An open letter to Sony

Dear Sony,

When it was time to purchase a new laptop, I chose Sony, because I was foolish enough to think it was the most international brand and catered to businessmen, who tend to travel. I got a premium VPCZ1390x laptop fresh on its launch. Because I demand the best there is, I maxed out all its properties, and paid dearly for it ($4k+). I expected it to be a joy to use. It wasn't. Now, not even after 18 months, 4 of which I couldn't access the computer due to repairs, I am ready to throw it away.

Troubles started when I moved to Istanbul, Turkey where my new job was. Even though I cradled--and still do--this laptop like a baby, it developed a screen bruise. I called your Istanbul branch. They told me the $400+ full coverage (including accidental damage) warranty I purchased in the US was no good in Turkey. I asked them whether I am actually in a real Sony branch. They said "Yes! But we cannot honor what that other Sony promised." I said " OK. Can you at least ship it to them, since, you know, you claim to be them?" They said, "Nope. You have to dish out $1k+ to get it fixed."

Luckily, my brother was about to fly to his university in the US. I shipped the computer with him. He sent it to Sony support. Sony support fixed it right away, but refused to ship it back to Turkey. A nightmarish period began, because if my brother sent it to me, it would be subject to 18% tax over the value of the product (and since there is no bill, the Turkish customs would determine the value, probably through Turkish Sony with its inflated prices). I was either going to pay the most expensive shipment of a laptop ever, costing over $1k+, or wait. The piece was stuck in the US until somebody my brother could reach would agree to bring the laptop back to me. My brother ended up bringing it back. 3 months later.

In these 3 months, I asked the Turkish Sony if they could somehow bring it back. The answer was, as expected, no. I asked them whether I can buy a warranty through the Turkish Sony for future use to avoid hiccups like this, and I was ready to pay any comparable price. The answer was, again, an outrageous no.

Although I missed out on the most valuable months of this fresh laptop, I was happy to have the back. Upon the first 15 minutes of turning it on, I realized the computer wouldn't go to sleep when I put the lid down. Some research revealed that there is a magnet on top of the screen which activated the sleep sensor, and Sony service had forgotten to put one in. I either had to ship it back to the US, or pay to get it fixed here. The solution was obvious.

Since then, I have gone crawling back to the Turkish Sony several times, paying $100+ every time I did. On my previous visit, the fan was rattling beyond tolerance (and to think that this is *the* premium Sony laptop and only 1 year old). I asked them to change it. They did. Again, upon the first 15 minutes of getting the computer back, it reset on me under heavy use. I thought it could possibly be expected, that the new fan needs to loosen up and maybe the thermal paste would settle in after some use. Even after weeks of use, the computer would randomly shut down. With the approach of summer, it was getting impossible to do reliable work, I would lose precious unsaved work. So I took it back to Turkish Sony.

They called me back an hour ago, and told me that my mainboard was defective and it would take $1k+ to change it. I asked them what specifically was the issue. They said, "we cannot say, but it is definitely the mainboard." I told them this computer was working fine and dandy minus the fan rattling before I took it to Sony service. They said they cannot claim any responsibility, because they only changed the fan, and the mainboard is defective instead.

Now, I have a computer that randomly shuts down, that I have to pay another $1,000 for it to have any resale value, let alone any use value, whatsoever.

Here is the thing, Sony: A supposedly valid Sony warranty is not honored in another shop that claims to be Sony. This Sony refuses to communicate with the other Sony, and refuses to ship my computer to and from that Sony (though, when it comes to ordering the spare parts, they magically claim to be in communication with that Sony, who they blame for the slow shipment of the aforementioned parts, causing an outrageous 3-week repair cycle). And now, for all I know, this Sony refuses to fix my Sony computer that they broke, and attempt to charge me an insane amount over an indeterminate mythical problem with the mainboard.

Dear Sony, I solemnly swear never to buy another Sony service or product, in electronics or entertainment or anything, ever again, if you do not make this right. People turn to me for technology advice and I am very active socially online and offline, and I will make sure to let everyone know what I think of your quality and integrity. You have already tarnished your honorable conduct, and are about to lose a good, paying customer. I know you are sinking fast and might not care about another single loss, but it is up to you to abandon your draconian ways, start working like a true international brand, and turn the tides.

I expect to hear from you in person. In a human manner, Sony, not some cookie cutter customer representative reply.

Regards;

S.

