My ASUS G73SW Sandy Bridge Nightmare

My ASUS G73SW Sandy Bridge Nightmare

Some Context
I needed to replace my laptop. My main requirements are photo stitching and media manipulation (I work in new media), which the new Sandy Bridge processor looked great for and research showed that the G73SW was about to come out.
I found the best deal was to buy from the USA and there was a highly recommended reseller (GenTech, who have been great).
I ordered, through GenTech, on the 31st January 2011 then, just a couple of days later, found out about the Sandy Bridge issue.
I tried to cancel my order but it had already been shipped.
I had read some horror stories about Asus support, particularly repair, but was reassured when Asus issued this statement Intel®6 Series Chipset Resolution.
This in particular reassured me “If you would like to wait for product replacement, ASUS will provide free 2-way standard shipping and an equivalent/new product replacement with warranty renewal at time of replacement*.”
So, having sold my old laptop and now being fully reliant on the G73W, I decided to wait for a replacement.
The following unhappy sequence of events then occurred.
Story So Far
Date What Happened
31/01/2011 Purchased my new G73sw
02/02/2011 Found out about the Sandy Bridge issue, immediately emailed the distributor to see if I could cancel my order but it had already been shipped
13/02/2011 Received my new laptop, registered it and signed up for the support portal.
13/02/2011 Contacted Asus support: by this point I had sold my old laptop and the G73sw is my only computer
14/02/2011 Asus support replied saying the UK Support team would contact me directly
17/02/2011 Asus UK phoned and I was told I had been put on a waiting list for a replacement laptop that would become available in a few months. Unfortunately, this was never confirmed by email.
07/04/2011 Asked for an update as it was coming up to the 2 month date previously mentioned
08/04/2011 Was told that the replacement programme was ongoing and I would be contacted when my replacement was ready
18/06/2011 Asked for another update as 2 more months had passed
21/06/2011 Was told the UK Office would be back in contact asap
21/06/2011 Contacted by the UK office and told they could do a repair
22/06/2011 Several emails went back and forth I was not at all happy with the offer of a repair. Called support and talked to a girl who had no idea about the issue, what I had bought (even after giving the serial number) or who to pass me onto to resolve my issue. Finally managed to talk to the guy I was emailing and we agree that if I returned the laptop I could get a full refund.
23/06/2011 Issues because I didn't have a paper receipt, getting more and more pissed off
23/06/2011 Ken Lee from GenTech stepped in and provided a copy of the original receipt
27/06/2011 Was told by Asus the case had been passed to a colleague and I would be updated the same day. (received no same day update)
30/06/2011 No update so emailed to ask for one
01/07/2011 Still no update so emailed to ask for one again…
12/07/2011 Received update to say they were still checking
12/07/2011 Asus asked for serial number, even though I had registered it on the support portal and it was on the copy of the receipt I'd provided (getting very annoyed, provided serial)
21/07/2011 Received reply to say only a repair was possible (I returned from holiday on the 22/08 to find this early this week 24/08)

Some worries above the support I received so far
• I’ve been kept waiting and have had to prompt Asus Support to get information
• I’ve been lied to;
o Major lies - Replacement possible / refund possible
o Minor lies - will get back to you this afternoon/tomorrow then receiving no follow up.
• ASUS support seems to be very fragmented with different offices knowing nothing about what’s happening in the other.
o I talked to a UK Asus call centre member who had no idea of what I had purchased or who to pass me to despite registering with the support portal previously and giving her my serial number.
• Once in contact with UK support, having to provide the original paper receipt and the serial number.
Some other thoughts
I love my G73SW; it’s an amazing bit of kit, it can render 5 minutes of HD video in minutes rather than hours, stitch huge full frame panoramas and handle the latest games; all this while staying quite cool and with reasonable battery life.
However the support that comes with it is insanely lacking. I would have expected that ASUS would protect their early adopters and users of their high end products.
If I don’t get a satisfactory resolution soon I will seriously consider selling the laptop, never buying from ASUS again and recommending to everyone I can to do the same.
What I would like to happen now
I have repeatedly explained to different ASUS Support operatives that this is my only computer; I am completely reliant on it for my income and sending it away for weeks for repair is not a viable option.
Therefore I would like the following;
• Either a replacement or a refund, as promised by UK Support operatives and as defined by ASUS’ own support literature
• An explanation as to why this whole process is taking so long and why it is so excruciatingly fragmented
• An apology

So wish I hadn't had to post this on here but it appears im not getting anywhere with normal UK support can anyone help out or point me towards someone that can.

 

go up the food chain, and get a manager on the phone