WARNING!! This is going to be a long read...
I first purchased the Surface Pro 3 a few months ago in Hong Kong through Fortress Electronics.
After booting up the device and installing a few windows updates, I noticed a constant clicking sound from the fan as well as the audio constantly making clicking noises, whether or not the device was muted.
I went back the next day to get an exchange. After proving such issues were present, I was provided with a brand new device no questions asked. OK good.
A few months go by of enjoying the awesome form factor and abilities of the device.
There were a few issues with the device.
1. There's no way in hell I could acheive the advertised battery life. For example, I have nothing running in the background, I'd have only OneNote MUI opened with the screen brightness set to 30%, and I'd get 4 hours MAX.
2. the docking station connecting point became faulty and would not charge the surface unless I pressed it down and held it in place. They sent me a new docking station in the mail without having me to return the one that I have. Great service so far.
One day the Surface was in a protective case (like a laptop sleeve) in my backpack. I dropped my back pack that had the device in it. Unfortunately the screen has shattered and now it won't accept any touch input. The mouse pointer was jumping all over the place making the device completely useless. After spending a loooong time trying to open control panel and disabling touch, the device is somewhat fucntional and I can use it as a laptop. (I'm currently typing this up on the Surface) The only issue is that sometimes is takes more than one try to boot it up. Everything is backed up and there are no important files left on this machine, so as of now it's pretty much touch and go.
Since I did not purchase the Microsoft Complete Accident Protection plan, I had to pay my own money to get an exchanged device. Unfortunately the best that I could do was to get a refurbished product. I guess there's no way around this so I did accept the offer. The payment was roughly 400 dollars. OUCH.
Issue #1
When I was instructed to process the exchange order online, Microsoft's website would not accept my card, keeping repeating the error saying that "the address you have provided is invalid" and "this card is no longer valid" WTF does this even mean? My card has not expired as I have been using it and I am still using it till this day (Bank of America debit VISA).
I had to call the service hotline (which takes 10 -15 minutes just to open my case, as they have to ask for my name, serial number, phone number, then send me a verification e-mail to open my case) for them to process the order. After waiting on the phone for more than 45 minutes with constant "please hold sir" they were finally able to process my order.
A few days pass by, as they said it would take a minimum of 3 business days to process my order. In Hong Kong, the only way to receieve an exchange product is by going through a third party company called "Kar Kar" who handles exchange products that aren't all Microsoft. The only way to check if your product is available is for you to call them every day and give them your order number.
Finally they say they product is available so I drop everything and head over to their walk in center (1 hour away)
Once I get there I requested to exam the product before accepting the exchange.
Issue #2
Wow. This is one beat up Surface Pro 3.
1. There are deep gashes on the exterior.
2. There are numerous microscratches on the surface of the product showing no protective measures whatsoever have been used.
3. The scratches on the corners were so deep that the matte silver finish has been completely rubbed off and bare metal was showing.
4. I turned on the machine and almost immediately you can hear the fan clicking and vibrating.
5. They wouldn't let me log on to the machine to check for other errors.
6. Screen bleeding was visible even under bright lights.
7. There's an unusually large gap on the bottom of the device between the bezel and the glass
There was no way in hell I was going to accept this sub par machine. Keep in mind that besides the cracked screen, my device has ZERO scratches. I purchased skins as well as a screen protective film and was installed even before first booting up the device.
I called up Microsoft service to complain about the condition the refurb was in.
The rep just kept on reading the text something like "our refurbished products have been carefully reviewed by our skilled engineers and have been carefully selected to be in a fully funcitonal immaculate condition..."
After complaining over and over that the product was in terrible shape, the best he could offer was to create another order for exchange. Reluctantly I had no other choice but to agree.
Meanwhile, the first rep that I've spoken to finally sends me an e-mail but it said something like "have you been able to recieve the exchange" err.. NO.
A few days go by again, and there is no e-mail or reference number provided. I called Microsoft service once again.
Issue #3
Again after waiting for 10-15 minutes for them to access my case, they rep says there's no record of me requesting another exchange product and it shows that I have recieved the first one.
This is when I start to lose my cool.
So after spending about an hour of explaining from the very begining, he puts me on hold again saying he has to escalate this case to the QA department. Again I'm on hold.
He comes back and says that this case has been escalated to to the QA department and they will contact me withing 3 business days.
Three business days pass by.
