Dusty PS3 Inspector Threw Dirt On PS3 So He Wouldn't Have To Repair It
Well well well. New information from an inside source says that the tech threw dirt on the infamous "dusty PS3" to deny the warranty claim because he didn't feel like repairing it. Shocking! His confession, inside.
1. We received the console with a fair amount of dust on it, but certainly nothing in excess of what I would expect from a PS3. As has been documented, the PS3 is basically a dust magnet.
2. The technician who got it, for some reason or another, didn't want to repair the console and inhale some of the dust, so he decided to deny the repair as "neglect."
3. Since the technician knew he couldn't get the repair denied based on the condition the console was actually received in, he decided to throw a bit of dirt on the console. Getting the dirt into the repair center wasn't that hard since the original tech was a smoker himself. All he had to do was go outside on his break. We have Ziploc bags.
4. As part of the procedure for denying a claim, pictures were taken and attached to the case notes. These same pictures were taken after the dirt was thrown on it and posted on Consumerist.
5. The warranty contains no clause for the technician to deny the warranty based on the dust alone, as the owner knows. That's why the technician had to throw dirt on it and claim it was neglected.
6. Sony should repair or replace the console. Period.
I worked in the same facility. I'm pretty sure at least one supervisor knew about it. They just didn't want to publish anything because it was already a PR nightmare, and admitting they did that would just hurt them even more.
Last we checked, Reid had tried getting a refund through VISA but they ended up denying it. We asked him what he thought of this story and he said, "All of this seems possible to me and really just sad, I'd be really sad to hear that all this trouble was caused by one lazy tech."
Sony hasn't responded to our request for comment.
PREVIOUSLY:
Dust Voids PS3 Warranty
Is This Playstation 3 Too Dusty To Be Repaired Under Warranty?
Sony CSR: What? No! Dust Doesn't Void Your PS3 Warranty!
Dusty PS3: Carey Greenberg-Berger On Fox Business
Visa Extended Warranty Protection Replaces Infamous "Dusty Playstation"
VISA Won't Replace Dusty PS3 After All
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Comments:
really? went out and got dirt? how uncreative. I'm sure everyone here could think of something in their office / building that they could dump or smear on the PS3 to better void the warrenty.
mmm... strawberry jam
Yeah, let's trust a completely anonymous source that claims to be an insider but has absolutely no proof to back up his claim.
One more reason to hate Sony. Fantastic. It's not like my list wasn't big enough already!
Are we surprised at the back-and-forth that sprouted forth from this?
I just hope the poor guy gets SOME kind of resolution from these bimbos. Sony's come a loooooong way from where they used to be.
@Thassodar: Not everyone reads Consumerist 5 times a day like some of us. News can take some time to get around...
If this turns out to be true, Sony should step up and hook this kid up with a PS3 and a new TV. This is turning out to be some really bad publicity.
hmm... journalistic integrity being what it is today, was there any attempt to verify identities and sources? Seems to me the original owner would have recognized that the thing was significantly dirtier.
If this was true then why didn't the PS3's owner claim that the pictures didn't match the condition the PS3 was sent in? I mean the exterior of the unit looks like it comes from a household of heavy smokers. The minute I got a deny on my request for a repair because of the condition I would have said something about the pictures not being true. Something just doesn't add up.
@Ichiro51: Usually I'm all about giving the OP the benefit of the doubt, but having read all the stories on this matter thus-far, I have to admit that I'm a bit skeptical myself.
Is there anything to suggest that this guy is on the up-and-up?
So last time I checked there was a big difference between dust and dirt. So the tech takes a ziplock fills it with dust and sprinkles the console. Last time i checked it might be hard to get a ziplock of dust. To be anywhere close to true he would have to spread the dirt then use either air or turn it over so only dust remains.
Sounds like a crock to me.
@Thassodar: He does say "I worked in the same facility". Maybe they didn't want to come out with the info while employed there, but now that they aren't, they don't care?
So let me get this straight. An "anonymous" source sent an email to the Consumerist saying that:
1) He was a Sony employee, and
2) He saw a technician throw dirt on the unit.
This is not legitimate news. ANYONE could have sent in an email claiming to do this. Everytime a story gets posted about a bad corporation one of the "Consumerists" can send in an email claiming to be a worker and the Consumerist will post it further ruining a companies reputation.
I'm not knocking posting stories but if the Consumerist posts dubious info from sources which provide no proof then their brand will dissolve into mockery and they will loose the power they have now to stand up for the wronged consumer.
