customers internationally, they've come to believe that with 6 billion people in the world, they can stand to lose a few thousand here and there to crappy service. Sadly, perhaps they're right.
 
Being I ran a videogame store for 2 years (two seperate ones) a 'broken' system came in often. Most of the time the customer would bitch they did nothing wrong etc. Well, all you need to do is OPEN your eyes. I would have Xbox's come in with roaches in them, PS2's with broken controler ports, Gamecubes where kids would jam FOOD in the disc drive (can't think of the proper name right now). Yet they would still bitch they did nothing wrong and we should replace it. When you try to explain to them we only offer a 14 day warranty, and the system of choice has only a 90 day warranty, they still continue to bitch. Now, should I give them a free Xbox because they screwed up there last one to 'make them happy'? If I scrach my Toyota Scion should I make Toyota give me a free one, plus a free $500 giftcard to 'keep me as a customer'? Hell no.
 
[quote name='Kraven'][quote name='bmarquardt']$20 bucks? The Service Contract form on their site is $49.90. The Service Contract from that came with my Xbox is $39.90. I wonder if you call, that's the only way to get it for $20 or $19.90?[/quote]
You do know MS offers two separate plans for the contract? A 1 and 2-year contract. The 1-year contract is about $26 and change, and the 2-year contact is $49. Simply call M$ and ask them yourselves. Unless they've recently changed and are not offering the 1-year any more, I don't know. All I know is I have bought the 1-year contract twice and I am still covered under it until this November.

-K[/quote]

Well, I've just learned this lesson. If you are still under the initial 90 day warranty after purchase and you are having problems with your Xbox where you are going to need to send it in, buy the Extended Warranty for $19.95 a year before reporting your problem (different phone calls, of course, and maybe wait a few days).

Why? Although you are under the 90 day warranty, you still have to pay to ship it to them (where as under the extended warranty, MS will pay to have it shipped to them). It will cost just about the same amount as a 1 year service contract to ship the beast to have it serviced under the 90 day warranty. I should have read re-read the 90 day warranty policy (user pays to ship to them) in the manual before reporting my problem.

Yeah, I'll still be under another 90 day warranty once I get it back, but if there's a problem again, I'll have to shell out another $20 or so to either ship it back or to buy the 1 year service contract to cover the shipping before reporting my problem (you can't buy a service contract while you have a "case" open with them, so I would have to wait to get my Xbox back before buying the service contract).

Lesson learned for all: if you are still under the one year date after purchase and are having problems with your Xbox, buy the extended warranty before calling in your problem. Buy that first, then report your problem a few days later if it's been under a year after purchase. Also, the 90-day-warranty isn't as good a deal as buying a one year warranty if you know you'll need to send in your Xbox.
 
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