I call again to see the progress.
Again waiting 10-15 minutes just to verify who I am.
Issue #4
The rep tells me it shows that I have received the exchange and the case was closed.
WTF.
Once again I have to explain FROM THE VERY BEGINNING of what's been going on. I've had enough of incompetant reps and I ask to speak with her supervisor. After a long wait I get in touch with him.
Once again I have to explain everything because nobody is making additional notes to my case. I ask the supervisor about the rep I talked to 3 days ago that escalated my case.
Issue #5
"Sir there's no record of you speaking to any rep 3 days ago and your case has not been escalated."
....Jesus Christ.
No matter how much I complain he just sounds like a broken record repeating "sir I understand your frustration, but we are trying the best we can do to serve blah blah blah"
I'm sure you'd all understand but I'm absolutely furious with their service at this point. It's been two weeks since I first issued the service order and absolutely nothing has been resolved.
So while I speak with him I ask him what kind of guarantee he can provide me that the refurbished product will be in a better condition. He gives me the same line "all of our refurbished products have been carefully examined blah blah blah"
I tell him enough with this BS. Are you going to physically look at the machine to guarantee me that the product is good condition? If not, what are you going to do? Do you understand how much time and money I'm wasting trying to get this resolved? Who's going to be responsible for that?
Rep: "sir at this time we don't have any compensation plans"
...
Issue #6
He tries to create another order but says that I have not paid for the order and that I have been refunded for my previous charges.
That's odd. I check my bank account. No refund. I explain.
He says "can you prove that you have been charged? You need to contact your bank and resolve that"
Me: "I'm not going to make an international call for something that's your problem and not mine"
(I'm currently in Hong Kong and my bank is in the States)
After being put on hold again, he comes back and says my order has been completed and should wait another 3 business days. I should receive an e-mail with the work order number.
Issue #7
3 days, no e-mail. I call again.
Issue #8
I talk to a rep and ask to speak with the supervisor directly. I get in touch with him. He says the order has not been processed because you have not paid for the order.
W.
T.
F.
He suggests that I just charge my card again and wait for the refund to happen. ABSOLUTELY NOT.
I ask him why didn't you tell me this before? Did this take 3 business days for you to figure this out?
Rep: "sir I was just about to call you"
SURE.
I tell him "you know what, seriously you guys are wasting my time with this. What is stopping me from just getting a refund? Why should I deal with this any more?"
He then says if it's a refund you want then we are going to have to escalate your case to the Microsoft Service center in the States.
OK fine. I'll just get a refund and buy back new.
We proceed with updating the case so I'm told to deal with Microsoft US instead.
2 and a half weeks and nothing accomplished.
He says it's going to take 1-2 business days for them to contact me via e-mail.
I hang up.
After 3 days, this is the BS response I get back from Microsoft:
Greetings from Microsoft Surface Support!
First of all, let me extend my appreciation for the understanding you have provided when we were dealing with your concern. We have thoroughly studied the situation and had this result to convey.
· We from Microsoft Surface Support will provide all assistance regarding issues with the device. Ultimately, processing Exchange should everything fail with the troubleshooting steps.
· Exchange would mean an In-Warranty or Out-of Warranty
· The authorized entity to process refund is from the Point of Purchase as the payment was taken by them. It is of course limited to its Guidelines and Policies.
With the aforementioned, we will be pleased to help you with the troubleshooting steps to help fix the issues encountered with the device. If it is the refund that you wish to have for the Surface, it will be best to contact the store where you purchased your device. They are in the best position to assist you with your request for return and refund.
Again, thank you for your understanding and patience.
Best regards,
Microsoft Surface support
can someone please enlighten me with what the hell this e-mail is even saying?
I respond immediately:
What does this e-mail mean? There's absolutely no solution provided in this automated response whatsoever.
What is the next step?
How will you provide an exchange?
How are you planning to provide a refund?
Pushing matters around from service rep to service rep is very irresponsible. You are probably the 5th or 6th service rep that I've been pushed to.
If you tell me to just contact the place where I purchased the product, of course they're not going to provide a refund. Have you even read my case? Do you even know when the product was purchased? Do you know any store in this world that would provide a refund to a damaged product that has been purchased months ago? This matter is becoming beyond frustrating.
Try again.
So that is what I've been dealing with for the past 3 weeks now. Sigh.
Thanks for reading my rant. Any suggestions are welcome.
