Just Another Reason I Love Toughbooks - The Warranty!

I'm not sure if everone has been reading about the issues Dell is having at the moment. They are being sued for not honoring their warranty. (To say the least) They have been accused of having their customers do their own repairs (Something I can attest to) and, at times, denying claims altogether among many, many other things.

This is why I love Panasonic! As some of you know... I just purchased a CF-30 refurb. I absolutely LOVE the laptop but there were a few things that bothered me. First... The firewire port was not accessable as the little sticker inside had been installed a little off center so that about 75% of the port was showing. I may have been able to use a small screwdriver to push it out of the way... But I didn't really want to take the chance with this being a new laptop. (And under warranty) Second... The GPS was not really working that well. It was getting a fix but the signal was all over the place with nothing really steady. This kind of bothered me a little after forking out the money I paid for it.

I called Panasonic. The guy (John) who answered was very apologetic and then asked for all the pertinent info. He reassured me that everything would be taken care of to my satisfaction. This took all of 5-10 minutes. He gave me an RMA number and called back later with a tracking number. He said that DHL would be at my house the next day between 3-6 and would have a box ready for me. I was just supposed to pack the laptop, write the info on the outside of the box, tape it closed and hand it right back to the DHL person. DHL shows up the next day at 4pm... The laptop arrived at Heartland the next morning. I got my laptop back two days later with everything fixed. I was surprised to see what they did. Not only did they fix the firewire and the GPS (I now receive twice the satellites that I used to with all the signals being rock steady!) but they also installed clear plastic covers over my XP COA and model and serial numbers! They took great care to clean everything up and make it like new again.The GPS works just as well as the EM-408 & Sarantel combo! I get a signal inside and even in my basement. It was like a whole different laptop!

In the days where most are quick to post a derogatory comment about what bad service they had somewhere... I thought I would do the opposite! I applaud Panasonic and Heartland for their excellent service and great attitude! I can't imagine any company being able to top these two companies in anything!

Thank you Panasonic and thank you Heartland Services!!

 

nice to see that you can still get a good customer service

 

Good to hear

Unfourtunatly I am one of those being ripped off by dell at the moment... they are claiming 200$ for a new keyboard replacement when my current keyboard is fine (i checked it after the fall no broken wires no cracks nothing and functioned) and with several other issues, promises broken on their part both recorded audio and written. Unfourtunatly lawsuits are frowned upon here in japan and are VERY costly. Maybe ill look into a touughbook.

 

So perhaps that's where those profit margins go into...

Nonetheless, very commendable of Panasonic.

 

In my opinion, its not "good" customer service; its what customers should be able to expect. People are just used to getting ****ty customer service from the majority of companies that when decent service is given, people call it "good." Other manufacturers should be embarrassed by their own failures, in my opinion.

 

Bog... I agree. I have had good customer service in the past when dealing with other companies. You are correct... Good customer service is expected and when I get it I feel that I got what I paid for. However... I feel that Panasonic and Heartland went above and beyond... Not only was the service speedy but everyone's attitude along the way was superb! Their people answered my questions to my complete satisfaction and then some!

 

The problem is everything a consumer is likely to buy nowdays is throwaway crap. Computers, appliances, cars, you name it. Use it for a couple years, and then throw it in the gutter and go by another. In exchange for that, we're also used to getting stuff dirt cheap. Panasonic isn't following that paradigm with the Toughbook line. Their pricing and service are more old-school, which is what pretty much every organization still expects, other than the unwashed masses of consumers.

 

Agreed. Even better, if you take a look at the LEDco dock thread, is their willingness to help out a guy who is obviously not a potential customer, and never even bought anything from them.

 

So what lenght of warranty do they offer on the refurbs now? It used to be 90days. Now it would also be nice to know what they did to make the GPS work better.

 

Refurbs get a 90 day warranty. But there seems to be a little confusion on mine for some reason. (Mostly on my part!) After I gave the guy my serial number I asked what length of warranties come with the Toughbook. He told me 3 years... But didn't say that MINE had a 3 year warranty. I am hoping that some sort of screw-up was made on mine. I almost want to call in just to check how much time I have left but don't want to bring anything up that should be on the down-low. I figure I'll plan on 90 days... If I have an issue in two years and I call and they tell me I still have a year left.... I'll throw a party with the money I saved.... If not, well... I'll be laying out some ducats for repairs.

 

Is it possible your unit is new enough to have some or most of the original warranty left? I know the standard and extended warranties offered by HP are transferable to a second owner...

mnem
Oh darn; here come those pesky hordes again!

 

They started making 30s in '06 with the earliest I remember seeing being June but either way the original warranty wouldn't be over for at least another year with the earliest manufacture date. For that reason, I think it still has what's left of the original 3 years. I don't know how they set up the warranty for refurbs so it may be 90 days from purchase providing the warranty ran out prior.

 

I've had two issues with my CF-18 one being the rubber keyboard- a rubber piece came off one of the key- box came sent it back -keyboard fixed. Hard drive seemed to be failing called and they sent a caddy and a 40gig had drive no questions asked. I was the second owner to boot. can't say enough

 

The refurbs have a 90 day warranty.

As far as the GPS... Judging how the rest of the work was done on the laptop before I got it... I would say that there was most likely a loose connection or something was unhooked. Instead of spotty connections to 3-4 satellites... I get a good stong link to 8-9 satellites! It works like a charm! I don't have the MultiDrive yet so I bought a external DVD kit for $15 off of ebay. Worked great. I loaded iGuidance and uploaded all the maps. It works GREAT now!

 

TB,
For a guy that forgets lady's birthdays; you got terrific service at Heartland SI.

 

I think you may have something here.... Sounds right...


Randy... Did they provide a box for you to mal back in the damaged drive?