OWC/Macsales.com Warranty?? Don't count on it!!

[macaddict1111]

Long time OWC(Other World Computing) customer here, but not for long at this rate. I purchased a processor upgrade with a 3 year warranty a year ago. It started acting up so I returned it. I'm being told that it is indeed a bad processor card, but that they are out of that exact card and have no ETA on arrival of new replacement cards. I have been without my computer for three weeks now and there is no telling how much longer. The best OWC said they could do for me is to "give' me a rebate on my old card of a little more than half what i paid for it! Am I missing something here?? basically my "warranty" has been reduced to a discount off of another processor card?? I can't believe the attitude that i have been given in numerous emails to customer service. Any suggestions? Is this normal for these guys?? They used to stand behind what they sold. I guess not anymore.

[Kilamite]

Is the 3 year warranty through OWC or is it with the actual manufacture of the processor?

[macaddict1111]

It is an OWC processor card and the warranty is through them, unfortunately Because it is a joke. Now they aren't even responding to my emails.

[swiftaw]

They can't make a processor card magically appear. If they don't have one to give you then they don't have one.

[macaddict1111]

Yes I understand that if something is unavailable they can't ship it.I only asked that since there was no ETA on the card if they would sell me one of their other cards, and I would pay the difference. How would you feel if you sent back a defective card, under warranty, and were told that they had no idea when one would be in, and there was nothing they could do for you. I don't know about you but it is rough using my kids G4 466.

After many emails to customer service and the cust service manager with no results, I fired off a letter to the main guy at OWC and Larry told me that they had "dropped the ball" and that my replacement card would be here by this Friday. So we will see. I'll report back.

[CanadaRAM]

I'm gonna bust your chops a little bit here

You signed up on MR yesterday specifically to make a post criticizing a company which the general consensus of the forum is a stand-up company that supports Mac extremely well

But you had not followed through to get a resolution for your problem first before posting -- as evidenced by the fact that a day later you had a suggested solution from the owner of the company.

Posting an inflammatory thread suggesting that in general the company does not honor their warranties ("Don't count on it" "Not any more") was at least a day too early.

[thegoldenmackid]

Welcome to the world of warantees, it really doesn't seem that bad, even without your last post...If they don't have a part, then you might have to wait...no company really tries to screwover customers....it's not a good business practice...

[CanadaRAM]

That's right - warranties are typically worded "Repair, replace or refund at the company's discretion" and there is no time committment on the length of time that a repair or replacement might take.
I waited over 6 months for a warranty part for a Krups coffeemaker to arrive from Germany.

[Snide]

In 2003, my roommate gave me his 233 Mhz iMac. He had purchased a 256 MB
RAM stick from OWC, but it didn't work. He put it in a drawer and forgot about it.
So 2 years later I called OWC and asked if there was anything they could do.
With just the phone number they were able to locate the record of the sale.
I sent the defective stick in, and promptly received a replacement (with lifetime warranty).
I have since ordered many things from OWC, and the staff has always been friendly,
very knowledgeable and helpful. Plus, I always find great deals at their booth at Macworld SF.

If your intent in starting this thread was to impact business at OWC, you have
certainly succeeded, but perhaps not as you might have anticipated.
I'm sure they very much appreciate the free advertising!

[MisterMe]

Originally Posted by CanadaRAM

...
I waited over 6 months for a warranty part for a Krups coffeemaker to arrive from Germany.

Amen. You have to treat the people on the other end of the line with respect. This does not mean that you accept a "no" when you are entitled to a "yes." Proceed respectfully. Last January, I took two eMacs into my local authorized dealer for repairs. Five months later, one was repaired, but the other was not. With Apple's help, the technician determined that the second computer could not be repaired. He referred me to Apple to negotiate a replacement under AppleCare. The first person I spoked to at Apple threw-up her hands and said that there was nothing she could do. I called a different person. He examined the records and apologized profusely for my wait. Long story short, by the end of the week, I had a new Intel-based iMac to replace my two-year old defective eMac.

Computers are machines. Employees are people. Both have their limitations. If you want to bitch and moan, then you can do that. If you want a solution to your problem, bitching and moaning will only delay it.

[macaddict1111]

I am more than willing to take my lumps on this board when I post on here. I didn't post my full story just because it was a long one and I didn't want to bore everyone to tears. I have been without my card for 3 weeks and OWC told me initially that it was being tested and a new card was on its way that day. A week later the story changed to "we are going to test it today" The next day I found out the card was bad and would be replaced under warranty, the only problem was that there were none in stock and they told me they had no idea when any were coming in. I told them that option was unacceptable as I needed the computer everyday. I offered to pay the difference between my card and a better one. They said the best they could do was to give me a $140 "rebate" on a card I had paid $260 for. So almost 3 weeks, and after numerous emails went back and forth I was frustrated and decided to post my experiences on this forum and others that I frequent, hoping for help or suggestions. It was from another forum that I got the suggestion that I should "write Larry". I did and got a letter back saying that they had indeed dropped the ball, and that the return was not handled properly from the beginning. I feel like I handled the problem in the best way I knew how. It seems to me that OWC tries to pressure you into upgrading at a significant cost when they should just cover their warranty. I am now still waiting on the processor and in the issue of fairness will report back on the outcome. Please feel free to comment if you agree with me, or think you would have handled it differently.

