When I decided to buy a new laptop, beside all the functionality and quality, customer service became a determining factor. After some research, I found that IBM offered three years of International warranty, and that made me choose it over other top brands, such as Toshiba.
However, this is what I encountered for registering the International Warranty.
I submitted the international warranty at the end of Nov and according to their webiste, if I fax in a proof of purchase, they will get it done within 7 working days.
I thought things are just as simple as it stated on the website. But the reality is quite different.
I wanted to settle the thing as soon as possible, so I sent them the first fax after I got home. I waited for one week and checked online that it is still under processing. After another week, I check again and it is still under processing. This time, I felt there maybe some problem with the fax. So, I called. Costomer Servicer 1 replied that she couldn’t find any fax and ask me to fax again.
Ok, maybe it is my mistake that I didn’t call to confirm they receive my fax after I sent them. So I sent them the second fax after I called. This time I called them immediately after sending. This time Customer servicer 2 answered the phone. She said she received the fax but it was too dark to see anything beside my handwritten serial number. Furthermore, I have to send them the passport page with the VISA entry together with the proof of purchase (which is not mentioned on the website at all). She asked me to either scan or photograph the documents and send her through email.
Well, not too much a problem I guess. So I sent the first email after I prepared the documents. Their reply came quite fast, but it said I have to send them the photos in JPG format for their filing. I was confused because all the documents I sent were already in JPG format. So I called and they said they cannot open my email. I said that was impossible. If they cannot open my email, how could they reply me. Furthermore, I don’t understand if I could open my attachments without any difficulty using a dial-up connection at home. How could they using their own server and having trouble opening the files? All the time, Customer Servicer 3 could only say if I can send her the files in JPG format, then she may be able to help me. But I really don’t know if the files are already in JPG format, what more could I do? We talked on the phone for nearly 10 mins. And she cannot offer me any solutions. (She asked me to send her fax again? I asked her what if it is black again? I know that because the paper’s background is blue. It is highly likely that it will turn up black again. Sending another fax will just be a waste of my money. ) Finally, I thought maybe it was because I sent three attachements together. So I asked her maybe I can try to send the attachements individually and see if she can see them.
I asked her to notify me if she could successfully open the attachements. But I waited for more than 20mins, and there was no reply. I knew if I didn’t get it done today, I would have to wait until Monday (because they don’t work on weekends). If they could reply me earlier, we still have time to try other means. So I called the hotline again. This time Customer Servicer 4 picked up the phone.
I asked if I could speak to the lady I have just spoken to. She said she was busy with another call. She said she could help me so I explained the whole situation to her one time and asked if she could help me check whether the emails were OK. Then she told me “I’m sorry, but I have no access to the email box.” So I asked “can I talk to Customer servicer 3 then?” She said she is still on the phone. So I ask if she can put me on the waiting line so that she can speak to me after she finished the present call. And She said “Sorry, I cannot. Because this hotline is very busy.” Of course I know they are busy, but I also called in earlier. If she cannot fix my problem, at least she could direct me to somebody who can help. Instead of trying to help, she simply wanted to push me out of her way. All she did was telling me that she didn’t know when No 3 would finish her call, so she also cannot tell how long I would have to wait for them to call back.
Finally, No 3 called me after a short moment. And she said everything was OK this time. Pictures are quite clear. But next time, if I have any problem about repairing the laptop, I would still have to call their hotline.
IBM的个人电脑部门现在已经联想收购了……呼呼……
Wuvist @ 2/1/2005 5:41:25 PM请Please leave your comment here