Companies I Hate

Red Ring of Death: Summary

2008-07-02T08:02:00.000-07:00

It's been over a week since my Xbox was returned to me. I'll break down my thoughts below:

PROCESS: B

Getting my Xbox to and from the service center was as quick and painless as I could have hoped for.

Microsoft provided detailed instructions, all the materials I needed, and automated means for getting status updates.

The only improvement I can imagine is the ability to take my Xbox to a local service center for same or next day repair.

SERVICE EXPERIENCE: C

I appreciate that I didn't need to talk to anyone during the process. Overall Microsoft was clear and concise. However, Microsoft didn't go above and beyond to compensate for my troubles.

Microsoft did include a month of Xbox Live for free. However, my Xbox Live yearly subscription was running while my Xbox was in repair so this 'gift' was the least they could do.

At an Amazon value of $7.99, please excuse me if I am not overwhelmed with gratitude.

PRODUCT: D-

Xbox sent me a working consul rather than repairing the consul I purchased so I 'can get back to playing and enjoying [my] Xbox quicker.'

What's most concerning is that my new Xbox is much louder than my previous Xbox. I'm not sure if the fan is broken or if it's just different hardware. I can only hope this isn't a sign of an impending Red Ring of Death or if it is, that it happens before the warranty expires.

Lucasfilm: Indy 4

2008-07-01T23:27:00.000-07:00

At the top of this blog, I stated that all companies that I previously hate would get a clean slate, and technically, I saw Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull before starting this blog. However, this company has been so egregious over the past two decades, I can't help but call it out.

The most recent disaster has been well documented. These two links sum up my feelings better than my own words would:

http://www.the-editing-room.com/indianajones4.html

http://nukingthefridge.com/

Red Ring of Death: Day Seventeen

2008-06-20T17:54:00.000-07:00

The Xbox is here!

Seventeen days after my Xbox crashed while I was playing Call of Duty 4, my Xbox has returned. Unfortunately, I don't have time to set it up now, but I will set it up, test it out, and update with a summary of my experience shortly.

American Airlines: Telephone Ticketing Service Fee

2008-06-19T20:49:00.000-07:00

When I need to purchase a plane ticket, I visit my favorite ticket search site: www.kayak.com*

When I recently searched for a ticket via Kayak, I found the cheapest were offered by American Airlines. So I clicked the tickets, which took me away from Kayak to the American Airlines website.

Unfortunately, it didn't take me to the tickets that I wanted to purchase. Therefore, I searched for them at the AA website. I searched by all three criteria that American Airlines offers: Price, Schedule, and Price and Schedule. However, it appeared that the tickets Kayak described weren't available.

As a result, I returned to Kayak, where I noticed a useful link, something along the lines of 'Tickets not found?', so I clicked and was taken to a Kayak page that included:

AA's phone number (800-433-7300)
instructions for getting the advertised schedule and price.

I prefer to buy everything online. The last thing I want to do is talk to someone on the phone. So far, my only problem was the minor inconvenience of having to call AA when I'd prefer to order online.

However, at the end of my call, the operator quoted a price that was twenty dollars more than the list price. I assumed this was a tax (my mistake), but in fact, it was a hidden fee.

When I received my email confirmation, AA confirmed that I had been charged $20 for ordering my ticket on the phone. This was frustrating to me, because, I didn't want to purchase this service nor did I realize this service came at a cost.

I wish the agent described the $20 fee before charging me (I should have asked).
I wish AA had allowed me to purchase the tickets online easily. It would save AA cost, and be more convenient for me.

* I love Kayak except for their 'Flight Times' filter. This feature should allow me to select the day for which I want to filter time. In other words, if I want to arrive no later than 6 PM on Friday, but I'm also considering Thursday flights, I don't want to filter Thursday flights that arrive after 6 PM on Thursday from my results.

Red Ring of Death: Day Sixteen

2008-06-19T20:42:00.000-07:00

It's been over two weeks since I experienced the Red Ring of Death, and I am still Xbox-less.

According to the Microsoft website, my Xbox shipped as early as Monday. When I shipped the Xbox to Microsoft, I shipped it on Saturday, and it reached its destination in Texas on Friday or so.

