Play Station 3 - Sony Customer Service Experience

[Gator650]

As you can guess, my PS3 broke. It did the series of Green -> Yellow -> Flashing Red Lights.

I called Sony Customer Support and with very little trouble they confirmed that the unit was still under warranty and they will replace it. They said they will send a box to me with instructions on returning the unit and that the wait would be 10-14 business days.

The box came 'Next Day' had the easy to follow instructions and was being shipped back 'Next Day'. To this point, I was very impressed with the professionalism and quality of customer service thus far.

Enter the problem.... All of this occurred 3 weeks ago. I called Sony customer support today to ask what the status is because it has been a while. The lady said that they were unable to start processing it until 3/24/2008. I let her know that was over 15 business days ago. She said sorry, they have a backorder problem for the 60GB model and she has no idea when I'll get my replacement unit. While I was on hold to talk to her, the 'narrator' was talking about an information breach that occurred on the Playstation Network. I asked her for information about that and she had no idea. I wanted to talk to a supervisor then.

The supervisor said that my delay was a very rare thing and he apologized for it. I suggested that you just send me an 80GB unit to ensure you keep the deadlines you set, as well as keeping my customer service experience in the 'outstanding' grade it had been up to this point. He didn't think that was an appropriate response for missing their deadline. I then suggested since you can't figure out your inventory, why not just set the deadline to 20-30 business days? Then you would always meet the target date. That didn't seem to make any sense to him either because they always 'hit their deadline' (which of course doesn't explain why he and I are having the conversation to begin with). Rather than improving customer relations, he just wanted me to 'sit tight'.

Then I inquired about the information breach that occurred and how do I find out if my account information (address/credit card) was compromised. He told me to log into my PS3 and if I can get in with my password then I am ok. If I can't get in then my account was compromised. I asked how can I log in with my PS3 if he can't send me a replacement unit? He then said to use my P.C. For fun, I told him I don't have a P.C., he then told me to walk to the library.

Abysmal customer service.

/* Update Section: 4/14/2008
I called them today and the manager said that Sony didn't receive the unit until April 3rd making them right on schedule. He assured me that I will have my replacement before the end of the week and that they will notify me is there any type of delay and that I am always welcome to call back and get an update if I am concerned.

Ha, I love customer support. I guess the mystery is now why the 'Overnight shipping' took almost two weeks to get there, and why the first team I talked to provided such 'inaccurate' information. FYI, I start every call by giving them the service request number issued to me on 3/20/2008 to make sure there is no confusion on the information they need to pull up, but alas, I suppose that isn't enough.

On the upside, with the new date that they are using, everything is right on time!
*/

/*Update Section 4/15/2008
I just got a tracking number. I'll have my replacement tomorrow. Something got the gears rolling, and again, using the new date assigned to my ticket during the second call, they are a couple days ahead of schedule.

Of course, this could also be the same 'next day' delivery that took my PS3 two weeks to get to their facility.
*/

/*Update Section 4/16/2008 10:00am
PS3 dropped off on my desk.
*/

[modru2004]

im curious to see how this turns out. keep us informed. but right now microsoft reigns supreme with worst customer service at this point IMO

[vote ron paul]

Originally Posted by modru2004

im curious to see how this turns out. keep us informed. but right now microsoft reigns supreme with worst customer service at this point IMO

agreed.

sony never really has been one to deal with warranties well.

that's why i always, always, buy the stores extended warranty. I got my ps2 in the early spring of 01, when it was at it's highest price, my cousin put a twig in it a few months later, and so all games started skipping, but i bought eb's extended warranty and i got the newest model as a replacement. plus, you don't pay shipping and no waiting at all with the stores warranty in addition to the fact that you can pretty much break it on purpose and they'll still replace it with a brand new one, not a refurb that'll just break again.

[PrivatePixel]

Originally Posted by Gator650

For fun, I told him I don't have a P.C., he then told me to walk to the library.

Maybe it was the tone in his voice or how the reply was conveyed that you took exception to? To be fair, if I was in his shoes, I would suggest the same thing, i.e. head to the library for Internet access (which I've done on a few business trips). Of course the cynic in me would wonder how does a guy afford a PS3 and not have a PC?

I'm just grateful that none of my consoles have failed on me thus far (knock on wood). I've got my eye on the LE Gunmetal Grey PS3 and I would be seriously bummed if it ever became necessary to send it in for repairs.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[Gator650]

Originally Posted by PrivatePixel

Maybe it was the tone in his voice or how the reply was conveyed that you took exception to?

Private, the tone of his voice didn't bother me nor the actual suggestion to go to the library. What bothered me is the 'Yeah, we might have lost your personal information and credit card information. Sure would like to help you out with it, but you really need to fix our mistake on your own'.

