Hey folks,
I'm sure most of you had declared me a loser last year when I got hold of an Acer laptop. As if that was not enough, I'm having my first case of loser-ness with Acer now!
My laptop had been my personal communication device till I got hold of my E63 earlier this year. I used to take my laptop to classes all day and to Subway later in the evening and all that! Sp, yes. I was really happy with it et al.
Somewhere early this year, it had started announcing that my battery can only retain half the charge and that there was something wrong with it. I had called up Acer's call centre but it was perennially in the 'all lines are in use' mode. As if that was not pissing off, my friends had informed me that Acer would replace the battery only if the backup time was less than 30 minutes.
I pay 40k to get a laptop and end up looking like a loser instantly! As if that's not enough, they're now saying that they expect me to live with a defective product till it becomes too defective to use! Talk about customer service!
I have heard of Acer's poor service from several friends including Kiruba, whose netbook they took ages to service! So, I decided to drop into a service centre and get my complaint registered somehow. After that I thought I'd find someone on their marketing team and get my stuff done a little faster. I'm in dire need of my laptop before this weekend and would have to run mad on Monday if that doesn't happen!
I run into this service centre in T Nagar (RT Outsourcing Ltd) and they tell me they service only Acer monitors! They redirect me to a service centre in Nungambakkam (Synergy Systems). I rush back to Nungambakkam and they tell me they don't service laptops that are within Acer's warranty. I ended up looking like a jerk running around with his laptop from area to area on a Monday morning.
I got back home and called Acer's so-called 'toll-free line'. The guy I spoke to there tells me that the battery is a consumable item and that it will gradually lose its capacity to retain charge over a period of time! I'm startled at this bold answer! The guy is actually telling me that his company manufactures a product knowing fully well that it will become defective shortly! He says I can download some tool from Acer's website wherein the tool will enhance my battery life. From the little computer science that I've studied during my undergrad days, I have never ever heard of a software that can increase a defective hardware's performance. Technology must've moved ahead several notches since I graduated!
I have two questions for Acer.
Why would you not replace a battery till it comes down to less than 30 mins backup time? Do you expect me to live with your pathetic hardware for such a long time?
Why do you have warranty and non-warranty service centres? Why can't you make it one centralized process? Why do I care how difficult it is for you to manage your operations?!
I'm sure this blog post might not have any impact on me getting my laptop serviced by Acer this time. I don't expect a big customer relationship manager head honcho to call me up and apologize. I don't intend to change my perception about Acer either.
I'm never buying an Acer. Ever in life. I would never recommend it to any of my friends and contacts. Thanks Acer. Once and for all.
Yours Skeptically,
uleadin
You studied computer science? I dont remember us doing that at any point at all!!