michael@ddsw1.MCS.COM (Michael Duebner) (09/25/90)
It was August 18th, 1990 when my trusty Toshiba 1600/40 suffered a
sudden and most unexpected hard disk drive failure after only 9
months of service. The next day it went in for repairs to an
authorized Toshiba repair center. After inspection of the unit by
the technician it was determined that the hard disk drive would need
to be replaced. However, the good news was that it would be covered
under Toshiba's warranty.
That was 4 weeks ago! Since then I have been on 3 business trips
all without my laptop. The whole purpose of this laptop was to be
able to continue my work while spending long hours on airplanes and
airports. This has caused tremendous amounts of grief for me. No
longer am I able to dial into the companies main computer system to
get the latest information needed for the next days meetings.
To get to the end of the story, I am still without my laptop. Since
it has been brought to repair several phone calls to the service
center and other associates have yielded the following information:
1) I am not the only one waiting weeks for repair parts from
Toshiba. For instance, there is a 3100 in the same repair
center that has been there for 7 weeks waiting for parts.
2) According to this and several other centers that I called, it
is standard operating procedure for Toshiba to drag their
heels when it comes to supplying repair parts, in or out of
warranty.
3) When you call their facility in California and request
additional information about your parts, I have the RMA #,
messages are taken but your calls are never returned.
4) When you do finally reach someone their answer to when your
parts will ship is sometime by the end of the week, MAYBE!!!
We currently have a need for another laptop in our office, I
seriously have to question if purchasing another Toshiba laptop is
a smart move.
Toshiba, you might get the business the first time around, but with
this kind of shady repair operation chances of getting repeat
business is pretty slim.
Michael Duebner (michael@ddsw1.MCS.COM, <well-connected>!ddsw1!michael)
Voice: (708) 541-6550
AERA Technical Services, 330 Lexington Drive, Buffalo Grove, IL 60090-6998bumby@math.rutgers.edu (Richard Bumby) (09/26/90)
In article <1990Sep24.191202.6164@ddsw1.MCS.COM> michael@ddsw1.MCS.COM (Michael Duebner) writes: > It was August 18th, 1990 when my trusty Toshiba 1600/40 suffered a > sudden and most unexpected hard disk drive failure after only 9 > months of service. The next day it went in for repairs to an > authorized Toshiba repair center. After inspection of the unit by > the technician it was determined that the hard disk drive would need > to be replaced. However, the good news was that it would be covered > under Toshiba's warranty. > > That was 4 weeks ago! ... <detailed tale of woe omitted> This seems like an appropriate place to finish the story I told here of throwing my T1000 over my shoulder. No one on the net had any advice for me, so I continued with my plan to phone Toshiba. They gave me the number of a local authorized repair center, and I drove my 'baby' up there the next day. The thought of being with my constant companion was unnerving, but a couple of days later I got an estimate on the repair cost, and the job was done within a week. Since a new machine of this model now sells for $550, anything less than a quick and inexpensive repair would be a joke. As it was, the floppy drive was replaced since it could neither read nor write disks usable in any other drive for a reasonable price (probably not a new drive, but it works fine). Total down time was less than a week. Repair service is generally in a sorry state -- possibly because it is needed so seldom -- but it is not all bad. I continue to recommend Toshiba laptops. -- --R. T. Bumby ** Math ** Rutgers ** New Brunswick ** NJ08903 ** USA -- above postal address abbreviated by internet to bumby@math.rutgers.edu voice communication unreliable -- telephone ignored -- please use Email
nfs@cs.Princeton.EDU (Norbert Schlenker) (09/28/90)
In article <1990Sep24.191202.6164@ddsw1.MCS.COM> michael@mcs.MCS.COM (Michael Duebner) writes: ><tale of T1600 hard disk failure elided> >That was 4 weeks ago! ><tale of "serious grief due to to no computer" elided> Doesn't Toshiba still offer a one year "Exceptional Care" warranty with all of their products? When the hard disk in my T5100 failed within that warranty's period, I too waited for 10 days. But a reminder to Toshiba America that their warranty promised a fixed machine or a replaced machine (!) within a week of their receiving it for repair elicited a brand new machine in two days (FedEx). By the way, that warranty was not an inconsiderable factor when I purchased my T5100. I imagine most people tend to ignore such things, but the advantage of not having to be without my computer for more than a week helped sell me. Norbert