Shaunessy was displeased with his Nexus 10 tablet, and customer service couldn’t help. The tablet they set had light bleed around the edges: sort of a glowing gap at the corners. He returned the tablet to get a replacement, less glowy device, but the new one had the same problem as well. He gave up on the prospect of Nexus ownership, but there was a catch: returning both tablets meant paying a 15% restocking fee, or about $75. That struck Shaunessy as unfair, so he decided to appeal his case to a higher authority: a mass mailing to a dozen Google executives.

Here’s the message he sent, following our guide How To Launch An Executive Email Carpet Bomb:

Dear Google Executive(s),
I regret having to draft this email; however, I am writing you in hopes of getting an issue resolved that so far I have not been able to resolve via your customer service. On December 3rd I purchased my first Google Nexus 10 via the Google play store. It arrived on December 14th and much to my dismay upon powering on I noticed the corners of the LCD were “glowing” (I have since learned this is called “light bleed”). I contacted the customer service number and was told this was a unique problem and they would be happy to send me out a replacement of a new unit if I would authorize another hold on my CC account.

On 19 Dec 2012 I received my second Nexus 10 and noticed that the tablet exhibits similar glowing corners/edges as the first faulty device. Utterly dismayed I contacted customer service & they stated they were sorry this had happened. I explained my dismay and asked whether I should request yet another product or just opt to return both of them for a refund. I then spoke with a supervisor who told me I would be charged a 15% restocking fee if I returned the device which would be approximately $75.
I’m willing to give your company a third try much to the dismay of my friends and family and request a third device but I would appreciate someone contacting me and assuring me the device has been inspected and will be shipped free of defects, if this cannot be accommodated I request that I not be charged a 15% restocking fee seeing as how I have received two faulty devices through no fault of my own. I truly want to give your company a chance, I like that you’re innovating but I simply cannot justify wasting time & money on a company that’s willing to ship substandard products to customers.

The carpet bomb reached its intended target. The next day, we heard back from Shaunessy. The message’s result: a new and carefully inspected tablet overnighted to his doorstep.

I felt it was important to follow up with my original email as google did. I recieved a call on my lunch (so the response took less than 24 hours) from [D] in “Corporate Escalations”. [D] was extremely professional, took ownership of the mistakes & stated he personally inspected the unit that they would ship out to me if I was willing to give them another chance. I decided to give them another chance and they’re overnighting me a unit as we speak! I didn’t look forward to having to escalate the problem but am proud of the way they handled it & as such will have zero ill will with future transactions with them.

Thanks Consumerist for giving me the tools & know-how to resolve this situation. I never would have known how or what an EECB was if I hadn’t been a long time reader!

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.