Goofy Samsung Customer Service Issues

I recently decided to order the relatively new Samsung NC20. I originally read about it in this Wired review, then found that it’s also the highest-rated netbook in a recent study by Consumer Reports.

Strangely, the NC20 is not offered on Amazon, my usual retailer of choice. So I attempted to order it directly from the Samsung website. [Update: it's now available on Amazon. But it wasn't when I put in the order.]

I got all the way to the end of the order process, and thought the deal was done. I never got a confirmation email, though. Still, I do a lot of online ordering, and I figured I’d give it some time, and just see if the computer came.

Weeks later, it hadn’t come. Every few days, I would go back into my email and search the archives for “Samsung” and other keywords, thinking that perhaps a confirmation, or non-confirmation, email had actually arrived, and I’d just overlooked it. Nothing. Since I live in an apartment building with no doorman, I have a box at the local UPS Store, and that’s what I’d used as my shipping address. I walked over there several times to make absolutely sure that my computer hadn’t arrived. The guy behind the counter noticed my repeated visits with no result, and suggested that perhaps I was the intended recipient of a mystery package that he was keeping behind the counter. My hopes rose, but the package wasn’t for me. Nevertheless, he and I would discuss it again two more times before we both gave up on the idea.

Today… and this must be at least a month later… I decided to call Samsung. Read the rest of this entry »

Repaired MacBook Unboxing Photos

Four days ago at noon, I had an appointment at the genius bar in the 23rd St. Apple store in Manhattan. I was there to discuss what seemed to be Random Shutdown Syndrome, in which a mac shuts down due to overheating. The shutdowns were sudden; one moment I was browsing or watching video; the next moment, the screen was dark and the fan had stopped. This was no “going to sleep,” the thing had turned itself off in less than a second.

The mac genius told me that I’d get my computer back in “about three days.” Two days later, it was still listed online as not having even shipped to the factory. On the morning of day three, it was listed as having arrived at the factory. On afternoon of day three, it was listed as ready for departure. At 10am on day four, FedEx arrived at my door with it.

Having only my iPhone as an outlet during this time, I tweeted about the process an awful lot. Who knows whether or not that was a factor. The Apple customer support people are certainly scanning for relevant tweets, but it’s hard to say which ones actually get their attention, and it seems out of character for them to admit that they paid attention to one case more than any other. Read the rest of this entry »