Hi, let me teach everyone something about business that some of you obviously don't understand.
If a company like Microsoft started to send out parts that are vital to their devices - in this case, the Xbox - with the intention of
having the users install them themselves,
HOW LONG
do you think it would take for SOMEONE to call MS with a "OMFG I TRIED TO INSTALL THE DRIVE AND I RUINED THE REST OF MY XBOX AND NOW IT WON'T TURN ON AND I WANT A NEW ONE AND YOU GUYS ARE ASSHOLES bla bla bla bla bla bla OMG POPTARTS BBQ bla bla" ?
Do you think MS wants to deal with that sort of customer service
nightmare? Of course they don't. (
, I work CSR and I sure as hell hate the amount of calls I get now, I can't imagine the poor SOBs at MS having to deal with not just a primary level problem, let alone a tertiary.) They don't want people calling in to bitch about how "this isn't working" and then
later about how their stupid non-mechanical self-righteous asses ruined the rest of the system because they thought they were smart enough to know how to open it and replace the drive. I assure you some kid who thinks they are hot shit will get it, break the drive/something inside the Xbox, and then bitch and moan and whine about how they were screwed not
once but
twice, and how Microsoft is an evil company because they can only do so much damage control. They'll tell their parents, the parents (being unaware because they are clueless) will go in an uproar, and the situation could potentially spiral out of control.
I work tech support and all day I field calls from people saying "I'm a computer tech " this and "I'm Microsoft certified" that, talking about how we should send them parts to fix something that has gone down. But knowing the general (lack of) knowledge people have about all things electronic and mechanical, sending out a part wouldn't resolve the situation. It would amplify it. In fact, what it would do is create a giant cesspool of complaints and angry customers, adding to the already growing general malaise that customers exhibit to begin with.
The phrase "more fuel to the fire" comes to mind.
Do I think there are people capable of repairing units themselves? Of course.
But I doubt the number of capable people versus the people who
think they are capable are equal. I think the ratio is 10 to 1. Actually I bet it is 1000 to 1, if not much more.
Faced with those kinds of odds in those kinds of sheer numbers, Microsoft is protecting themselves in the best possible way they can - by offering to fix the unit on their terms. This is why, gasp, it's called THE TERMS OF THE WARRANTY. As long as company offers to resolve a situation in a manner executable by both their own person and the party in question (consumers), i.e., "you send it to us and we fix it and send it back and those are the terms you agreed to when you bought the machine," that's all they really have to do. If the terms say "consumer will pay shipping," then it's something you agreed to when you bought it. That sucks but it's the reality and crux of the situation. Microsoft offers that as their service beacuse it protects them. Why bother taking a risk with clueless morons running around trying to do shit to their Xboxes? Because
THERE'S NO DAMN REASON FOR THEM TO TAKE THAT CHANCE, REGARDLESS OF HOW MANY PEOPLE WHINE ON THE INTARWEB.
The fact is companies won't do something like that in most cases UNLESS they had a tech come onsite and fix it themselves. This is for LIABILITY REASONS. A company has a responsibility to protect itself IN ADDITION to its customers, beleive it or not. They have to protect their assets (heh, no pun intended) - shareholders can't be pissed off, stock can't fall, profits need to expand, and people need to keep jobs. Like it or not they have to survive just as much as you want to play Halo 2.
What that translates to you and me as consumers is a lot of red tape that has to be traversed and dicked around with before we can make them bend to our will. In other words, Microsoft knows it would be suicide to start shipping out parts because an angry consumer is not the best person to be put in charge of sensitive (and expensive) equipment. Dumbshit A complains about his drive, MS sends him a new one, he screws it up even more, and then decides he'll sue MS because they authorized him to repair his unit himself. The guy probably wouldn't win his case, and the best he could hope for would be a time consuming class action law suit. There's the off chance he might be a settlement out of court, but even that is a stretch.
So what would happen, in essense, is a lot of bad press for MS, the possibility of a suit handled in court (which would be international attention...if some kid can register mikerowesoft.com and get sued, you can get something aimed at their prescious Xbox will get FAR more attention), all of which points to a huge PR hassle for MS.
And that's if it goes
well.
