This time, it's Motorola.

I bought a brand new purple W490 phone off ebay in September. After using it for a couple weeks, all of a sudden I couldn't hear anything from the earpiece and I couldn't be heard through the "handset." So I called Motorola tech support and after a good long time on the phone, it was decided the best thing to do would be to send it in for repairs. I'd also checked and found that the phone was indeed within warranty. About a week after I sent the phone in, it came back with a note saying that the "PC board" was damaged and the phone was out of warranty. I disagreed with that, at which point I was told to re-send the phone in and it would be looked at by a department called "repair escalations." Several days later, after sending the phone back a second time, it came back with the same note and a card saying "oh, and by the way, call us to buy a new phone and get 15% off with this coupon and coupon code." Thank you, NO! I want my phone to work. Move to October 1. I call again and was firmly told that the phone couldn't be repaired, it was out of warranty, it was my fault (I must have dropped the phone), and the best we can do is offer you a replacement black T-mobile capable phone (mine was unlocked and was purple) for $75.00. Now, I had paid $54 for the phone originally, and now they're wanting more?!

I said that was unsatisfactory - that 1) I didn't break the phone; 2) the phone was purple, not black; 3) why should I even consider getting a replacement Motorola phone if this is how I'll be treated the first time I have a problem with the phone? The person with whom I spoke said she'd see about getting an unlocked phone and would call me back by Monday, October 5. Fine, I said. Well, October 5 came and went, so on October 6, I called in and ended up speaking to a supervisor named John who told me that I'd hear from someone within 2 days. Cut to Thursday, October 8 - the person who had called on October 1 and told me I'd hear from her on October 5 called while I was in traffic. I asked her to please call me back at home in 10 minutes, giving her my number after explaining that I was in traffic and didn't want to risk an accident or anything.

Fifty minutes later, after she had not called back, I called in again and after nearly 20 minutes on the phone, I ended up speaking with Angelina (I'm guessing at the spelling), who said she was the Manager in charge of Repair Escalations. One of the first things she said was that the problem with my phone was the "flip," (now wait a minute! The cards I received said "PC board" - how could it suddenly be the "flip"?). After telling me twice that it was the flip and my reminding her that the cards said PC board, she admitted she was wrong, but she also said that there was nothing they could do with regard to the phone, that it was out of warranty, that I'd have to buy a new phone. I told her that her alternatives weren't satisfactory, that I still hadn't received any explanation as to why a brand-new phone could suddenly be out of warranty when I didn't do anything to damage the phone and it ends up damaged, so I demanded (I'll admit it) that I wanted to talk to her superiors. What ended up happening is that I faxed a letter to "Corporate Advocacy" explaining exactly what had transpired: the lies, the no calls, the no explanations, etc., and how I was still dissatisfied. What Angelina refused to tell me was the name of the CEO, as I wanted to contact him. She didn't know, and I didn't tell her, I was going to cc the CEO of Motorola Corporation. Well, the letter has been faxed, and it's in the mail to go to the CEO of Motorola today.

I don't know what's going to happen, but I know this: a company that has been respected in the US for so long is doing all it can to be disrespected. I realize that "customer support" has become "customer no support" and that the only way it seems to get any sort of satisfaction is to post your displeasure on the internet (although this is not as good as the youtube video "United Breaks Guitars (part 1)," which actually gave me the impetus to sit down and write this). All I want is a working, unlocked, purple W490 that doesn't have problems. Is that too much to ask?

Tags: cell phone, customer service (or lack thereof), motorola corporation
Current Location: work
Current Mood: aggravated
Current Music: none

replacement phone arrived yesterday afternoon. I knew it had to be a legit phone because in 2 hours it was fully charged (as opposed to 50% in 6 hours for the previously-mentioned phone), and when I tried registering it online, it showed up as a brand new phone made for use in the US of A. It's a Motorola KRZR K1. I'll be able to use it around the world (except for Japan, which is on another type of phone system - CDMA vs. GSM). Since I'm hoping to do some more traveling outside the US, I'm looking forward to having a phone with me that I can use without having to rent one and pay an exhorbitant amount for minutes.

The phone is unlocked, which means it's not tied to one service provider. The upside to that is that I can use it wherever I go. The bad side is that some of the features I get from T-Mobile I don't get because the phone isn't locked into the T-Mobile system. Ah, c'est la vie.

SIM cards vary in price depending on what country you go to. However, what I found out is that it's cheaper to get a SIM card for another country and use my own phone rather than renting a phone. For instance, in Hong Kong, for $29 (IIRC), I get a SIM card, a Hong Kong phone number, and phone calls in Hong Kong cost me $0.10HK a minute (which comes to about $0.015US a minute). Plus, with the SIM card, I get about 680 minutes of phone time immediately.

Now all I have to do is get out of the country.

Tags: cell phone
Current Location: bedroom
Current Mood: tired
Current Music: "Avalon is Risen," Leslie Fish

I had bought what had appeared to be a brand-new unlocked GSM quad-band cell phone from a vendor on ebay. The vendor has a 99.3% positive rating. Well, after not hearing anything after sending 2 messages, I received the phone today at work. After downloading the software to hook the phone up to the computer, it turns out that the phone is out of warranty. Say what?? Well, I called the phone's manufacturer and it turns out that not only is the phone not new, but it was not manufactured for use in the United States. He lied to me.

I've filed a claim with paypal (which is how I paid for the phone). Have to check in 2 weeks to get a status updated. I'll ask them to put the money back into my checking account. I then contacted my cell service and found that they do not have a quad-band phone available for PAYGO customers, that the only quad-band cell phones available are for people who have contracts. Considering that I'm paying an average of $8.33 a month for my phone service, the sales rep said that it'd be best if I bought a cell phone from an outside provider. I then checked and bought a new unlocked GSM quad-band cell phone from J&R Music World (with a $5 reduction from the published price). With shipping, it'll cost $25 more than what I paid for the phone on ebay. I should get it no later than Monday.

I'm miffed that I got taken, and I'm miffed that I was lied to. I will leave negative feedback after I receive the replacement phone and my money back. I will be happy once I get the new phone and ensure that it indeed works and is new.

Tags: cell phone, ebay, paypal
Current Location: home
Current Mood: aggravated
Current Music: none