@Ichiro51: No proof was presented therefore there is no proof. Until there is proof I will not believe an anonymous email ANYONE could have sent.
Sorry, that kid was kinda douchey about the whole thing and the fact HIS story changed as much as Sony's I'm not ready to swallow this ANCIENT story update.
He freely admitted to not dusting it before sending it in for repairs, and while it looked extremely dusty, if he did leave it running 24/7 in an enclosed entertainment center he probablly DID accumulate an insane ammount of dust.
Also, a so called Sony rep using Reid's token line of 'As has been documented, the PS3 is basically a dust magnet' seems highly unlikely. Being that it's no more a dust magnet than any other electronic device that requires a heat sink or vents. Just because the finish shows it better doesn't mean it collects more.
I want a a photocopy of this "source"'s Sony employee ID before I'll belive anything more this "source" has to say. It sounds more like Reid or one of his buddies pushing to force Visa to pay him back for not taking care of his stuff.
I live in Las Vegas (THE FRIGGIN DESERT) and have my PS3 near a window. An occasional blast of compressed air can do wonders and I don't leave it in an entertainment system where all it does is suck in accumulated dust.
So let me get this straight. An "anonymous" source sent an email to the Consumerist saying that:
1) He was a Sony employee, and
2) He saw a technician throw dirt on the unit.
This is not legitimate news. ANYONE could have sent in an email claiming to do this. Everytime a story gets posted about a bad corporation one of the "Consumerists" can send in an email claiming to be a worker and the Consumerist will post it further ruining a companies reputation.
I'm not knocking posting stories but if the Consumerist posts dubious info from sources which provide no proof then their brand will dissolve into mockery and they will loose the power they have now to stand up for the wronged consumer,
Wait, someone check the IP address. Did that come from Microsoft? Bill Gates, is that you? :-)
Seriously though, I have hated Sony for almost 20 years now.
@dave_coder: No, no proof was cited above by Ben. We don't know how this "inside source" presented the information to the Consumerist or verified the veracity of what he/she said, and that's certainly of utmost importance. But asserting that "there is no proof" without Ben revealing that it could have just been some schmoe e-mailing him about this is just flat out wrong.
@SteveZim1017:
Yeah that's a bit suspect...
You're telling me that A) ciggarette ashes look like brown dirt B) Sony has no problems with people taking baggies of dirt in and out of their repair facility, and C) this "source" waited over a year to come forward?
@Michael Ortega: He did. About a billion times. He even joined up here to further drive home the point that the condition in which the PS3 was sent back to him was not the condition in which it was sent to Sony.
Go back and read the stories linked to at the bottom of this one. It's illuminating stuff my friend. :)
@ConroyCotta:
sorry, but how would it take A YEAR for this story to get to a supposed WITNESS to the events?
@Ichiro51: I'm sorry sir but if I don't see the proof then I will doubt this story. With all due respect to Ben the Consumerist is heavily biased against companies.
@dave_coder @shoelace: Please show me where Ben cited the source as being "anonymous." At this point, we don't know anything about the interaction between this source and Ben/Consumerist.
@Ichiro51: Exactly. I am pretty sure Ben is smarter than to just post a random anonymous email he got about this. Most likely the person came to him with credentials and told his story.
Start sending in your electronics for warranty repair with a lolipop included in the packaging, just to be safe and appease the techs.
Maybe use porn for packing material too.
@Do not taunt Happy Fun King Psyz: I don't think they meant he used cigarette ashes -- he went outside for a cigarette break and returned with a ziploc bag full of dirt, presumably from the ground.
@Do not taunt Happy Fun King Psyz: It's normal for witnesses to all sorts of things to not come forward for lengthy periods of time for all sorts of reasons. Since no reasons were given in the story, we don't know the specifics.
At the time an untoward event occurs, witnesses are sometimes emotional and feel intimidated. Later as they calm down and their circumstances change, they are in a better frame of mind to share what they know.
@Cyberxion101:
I have read those, in fact I participated heavily in those and he also stated he did not blow out the unit prior to shipping and gave it a cursory wiping off at best before shipping.
If there was a signifigant ammount of dust in the unit it would fall out during shipping and handling.
He stated that because you're not allowed to open the case he didn't have to dust it.
@Russ Savage:
After being around when this story broke, I really don't think it is.
If anything Sony would have encouraged this tipster to come forward to clear themselves of fault in the denial.
@dangermike: He did. The previous stories made that fact explicitly clear. Why would do you think he would have argued it in the first place?
If it were meant as a hail mary pass to get it fixed he may have just shrugged it off and chalked it up to experience. This was not the case and he's been pursuing some kind of resolution ever since.