But Microsoft is smart and knows how to avoid all of this. And that ends up being their own techs doing everything because at least at that point, they know the person doing the repair has the knowledge to know wtf to do.
In addition to all of this, MS, as would any other company, will never own up to some sort of screw up that they've made. This is for a variety of reasons.
1) At the time, they probably don't know what will happen and aren't aware of problems. This is just human nature. I would doubt Microsoft intentionally chose a faulty drive at the beginning of Xbox production. Of course, the switch would explain all of this (Thompson = bad = they go to another MFG). So let's assume they eventually learn there's a problem. That takes us to point 2.
2) Even if they
know of it, they'll never admit their mistake. This is for all the reasons I've already stated. Consumers are funny people in that they think that they are entitled to such information. We're not. Well, I take that back. We probably are, but no company is going to live up to that. Hell, our government doesn't tell us shit we probably ought to know regarding all sorts of wild and zany things. What makes you think Microsoft, or anyone for that matter, will do any different? Yea, you can call the FTC and the BBB and other authorities, but just save yourself the time and aggrivation knowing that they won't do shit for you. In the end, what
does and can happen is not equal to what probably
should happen. That sucks. That sucks and sucks and sucks. But in all reality, we're at the whims of the terms of the warranty. We agreed to their service, their product, and their stipulations. Honestly the best defense against this is an extended warranty from the retailer, but we all know that most of the time those end up being never used/scams. My rule is that if you are relying on some sort of technology OR if you have NO IDEA how to fix it yourself, you better get the added insurance.
Look, here's the deal. It sucks if you buy something and it dies during or after the warranty. And it sucks if everyone sees the same problem, meaning it's a known issue due to shoddy production/manufacturing. Unfortunately, you, as a consumer, agree to the terms set by the company you got the product from the second you hand money over and make it your own personal property. Given all of that and all of the above, the best you can hope for is to get a product that doesn't wear out and lasts and lasts. That's it and nothing more. Does it suck? Yes. But is there really, truly, and honestly anything you can do about it? Not really.
So whats this all boil down to? General rules any consumer can follow.
You can always call ahead and get warranty details. You can find out what X company will do in cases of breakdown for any component or device.
Don't early adopt technology. It's never a good idea. Early iPods apparently had terrible batteries. And early PS2s had DRE issues. DS/PSP have pixel problems. That sort of thing gets fixed after the initial batches and after test runs in the field. We all know it, it's the dirty unsaid rule of all technology and anything
new in general. It's the same reason why game developers think they can patch shit after they release it, when they damn well know they should have fixed it before it ever went gold.
Also, I'd suggest everyone (this is just a more general tangent) be educated on what they are dealing with. In other words, when you buy something, you need to know about that product beforehand. Case in point - LCD monitors. Know that since there are literally millions of pixels, companies will not replace a monitor with 1-2 dead pixels since that represents .0001% of the entire total number of pixels. So if you get one with that, tough shit, the company won't do anything. You can go to the retailer and try to get a refund or an exchange. The point to this is that you need to know what you are dealing with in ALL situations.
Again, all of this might suck, and I in NO WAY endorse such things (consumer paying shipping for a repair, known issues not being admitted/fixed, etc) but it's the fact of the matter that this is how industry works. It's just that there are still things you can do to cover your own ass.
Until we live in a society where corporations will actually come out and behave humanely (instead of just functionally appreciable) towards consumers, there's no way to get around the pitfalls that face all industries, products, and failures. There's just no damn way. There's too much business involved, too many factors to consider, and too many things interconnected.
Everyone, at some point or another, will buy something and have it die. Everyone. It is widespread. It's
reality. And yes, you're right in thinking that companies could probably do more to fix it. But they won't because that hurts their bottom line. They still, however, are required to help as best they can. If a repair is it, then that's it. The BBB won't listen to a complaint that is unfounded - "MS said they'd fix it for $40." That's enough to satisfy them beacuse the company in question is doing what they agreed to do - get your machine in working order.
Just because you gave money to a company doesn't mean you're all of a sudden their most important customer. You are just a customer like everyone else. And all those other people that own Xboxes that you've never met are operating under the same pretenses and restrictions that you, yourself, are having to adhere to. So stop all of this whiny woe-is-me bullshit and get over yourself.
Again, it all sucks, but it happens to everyone.
