ASUS, I Just Want My Computer Back From Warranty Repair Hell

Rob really, really liked his ASUS laptop. He kept it clean, treated it kindly, and loved it very much. Yet the display mysteriously broke…sort of… and it began crying rainbow LCD tears when it was only six months old. He sent it in for repair, and the company first told him that the repair would take three business days…then fourteen. Rob would really, really like his computer back.

I finally got to a point in my life where I could set aside a little money and buy a computer I really wanted rather than just one that I could afford. So after a few months of putting money aside I settled on the ASUS G73JH-A1! I had to wait on a waiting list, 2 months before I got it but it was worth the wait right? The thing was amazing it was fast, sleek, ran relatively cool and could run any game on the market! I had no problems with it and it performed better than any machine I’d owned or used prior to it!

That is the glowing recomendation I would have given a month ago, today I have a different tune. I must have done something wrong, no I treated the machine with kid gloves, I gently wiped dust off it every day or so, I kept it clean and debris free etc. Imagine my surprise when I turn it on one morning and find the LCD screen looks as though it is bleeding. It appears as though it was damaged like the many images you see with the cracks, running colors and just distortion, problem is I didn’t find any crack when I checked it and I know I didn’t apply any notable force beyond closing the lid, pretty sure I didn’t cause this problem but then I’m not amazing at this tech stuff either. I do know how to care for my pocessions though!

In any event I contacted ASUS customer service on the 18th of Oct. 2010 and described my problem, they started a repair order. I never recieved my fedex prepaid label and had to call back to finally get that sent to me. Problem is it was for 3-5 day shipping, when I purchased the laptop I was told it was shipped 1 day both ways. I sucked it up because they had a 3 day target turn around, so I figured it wasn’t so bad, oh boy was I wrong.

They finally registered recieving it on the 25th of Oct. a full week later and a few days after Fedex reported dropping it off. There it has sat at 0% completion and since they quoted a 3 day turn around I figured I’d contact them on the 4th day. First contact I spoke a plesant fellow, Shawn, on the 29th who tried to check the status for me and then informed me repairs would take up to 1-2 more business days,and that they should have it shipped ready to be shipped out by the following Tuesday the latest. He claimed that his supervisor had spoken with someone in the repair facility. I was okay with that answer, not exactly happy but I only had to wait a few more days.

The weekend passed and I waited untill Tuesday the 2nd of November in the evening to contact once more. My laptop was still at 0% and there were no notes on the status when I checked it. I spoke with a fairly rude woman, I didn’t get her name through the accent and poor connection of her phone. She was not helpful at all and was actually pretty nasty. When I asked to speak with a supervisor I was promptly told, “no.” No explination, nothing just a sharp no, I’ve never heard that in support before. So I calmly lead the conversation to an end, checked the status and was told, it will take up to 14 business days. Needless to say I was quite sad about this but promptly ended the call before I became aggitated.

I waited a few minutes, took a quick walk to calm down and called once more. This time I spoke with a man who introduced himself as Karen/Karin(not sure which) he was very plesant after the last rep. He informed me that yes indeed they would keep my laptop up to 14 business days after recieving it, I was understandably upset and he tried to calm me down. He informed me that he’d put a note to expedite my order, I’m not sure how but expiditing it could not be a bad thing huh? I went along with it and got off a little happier but still without my pc.

Today Nov. 9th I called up, I figured they’ve had my PC 11 business days, should be plenty to fix a faulty monitor no? Apparantly not 0% on their website with no notes to go on so it looks like it’s been sitting there. I called up mid day and spoke to a friend rep. I immediately asked him if there was an expedite memo on my repair order and was informed there was no such thing and they didn’t have authority to do that, so the last guy lied to me? The new guy listened to my problem and was rather calm about the whole thing, he said he’d contact the repair facility for an update on my status being we’re close to the 3, scratch that 14 day turn around. He let me go with just that and that’s where I am.

I spent 1700$ on this laptop, I had it for 6 months and treated it with kid gloves. I’m not sure what I wanted to gain from writing this to you but it sure helped a bit for me to vent. I sent my laptop out to them on the 18th and here it is Nov 9th and still we’re at 0% progress, I feel it’s rather unacceptable. I wish I could contact somebody important over at ASUS and get some help but I’m still presently unable to get even a supervisor. I’m at my whits end with this company, I can tell you I’ll never be doing business with them again and urge others to do the same!

These secrets we posted a while ago from an Asus insider may help Rob navigate the scary world of Asus warranty and repair.

Update: Through what we’re sure is some amazing coincidence, ASUS contacted Rob today and said that they finished his repair today and shipped the computer back to him.

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