mikb@stcns3.stc.oz (Mike Benson) (02/15/89)
You guys want to read a horror story? Try this: In October last year, I had a problem with my 1081 monitor. It was intermittently going blank (even after I disabled DMouse). Finally it packed up altogether. I decided to do the decent thing, even though it was out of warranty, and took it to the dealer where I bought it. I was told it would probably be about two weeks. Costs would $50 an hour, plus parts. I gritted my teeth. After all, it is just a home machine. I can survive that long without an amiga fix. This was October 26, 1988. After three weeks had elapsed, I called them. No, it still wasn't fixed. After four weeks had elapsed, I called them. No, it still wasn't fixed. After five weeks had elapsed, I called them. No, it still wasn't fixed. After six weeks had elapsed, I called them. No, it still wasn't fixed. By this time I was no longer merely gritting my teeth, but gnashing and grinding them. Hundreds of comp.sources.amiga and comp.binaries.amiga articles were piling up in our spool directory, causing our ACSnet administrator to gnash his teeth as well as spool space joined the endangered species list. I got the name and number of the alleged service centre where my monitor was now residing, in apparent semi-permanence. I called them. I was told they were waiting for some hard-to-get parts to arrive from overseas. I was generous. I work in computer support, I know how long it can take to get things in. I gritted my dentures and waited. A week later, I called again, and was told he hoped to have it fixed by Christmas. My head was sceptical, the rest of me had been hanging two months for an amy fix. Just after Christmas, I called again. The technician had gone on holidays until January 16. I was furious. The cheek of the fellow, going off on a vacation with a two month outstanding job on his books! I was polite, too polite. I amputated my tongue with my dentures and went back to waiting. January 16 came and went. I called the dealer. The technician told them that it was proving a very complex job. I kept calling the dealer. He kept telling me he had no news. Australia Day (January 26) passed. I had now been without a monitor for _three_ months. I was certain it had finished up as a boat anchor somewhere. One Monday early in February I called the dealer and told them I wanted the monitor back, fixed or unfixed, by the afternoon of the following Wednesday. I appeared at 4:30pm that Wednesday at the dealers, and was told it hadn't arrived. I called again on Thursday, yes they'd received some jobs from the service centre, no my monitor wasn't among them. Finally, on Friday, February 10, I received my monitor back, still unoperational. This is approximately 14 weeks after I had relinquished it. I took the monitor and the circuit diagram to a TV repair shop we'd dealt with in the past. They promised to have a look at it. If they couldn't fix it in a fortnight, they'd give me a quote. That fortnight hasn't yet expired, so I can't tell you what the result is. I'll let you know. My point is, the service I received was abysmal. If the unit really was going to take three months to repair, why wasn't I given a quote, so I could chose whether or not I wished to dispose of it and buy a new monitor? At $50 an hour, it's cheaper to buy a new monitor after 12 hours. The system was out of action so long, it began to interfere with my work, but the sort of urgency repairs/service in this place tend to acquire after a few days of downtime at a customer was missing after three whole months. This is a very sad reflection on the place of the Amiga in Australia. You can't expect people to buy a machine, and employ it for any serious purpose, if they can't get it fixed in less than a few months. I'm still extremely angry. The other parties to all this trouble? Computerscope (dealer), Shop F1, Tower Square 155 Miller Street North Sydney. T Smith Micro Computers (service centre), 199 George Street, Parramatta. I would recommend that you think seriously before you have any dealings with these two firms. Especially if those dealings involve service. As you may expect, they will not hear from me again. -- Mike -- Mike Benson +---------------+ mikb@stcns3.stc.OZ.AU Alcatel-STC Pty Ltd | CAVEAT | 11th Floor, 5 Blue St | LECTOR | Any clod can have the facts, North Sydney NSW 2060 AUSTRALIA +---------------+ but having opinions is an art.
mikb@stcns3.stc.oz (Mike Benson) (02/24/89)
In article <1373@stcns3.stc.oz> mikb@stcns3.stc.oz (Mike Benson) writes: >In October last year, I had a problem with my 1081 monitor. It was >intermittently going blank (even after I disabled DMouse). Finally it >packed up altogether. I decided to do the decent thing, even though it was >out of warranty, and took it to the dealer where I bought it. I was told it >would probably be about two weeks. Costs would $50 an hour, plus parts. > >I gritted my teeth. After all, it is just a home machine. I can survive >that long without an amiga fix. This was October 26, 1988. [ Whole Sad History Deleted ] >One Monday early in February I called the dealer and told them I wanted the >monitor back, fixed or unfixed, by the afternoon of the following >Wednesday. I appeared at 4:30pm that Wednesday at the dealers, and was told it hadn't >arrived. I called again on Thursday, yes they'd received some jobs from >the service centre, no my monitor wasn't among them. Finally, on Friday, >February 10, I received my monitor back, still unoperational. This is >approximately 14 weeks after I had relinquished it. > >I took the monitor and the circuit diagram to a TV repair shop we'd dealt >with in the past. They promised to have a look at it. If they couldn't >fix it in a fortnight, they'd give me a quote. That fortnight hasn't yet >expired, so I can't tell you what the result is. I'll let you know. > I said I'd let you know, so here it is: I took the monitor to R.C.C. Electronic Services 1/5 Chard Road, Brookvale. The device was handed over to them on 11 February. On 23 February I called them, and they said it was ready. I retrieved the monitor today (24 February). Status: so far it's worked perfectly. The work details section of the receipt read as follows: LABOUR TO TRACE FAULT POWER SUPPLY PLUG WAS DISCONNECTED REPLACED FUSIBLE RESISTOR IN VIDEO SECTION Total cost to me: 13 days (time without monitor), A$142 (parts and labour). Now, I'm aware that the above might have been just the tail-end of my problems, which had already been fixed by the 'authorized' serviceman. However, if that were so, why didn't he finish the job? Then he might have got some money out of it, and we could all have lived happily ever after. Instead, he got no money, and I got a lot of aggro. I can only conclude that he was too lazy, or too incompetent, or both, to carry out the task he had taken on. I cross-posted this article to comp.sys.amiga because I wanted Commodore to know what is going on. CBMA here aren't on the net (I doubt they could spell UN*X, let alone ACSnet), so I doubt they're aware of all the widespread irritation that exists at the standard of service for the amiga, here and in the states (I received email from people in the US in reply to my original posting). I think that C-A needs to rethink its service if they want the Amiga taken seriously. As things stand I couldn't recommend the Amiga to any customer of ours, however much it delights me as my home machine. That hurts. Anyway, it's all finished up happily, so those of you who lost a few seconds off your afternoon naps fretting over my troubles (both of you) can go back to sleep now (otherwise try pressing 'space'). -- Mike -- Mike Benson +---------------+ mikb@stcns3.stc.OZ.AU Alcatel-STC Pty Ltd | CAVEAT | 11th Floor, 5 Blue St | LECTOR | Any clod can have the facts, North Sydney NSW 2060 AUSTRALIA +---------------+ but having opinions is an art.