Nokia’s US Warranty Service Update
I was all dead set to post the entire transcript of what happened with my N75 here. However, I think merely saying that it took 24 days without any update other than "we’re working on it" to get a replacement unit. I was in touch with regular Customer Care, several people WAY higher up, and eventually Nokia’s Executive Resolution Center before finally getting anything done. 24 days. Think about that.
Had I merely waited another 2 weeks when Cingular launched it, I could have called their Xchange By Mail warranty service and had a new unit in my hands within 24 hrs. Yeah, that’s right. Cingular will overnight me a replacement, and simply include a return label, EVEN A PIECE OF TAPE to send my defective unit back.
Here’s my problem with this (other than the obvious). Nokia wants to
start pushing into the direct retail market, to get away from carrier
restrictions. They’ve shown it by offering the N95 flagship device in
the Flagship stores, as well as the recently signed distribution deal
with Dell and Gateway. They want to convince US Consumers to spend the
extra money on unbranded devices, and I am 100% behind that iniative.
HOWEVER, the bigger part of that is that they have to realize that
they’re going to have to service those handsets, as well. When you log
onto the Nokia US Repair site with your IMEI, it states very clearly that the
estimated turnaround time is 10-15 days. I waited 16 days before they
would even confirm that they had RECEIVED my phone (16 days AFTER Fedex
said that R. Brown had signed for it). It took them another 8 days to
find a replacement.
1. These are mobile devices. People run their LIVES off of them, and at
your suggestion. Expecting consumers to be without their devices for
longer than 24 hrs without a replacement, in my opinion, is horrendous.
2. The fact that I had to escalate to the level that I did is
ridiculous. Joe Consumer would have waited the 10-15 days (maybe even
less) and then called the BBB, local news, and whoever else would
listen, and would have sworn never to touch a Nokia phone ever again. I
know cause I asked my friends and family. Every single person, without
fail, said that’s ridiculous for a cellphone.
3. If you’re going to "compete" with the carriers for my $$, you’d
better darn well make sure that you can take care of me 100% of the
way, until that 1 year warranty runs out, and even a bit past, if you
really want to impress me.
I can say with 100% certainty that I will never again use Nokia’s US
warranty service. I regretfully suggest that no one else does, either.
Not until they’ve fixed ALOT of things. This actually frees you up to
shop around. Knowing that you’re just as S.O.L. with a Non-US warranty
as you are with one, you can shop online and check out the import
shops. I personally will vouch for Hi-Mobile.net and CTi-Miami.com, as
I have personally purchased phones from them. You can also use my
friend Mark Guim’s handy site, Fonegrabber.com.
I really truly hate to suggest that people NOT purchase mobile devices
from NokiaUSA, as doing so will obviously not help to convince Nokia
that this is a worthwhile market, but I am completely appalled at the
service I received.
The only thing that I have to say positive about the experience is that
every person I spoke with was extremely friendly, even if ultimately
useless.
I sincerely hope that this post does not get misread. I am not saying to quit buying Nokia devices. I am saying not to count on their US warranty (they don’t even offer an international warranty, but don’t get started on that). There simply needs to be more communication with consumers. I would suggest that they also look into the notion of duplicating what the Carriers have setup. There is no reason you should ask me to be without my phone, without already having a replacement in the mail. Period.
Do you have any experience with Nokia’s Warranty Service, in the US or abroad? Was it good or bad? Do you have any suggestions on how they might improve? What about other manufacturers?
Well, you know exactly what my opinion and experience were.
so did u get a replacement unit yet or not?
I guess that it’s a lesson for any consumer to be careful when buying a device that isn’t “officially” available…as you said, if you had waited two weeks to get an N75 through Cingular, you wouldn’t have had the problem.
The fact of the matter is that you can’t even buy the N75 through http://www.nokiausa.com today, never mind a month ago.
I agree that the real lesson is to be careful from where you buy your devices, but not that http://www.nokiausa.com (or their poor service for a device that wasn’t even on sale in the US) is the problem.
interested consumer:
You’re too focused on the “officially available” aspect, when that is not the root of the problem.
Nokia USA contracts their warranty out to Palco. You send your device to Nokia (Palco). Nokia USA has a repair status web site http://www.nokiausa.com/repairstatus. The website at the time said turn around was 7-10 business days. My device reached Nokia on May 2nd. A week later (5 business days) they still had my device marked as pending arrival.
This has absolutely nothing to do with whether the device is available or not, its a process problem. It shouldn’t take a week … or three … to simply acknowledge receipt of a device.
If you call Nokia Care (USA) they can’t acquire any more information about your property than you can. They are almost entirely hands off on the warranty process.
This really does make for a bad experience with Nokia. The fact of the matter is it shouldn’t make a big difference where you buy your device, Nokia’s warranty service should take care of you.
If you buy an N95 from a flagship store, you’re stuck with Nokia Care, and that does in fact make them the problem.
Interested Consumer -
Thanks for the response. However, the N75 was officially launched by Cingular on 5/4. I was even told this by one of the people I contacted at Nokia. Thus, even if my phone was shipped in prior to 5/4, I should have been the first in line to receive a replacement, no?
At the time I sent my phone in, I did not know for sure if Cingular would even launch it ever, much less in the next few weeks. However, I did know that I could plug my IMEI into the Warranty Eligibility Checker and that it said that I was covered. Thus, there was no reason for me to expect not to be serviced.
And, as noted, I’m not so much worried that it took them so long to issue a replacement (though that’s obviously a major issue). What REALLY upset me (and ZR touched on this) is that it took them 16 days to even confirm that they HAD my phone, much less what they were doing with it.