Asus UK - A definition in crap customer care !

I have written maybe a dozen posts on this Blog since I started it, this is the third one about Asus UK and their complete lack of after sales care.  Of my previous two posts on this, one told you what was going on, and explained the issues I was having, the other actually gave a little praise as everything seemed to start moving along, needless to say everything has stalled again since then.

I finished my second Asus post by saying that I was only awaiting the housing association paying the amount quoted from the SBE repair centre  and then my daughters 4 days old Laptop could be mended and returned and we could all live happily ever after.  Life refuses to work like that though, and the gentle winding road ahead of me leading to a once again happy daughter was soon full of pot holes, red lights, and diversions.

When I last bored you with this, I was waiting for payment to reach the repair centre so the work could start.  True to their word, Glen Oaks housing association coughed up the necasery within the week, so I waited for confirmation from SBE that the Laptop was working and would be winging it's way to me like an eagle swooping from above.  After a week or so I got a little bored of this, and contacted SBE (I had to contact them on twitter as the phone system must be left on silent in the offices meaning no one hears them ring). The SBE social media team were prompt in getting back to me, they told me that my repair was on hold as Asus had not delivered the replacement motherboard that was needed to fix the Laptop.  Naturally I contacted the Asus UK level two representative, and asked if she could elevate delivery of the part.  I sent this email on the 23rd of November, more than enough time for the repair to have taken place.  On the 26th of November I received a reply stating that the repair centre had sent me a quotation and were awaiting confirmation to fix the Laptop,  even though the quotation had been paid in full by the 9th of november.  I replied quoting the information that I had received from SBE stating that they were actually awaiting the Asus team to deliver the replacement part, and again asking if delivery could be fast tracked.  I then got a reply from a member of the Asus technical support department which stated that 'according to our records the motherboard issue is now closed' and then went on to say they would be contacting the repair centre.  On the 10th of December I received another email from Asus telling me that the normal turnaround for repairs was 31 days, and after that they would look into alternative solutions, I informed them that at this point I had been waiting 56 days since collection.  

Today I had a missed call on my phone from a number I did not know, the voicemail which was left although hard to understand was from Asus, but I could not really make out any detail.  Being a little rash, I pressed the screen to call the number back.  Low and behold I was talking to Asus HOLLAND (I wrote that in bold just to make sure you paid it all the attention it deserves).  I will say that again actually, I was talking to Asus HOLLAND (oops, did it again).  My Asus Laptop, being fixed by Asus UK at a repair centre in Kent is under the jurisdiction of Asus Holland!  The very nice sounding gentleman named Jonas who is dealing with my case was un-available, so I left a message for him to contact me again.  Within minutes I received another email from Jonas, this time it stated, and I quote 'With reference to your query regarding the repair of your unit, please note that the delay is due to the fact that the fault was diagnosed as customer induced damage as such there are charges involved. Could you please confirm whether you have received a quote from the repair center or not? I tried to call you to discuss the issue but I got the voice mail.'.

Now maybe I am being delusional here, but I thought we had cleared up the fact that the quotation had been received at the end of October, and had been paid within the week.  It is now 30 days over the Asus 31 day repair threshold, and yet Asus rather than attempting to resolve the issue, are in fact acting like a bad comedy routine.  Every email I receive is like Groundhog day, nothing is moving any further forward.  

To say that I am annoyed, angry, disappointed, livid, raging, ready to commit murder would be ,like saying the sun is hot, true, but very understated.  The way things are going we will be lucky to get my daughters Laptop back for Christmas, but I don't hold out any hope of that.  What annoys me most is the complete lack of accurate information coming from Asus.  I booked my repair through Asus UK, and yet they have absolutely no concern their customers satisfaction.  I said this in my original rant, this is a paid repair, someone is making money out if this, not a lot, but a profit none the less.

GET YOUR BLOODY FINGER OUT ASUS - CUSTOMER SERVICE SHOULD NEVER BE THIS BAD.

Asus 'service' update

This is just a small update to the on-going Asus UK saga. After my rant on Thursday night, two thngs happened on Friday. First when I called the Asus helpline again, and after going through the same routine as I mentioned in my last last post, I was given the telephone number for the repair center. Why I could not have been given this number on the Monday I do not know, but the call center operator claims that it should have been printed on my upload receipt (obviously it wasn't, and I am still unsure why none of the other operators I spoke to checked if I had the number, or even suggested that I call the repair center direct). The other 'happening' was a call back from the level 2 team. I don't know if my blog post and subsequent link on twitter mentioning @AsusUK (with a load of re-tweets, thanks tweeps) helped, but I suspect it may have. The rep from the level 2 team went over my case, and told me to be back in touch if I had not received my quotation by today (Monday), then I should e-mail back and they would ensure I received it.

The conversation with the repair center didn't really run smooth (even though the end result was fine). First I was informed that my quotation was still being finalised despite the fact that Asus had reported to me on the Monday that it was showing on their system as awaiting my response. How I was ever meant to respond to a quotation that was still being put together I don't know. When I inquired why it had taken so long to produce a quotation, I was told that it was actually quick for an Asus repair, as they normally take up to a month (a timescale that Asus have denied). I asked to check the contact details they had on file for me and was given my phone number and address, but no e-mail address. I then asked how I would receive the quotation and was told I would receive it through the post. As this saga has dragged on I requested to be sent it electronically, and was told that would be fine. Come Saturday morning I got the quotation, through the post. Not perfect, but at least they used a first class stamp!