[CanadaRAM]

I agree with you that a partial rebate offer is unacceptable for a product under warranty - no argument there. You should have been offered a dollar for dollar trade up if the replacement product was not available.

I don't particularly agree that the company is obligated to provide a replacement product in a set number of days (or even weeks), though. Regardless of how hard it is on you to wait, the warranty with the product makes no committments about guaranteed turnaround time.
Sucks, but there it is. If companies offered that, they would have to charge more for the product, and 90% of customers would go to the competitor who sold for $10 less with no commitment. Of course, a good company will do whatever they can to minimize the wait.

There is a magic phrase to learn: " Could you please escalate me to your manager " and keep saying that until you reach someone with the authority to make a decision. As you have found, action happens when you reach the right person.

Do I think OWC (based on your example) could improve their customer service by giving their frontline employees clear policies, accurate information, and the authority to action those policies? Of course! A company's frontline staff HAVE to know what the company's priorities are, otherwise they may make a mistaken assumption that their job is to save the co. money by nickel and diming. (Larry I know you're reading this... )

[dollystereo]

i had a similar problema 2 weeks ago. I bought a Maxtor One Touch Turbo 600GB FW800 drive las year (I paid 600usd), it was one of the best HD availables (supposed to be), and my drive failed in May. I sent my disc for a replacement. They took 2 months to send me a replacement, when the drive arrived it was faulty, it last me 2 weeks. Now I tell them that, and they say: "Sorry but your new drive doesnt have warranty". So I am screwed.
PD: Seagate and Maxtor are now together, so is very complicated to ask warranty on maxtor products thru Seagate.

[macaddict1111]

I agree with you that things happen where items can be out of stock and delays can occur. The problem started when I was told that the card was being checked and a replacement would go out that day. Somehow they screwed up after that, and a week later they hadn't even looked at the card and incorrectly told me that they were out of stock and had no clue when they would. After I kept escalating my complaints, a week later, I reached Larry at OWC and after he looked into it, has said that it is straightened it out. He tells me that they are changing the way that they handle returns after this incident, so hopefully this will also help others in the future.

[phytonix]

Originally Posted by CanadaRAM

That's right - warranties are typically worded "Repair, replace or refund at the company's discretion" and there is no time committment on the length of time that a repair or replacement might take.
I waited over 6 months for a warranty part for a Krups coffeemaker to arrive from Germany.

amazing nice customer you are
bet every company want more customers like you

[phytonix]

Originally Posted by dollystereo

i had a similar problema 2 weeks ago. I bought a Maxtor One Touch Turbo 600GB FW800 drive las year (I paid 600usd), it was one of the best HD availables (supposed to be), and my drive failed in May. I sent my disc for a replacement. They took 2 months to send me a replacement, when the drive arrived it was faulty, it last me 2 weeks. Now I tell them that, and they say: "Sorry but your new drive doesnt have warranty". So I am screwed.
PD: Seagate and Maxtor are now together, so is very complicated to ask warranty on maxtor products thru Seagate.

oh my, this is absolutely terrible.
avoid maxtor and seagate from now on. luckily i've been buying WD

[CanadaRAM]

Originally Posted by phytonix

avoid maxtor and seagate from now on. luckily i've been buying WD

Now you see, this is just a completely unproductive response. An isolated incident of incorrect customer service, and you are recommending completely avoiding the product brand AND all products of the brand's parent company.

Dolly, here are the policies, you are entitled to the balance of your original warranty or at least 90 days from the replacement being received. Go back to Maxtor/Seagate and ask to have your case escalated.

Link
"Q. An item is damaged or defective, what should I do?
A. We are committed to your shopping satisfaction. If an item you receive from Seagate.com does not meet your expectations, simply return it to us within 30 days of your original order. See our Returns Policy for exceptions. Please note that shipping charges are not refundable."

Link
"Seagate warrants that repaired or replaced products are covered for the greater of either the remainder of the original product warranty or 90 days."

amazing nice customer you are
bet every company want more customers like you

You didn't add a smiley so it sounds a lot like you're calling me a chump.

Seriously, what would the alternative be? The part is unavailable, it has to come from Germany and the factory is under receivership and won't be open until the buyout by T-Fal is complete. Would jumping up and down and screaming have made any tiniest bit of difference in that case? Would boycotting Krups and posting nastyblogs on the net help? No. I could wait, or I could have pushed the local store to refund the money on the machine but you know what? Life is too short to blow a fuse at some picayune thing.

Yes, escalate your case as far as you need to to get a satisfactory response. Don't go thermonuclear, it doesn't help in 99/100 cases. And accept that in some cases, like the Krups part, the final satisfactory response may be -- We're sorry, it will be done but its going to take an amount of time.