I first purchased the Surface Pro 3 a few months ago in Hong Kong through Fortress Electronics.
After booting up the device and installing a few windows updates, I noticed a constant clicking sound from the fan as well as the audio constantly making clicking noises, whether or not the device was muted.
I went back the next day to get an exchange. After proving such issues were present, I was provided with a brand new device no questions asked. OK good.
A few months go by of enjoying the awesome form factor and abilities of the device.
There were a few issues with the device.
1. There's no way in hell I could acheive the advertised battery life. For example, I have nothing running in the background, I'd have only OneNote MUI opened with the screen brightness set to 30%, and I'd get 4 hours MAX.
2. the docking station connecting point became faulty and would not charge the surface unless I pressed it down and held it in place. They sent me a new docking station in the mail without having me to return the one that I have. Great service so far.
One day the Surface was in a protective case (like a laptop sleeve) in my backpack. I dropped my back pack that had the device in it. Unfortunately the screen has shattered and now it won't accept any touch input. The mouse pointer was jumping all over the place making the device completely useless. After spending a loooong time trying to open control panel and disabling touch, the device is somewhat fucntional and I can use it as a laptop. (I'm currently typing this up on the Surface) The only issue is that sometimes is takes more than one try to boot it up. Everything is backed up and there are no important files left on this machine, so as of now it's pretty much touch and go.
Since I did not purchase the Microsoft Complete Accident Protection plan, I had to pay my own money to get an exchanged device. Unfortunately the best that I could do was to get a refurbished product. I guess there's no way around this so I did accept the offer. The payment was roughly 400 dollars. OUCH.
Issue #1
When I was instructed to process the exchange order online, Microsoft's website would not accept my card, keeping repeating the error saying that "the address you have provided is invalid" and "this card is no longer valid" WTF does this even mean? My card has not expired as I have been using it and I am still using it till this day (Bank of America debit VISA).
I had to call the service hotline (which takes 10 -15 minutes just to open my case, as they have to ask for my name, serial number, phone number, then send me a verification e-mail to open my case) for them to process the order. After waiting on the phone for more than 45 minutes with constant "please hold sir" they were finally able to process my order.
A few days pass by, as they said it would take a minimum of 3 business days to process my order. In Hong Kong, the only way to receieve an exchange product is by going through a third party company called "Kar Kar" who handles exchange products that aren't all Microsoft. The only way to check if your product is available is for you to call them every day and give them your order number.
Finally they say they product is available so I drop everything and head over to their walk in center (1 hour away)
Once I get there I requested to exam the product before accepting the exchange.
Issue #2
Wow. This is one beat up Surface Pro 3.
1. There are deep gashes on the exterior.
2. There are numerous microscratches on the surface of the product showing no protective measures whatsoever have been used.
3. The scratches on the corners were so deep that the matte silver finish has been completely rubbed off and bare metal was showing.
4. I turned on the machine and almost immediately you can hear the fan clicking and vibrating.
5. They wouldn't let me log on to the machine to check for other errors.
6. Screen bleeding was visible even under bright lights.
7. There's an unusually large gap on the bottom of the device between the bezel and the glass
There was no way in hell I was going to accept this sub par machine. Keep in mind that besides the cracked screen, my device has ZERO scratches. I purchased skins as well as a screen protective film and was installed even before first booting up the device.
I called up Microsoft service to complain about the condition the refurb was in.
The rep just kept on reading the text something like "our refurbished products have been carefully reviewed by our skilled engineers and have been carefully selected to be in a fully funcitonal immaculate condition..."
After complaining over and over that the product was in terrible shape, the best he could offer was to create another order for exchange. Reluctantly I had no other choice but to agree.
Meanwhile, the first rep that I've spoken to finally sends me an e-mail but it said something like "have you been able to recieve the exchange" err.. NO.
A few days go by again, and there is no e-mail or reference number provided. I called Microsoft service once again.
Issue #3
Again after waiting for 10-15 minutes for them to access my case, they rep says there's no record of me requesting another exchange product and it shows that I have recieved the first one.
This is when I start to lose my cool.
So after spending about an hour of explaining from the very begining, he puts me on hold again saying he has to escalate this case to the QA department. Again I'm on hold.
He comes back and says that this case has been escalated to to the QA department and they will contact me withing 3 business days.
Three business days pass by.
I call again to see the progress.
