Has Sony's customer service improved?

I am thinking of buying a Vaio SE though are a bit reluctant still. Reason is that if I google Sony a lot of bad reviews pop up with regards to Sony's customer service, just like this thread on notebookreview which is now closed: http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/509717-how-sony-customer-service.html

Is Sony's customer service stil/really that bad?

Thx
Sissi

 

I had a minor problem earlier in the year on my Z1. The people on the phone were horrible. The local guy they contracted to ultimately fix the problem was pretty good.

 

Sony has made efforts with it's in store Sony Style boutique help desk called 'Backstage Access' Though it seems more like a menu of upsells than it does a genuine help desk ala Apple.

Sony hardware itself has always been fragile proprietary and very expensive to repair. Apple's tiered pricing structure along with reasonable LCD replacement costs has really moved them to the top tier of customer service.

Sony continues to remain closed off with exquisitely designed but very fragile computers. My last Sony (2010 Z1290X) lasted me 5 months before LCD hinges started coming loose and power button started working intermittently.

It took Sony close to 2 months to decide they couldn't fix it and in their defense, they gave me a Sony Style gift card in the exact amount I paid for the notebook 7 months prior under standard terms of warranty.

The problem is I still have a close to $3000 Sony style gift card and am reluctant to sell it at a loss and am not inspired by the current VAIO-Z.

 

Guys, although Sony is one brand and one company, you just cannot generalize the globe!! Sony service in Europe can be and is different than Sony in USA, Asia and Australia ...

My personal experience with Sony support in Europe is average... I definitely can't say it it excellent, but can't say anything bad either.

But the beauty of Sony as a brand is that you have good chances to never need any support or warranty service I prefer that, than it being excellent but needing it every 2 months...

 

Why not? I think how to handle support requests is global company policy.

BTW: Has anyone of you ever talked to a really competent tech guy? To my experience the hotline is trained to answer phonecalls and organize UPS call tags. The vaio then probably goes to some low wage country where underpayed people replace parts on spec.

That is the way Sony Support so far tried to handle my request concerning a 2000€ Business notebook. Yust my two cents.

 

Vaios are definitely "high maintenance" propositions, but that is less about their durability, which I think is quite good, aside from certain models, but between their often proprietary designs and their - gotta be honest - still pretty callous customer service, to do well owning Vaio computers requires:

1) Really loving the design and performance of the model you choose, clearly preferring it over the competition that may use more standardized parts and have more supportive customer service. Z owners breeze right past these issues, as well as their "cosmetic fragility" (translation: they scratch really easily and their lids and hinges can be problematic if not handled with kid gloves), because the model is incomparable in the market, and is really well built in 95% of the cases.

2) Getting excellent warranty protection, perhaps best through a non-Sony provider, as Sony can be quite "customer hostile" even in trying to snake out of warranty obligations. I recommend Square Trade's 3-4 yr wtty with ADH and you can rest easy and, unlike the person who got a Sony gift card in exchange for his lemon Z, you get CASH!

3) Being a pretty good DIY-er, and, quite frankly, enjoying spending time on NBR to receive and give advice on everything from the mundane to the awesome people who write community drivers when Sony falls down on the job.

4) Enjoy being an early adopter. Actually, it probably pays to wait for the first refresh of a new model if you can. Someone here said so well, words to the effect: Sony designs perfect machines, then they change 5% of the designs so there are some bone-headed things to gripe about!

There is another perspective: if you read surveys of customer satisfaction with both the products and customer service, Vaios routinely rank in the mid/high area of the pack. But when they are bad, they are so very, very bad - particularly customer service, but also the (relatively rare) total lemon units.

I think there are a number of considerations in comparing a Mac to a Vaio, but if you are looking for a reasonably trouble-free experience, I'd have to agree the Mac has the percentages in its favor. That said, I have never owned a Mac that I kept more than 30 days, and I've been using my Z for over 9 months. As slick and fast as the MBA is, I would not trade my Z11 for it - and I had that chance more than once.

You can read the threads for yourself, but most of the reviews and reports I've read here suggest the SE is a well built machine with excellent hardware - and a way above average screen - yet light and quite cost-competitive. Also, it does not have nearly the "delicate" lid finish that Z's have. Nonetheless, I'd strongly recommend an extended ADH wtty if you go that way. Also, make sure you have at least 30 days to return it for a full refund, and put it through its paces so you will know if you have a "lemon," and can send that mongrel back.

 

Again - totally different around the globe! I only once so far had to bring my laptop in for service, but

1. The email correspondence with Sony support was quick and straight forward, the guy was helpful.
2. I brought the laptop to the nearest Vaio center (was politely given the address from the support guys).
3. Discussed the problem directly with the engineers there
4. Was directly in touch with the people repairing it/replacing the faulty part.

What else can I ask for? The only small issue - it took longer than promised but was still ready within one week. I also wasn't called to be informed about that, I had to call every day to ask. So a few point deduction because of the Vaio Center (external company).

Being a worldwide company is also something not entirely true - you've got Sony Europe as a company on one side, and Sony America or Sony Asia I assume on the other. Being under the same hat, they are still different companies.

You will find quite a lot of complains about Sony Support in USA but very few about their support in Europe - policy or not, it is a fact.

 

Does the gift card have an expiry date? Or can you wait for say, the next Z

 

Card doesn't expire, but my patience and wallet have limits. That and not having a notebook is a PITA. I have a 27" iMac for a main computer, and if I had gotten a straight up refund, would probably be camped out with a 15" Quad-Core MacBook Pro.

On another note, I forgot about this, and don't know how i'd feel about a repairman coming into my place of employ (to fix personal computer) or my home, but the Z1290X came standard with a 1 yr On-Site service warranty. The Sony Style guys were unaware of it and straight up told me no and couldn't find any documentation on it.

I finally found it under some obscure marketing .pdf

Every Sony Style store is different, but for a company store devoted solely to it's own products, the sales guys are a bit woeful in product knowledge.

Years ago I asked what $50 up charge got me going from a standard to 'carbon fiber lid.' Was told straight up it was lighter, thinner and stronger.

2 month quarantine time for my 1290x. unacceptable. That's like half a semester, but a boatload of time to be w/o ANY computer. I was told that their was a traffic jam of warranty computers in the back room since that one little boutique was responsible for front-end servicing on all VAiO's from Best Buy's, and other retailers.

The On-Site guy would have shipped it through a different channel so I would have gotten it back (fixed) within a few weeks had I gone this route.