XBOX Customer Service War Stories

Chuplayer

CAGiversary!
Oh man... where do I start. I might as well start from the beginning.

The DVD drive or the fans on my 360 cause vibrations. Annoying vibrations. It was at its worst when I was playing a disc game. It sounded like the disc was wobbling off track and was set to shatter at any moment. This developed within the past couple months. I was going to send it in sooner, but I figured I'd wait to finish Half-Life 2 before I called.

Fast forward a bit, and I'm too scared to put anything inside my 360. The vibrating is getting worse and worse. I still haven't finished Episode 1 yet, but I'm going to have to wait because I don't want to break the disc.

So, I called just a little while ago. Here's how it goes. I'll skip to the good stuff.

Him: Are there any red rings?
Me: No.
Him: So, what's the problem?
Me: Yeah, so the problem is that the disc drive or the fans or something. Whenever I play a disc game, not a downloadable game or demo, my console makes this horrid vibrating noise. It wasn't like this when I first got the system, and it's not normal.
Him: Okay, do you have the console horizontal or vertical?
Me: I had it horizontal for over a year, but I moved it to vertical for the past few days to see if it helped with the vibrations. My vibrations have only gotten worse.
Him: Do games play at all?
Me: Yes, but this sound isn't normal.
Him: Due to ambient sounds and heat, your console may sound differently.
Me: Due to time, my console sounds differently, and it's not normal.
Him: Due to ambient sounds and heat, your console may sound differently.
Me: Due to time, my console sounds differently, and it's not normal.
Him: Due to ambient sounds and heat, your console may sound differently.
*yes, we did go through that three times*
Me: Due to time, my console sounds differently, and it's not normal.
Him: Due to ambient sounds and heat, your console may sound differently.
Me: Look, it wasn't like this last year when I had the exact same levels of ambient noise and heat. Something has vibrated loose, and I'm afraid to put anything in the console now.
Him: But if the console plays games fine, that means everything else is normal.
Me: No, it doesn't. It sounds like the disc is off track or something. If this keeps up, the disc is going to shatter, sending shrapnel throughout the console and possibly outside of the console where it might end up in my neck.
Him: But if it plays games, there is nothing we can do.
Me: Look, let me put it another way. It's like a car. If your fan belt is faulty, you don't wait for it to shred itself apart to replace it. This is kind of like what's happening here.
Him: But if it works, it works.
Me: Does my console have to be on fire?
My mom (who is passing through): *pissing her pants*
Him: I don't understand.
Me: *face in hand* I said, does my console have to be on fire for it to be faulty?
Him: Let me check with my supervisor.
Me: ...
Him: I've got to put you on hold.

After this, he confirmed my information and set up a repair order thing. The only other hiccup was when I brought up the $50 extended warranty I bought. At first he thought it was the RROD warranty, but then he realized I was talking about the other warranty and made sure that the repairs and shipping would be free. I'm also getting another three months of warranty (?) and a free month of Live which is sweet. Only time will tell if other issues crop up. I was really upset because my console didn't even have RROD. I hope they just swap out parts and leave the rest of it intact because I don't want another console that might be prone to RROD.

My parents are still laughing their asses off at the "does it have to be on fire" line. I'm going to miss my 360 during Christmas, but at least I'll have Time Crisis 4 on my PS3 to tide me over. Then it's back to Half-Life 2!
 
I had 6 broken consoles this past year. I called them several times, and finally, on one of the last calls, I demanded compensation for all the trouble, money, and time this had cost me. I argued my way up the ladder until they sent be a brand new 2007 console and a free game. They also gave me my own "personal" help line that connects me directly to one of the head managers at the repair center; they told me to call it if I ever have anymore problems.

I haven't had any problems since. My console works fine, and if for some reason it does break, I won't have to deal with customer support. Thank god.
 
dont't get me started about ms customer support. the thing i try to remember when ringing ms cusomter support is what other form of torture would you rather have?

i would rather be fucked up the arse with a 12" dildo sideways than ring ms customer support, infact so much so when the 360 died instead of calling ms up to fix i decided to repair it myslef and while there to install an alternative firmware on my dvd drive.

i'm not saying its the best thing to do but it's a hell of alot better than ringing ms support and being told in absolut terms NO.

heres a hint for Microsoft FIRE the indian based customer service line because they are not helping you in any sense of the word help unless help means supporting your rival compaines by making you question why you ever chose Microsoft to begin with.
 
[quote name='Chuplayer']
My mom (who is passing through): *pissing her pants*[/quote] I'm sorry. It's always hard watching your parents get older.
 
[quote name='garfep']I'm sorry. It's always hard watching your parents get older.[/QUOTE]

I meant she was trying really hard not to laugh.
 
They definately have 2 levels of support. One is in India and is horrid--not because the Indians are incompetent, but because they aren't empowered to go off script. The other one is staffed by Americans and they have power to make shit happen.

