Is it just me,or does it seem that customer service is somehow disappearing? I mean, seriously, whatever happened to the customer is always right, or, You want a refund because this isn't working? No problem!
Okay, here's where I'm coming from: I bought an external hard drive for my computer. Got it through a company (based out of New York City) that I've done business now for several years. They have great customer service, and are sooo not the problem. They have a 30-day warranty on certain products, which is reasonable, especially if it's from a company that has its own customer service department that should technically pick up on any problems after that 30-day period. I plan to continue to use this particular company, since they are incredibly good.
Note: Okay, if you're wondering, it's B And H out of New York City. I highly recommend them. Their website is http://www.bhphotovideo.com/. And in case you're wondering, no, I am not getting paid to say this, nor have I received, nor expect to receive, any compensation for recommending them.
The external hard drive (from an unnamed company) crashed within a month-and-a-half of buying it. Did what was needed to reformat it and gettingit back to where it would theoretically do. It crashed a second time...and a third...
By now, I was a little ticked off about it. So, after calling B And H, and getting the number for the company that made the hard drive, I called the company. They offered to send me a replacement, along witha return label to put on the box so that I could send the old drive back. Of course, it did cost $10 for them to send out the new drive.
So, the new drive gets here, I pack up the old one and send it off, and all's good, right? Ha! The new drive crashed within the week or two. Reformatted. Crashed again. Reformatted...and crashed again! If I'd actually used it as back-up and stuff stored there and no place else, I would have been beyond p.o.ed! This was the second one (and the first sent by the company direct). Then I noticed the sticker on the side of this "new" external drive...the sticker that read "refurbished." Excuse me, but if I paid for a brand new something, I should get a brand new something, not a refurbished one.
This week, I called the company up and told the person I spoke with that I would like a refund. I figure that after two problem external drives from this particular company, I'd really rather have a refund. I'm not exactly confident that the third one will be any better...
It turns out they don't do refunds. They also couldn't explain why the second new external hard drive was really a refurbished one. If I'd paid for a brand new car, I wouldn't expect to find out that the one they sold me really had 50,000 miles on it. Silly me. The first person I spoke to (I ended up talking with several) was borderline rude, and wouldn't put me through to her supervisor, even though I asked several times...
I did manage to get them to email me a return label, this time free of charge. As soon as they receive the second hard drive, they'll send out a third one. Oh, joy.
Anyone want to buy an exernal hard drive? Anyone? No? Darn...
Note: I still plan to do business with B And H. They were not theproblem here. If anything, they did go out of their way to offer help. Every time I've done business wih them over the past four years, they've been nothing but helpful, honest, etc. If I ever get to go on a road trip and end up in NYC, I want to see their store in person. The company that made the hard drive, though, is another story...
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