@Shadowman615:
Still I find it hard to belive these techs are allowed to move around so freely in an electronics servicing center both in and out and with random bags of dirt.
I don't imagine the Sony facility surrounded by mounds of dirt or in the desert. i would imagine it's in a fairly secure facility what with the millions of dollars in CE that passes through daily and on a paved and likely maintained grounds.
@dave_coder: You chronic skeptics amuse me. Everything is analyzed only for possible reasons why it might not be true. The consequences? Constant doubt and solipsism. And probably a good amount of anxiety. One can use your philosophy to say things like:
(a) The Consumerist is a government website to round up activists dangerous to the corporate world order;
(b) Anybody injured in any way whatsoever, either by theft, rape or fraud, is lying, because one can come up with an alternative explanation, or failing that, merely discount the statements of any witness or involved party.
(c) Your mom is not really your mom. She's lying.
@Ichiro51: Exactly. And that's the problem in a nutshell. At this point we don't know.
Now I'm not criticising Ben or the website here, but while he may very well have information that leaves little doubt in his mind as to the valitidy of the informant, we don't. Why not share that with us? Or at least throw us a bone to help ease our skepticism if revealing the informant's identity could put him in a compromising position?
I guess I'd just like to what it is that has Ben so confident that the guy he's talking to is on the up-and-up, and not just someone that the guy with the dusty PS3 got to e-mail the Consumerist on his behalf.
If this guy did standby, watch dirt get thrown in a PS3, and stood by as someone was dragged over the coals in the national press for being a dirty liar, the least the tech, most likely ex-tech, can do is publicly come forward.
That's the only way the person will get a fair resolution.
Coming forward now and like this only gets revenge on his ex-employer and ex-coworkers.
The consumerist should guard it's reputation more closely. The web is full of hacks that are tools. This story looks like revenge, not justice.
@ChuckECheese: I'm not a chronic skeptic. Usually I'm on your side of the fence. Even so, I'm taking this one with a grain of salt.
@Do not taunt Happy Fun King Psyz: A roommate in El Paso created a sort of bag/ cover with some of those lightweight air conditioner filters, and loosely covered his PS3 and Xbox. It kept most of the dust out.
I'm going to use this op to praise Newegg. I bought a PS3 for my kids last Christmas. Christmas morning it was dead, completely dead. I got an RMA, boxed it up, and mailed it back to Newegg for an exchange.
After mailing it, I throught, "Gee, I should have returned it for a refund so I could buy a new one locally so my kids could play Rock Band 2 when I get home."
So I chatted with someone at Newegg and explained what I wanted to do. They had no problem changing my exchange to a refund. I bought a new PS3 during lunch and my kids were happily playing Rock Band 2 that night!
Thanks Newegg!
@12-Inch Idongivafuck Sandwich:
But, what's the difference from an anonymous tip standpoint? This seems odd to me too. I'm guessing there are a lot of employees there, and no one would have any idea who the tip was from.
@Do not taunt Happy Fun King Psyz: It may be because my brain is pickling in my skull from misuse, but but I don't get what you're trying to say here.
@Do not taunt Happy Fun King Psyz:
Agree. If the unit came abck with dirt from outside (which is a different consistency than dust, btw) in it, why wouldn't he have said so before?
I'd at least like to see some proof that this person works/worked where he said he did. An identifying email address, a paycheck stub (with naughty bits crossed out) sent to Ben, etc.
If it's just some guy using a yahoo account, I'm not saying it's untrue, but just that more confirmation is needed.
@Cyberxion101:
Reid never denied not blowing out the unit, he never denied leaving it in an enclosed entertainment center and running 24/7, and he openly stated that because the warranty kept him from opening the case he wasn't obligated to clean the inside of the unit.
@DefineStatutory: Ah, got it.
I could have sworn that I just got through reading something in which he said just that. That the condition in which it came to him was not the same condition in which it was returned.
On the other hand, he did say that he didn't feel that he had to dust it too thoroughly because that would void the warranty.
That would be yet another example of how inconsistent his story has been over the course of this debacle. Which, for the record, is why I'm skeptical about the validity of this informant.
@MyopicRaiderfan: Actually, if you're working in that environment, there'd be a lot of dust accumulating from all the dusty, cracked-open PS3s. Or simply uncork any vacuum and scoop some out.
That said, with so much environmental dust, why go outside to get dirt? As you point out, dirt isn't dust.
I don't know...it's been a LONG time since this was posted, why come out now? Seems kind of fishy to me.