Again waiting 10-15 minutes just to verify who I am.
Issue #4
The rep tells me it shows that I have received the exchange and the case was closed.
WTF.
Once again I have to explain FROM THE VERY BEGINNING of what's been going on. I've had enough of incompetant reps and I ask to speak with her supervisor. After a long wait I get in touch with him.
Once again I have to explain everything because nobody is making additional notes to my case. I ask the supervisor about the rep I talked to 3 days ago that escalated my case.
Issue #5
"Sir there's no record of you speaking to any rep 3 days ago and your case has not been escalated."
....Jesus Christ.
No matter how much I complain he just sounds like a broken record repeating "sir I understand your frustration, but we are trying the best we can do to serve blah blah blah"
I'm sure you'd all understand but I'm absolutely furious with their service at this point. It's been two weeks since I first issued the service order and absolutely nothing has been resolved.
So while I speak with him I ask him what kind of guarantee he can provide me that the refurbished product will be in a better condition. He gives me the same line "all of our refurbished products have been carefully examined blah blah blah"
I tell him enough with this BS. Are you going to physically look at the machine to guarantee me that the product is good condition? If not, what are you going to do? Do you understand how much time and money I'm wasting trying to get this resolved? Who's going to be responsible for that?
Rep: "sir at this time we don't have any compensation plans"
...
Issue #6
He tries to create another order but says that I have not paid for the order and that I have been refunded for my previous charges.
That's odd. I check my bank account. No refund. I explain.
He says "can you prove that you have been charged? You need to contact your bank and resolve that"
Me: "I'm not going to make an international call for something that's your problem and not mine"
(I'm currently in Hong Kong and my bank is in the States)
After being put on hold again, he comes back and says my order has been completed and should wait another 3 business days. I should receive an e-mail with the work order number.
Issue #7
3 days, no e-mail. I call again.
Issue #8
I talk to a rep and ask to speak with the supervisor directly. I get in touch with him. He says the order has not been processed because you have not paid for the order.
W.
T.
F.
He suggests that I just charge my card again and wait for the refund to happen. ABSOLUTELY NOT.
I ask him why didn't you tell me this before? Did this take 3 business days for you to figure this out?
Rep: "sir I was just about to call you"
SURE.
I tell him "you know what, seriously you guys are wasting my time with this. What is stopping me from just getting a refund? Why should I deal with this any more?"
He then says if it's a refund you want then we are going to have to escalate your case to the Microsoft Service center in the States.
OK fine. I'll just get a refund and buy back new.
We proceed with updating the case so I'm told to deal with Microsoft US instead.
2 and a half weeks and nothing accomplished.
He says it's going to take 1-2 business days for them to contact me via e-mail.
I hang up.
After 3 days, this is the BS response I get back from Microsoft:
Greetings from Microsoft Surface Support!
First of all, let me extend my appreciation for the understanding you have provided when we were dealing with your concern. We have thoroughly studied the situation and had this result to convey.
· We from Microsoft Surface Support will provide all assistance regarding issues with the device. Ultimately, processing Exchange should everything fail with the troubleshooting steps.
· Exchange would mean an In-Warranty or Out-of Warranty
· The authorized entity to process refund is from the Point of Purchase as the payment was taken by them. It is of course limited to its Guidelines and Policies.
With the aforementioned, we will be pleased to help you with the troubleshooting steps to help fix the issues encountered with the device. If it is the refund that you wish to have for the Surface, it will be best to contact the store where you purchased your device. They are in the best position to assist you with your request for return and refund.
Again, thank you for your understanding and patience.
Best regards,
Microsoft Surface support
can someone please enlighten me with what the hell this e-mail is even saying?
I respond immediately:
What does this e-mail mean? There's absolutely no solution provided in this automated response whatsoever.
What is the next step?
How will you provide an exchange?
How are you planning to provide a refund?
Pushing matters around from service rep to service rep is very irresponsible. You are probably the 5th or 6th service rep that I've been pushed to.
If you tell me to just contact the place where I purchased the product, of course they're not going to provide a refund. Have you even read my case? Do you even know when the product was purchased? Do you know any store in this world that would provide a refund to a damaged product that has been purchased months ago? This matter is becoming beyond frustrating.
Try again.
So that is what I've been dealing with for the past 3 weeks now. Sigh.
Thanks for reading my rant. Any suggestions are welcome.
