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Has anyone ever had a successful experience with Sony Customer Service?

Topic started on Jul 8, 2011 9:20 PM , last reply on Aug 6, 2012 10:48 AM

in VAIO and Computing > Notebooks
davcarls
8 posts since
Jul 8, 2011

I bought a supposed top of the range F series Vaio a year ago and have had problems from day 1 including overheating, sounding like a hair dryer and struggling to process data streams (I got a  2year warranty and purchased an additional year so no disputes about out of warranty work).

 

I arranged a collection over a month ago for today, e-mailed them yesterday to remind them, made arrangements to stay in all day and no-one turned up to collect it, not even a phone call.

 

This exact same thing happened last year when I arranged a repair - stayed in and no-one turned up on the day arranged. On this occasion I had to waste 2 days staying in and then they said I would get a VIP turn around of 3 days. 7 days later it was missing and I eventually received it back after 10 days. I use it for my work so this is more than just an inconvenience.

 

I wrote and e-mailed to the main customer service in the UK but got no response back.  They seem to have a policy of pass the buck and will when I called they said they couldn't help and referred me back to the vaio-link customer service who are some outsourced outfit and totally incompetent. It seems that they try and inconvenience you as much as possible so you will give up trying to get it repaired. I guess they hope that if they stone wall you enough times you will go away.

 

The inconvenience in time and money this has caused me is far more than the cost of the stupid machine so by this action Sony really are being short sighted as I would not risk this expereince again.

 

I saw on another thread someone had written to the executive officers:

 

Head of UK Customer services is Mr Karl Barker, karl.barker@eu.sony.com

Sony CEO is Mr Howard Stringer, howard_stringer@sonyusa.com

Head of Vaio Service Europe is Mr Koji Mizuno, kmizuno@vaio-link.com

 

I was wondering if anyone else had tried this and had any success.


  • Thalamus.
    Thalamus.
    Written on Jul 8, 2011 9:17 PM

    Hi davcarls,

    welcome to Questions & Answers..

    Who have you been in contact with to arrange collection & repair..

     

    Do you have a case number if could you send it to me via private message,

     

    I know you may be frustrated but please don't multi post on the forum as it does little to help your case and can cause confusion and waste peoples time, most of us don't work for Sony..

     

    PS I'll close you other thread that I branched off and use this in instead..


  • Thalamus.
    Thalamus.
    Written on Jul 12, 2011 10:14 PM

    Hi davcarls,

     

    I notice that you have not logged into the forum since starting this thread but in case you do someone from Sony should hopefully be in contact with you soon..


  • davcarls
    8 posts since
    Jul 8, 2011
    Written on Jul 19, 2011 9:55 PM

    Hi Thalamus,

     

    Thank you for your reply but I'm not sure of your status in relation to Sony and on what authority you are representing them.

     

    Edit: I've just noticed that you state you don't work for them so could you confirm what your role is?

     

    The reason I've not logged in is that I'm just back after a weeks holiday. This is why I went to so much trouble to get the lap-top serviced last week. I now need it on a daily basis for work so I can either buy a new one, or Sony can lend me one while this is being repaired (which of course they wont do).

     

    I will send you my case nr by separate msg.

     

    Message was edited by: davcarls

    Message was edited by: davcarls


  • davcarls
    8 posts since
    Jul 8, 2011
    Written on Jul 18, 2011 9:31 AM

    I've tried to send you a private msg but your mailbox is full!! The case number I have is 5631360

     

    I am also attaching the e-mails I sent below from 10 June and 7 July (I thought it best to send a reminder).

     

    Someone did contact me on Monday 11th but as I clearly stated in telephone calls and in the e-mail below I would be on holiday that week and not available. Do they actually read what is sent to them?

     

     

     

    From: David
    Sent: 07 July 2011 17:39
    To: customersupport.en@vaio-link.com
    Subject: RE: Case Nr: 5631360

     

    With reference to the collection tomorrow could you have someone call me to let me know a time frame for collection e.g 9-12 or 12-4.

     

    Also there is a problem with the updating of Vaio care  -it starts then crashes before the update is complete.

     

    From: David
    Sent: 10 June 2011 16:17
    To: customersupport.en@vaio-link.com
    Subject: Case Nr: 5631360

     

    Further to my reporting of various faults today, below is the address for collection to service:

     

    Address (included in original msg)

     

    Tel: (included in original msg)

     

    Please ensure that it is collected on Friday 8th July as I will be away for a week after this (9th – 17th July). It would be helpful to get a call confirming approximate time of collection.

     

    As mentioned on the phone call it would be ideal to receive it back on Monday 18th July. Please could you make a note so that someone contacts me to confirm when it will be delivered.

     

    Regards,

     

    David


  • User3D
    User3D
    38 posts since
    Apr 24, 2011
    Written on Jul 18, 2011 11:37 AM

    Not really. I'm openinh a new thred with description of the issue I face with my Vaio (in paralell to the therad in French in which I have no answer).

     

    Vaio3D


  • malcolmwade
    3 posts since
    Jun 17, 2011
    Written on Jul 19, 2011 10:26 AM

    Sorry to report that I have just had similar very bad service from Sony - so much so that I don't think I'll ever buy Sony again - wished I'd bought Apple as I had been told by colleagues!

    My laptop broke (HDD problem and loss of power) under warranty and it took two attempts by their Flextronics partners to fix it. I was so irrate I responded to Koji Mizumo's email and surprise surprise got no response for days.

     

    Then I got told that I would receive substantial compensation - well guess what? I've heard nothing since.

     

    In my view Sony are amongst the worst at customer service that I have experienced in recent years - even worse than Dixons Retail Group - and that's saying something!

