Unregistered

This is probably more appropriate for the General forum, but I put it here because I sent my UX50 in to have the screaming LCD replaced and to have the LCD properly aligned in the casing (it was off kilter...). Let this be a warning to anyone who is thinking about sending their UX50 in to have this particular issue addressed, particularly if you have to send it to the service center in San Diego, CA.

I received the unit back today, and to my surprise and horror, the service center physically damaged the casing of the clie.

It seems that the genius repair tech thought it was a good idea to try to pry the lcd casing open form the top edge of the case with some sort of tool that looks like it had three heads about a quarter inch wide, spaced evenly about an inch apart. Now there are three notches that have been broken off of the silver part of the case along the top edge of the LCD panel, one ine the center and two on each side. They're all roughly the same size, but have slightly jagged edges. There's some plastic/paint chips still on the casing from when they tried to pry the case open to replace the lcd. It almost looks like they tried to pry open the casing to get to the lcd without removing the scews or something, and instead pried three pieces of the casing right off. To top it all off, the casing doesn't even close together properly on one side (the side with the WiFi and Bluetooth indicators) so that there's a gap between the two halves.

I'd post a picture of it, but I don't have my digital camera with me (and I can't very well take a picture of the top edge of the lcd screen with the clie camera). Maybe I'll post one later tonight.

Needless to say, I'm furious. The only thing I could do was to call Sony Repair again and give the CSR an earful. I know it's not his fault, but I needed to let someone at Sony know. Now I have to send the whole thing back to the same repair center. The CSR claims that I can get the unit looked at by a supervisor, and that because this is a "rerepair" they'll prioritize the work order. With my luck, they'll just give it back to the same tech, who will try to claim that the unit came like that to save his own hide.

this is so infuriating!!! The sheer stupidity of whoever decided it was okay to send my unit back to me after they had damaged it is unfathomable. "Ooops, I broke your unit. But I'll just send it back to you anyway and hope you don't notice it, or maybe you'll be too lazy to do anything about it. It's not my problem."

It seems like they at least addressed the screaming lcd issue. The screen is still misaligned (tilts downward to the right), though. It's no consolation for the fact that the SONY REPAIR CENTER damaged my clie, and then decided to send it back to me damaged.

The irony, the irony....

tlu625

seems to keep happening to me.

Anyway, it was my clie that got thrashed.

Joel

Do you have documentation before you sent off your Clie? What many are doing now is to take pictures of their devices (or other electronic items) before they send them off for repair.

Sad to say that without proof of the prior condition of the unit, it would be an uphill battle for you. Good luck nonetheless.

tlu625

It never occurred to me that the repair center might inflict physical damage to my clie, so I didn't think to take pictures. (Though I should have thought of that... as a lawyer, I'm always telling people to take pictures of things and to document things. Arrghh...) I guess I never expected that a repair technician at Sony wouldn't have ANY sense of accountability and responsibility whatsoever. I mean, honestly, if you break something that's not yours, fix it! Or at least 'fess up and make things right.

Well, all I can say is that this damage clearly did not happen by chance, and if they try to deny that it was done by someone on their end, there's going to be hell to pay.

Juggster

sorry to hear that, i have always had good experiances with sony europe

dannn

i glad i took pics of my UX50 before i sent it off!! it was merely by chance, i didnt take the pics for this reason, just to show it to my friend online.

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reactor18

I am so sorry to hear of your expirience. Having delt with Sony's 'customer service' and repair in the past and coming away with a simular horror story, I opt now for the extended warranty so I don't have to deal with them. It's bad when such a large company has such a dreadfull reputation in this area.

I hope everything works out for you.

tlu625

I finally took some pictures of the damage to my clie. I tried to load them into my gallery, but was only able to get one to load properly (all the rest came out with no contrast... weird).

http://www.cliesource.com/gallery/s...&sort=1&cat=500

I couldn't get a really good closeup, 'cause I was taking the photo with a point-and-shoot camera, but you can get a sense of what the damage looks like.

I'm sending the UX50 back to the service center today... keeping my fingers crossed.

sputnik

YIKES, I would be steaming too, I pictured a little scratch or something (which would have ticked me off anyway, even a tiny scratch)...how did they think they could get away with THAT!! Might as well have taken a hammer to it. And THEY tell us not to open them, at least we'd be carefull...

TechnoCat

I did precisely that, probably 20 digital photos of the unit before I sent it off. It was gone a month but came back in physically-identical, but fully-functional, condition.

Always take photos. With dates, times, and make certain the serial number is visible. It's just an essential part of doing business. And always walk around your car inspecting for damage before leaving a garage or mechanic. And always turn on and inspect the newly-installed appliance before signing off on the installation. It's not nasty or untrusting, just very cautious.

Blu3Sab3r

First of all I'm sorry but see this in a good way, you dont have to worry you cant open the case, sorry... no time for humor. Anyway, try taking it back with the receipt and confront them. Write a letter to Sony, try whatever you can. Did you purchase extended warranty, you can try to get pity from the store to give you a new one.

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New to the world of Palm, and PDAs.

tlu625

I got the UX-50 from on online dealer, to get a good deal, so I can't get a new one from them... normally I would only get a PDA from a major retailer so that I could take advantage of an extended warranty, but the UX-50 was so pricey that I had to make the tradeoff. Guess the risk didn't pay off... I've learned my lesson, though.

I considered taking the UX-50 into a service center myself, so I could deal with someone face-to-face, but I would have had to drive a couple of hours. With all the time I've spent agonizing over the way the repair center butchered my poor clie, I could have driven down there and back.

Anyway, anyone who has to send their clie into the service center in San Diego, beware. And take lots of pictures!

rlc7254

 

I just compared my Clie to your pictures.....yikes!! I would have been screaming at Sony if they did that to me. Did you ask to talk to a supervisor or manager about it? Those marks look like the tech didn't know what they were doing.

 

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If at first you don't succede, try, try again. Then give it up, no using making a dang fool of yourself.


(Currently) Sprint Treo 755p, Palm TX

(Past) Clie UX 50, UX40, iPaq hx2795, iPaq hx2755, iPaq hx4705, TH55/E1, Tungsten T5, iPaq rx3715, Toshiba e805, HP4155, TH55/U, NX80, NX73, TG50, NZ90, NX70, NR70V, T665, Ipaq 3835, M505, M515, Palm Vx, Palm V, Treo 600, Treo 650, Treo 700wx, Treo 800w

Gossamer

Wow. That is horrible! Please keep us posted as to Sony's response and resolution. I'm very curious to see how they handle this.

Hopefully they'll do the right thing and just send you a brand new one.

Good luck!