I now have a pipeline to the American center and am so glad that I do. I am getting E74 and 1 red light (bottom righhand corner) intermittently and since I've had repeated problems I'm getting a bit of "outside of policy" help. No brand new console yet though. One thing that bugs me is that I had a quiet drive from my old 360 (made in July 2006) and now my "new" (really a refurbished one) has a really loud drive.
 
okay guys...iv notice that some point during the night/day it switchs over to american people..has anyone else noticed this...
 
If you call during normal business hours, you get english speaking employees. Simple as that. If you call late/early you get rerouted to india.
 
i talked to a latino woman last time i called...suprisingly her english was pretty good, even though she didnt help the situation at all
 
So going away from the ethnic diversity of xbox live.

Ive never dealt with them.. ever. always got the warranty in stores.. hated dealing with customer support for ANY company..
 
if I call around 12am est, I get an American. If I call before 9pm I not only get an Indian who "Understands my frustrations.......Apologizes for the inconvenience........Apologizes for the wait and thanks me for waiting......".. and oh yea, his name is Jonny Jones with an Indian accent :whistle2:|
 
Just got off the phone with another moron.

Me: Okay, so the problem is that my disc drive is worse than my old one. It sometimes won't stay closed, and other times it won't open. There was one instance when the console held my game hostage for 15 minutes. It's ridiculous.
Him: I apologize for the convenience...
Me: I understand.
Him: So the problem is with the console staying closed.
Me: Most of the time the disc drive won't stay closed, some of the time it won't open at all, and some of the time it works. But it's a nuisance to get to the point where it works.
Him: So the disc drive won't open.
Me (fed up): Yes. (big mistake)
Him: I want you to turn the console on and troubleshoot it.
Me: I completely unhooked it... whatever. I've got to put you on hold to reconnect it. Give me a sec.
*frantically reconnecting the console, realizing my phone won't reach the console, running upstairs to get the portable phone*
Me: Okay, it's on.
Him: Turn the console on.
Me: It's on.
Him: Try to open the drive.
Me: It's open.
Him: Reposition the console vertically, take off the faceplate, and find a paper clip.
Me: What? The tray is open. I don't need to do the paperclip trick.
Him: Okay, then your console is working properly.
Me: Jesus Christ... Most of the time the disc drive won't stay closed, some of the time it won't open at all, and some of the time it works. But it's a nuisance to get to the point where it works.
Him: So the disc drive won't open.
Me: No, it's a complex issue. You can't sum it up in a simple sentence like that.
Him: Then what's the problem?
Me: Look, if I put a game in here right now, there's a 50/50 chance it's going to spit the game right back out at me. Also, it doesn't seem like the tray is coming out all the way. I'm not going to pull it to see if that's actually the case, but I do have to put the disc down into a sort of lip between the faceplate and the tray.
Him: Okay, put a game in.
*puts game in and closes the drive*
Me: It worked this time...
Him: Then there is no problem.
Me: No! You can't always catch this problem in the act. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't. I just don't want to fight it anymore, and I don't want to risk getting a game stuck in there again. My old system never did this, and this isn't normal.
Him: Okay, so I recommend you send the console in for repair.
Me: Thank you.
Him: Let me confirm your information...

And so on and so forth.

And they won't let me send the console back in the replacement's box (which I saved) and pay for shipping myself. They have to send me another coffin and pay for shipping themselves. WTF? I'm thinking of just doing it anyway and keeping the coffin they have yet to send me. How could they know? All the consoles go to the same place, right? I already know where that is.
 
They're terrible.
I had an issue with them on Live Points (which their bitches about) and they were like YOU CAN BUY US POINTS AND UZE THEM ON CDN ACCOUNTZ!!!!!!1
Even though it says NOTHING about them being region locked. Then they asked how old I was, I said it doesn't matter, and they hung up on me.
fuck you Xbox Live, I got 3200 more points in the US this weekend and put them on my US account.
 
Yeah, I tried buying 4000 points but it was region-locked so I couldn't use it on my Canadian account.

Phoned XBOX Customer Service about it, and we ended up talking about my Gamertag more than the actual problem I was having.
 
Is there really such a thing as a good customer service line and if so could you please help me out. My 360 has been crapping out on me lately and i can't here mass effect over its loud sound so, its death is coming.
 
There are reports and a class action lawsuit against MS because of them putting out hardware that they knew was defective. I wouldn't be surprised if you had a BenQ drive. They switched manufacturing to only those drives and the manufacturer removed some tabs that held the discs in place, thus causing the drives to score and scratch games up.
 
Would anyone with the direct line to the US support center PM me the number? I've been getting Indian supervisors that have been extremely rude including one guy who told me to "take it or leave it" and when I told him that I would be filing a complaint his reponse was "I don't care what you do sir, it's a free country." I'd like to speak with someone from the same continent so if anyone has the number and would PM it to me, I'd be extremely grateful.
 
bread's done
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