Now I just need to wait for the housing association and contractors to agree to the repair.

Contractors, Asus, and typical Glasgow weather

It feels like I only post on here when I am moaning, but sometimes you just need to vent some anger.

My daughter bought a new Asus Laptop on my advice mid September this year. Although not top of the range, it cost her £800 from her student grant with the purpose of seeing her through her four year university course. The Laptop came with decent specs, a 750G HDD, an I7 CPU & 8G of RAM. The Laptop was delivered on a Monday, and after transferring files from her old Netbook she took it home.

Luckily (or un-luckily) my daughter is having some work done on her rented flat by the local housing association. The contractors on the job have pretty poor to say the least, which resulted in my daughters top floor flat being without roof tiles for a period of five weeks. On the Thursday morning she left for a day at university, leaving the Laptop closed on her living room coffee table, to return at around 4:30pm. Needless to say it was a typical wet Glasgow day, and sods law, her roof developed a leak. The water came through, ran along the ceiling and down her ceiling light onto the lid of her Laptop. If you are tech minded you know to remove the battery, and let the device dry out properly before attempting to switch it on, but in her panic my daughter broke the golden rule and switched it on to check if it was still working. The Asus logo flashed up and then it went dead. After calling home and following the correct procedure, giving the Laptop plenty time to dry out, the result would always be the same.

We contacted the housing association and wanting the situation resolved as soon as possible, put a proposal to them that would suit all parties. I suggested that we put the Laptop into a local approved Asus repair shop, and that a years insurance would be taken out to cover the now void Asus warranty. Everyone agreed and the Laptop was checked in for repair. Sadly because the device was so new to market, the motherboard (which was determined as the faulty part) was not generally available and the shop returned the Laptop still broken. At this point the contractors who were responsible for the leak, started acting like a bunch of arses. They decided that they were not happy with the repair shops assessment and asked that the Laptop be sent to their IT department for their own analysis. Obviously despite this additional delay we agreed, and the report came confirming the faulty motherboard. Sadly this was not all the report said, it went on to state that there was no evidence of any water damage and it would be a warranty covered repair. Now while I did not see the laptop sitting under the drip, I have seen the condition it left my daughters coffee table in, and there must have been a whole load of water that came in. It seemed to us that the contractors (Cameron Construction Group) were trying to wriggle out of their responsibility. Luckily the housing association agreed that the damage was caused by the ingression of water (it was four days old, and had it just stopped working we would have sent it back) and they agreed that we should send it to Asus for repair, and they would see good on the cost.

I called Asus, to be told that I had to fill out a form on the Asus UK website (which I did), the next day I received an e-mail back directing me to another form to fill in on the website (which I did), again the following day I received an e-mail telling me to fill in the original form again (which I did). Success! I received an e-mail the following day telling me the Laptop would be collected within 48 hours, and on the day of collection another e-mail detailing what time the courier would arrive. True to their word, the courier turned up in the allotted time frame and collected the Laptop on Monday the 15th of October. All was good in the world, the Laptop was going to be repaired, the housing association would foot the bill, and my daughter would smile again (not something that happens too often).

I waited till the following Monday before contacting Asus in regard of the repair and then the dark clouds of despair returned. I was informed that the repair centre had been in touch with me and were awaiting my decision regarding the repair (confirmation of the fault and the repair costs). I explained to the help desk operator that I had received no communication from the repair centre and was told that my case would be elevated to a level 2 case. I was then told that a member of the level 2 team would be in touch regarding my repair. After hearing nothing, I called back on the Wednesday to be told that the level 2 team could take up to 48 hours to be in touch, and that I should wait until four thirty before calling back. Obviously my phone it did not ringeth, and I duly called the Asus help desk again. This time I was told I would have to give the level 2 team until the morning. I expressed my displeasure at being told to wait again, and asked to be put through to the level 2 team, and was told that this was not possible, the level 2 team have to call you (maybe their phones don't get incoming calls?). On Thursday I once again called Asus UK only to be fobbed off again. I was told that I would again have to wait for a call from the level 2 team, and that the call might not come until Friday. It is now Thursday night and I have received no communication from Asus other than to tell me to wait whenever I call them to find out what is happening.

My daughters Laptop is lying in limbo in an Asus repair centre awaiting someone to say 'fix it'. While I appreciate that all companies have their own procedures, I would think that after this amount of time someone would just call or email the repair centre supplying my contact details, and ask them to get in touch with me ASAP. This is a technology company, surely a line of communication is not beyond them. Also remember that this is a PAID for repair, not a freebie, and someone will be making money from it (granted not a fortune, but a profit none the less).

When this is all finished and I eventually get the Laptop back working (it's been almost a month and a half since it last worked) I will no doubt send an email of complaint to Asus UK. If all goes according to form I will receive a reply around about the 4th of February 2014.