 

Wow. Just wow. Sony e-mailed me back and told me that I should talk to Sony's Customer Relations Team, but they do not call back and they do not offer an email contact option. So they operate like crooks and want nothing on record originating from them. This company is over.

 

What did the Terms & Conditions of the warranty say? I didn't know that Sony offered an international warranty on their Vaios. Certainly, the Vaio I bought in Europe does not have an international warranty, so if I need it fixed in the US, I would have to pay for that.

 

Gosh this is just outrageous...

 

I'm sure everything is covered in terms and conditions. It is just unacceptable in a globalized world, especially for a brand like Sony that you'd imagine CEOs using, offering country specific services when it comes to the most essential service of them all: repairs.

I would be able to look past this if they offered "pick-up" services abroad. This is just plain wrong, and everybody should say so until the rules change.

 

I appreciate what you're saying, but if Sony say up-front that the warranty is US only, and you purchase it on that basis (rather than choosing a notebook that has an international warranty), you can't complain if they refuse to repair it FOC when you're in Turkey.

However, their appauling repair service both in the US (failing to fit the magnet after replacing the screen) and in Turkey is certainly reason to complain. I had my Vaio Z repaired three times, but fortunately it came back working every time (though after a pretty long wait each time), but I have heard other stories similar to yours.

I feel sorry that you've had such a terrible experience - but I recommend you focus your complaint on what is Sony's fault.

 

You are correct, though only legally. You are well aware that many unacceptable things were legal once upon a time. I am telling Sony I am not having any of this, and they should adapt Or bend their rules to win me over. Or else I am leaving with my $4,000 paperweight, never to return.

One thing is final in retail: The customer, unless insane (and sometimes even when so), is always right.

And one thing cannot be altered by reasoning: I feel screwed.

If the brand Sony is on a door, it should be the same service worldwide. This is not so hard. In fact, I'm sure it's less of a hassle than juggling thousands of varying regional policies. It is just that Sony is old, draconian, and unable to adapt to the new world. I should not pay for that.

 

dude... I feel your pain. But let me say you some harsh words...

you should have sold it before going living in another country and buy it over there... you should have read the warranty for international coverage before moving over there... I mean, come on, how can you accuse a company of doing what they are supposed to do, which is what was written on the warranty contract... I am pretty sure a lot of companies out there do not offer internation warranty...

anyways, just keep the laptop plugged in as a desktop and buy another one... there is other cheap good laptops out there for less than your repair price... take a breather, go to the toilet and take a dump, then search for a viable and easy solution...

1K will give you really good ultrabooks... think about that... asus ux32vd much? SUPERB warranty with asus + 1080p IPS screen... just get it.

 

So they have a booklet of pages and pages of what they will and won't do, and you want them to do something that they won't do? Sorry, but that's what each and every company in the world does... toe the legal line and not do anything outside of that. Small boutique places with word of mouth reputations usually bend more than big corporations as your purchase would be a more significant percentage of their yearly turnover, but they will see that as more of an investment into future goodwill and repurchasing. Sometimes you manage to get a good person the end of the phone who takes pity on you, or is just in a good mood and bends the rule, but that's usually infrequent!

When you bought it, did you discuss taking it abroad for an extended time? No doubt they would've sold you the "international warranty" for some outrageous price which could've covered it globally, but once again, that is what every company in the world does. The name on the shop would've been under Sony US (of which there are plenty of holding and operational companies!), completely different from Sony Turkey. Most likely, the only link they have is they are both ultimately owned by the Japanese parent!

The big problem is that their "flagship" machine is defective. You bought that expensive machine on the back of marketing hype, great reviews, a little time in the shop with it, but it turns out to be a dud. Sounds like lots went wrong with it, you tried to get them to fix it and more failed. Does this mean the entire range is defective? No, just that you were unlucky and got a bad one. Did you investigate getting it replaced? This would've had to have been through with Sony US, so you would've still had issues with shipping it back and the replacement out, as they would've only returned it probably to your US address.

I find a lot of this is down to the attitude of the voice at the end of the phone. Sometimes you get good people or someone in a good mood and they will help you out, sometimes you get someone who is tired, end of shift, cranky, or just not in a good mood. Luck of the draw. I've only had to deal with Sony repair once (UK), where my machine was out of warranty by a week and not charging. I took it into the store, tried their charger, same result, so called up, and the first person was less than helpful when I explained myself and that I was out of warranty, and got bounced around a little and eventually hung up after a lot of holding music. When I rang back, got someone else, I was probably a little more polite, and they took it in (sent a courier) and replaced the motherboard for me for free!

