Kudos for Sony Service

Since many folks (including myself once) ask about service before they purchase a Vaio, I thought I would post a kudos for the service I just received. I purchased my FZ in mid-April with 2yr Express Ship and Accidental Damage coverage for $200. I had a Seagate 160gb drive that kept making that darn clicking noise - every second when it was not busy doing something. It was loud enough to bother me in my quiet office. I finally emailed esupport last Thursday. They replied and asked me to run CHKDISK (which I did) and if the sound was still there afterwords to call Sony Support. It was and I called last Friday. I was on the phone with the Sony support guy for about 35 minutes. I first explained the problem and he had me run CHKDISK while he stayed on the line. He was not what I considered an "expert", but he was good at following the script. After we were done, the click was still there. He said they would swap my HDD. I asked if they could just send me the drive and I would return the Seagate. He asked me to hold and then came back and said they would dispatch onsite service (and I did not pay for that level of service). The guy came by today and swapped out my hard drive with a Toshiba (darn it, not my first choice). Ahh, quiet at last.

Overall, I thought the process went very smoothly and professionally. It is the first time I have used Sony service in the 3.5 years I have owned a Vaio laptop (the FZ is my second Vaio laptop) and it was a good experience. I am still going swap out this drive for something faster and bigger because my experience with Toshiba drives is not too good!

 

That click is probably the head parking itself, and can be fixed with a simple program. I have a Seagate too, and the constant clicking annoyed the crap out of me.

 

I did the "fix", but when running it in high performance mode all day, it ran hotter - 3-5C hotter. And I don't see why one must do such a fix in the first place. I was going to replace it anyway, so I thought I would ask and see what they would do.

 

Bubbatex, thanks for sharing your experience. It looks like Sony's customer service is outstanding! A lot better when you compare it to other companies...

 

BTW - this Toshiba drive is a bit faster than the Seagate was. Another plus!

 

Since this thread is about Sony Service, I have to share my experience. I have had to send my Sony laptop, digital camera, and DVR to the Sony Repair Center in Pennsylvania, and every time I get these items back, there were scuff marks and scratches on the top, bottom and sides.

I just don't feel that the Repair Center care for their customers items. Please take a photo of any item you send prior, so that you can make a claim and have proof in what condition you had it in prior to sending it to them. Sony Repair Center is terrible in returning your items in the same condition it was in. It never fails me to get something back looking like it had been run through the mill. Anybody have the same recurring nightmare as me?

 

Always take a picture with today's newspaper in the background as well, so they don't claim you altered the date of photos or anything.

 

Actually the repair center did a pretty good job with the camcorder i sent them. they recommend you use the actual box that the products from because UPS boxes aren't necessarily the right size for the product, too much free space will induce damage. Its good to hear that service helped you out well, most people think of garbage when they think of Sony Service.