On a lark, Shawn called Logitech when his old universal remote stopped working to see if there was anything it would do for him. After some resistance, he launched an Executive Email Carpet Bomb, which paid off with a free newer, better version of the remote.

He writes:

In September of 2007 I purchased a Logitech Harmony 880 universal remote control. At the time I was moving in with my girlfriend who is now my wife. For the sake of simplifying my home theater system for her I decided that a $250 remote control was much better than making her deal with 4 different remotes. The remote was easy to set up and just as easy to use.

In October 2009 I started having trouble using the ‘volume up’ button on the remote. It wouldn’t turn the volume up on my TV or my stereo system. I started checking the trouble shooting guides available through Logitech and found a few tips to try. They would work, but only for about a day or so before I couldn’t use the button. At this point I was over a year out of warranty so I just programmed some unused buttons to control the volume. I was ok with this for a few weeks until I decided that a $250 remote control should work better than this for longer than 2 years. At this point I decided I would contact Logitech to find out what they could do for me. After reading stories of great service from Logitech here on The Consumerist, I had high hopes.

I first contacted Logitech via their customer support email on November 22, 2009. Within a day I had a response from a support rep who asked me to check if the “IR send icon” on my remote flashed when I pushed the volume up button, it didn’t. At this point I realized the button had failed. The rep had asked me to reply with my name, address, phone number, and remote serial number. I thought to myself, “Great, they’re just going to send me a new remote.” That wasn’t the case. The next response I got notified me that they couldn’t repair or replace the remote but that I could purchase whatever remote I wanted at 50% off. Normally, I would consider that a great offer but not in this case. The most comparable remote to what I had is the Harmony One and it is $250. Why would I spend another $125 to replace my remote when my experience has shown me that this new one would last only a couple years. I replied to the rep who was handling my case and explained that I didn’t feel that was a fair offer and that I would not be taking advantage of it. I also explained that I felt a $250 remote should last longer than 2 years and I didn’t think it was unfair of me to expect them to replace it. I got a reply from a supervisor who explained that there was nothing they could do but they would still honor the 50% discount.

I decided it was time for an EECB. Using info from The Consumerist I fired off the EECB and explained that I have been a huge proponent of Logitech and had convinced many people I know to purchase Logitech products. The next day I had a response from David Henry who is the Senior VP of Customer Experience. He told me that someone would contact me that evening. I got the phone call as promised and the gentleman I spoke with offered to send me a Harmony One at no charge. He explained that the remotes were back ordered and I should expect to see it within the first 7-10 days of January 2010. I was ecstatic and was more than happy to wait a few weeks for my remote. It showed up yesterday, 12/14/09, about 3 weeks earlier than promised.

Thank you Consumerist!! In the past I probably would have given up after being told there was nothing they could do.

On the topic of remotes, how many do you actively use in your house? I’m ashamed to say I’m jockeying four in the living room alone.

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