 

I really do understand the legality and what they will do. And I appreciate the reality-slap you are providing. I guess this was a cautionary good-bye letter to begin with.

Even after I have made peace with my losses and am ready to walk away (never to return, my absolute word on that), I still don't understand how Sony has:
1- An international lost&found service to which I'm subscribed to (meaning they can ship the laptop internationally when they so wish), but cannot ship it to-from me for repairs.
2- A repair shop in Istanbul that can sell its own warranty, but not to me, and refuses to provide international warranty.
3- A procedure for international shipment of spare parts (which means different Sony branches can bill each other), that somehow makes me pay the full price for the exact same device that would be free in the US. Remember, the part comes from a US warehouse, and I have free acccess to that very same device before it gets wrapped up to be sent to Turkey. Make up your mind dude, is it free or not?
4- An Istanbul repair shop that refuses to fix what they broke, and tries to sell me an overpriced mainboard, and when I refuse, still not turn over the laptop which is somehow still under investigation (which leads me to think they just tried to scam me).

Does it take an accounting whiz to handle:
1- Intra-company shipment & customs paperwork that applies to laptops as it does to spare parts?
2- a procedure where the US repair shop reimburses the Turkish shop for repairs and parts, and only charge me for shipping and an extra service fee?

Or does it only take ill-will and complacency?

Sony is offering extremely poor service. If, and I know it is not the case, all other companies are on the same boat, well, then all of them are offering extremely crappy service. A pandemic of bad doesn't make it good or acceptable.

If I am walking into a Sony-branded shop and walking out with a Sony branded product, I should not worry about how another Sony-branded shop will treat me. Anywhere. I see this as a most basic consumer right. I'm surprised that other consumers don't.

Actually, come to think of it, most do, and go to competitors who offer the better service. Too bad at the time I thought Apple laptops were overpriced fancy toys for kids.

 

That is the norm in third world countries, at least. I bought a hard disk in Singapore (Samsung - with international warranty). When it died in India, I took it to their service center for replacement. They showed me a list of model numbers and told me, these are the only HDD models that Samsung has sold in India. Your model is not on this list, so we can't honour the warranty. To get a replacement, you'll have to go back to Singapore.

 

I repeat: Sony Turkey is not Sony US! Different boss, different entity, different everything! This isn't the difference between Best Buy in Oregon and Best Buy in Rhode Island, each of which has different state laws to deal with in terms of tax and warranty, but at least has federal laws covering (for example) the currency goods can be sold under. These are two entirely separate companies sharing the same holding company headquartered in Japan. Different laws govern each of them. The parts will not come from a US warehouse, but from one in the Far East, which is then shipped to the US, and also shipped to Turkey (actually, EMEA) and on from that. They may not be the same parts! For example, the US numeral 2 key comes with the @ symbol above it... in the UK, we have the double quote " above our numeral 2 keys - not everything is made like in the USA.

This isn't about accounts. This is about the fact that you are taking your left-hand drive Ford into a right-hand drive VW garage and asking them to fix a part that they have to source from the builder. Even though the same physical factory may produce the same car, they are from two different lines. These are two different companies, so one would buy from another and then transport it. Who pays for the difference in cost? Who pays for shipping? Sony US will look and see you don't have international warranty so you are not really their problem. Sony Turkey will see you are a customer of Sony US, so you appear in the US firm's P&L and do not have any agreement between you and Sony Turkey. I took my Vaio YA into the Sony store in the UK and they didn't know what it was because the machine hadn't come out over here, and never did, only the AMD YB was released here. They had no idea how it opened of worked!

Funny story. Friend of mine bought one of the new unibody aluminium Macbooks when they came out in America where they lived. Came to stay at mine for a month shortly afterwards and it broke. No idea why, just didn't boot. Took it to the Apple store where they refused to look at it as it was under American warranty. Now understand that unlike other machines, Apples only ever have one global model, down the keyboard - UK Apple keyboards have the @ over their numeral 2 keys! The innards are the same as they streamlined their production processes to only very few models, but this lot wouldn't look at what was exactly the same as what they had sitting on their shelves.