I guess I am spoiled from dealing with companies like NewEgg who go out of their way to make sure I am happy. I get to Sony and the whole attitude is 'yeah, we screwed up, deal with it.' followed by 'oh yeah, we might have also lost your name, address, and credit card. You might want to make an effort to clear up our mistake.'

[Tagen]

I hate sony... they are much suckage.

[urbeg]

Sorry I read your story an had to laugh. Good luck with getting your replacement console. I have a Sony laptop

[Gator650]

Originally Posted by urbeg

Sorry I read your story an had to laugh. Good luck with getting your replacement console.

No worries. I'm far more amused than I am mad. I read things about Sony and how they devalue their customer so I knew sort of what to expect going in. I just thought it was funny that they lived up to the hype.

[Lenny]

I had no idea Sony was known for lousy customer service. That's a shame because I like their stuff. My big screen TV is Sony and I enjoy that quite a bit. It's already out of warranty so I guess I don't need to worry about customer service there

[Gator650]

Originally Posted by Lenny

I had no idea Sony was known for lousy customer service.

I suppose to be fair, with regards to the PS3, the customer service manager said the type of problem I have almost never happens. With that in mind, they still have no interest in addressing this 'rare occurrence'. In fact, they had no interest in even giving me a heads up there was a problem. To me, that is a clear cut case of devaluing the customer.

As for the information leak, I would have appreciated any effort on their part regarding that issue. Instead, I had to hear about it through calling their support line because they had a product that broke, and were not sending me a replacement. On top of that, instead of confirming that my account is ok or anything, the ownership of fixing their problem is on me the user. I also chalk that up as devaluing me as a customer.

In my opinion, both of these instances are displays of Sony's Mushroom Management.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/defin...oom+management

[fatlazyhomer]

If only bungie were in charge of customer service -
http://hawtymcbloggy.com/2008/03/07/...screwed-gamer/

[Gator650]

Wow. That is really going above and beyond to ensure customer satisfaction.

[modru2004]

Originally Posted by Gator650

Wow. That is really going above and beyond to ensure customer satisfaction.

ya but the kicker is bungie had nothing to do with the mishap. they just tried providing support for what was lost on the console. which is pretty damn cool in my opinion.

[PrivatePixel]

Originally Posted by Gator650

With that in mind, they still have no interest in addressing this 'rare occurrence'. In fact, they had no interest in even giving me a heads up there was a problem. To me, that is a clear cut case of devaluing the customer.

I don't see a win-win situation for either you and/or Sony here. I suppose they could have sent you an automated e-mail or phone message regarding the delay in processing your return and a new estimated delivery date, but if there is indeed a backlog of returns at this point in time and the revised delivery time isn't met, the customer is likely to be more frustrated and infuriated, but s/he is no closer to a resolution than when the return process began a few weeks earlier. Which PS3 model did you send in? If it was a 60GB, the backlog is understandable as this model is discontinued and asking for an 80GB replacement in return would be unfair, even if you were inconvenienced by the longer-than-expected delay. I'm not excusing Sony for what transpired, but I am trying to look at this from their perspective to gauge this situation more objectively.

As for the information leak, I would have appreciated any effort on their part regarding that issue. Instead, I had to hear about it through calling their support line because they had a product that broke, and were not sending me a replacement. On top of that, instead of confirming that my account is ok or anything, the ownership of fixing their problem is on me the user. I also chalk that up as devaluing me as a customer.

Maybe I'm wrong, but it's possible that the call centre that handles PS3 returns may have nothing to do with the Playstation Network (PSN), i.e. customer calls are routed to different departments that operate independently of each other. Even if the phone rep mentioned a breach in the PSN, there really isn't anything that they, at the call centre, can do. Sony, in their press release, stated that they will contact affected consumers directly if their account was compromised, i.e. if you don't receive any communication from Sony, consider yourself lucky, but, as a precaution, you should sign in to the PSN to change your password. In your case, it was just bad timing as your PS3 was in the shop when all of this happened.

[Gator650]

Originally Posted by PrivatePixel

If it was a 60GB, the backlog is understandable as this model is discontinued and asking for an 80GB replacement in return would be unfair

The 80GB is the same price as what I paid for my 60. If the 60 is discontinued, it just seems easier to me that if there is a backlog, to send out an 80 and keep business going as usual. Also, the concept of inventory isn't something state of the art. How they are not able to anticipate a shortage and warn me accordingly is also pretty sad. You have X in inventory, you have issued returns for Y products in the upcoming week. If X-Y < 0 MENTION possible delay. If X-Y > 0 business as usual. Instead, they like the formula of Customer = devalued.

I know where you are coming from regarding the Returns call center vs the PSN's call center and that they wouldn't have the information handy to help me on a more in depth level. However, not being able to transfer me to the other call center or giving me the number of that other department isn't exactly helping me out. If all my information has potentially been lost because of them, they should at least make the basic steps to give me the assurance that my account is ok.