SJ replaced his Volkswagen’s bulbs with Sylvania Silverstar lights that were twice as expensive, only to watch them fail after three months of use. Disappointed, since the standard bulbs lasted for three years, SJ wrote to Sylvania telling them that he expected, at a minimum, a voucher for new bulbs. Sylvania’s response managed to brighten his day…
replacements
Brian Manages To Replace His Rusty Craftsman Sockets At Sears
By 3.16.09
When we broke off from our Sears Craftsman warranty saga last Friday, Brian had been told there were no replacements on tools that have rust on them, which wasn’t what Sears told us the last time we had warranty questions. Over the weekend, Brian found more evidence that Sears can’t get its warranty language straight. But there’s some good news, too: he dressed up a little, cleaned off the sockets, and went back to Sears. This time he got a different associate who seemed to have no problem swapping out the tools, and who never mentioned the supposed “three per day” rule.
Sears Can't Get Its Story Straight Regarding Rust And Craftsman Tools
By 3.13.09
C’mon Sears, rust isn’t a magic brown fairy powder that you can sprinkle over any warranty issue to deny coverage. Brian was told he couldn’t have his worn-out sockets replaced because they were rusty. He pointed out that he needed them replaced because they were worn out, not because of some cosmetic damage due to oxidation. Now Sears has officially told him that any rust on a Craftsman tool automatically voids the warranty—which is not what Sears told us two years ago.
Craftsman's "Lifetime Warranty" Depends On Tool Associate's Mood
By 3.13.09
Brian tried to trade in some old Craftsman tools, the ones that come with a lifetime, no-questions-asked replacement policy. Unfortunately, the Tool Associate at Sears deemed Brian unworthy of the Cratfsman guarantee and refused him. That’s why he’s the Tool Associate.
Dell Takes Four Months To Replace Broken Trackpad
By 2.7.09
The trackpad on Jim’s Dell laptop hasn’t worked since September despite a new motherboard, new hard drive, and four replacement trackpads. One Dell technician managed to dent the laptop’s speaker grill. Another, dispatched to replace the hard drive, brought a drive that was slower than the model in Jim’s laptop. Dell promised to send the speedier drive, but instead they sent a box labeled “hard drive” containing only a screwdriver.
The Post Office Stole My Woot! Shirt!
By 1.10.09
I ordered an awesome shirt from Shirt.Woot! How awesome? Awesome enough for the U.S. Post Office to tear it right out of the super-durable SmartPost package Woot uses to protect their shirts. The Post Office, bastion of empathy that it is, didn’t want me to miss my order completely, so they delivered my ripped empty package wrapped in an obnoxious “WE CARE” apology bag. Heartbroken, I tried emailing Woot for help…
Knoll 'Authorized Dealer' Tries To Charge 300% Restocking Fee
By 9.22.08
Ethan emailed us to ask if we’d ever heard of a company charging a 300% restocking fee, and guess what, we hadn’t. Who does that? The authorized dealer Ethan is working with ordered the wrong parts for his Knoll Life chair, and now he’s trying to sidle his way out of treating Ethan fairly. We called Knoll and found out their real return policy, and it’s nothing like what the dealer is telling Ethan.
Regal Cinema In Boise, Idaho Is Awesome, Even When You've Clearly Screwed Up
By 5.6.08
Dave did something really stupid last weekend (no offense Dave), and bought two tickets to see “Iron Man” on the wrong day. He didn’t realize his mistake until Saturday, when he thought he was going to go see the movie. We would have never even bothered to call Regal to beg for ticket leniency, but Dave tried it anyway—and the theater actually exchanged the expired tickets for two new ones.
Why Does It Take IKEA Four Months To Replace A Defective Couch Cover?
By 4.26.08
Joyce has been waiting since December for IKEA to send her a replacement couch cover. IKEA admitted that the cover had a known defect, but since they were out replacements at the time, they promised to call Joyce a month later when new covers arrived. Joyce gave her information and asked for a reference number, but was told that one wouldn’t be necessary. Wouldn’t that have been nice?
"Apple Gave Me Back The Wrong Laptop!"
By 4.22.08
Jeff says an Apple Genius gave his girlfriend back the wrong computer!When my girlfriend encountered problems turning on her laptop, she was frustrated with yet another problem.
Apple's MagSafe Adapters Still Fraying, Melting, Sucking
By 4.4.08
Apple’s perpetually melting and fraying MagSafe adapters—apparently these things are made out of Styrofoam and rice paper—continue to cause trouble.
Help, Whirpool Replaced My Leaky Washer With A Brand New Leaky Washer!
By 2.2.08
Ken writes: “In February of 2007, we purchased a Whirlpool Duet Sport Washer, model XWWFW8410SW. The washer worked very well, and we noticed a savings in our water and electric bill. A few months later, we noticed it was leaking water. Fortunately, the washer is in the garage. We called our local appliance dealer, and they sent out a service technician. He “fixed” the leak. A couple of days later, it began leaking again. And it was fixed again. The door was replaced. The lock was replaced. The ring was replaced. Everything was caulked, adjusted, tweaked, etc. Again it leaked.”
CPSC's Sole Toy Tester Retires, Nation Chokes On Tears
By 1.12.08
Tragedy struck last week in Washington as the nation’s sole full-time toy tester, Robert L. Hundemer, retired from the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Hundemer unwittingly became the symbol of the CPSC’s inability to ensure the safety of the nation’s toys when, during Congressional testimony, CPSC Chair Nancy Nord repeatedly referred to him as “Bob, our small parts guy.”
Nintendo Replaces Soused DS Lite Free Of Charge
By 11.18.07
“While moving to our new house last week a friend who was helping us accidentally spilt beer on my son’s DS lite and it stopped working. I knew that his DS was still under warranty, but I also knew that I would not cover physical damage caused by neglect. After checking Nintendo’s website, and confirming that spilling liquid on it would not be covered and that I would have to pay for the repair.”
Bang & Olufsen's Bang-Up Customer Service
By 10.7.07
Reader Sharad misplaced the leather carrying case for his Bang & Olufsen A8 headphones. Rather than leave his headphones exposed to the elements, or worse, the inside of a backpack, Sharad sent Bang & Olufsen a fax asking for a replacement:
Update: Replacement iPhones Will Work With Prepaid SIM Cards
By 8.11.07
Remember JD? 32 hours of tech support from Apple and AT&T couldn’t coax his replacement iPhone into working with his prepaid SIM card. After we posted his story, representatives from both companies had a powwow and traced JD’s problem back to mismatched IMEI numbers. Now JD’s replacement iPhone works, and he has advice for anyone in a similar bind:
Received a call from an extremely helpful AT&T representative yesterday. She was informed of the situation by Apple, and worked with them to resolve it. Along with AT&T, I received a call from an Apple executive, who was also extremely helpful. Thanks to them both for getting to the bottom of this situation.