Hopefully, my box is in San Pablo, and it will be delivered in the next day or two.

Red Ring of Death: Day Thirteen

2008-06-16T08:24:00.000-07:00

Today, Monday June 16, 2008, I logged into my Device Service center to check the status of my Xbox, which I mailed to Microsoft 9 days ago.

Here is the status of my device:

I have to admit that I'm impressed with the turnaround time. Tomorrow is two weeks from when I first received the Red Ring of Death. Hopefully, my Xbox will arrive this week, and despite having to ship my Xbox across the country, I will have completed the process within 3 weeks.

It's unfortunate that I had to bother with this at all, but given the defect, the only 2 changes that would have improved my experience would have been to receive email updates on my status or receive the option to take my Xbox to a local service center where I could have had faster turnaround.

Red Ring of Death: Days Seven and Eight

2008-06-11T08:01:00.000-07:00

We're now a week into my experience with the Red Ring of Death. I left my Xbox with UPS on Saturday around Noon, and today, I logged onto the UPS website to check on the status.

From Saturday to Monday, my package made it from San Francisco to San Pablo. At 3 AM, on Tuesday it departed San Pablo, and the "Rescheduled Delivery" day is June 13.

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Red Ring of Death: Days Four, Five, and Six

2008-06-09T07:52:00.000-07:00

I shipped my package on day five, Saturday, at Noon. I'm hoping the package is in transit.

It's shipping to Texas.

View Larger Map

Unfortunately, I don't know what the status is this morning (Monday, Day Seven). The UPS tracker says:

Billing information has been sent to UPS. Check site later for updated shipment status or contact shipper for more details.

However, Microsoft's info said I should give 2-3 weeks from when I shipped the Xbox for it to be returned. 3 weeks from Saturday is Friday, June 27.

Red Ring of Death: Day Three

2008-06-05T23:17:00.000-07:00

Only 48 hours after I submitted my Service Order Request, my box in which I must ship my broken 9 month old Xbox, arrived. So far, given that I have a broken Xbox, I could not have expected better service.

I hope to get my Xbox in the mail by Saturday morning (Day Five) at the latest. I will keep you updated on how the shipping process goes.

Microsoft provided me with detailed instructions, including "Don't write Xbox on the box.", and I plan to follow them to the 'T'.

Red Ring of Death: Day Two

2008-06-04T21:54:00.000-07:00

Just a few hours after submitting my Service Request Order, I received a confirmation that my order would be shipped via UPS shortly. Today, I checked my order status, and confirmed that my order is in fact 'In Transit'. I'm hopeful that I will receive it shortly.

It shipped from NV, so it's can't be too far away.

I have to admit that I'm surprised with the speed so far. Let's hope this continues.

I also like that I haven't yet had to speak with a human. Of course, that's because I haven't needed to speak with anyone. Should I need to speak with a human, I hope one is not far away.

Red Ring of Death: Day One

2008-06-03T19:56:00.000-07:00

Today, June 3, 2008, at 8 PM PST, I was playing Call of Duty 4 on my Xbox 360, which I purchased from Amazon.com on September 2, 2007, when the game froze approximately 10 minutes into my session.

This wasn't the first time I had experienced this issue so I wasn't too concerned. I powered my Xbox down as I had in the past, and then powered it back on.

Upon powering on the Xbox the second time, I saw the Red Circle of Death. I tried this a few more times with no improvement until I finally did a quick Google search to learn more.

I followed Microsoft's troubleshooting advice before submitting a Service Request Order.

Now, I'll wait while Microsoft ships me a package which I can then use to return my device to them for free.

So far, my biggest frustration is that I'll be without my Xbox for ~3 weeks while I wait for Microsoft to repair a device I purchased for $449.99 less than 9 months ago.

I also learned that although my Xbox was purchased on September 7th and received shortly thereafter, the warrenty expires on August 24, 2008 at 7:59:59. Perhaps I should be glad my product faultered so quickly. If not, the red ring of death would likely cost me money in addition to time and inconvenience.

Let's see how it goes.