For what it's worth, I'm sorry your machine was faulty and I'm disappointed the Sony Turkey shop broke it even more. But at the end of the day, international warranty is maybe what you should've bought, or at least checked and asked them what the situation with taking it abroad? The machine I bought from abroad I politely declined international warranty on it, as I reasoned that it was cheap as chips at the time, and I am confident enough to open the thing up and tinker myself so I wasn't going to waste (in my eyes) money on something I wasn't too bothered about. Annoyingly, it has a US style keyboard, with the single height Enter key and @ over the 2 but I've remapped to UK style, not without problems, such as losing the pipe | symbol, but I can live with that (makes bash a bit hard!). It was a rash impulse buy but the machine has done very well and I did the research I needed to make sure I knew what the score was.

Long post, sorry about that. But that is life...

 

I know! We are stuck in a circle where I keep pointing out what should be and keep getting told what is. I already suffer from what is! I know it acutely! It is plain wrong! Like, if I were the boss, I would change it first thing in the morning and fire whoever came up with the system. It is counter-intuitive, counterproductive, and only there because some employees were too lazy to brush up on international law and customs regulation and local bylaws to streamline a process that will take care of it. I can handle this for Sony Turkey pro bono if they let me!

Then I was misinformed by Sony Turkey; they themselves claimed they order the US parts through USA. It doesn't change my point if they come from the Far East, but honestly does make it a wee bit less frustrating.

I witnessed a friend fixing a Turkish Macbook Pro in the US for free, though, as previously said, a lot depends on the rep you speak to. I know for a fact Apple Turkey sells a local warranty no matter where you bought the Apple laptop. Though probably they would fix it for a charge if you brought them a broken one to cover

No worries. I keep extending it. The discussion, it seems, ran its course. I will try to sell the laptop on eBay, thereby transferring my full accidental coverage, so whoever buys it can get it fixed. And never again a Sony.

 

I suggest that you contact Sony USA and pay for the laptop to be shipped back to them. Make sure you get insurance when you ship it.

Sony should either fix the laptop for free, seeing as you have not voided the warranty by having only Sony Turkey work on it, or replace it. If anything happens to the laptop use the shipping insurance to get all your money back.

 

If only mate! If only... but why make life easier for your customers? All global businesses run this model these days, but still manage to picks and choose tax laws that suit them to minimise their payments. They maximise profits, and the customer still gets screwed.

No worries, shame that you got burned this way. I know exactly the feeling of being let down by a big supplier, as I'm wary of HP after their design faults that worsened the Nvidia Problem. Personally, I would look at Asus or Samsung for decent general purpose machines these days, though the new HP Envy's are meant to be very good too. Good luck finding a new machine!

 

About Sony customer support over here in Germany I cannot say one thing. I owned the old TT from my dad after the companie swtitched to Lenovo. The TT was whe I got it about years old and I have hadd it every day with me. I crashed to the floor, the plastic hinge caps broke but the machine worked until I buyed my old Z1 september 2010. The Z1 is now about 2 years old and no technical faults and is used by my girlfriend
Even the budget Vaio EA1 (Year 2010) which I bought or my mother is working today like it is new!

Every time when I called Sony was for buying a Vaio and the people on the phone were always very friendly and compliant!

 

I live here in US and have had so many issues with there customer service.

They screwed up my Sony Z1 during an onsite warranty repair, they offered to repair this if i send it in.

Unfortunately because of i was not able to send the computer in until 3 months after. They said they will no longer fix it under warranty and that i would have to pay. I fought and fought and against my better judgment and I was sick of fighting i agreed and paid approx $500 to get it repaired. Only because this was covered under my AMEX extended warranty which would later reimbursm me.

The service center is horrible i had to send it in twice so far. Just got it back and still not working correctly.

As for your situation, i would sue them in US court (purchased in US)

I'm thinking of placing a lawsuit my self.

Never again will i buy a sony product.

 

Whatever the legal status and terms and conditions, I do agree with woodsielord. I expect a decent service from a company like Sony.

I witnessed a friend getting his Macbook (purchased in Romania and way beyond warranty) fixed for free in Scotland after he poured a mug of coffee into it. Such service is pretty unique and at times I do envy Apple customers.

I recently purchased an SA4 which was shipped with faulty memory and mainboard (BSOD after ~15 min usage). The repair service was good though. After wasting a week with 48h lagged e-mail responses that is. From pick-up to return it took a week to replace memory and mainboard, which is pretty efficient service I think.

I am moving to Germany soon and on purchase I did not care to look at international warranty terms and conditions. I simply expect to get a free repair service from Sony Germany, either in-shop or through pick-up and return. If that's not the case, I'll take the hit and run to a competitor. Simple as that.

Marc