     

    Sorry to report this - but I am completely disillusioned with the once great Sony......they are going down the same slope as Nokia and losing their way and market share

     

    Malcolm


  • STEVIEEG
    1 posts since
    Jul 19, 2011
    Written on Jul 19, 2011 5:49 PM

    I wish I could say yes, but unfortunately the answer is a resounding "NO"!

     

    I am on my second VAIO, and perhaps I should question my sanity in having made the second purchase.

     

    I have been a SONY user from my first cassette walkman through to discman, minidisc player, my VX2000 pro-sumer video camera, PS1 2 and 3 and a number of mobile phones including my current one. I have spent upwards of £7,000 on SONY products over the years... I guess you could say I am typically brand loyal... but these VAIOs and the resulting customer experience have really led me to rethink this.

     

    I made the most recent VAIO purchase despite an awful battle to get SONY to recognise the well known nVidia bump solder defect on my previous system and fix it. Having the fix done was in no part thanks to the woeful customer service who stonewalled, obfuscated and generally disrespected me throughout the several of hours of my life wasted on the phone to them. Only threats of action via small claims court in writing seemed to help my case!

     

    Amazingly after having the problem resolved I still had some residual goodwill and product loyalty... Overall I felt the general build quality of the product was good and this was an isolated case of manufacturing issues.

     

    My current £1000 F-series is 8 months old and under a 2 year warranty, yet it has developed a very loose power connector to the point that it is becoming almost impossible to charge or power. I have just embarked on the all too familiar process of contacting Sony support via it's chat and technical channels to be met instantly with the familiar "this is a physical defect, it is not covered by warranty" rebuttal. I know that under UK law I am afforded consumer protection against defects in manufacture (and that in small claims court reasonable enjoyment of a laptop is deemed to be a lifecycle of greater than three years regardless of what the warranty says)

     

    At the moment I'm gearing up for the major battle I expect to have to go through to get this fixed. I'm a reasonable person and would far rather have this solved amicably, but I can see the writing on the wall and feel that perhaps I should go straight for the jugular this time and save myself the sould destroying minutes and hours spent on hold only to be told the same thing by a different person (or to be cut off again)

     

    I wonder why SONY don't realise that by simply recognising a customer with a legitimate grievance and doing what they can to put things right then they would find people would overlook the defect itself and remember the good service...

     

    Perhaps that would result in more repeat business? ...Perhaps they get it anyway!

     

    They certainly won't be having mine again if I have to endure torture by customer service once more to get some satisfaction. This time the gloves are off...


  • joperez7798
    joperez7798
    20 posts since
    Oct 10, 2010
    Written on Jul 20, 2011 11:59 PM

    Hi I have not any positive experience with Sony neither custormer service nor support service. I bought the F series last year because of the premiun HD screen. When ordered, it was in a free HDD upgrade period that never came with my computer. The person who dealt with the situation was totally useless, she was answering about things not related to my enquiries. Then I had a problem with the screen and VAIO software and the Sony support were, well the typical, " use the recovery discs" or showing an incapability when understanding what the problem was with the screen. Fortunately, at the end I could manage to find a solution that it was never told by the support team despite the fact that it should be supposed to be IT professionals. I like the laptop but I do not think I'd buy a Sony laptop again. The 80s' radios/tuners were worrying free and I am still enjoying them though. The problem is which brand has a better customer service, apart from Apple that I will never buy.


  • 213000041
    3 posts since
    Jun 25, 2011
    Written on Jul 21, 2011 10:18 AM

    Not me either.  They appear to have started this forum (a great way for a manufacturer to get good feedback) and then totally ignored everyone's comments and questions.  Also, they are next-to-impossible to get hold of.  My patience are spent with these guys.

    Felix


  • davcarls
    8 posts since
    Jul 8, 2011
    Written on Aug 10, 2011 2:52 PM

    As an update to this:

     

    Shortly after posting I got a phone call from someone in Belgium from Vaio Support Link apologising for the inconvenience and saying they would be monitoring this every day, reassuring me that this was being given a top priority.

     

    I was insistent that I needed a loan unit and eventually they agreed, phoning me regularly to say they were "searching" for one and updating me. I received a phone call last week to say they had one and was sent a loan form which I filled in and returned.

     

    I was informed that I would recieve the loan unit yesterday and a courier would come to collect my unit today. I was also promised that someone would call beforehand to give an approximate time when they would be delivering the loan unit (I said that it should be afternoon in both cases).

     

    So what happened? Tuesday (yesterday) nothing - no loan unit, no phone call and I stayed in all today. This morning (Wednesday) I get a call from a courier who come to collect my unit so I sent him away.

     

    So after a month of so-called customer service schmoozing, they still couldn't even organise the logistics of delivering a loan unit before collecting my lap-top and I'm back to Square 1 again having wasted even more time.

     

    It would appear that even when being given so called "VIP" treatment they cannot organise a simple delivery.

     

    It's no woner Sony's share price has lost 50% since last year which will probably have even greater adverse effects to the Customer Service as they try and cut costs.

     

    Totally useless.


  • Laura11434347
    Laura11434347
    1 posts since
    Aug 3, 2012
    Written on Aug 6, 2012 10:48 AM

    Just of the phone to Sony for the fouth time today to get my laptop repaired. This has been going on since the start of July. Everytime I speak to someone they tell me a different story. They don't communicate with each other, don't look at anything I send them, don't call me back when they say they will and their attitude on the phone stinks. They even charge silly rates every time I call up. I am so fed up with the whole thing....and to make it worse, this is the second time I have had to send my vaio back to them in nine months for repair. I haven't even had the thing for one year yet.

     

    I had never even written a complaint letter in my life until I had the joy of owning a Sony Vaio.

     

    Totally useless doesn't even cover it!


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