Interesting, or, to our Vulcan members, fascinating.
I had an Acer laptop come in recently which was DOA (power on but no POST ... no display activity at all) and still under warranty. Sent it to TX to the repair center, but having no experience with Acer warranty support, I didn't know what to expect so I Googl'd and Bing'd.
[CAUTION: SARCASM AHEAD]
I had an Acer laptop come in recently which was DOA (power on but no POST ... no display activity at all) and still under warranty. Sent it to TX to the repair center, but having no experience with Acer warranty support, I didn't know what to expect so I Googl'd and Bing'd.
[CAUTION: SARCASM AHEAD]
I was surprised to find very few (relatively speaking) legitimate gripes about how lousy they were, which is encouraging. What I did find was a bunch of whining crybabies (aka. American consumers) feeling that they were entitled to, nay OWED, every consideration, plus compensation for the hassle. Most of what I found came under these few misconceptions:
1. It's not out of warranty, I bought it less than a year ago!
Okay, but you never registered the damn thing with the manufacturer. You knew there is a reason for those nag screens on a new machine. If they don't have a purchase date on record, then they go from the date of manufacture. Screaming and waiving a receipt around doesn't negate your laziness. Oh, and FYI, they are not required by law, morality or good judgment to "take your word for it," even if you do go to church every Sunday.
2. I have to pay for shipping it to you? RIPOFF!
A warranty is not a service contract. If you are smart enough to use a computer, you are smart enough to understand this. If you bought it from a brick and mortar store, then they have a responsibility to replace defective merchandise or refund you the purchase price ... wait for it ... within the timeframe of their own store policy or the minimum allowed by the laws of their jurisdiction. They don't owe you anything for your time or data, just the hardware. After that it is the manufacturer's responsibility to cover their warranty. If they don't have a local (to the customer) service facility, it must be shipped. It's not their fault you live in Montana.
3. You want a credit card to ship a replacement part?
Well, yeah. Your church-going entitled word only goes so far, even if you aren't lying. A battery fried from an internal short and one fried from you dropping it in hot oil are two different issues. If it's the former and you are exonerated by shipping the faulty part back, then you get brownie points for being honest and no charges are made to your card. If it's the latter, bon appetit.
4. Why do I have to *BUY* tech support?
Because a manufacturing defect is not the same as lack of comprehension and you can't hold the factory liable for that. Did your parents' obstetrician give them a warranty? You might want to explore that manufacturing defect.
5. You destroyed 5 years of work.
Um ... warranty repair here. If the laptop is less than a year old, can I borrow your time machine? I'd like to buy some Apple stock in 2001. BTW, a hard disk replacement usually won't come with *your* data on it, that's why backups are not just for getting out of the handicapped parking space at Wal-Mart.
6. How can a Month-old laptop die?
If you knew anything at all about computers, electronics or machinery in general, if something is going to cause it to fail from a defect in the manufacturing process, it
1. It's not out of warranty, I bought it less than a year ago!
Okay, but you never registered the damn thing with the manufacturer. You knew there is a reason for those nag screens on a new machine. If they don't have a purchase date on record, then they go from the date of manufacture. Screaming and waiving a receipt around doesn't negate your laziness. Oh, and FYI, they are not required by law, morality or good judgment to "take your word for it," even if you do go to church every Sunday.
2. I have to pay for shipping it to you? RIPOFF!
A warranty is not a service contract. If you are smart enough to use a computer, you are smart enough to understand this. If you bought it from a brick and mortar store, then they have a responsibility to replace defective merchandise or refund you the purchase price ... wait for it ... within the timeframe of their own store policy or the minimum allowed by the laws of their jurisdiction. They don't owe you anything for your time or data, just the hardware. After that it is the manufacturer's responsibility to cover their warranty. If they don't have a local (to the customer) service facility, it must be shipped. It's not their fault you live in Montana.
3. You want a credit card to ship a replacement part?
Well, yeah. Your church-going entitled word only goes so far, even if you aren't lying. A battery fried from an internal short and one fried from you dropping it in hot oil are two different issues. If it's the former and you are exonerated by shipping the faulty part back, then you get brownie points for being honest and no charges are made to your card. If it's the latter, bon appetit.
4. Why do I have to *BUY* tech support?
Because a manufacturing defect is not the same as lack of comprehension and you can't hold the factory liable for that. Did your parents' obstetrician give them a warranty? You might want to explore that manufacturing defect.
5. You destroyed 5 years of work.
Um ... warranty repair here. If the laptop is less than a year old, can I borrow your time machine? I'd like to buy some Apple stock in 2001. BTW, a hard disk replacement usually won't come with *your* data on it, that's why backups are not just for getting out of the handicapped parking space at Wal-Mart.
6. How can a Month-old laptop die?
If you knew anything at all about computers, electronics or machinery in general, if something is going to cause it to fail from a defect in the manufacturing process, it
That being said, glad to know Acer tries to take care of you.
