Brought
Terry’s phone in for servicing. Short version of the story, it
wasn’t holding a charge, and it needed a new battery.
The
helpful (being polite) representatives and the quality (being
polite) brand name shop checked me in, looked things over, and
said they could change the battery if I wanted. (I did.) They
also said that before committing to a new battery, I might want
to consider upgrading to a newer model. (I didn’t, but I did appreciate
they weren’t heavy handed about it. Just a mention, and obviously
one I expected that wasn’t out of line being asked.)
Diagnostics
were run. (I think. They asked me to open a few apps and press
a few buttons, and to this day I still don’t know exactly what
I did to find what we learned. I’m not even sure I understand
what we learned.) The representative said there were no obvious
reasons for what I described as the issues, but the results showed
the battery wasn’t in horrendous shape considering it had never
been replaced. Because of that, what I was explaining shouldn’t
be a result of the battery.
Still,
I elected for the new battery. Phone has been operating fine since
then, with none of the issues that had been occurring taking place.
The
entire experience got me wondering about a few things.
Now,
look, I made fun of the representatives and manufacturer above
by saying I was being polite by describing them as helpful and
quality. The people were actually fine, and the products are good
enough that we’re fairly loyal to the brand. So, yeah. All good.
No worries.
But
the experience was incredible. Incredibly frustrating, that is.
At
first, my wife and I both agreed it was likely time for a new
battery, and all I wanted to know was a price. How much would
a battery replacement cost? And I couldn’t find out. Internet
estimates? Sure. But not an official, from the store I was headed
to visit, cost of service price.
I
tried calling the local outlet, but using that number immediately
defaulted to an automated selection process that sent me off to…
well, I honestly don’t know. Sure seemed to be the nation-wide
company system. And I needed to navigate it several times. On
the first try, all I wanted to do was speak to someone at the
store. That approach didn’t work out well at all. Turns out that
a customer getting someone at the store on the line is actually
impossible to do. Seriously, literally, impossible. So, the next
time I decided to concentrate on finding out the costs. That got
me to a live person, and it was a person that had never heard
of the store location I was selecting. (Not kidding. After time
seemed to be dragging while he was looking, I glanced at the timer
on the phone. I know it took well over forty-five seconds to find
the store on his end because he was searching long before I started.
I had the number, using my phone, in less than half of that.)
Eventually he told me a price that was, frankly, impossibly high.
So, we politely ended our conversation and I called again. The
next representative got me a price that was fine, but she couldn’t
find the store either.
Six
calls. Six. All I wanted to do was get a price and find out if
I could drop off the phone. No pressure. Take a day or two with
it if you need it. I’d stay if it was going to take an hour or
two, come back if longer. And time and again, no one could tell
me anything I wanted to know. Sure kept recommending making an
appointment online though.
On
the phone, the first representative pulled out an old favorite
for this name brand. They wanted information to see if my warranty
was still active. I knew it wasn’t. Told him it wasn’t. Didn’t
stop him. I’d like to give him the benefit of the doubt, attribute
it to a scripted conversation, but no one else tried to get me
to purchase an extended warranty for my out of warranty phone
that I was explaining was broken.
(Remember
I mentioned being polite earlier? At this moment, full disclosure,
I should explain that I have called this company in the past for
information about getting repairs and service. Two other times—three
including this one—I called about getting an item fixed that appeared
at best to need repair and at worst was broken beyond any repair
that would make financial sense. Each of these times, the first
representative I spoke with wanted to check on my warranty. The
best one was the first time I ever called, when the representative
couldn’t tell me if the unit could even be fixed, while also giving
me a completely incorrect date of purchase. (I even had the receipt
on hand to be able to prove that date of purchase.) But apparently,
they just wanted me to buy the protection plan before proceeding.
(Hmm… wonder if selling service plans earns them extra credit.
(Nah. Couldn’t be.)) Experiences since that call have only reinforced
the exasperation and eye rolling. When I tell you it’s busted,
if you can’t tell me you can fix it, don’t try to sell me a new
warranty that I might never use!)
Eventually
our story moves along and I arrive at the store, and the representative
that told me that switching to a new battery may or may not solve
the issue. That’s some high-end experience and knowledge at work.
There’s
an old joke about electrical equipment and troubleshooting. Basically,
it goes over how the first thing to check is whether or not it’s
plugged in. (Second is usually to try turning it on. And, in professional-level
troubleshooting, turning it off and waiting a few seconds before
turning it back on.)
I
like the honesty found in that joke. Especially the idea that
occasionally problems have two elements involved: (1) The issue
may not be all that complicated, just open your eyes. And, (2)
every so often, the customer is right.
The
battery exchange was handled in less than an hour. I literally—LITERALLY—spent
more time navigating the process of one person checking me in,
asking me to wait over there for the next person to go over my
information again and then look at the phone, and then upon return
checking back in and waiting for the final person to process the
payment and hand me the phone so I could leave. Yes, the before
and after portions took longer than the actual repair. (Heck,
the phone calls to find out about the repair took longer than
the repair.)
At
least now it works when you turn it on. (And it charges when you
plug it in.) But what do I know?