Customer service
by Brian DiTullio
A few weeks ago, I bought a Nintendo Wii. To preface this story, let me point out that many of the troubles I have encountered are not unique to the Wii platform and that pursuing a Playstation 3, or Xbox 360, will produce the same problems and challenges for the consumer.
I have avoided video game consoles since 1993 when I got at Sega Genesis for Christmas. Four $50 games later that did nothing for me, I decided the whole system was crap and gave it to my brother, who enjoyed the sports games for many years afterward. I vowed that day I wouldn’t spend any money on video games for a long time.
I held to that promise because it took 15 years for me to decide to jump back into the fray. My original Nintendo Entertainment System finally crapped out last fall, and my Atari 2600 died several years ago and I don’t know anyone who might fix them. I liked the new features of the current video game systems, and the ability to download the older games and play them on the new systems appealed to me.
So I set aside some money and finally was able to find a Wii a few weeks ago. Upon opening the box, I found the system relatively easy to set up and play. That was the last easy thing about setting up a modern home video game console.
First, you only get one controller with the system. In the old days you got two, and with the Atari you also got alternative controllers called “Paddles” that worked with certain games.
Now, after spending $250, I still have to spend another $40 to get the second controller, and additional controllers to get “the full experience” of various games cost $20 a piece. Plus, the Wii controllers are wireless, therefore you need a good supply of batteries, or the convenient Wii Controller Charger available for $32.
Modern game consoles hook up to the Internet, but they don’t come with the connections, you have to buy them. Or, you set up a wireless router to tap into your Internet connection.
I’ve not gone wireless yet, so I explored my options. Option one was a LAN adaptor with a USB plug on one end and a Ethernet wire port on the other for $25+tax. The other option is a wireless router. Even a small one was $50 at the local Target. I chose the LAN adapter for purely price reasons.
After three stores and talking to three completely clueless people who somehow were employed as the “tech guys,” I found one guy who actually paid attention to his training and pointed me to the correct accessory hidden amongst everything else on the shelf.
So I get home, open the box and plug it in.
Nothing.
I reset the system, make sure my connections are secure, read the instructions AGAIN and test the connection.
Nothing.
Growing very irritated, I look at the “Troubleshooting” section, which gives me six options on what my error code could mean and how to fix it. All six options require a degree in computer programming to decipher.
Now very pissed off, I call the customer support line. The nice person on the other end asks me who manufactured the adaptor. I tell him “Datatel.” He tells me Datatel is not a licensed manufacturer for Wii accessories and that he can’t help me. I tell him the box states “LAN Adaptor FOR Nintendo Wii.” The man apologizes and states Nintendo manufactures their own adaptor and that is what they support. They can’t guarantee the functionality of any other product.
Now completely steam-pouring-from-my-ears angry, to the point my wife is refusing to speak to me, I return to the store I bought it from and demand a refund, which is granted. I find the person who sold me the box and told him (very nicely by the way) that he needs to pull that crap off the shelves because it doesn’t work.
I then go up the street to a Wal-Mart where another tech guy laughs sympathetically. “None of that stuff works,” he tells me. “Just use a router. Trust me. You try and use the LAN Adaptor and you’ll have nothing but problems. They designed the console to function on Wi-Fi.”
So, to summarize, while the console is $250, to get the “full experience,” you need to spend an additional $150 minimum – and I haven’t even bought one of the $50 games yet. That’s a long way from my old Atari that came with just about everything.
However, just to be perfectly clear, this problem is not unique to the Wii, and I knew what I was going into when I bought the damn thing (for the most part). You will have the exact same problems no matter what platform you choose. The bean counters at these video game companies realized that once you buy the system, they’ve got you by the shorthairs. I suppose it was only a matter of time, but only ONE controller with the console? That’s just low.
The sad part is I’ll end up doing it again, because if I’m going to get a Blu-Ray DVD player, I may as well get a Playstation 3 and maximize my dollar output.
I’m a glutton for punishment.
A few weeks ago, I bought a Nintendo Wii. To preface this story, let me point out that many of the troubles I have encountered are not unique to the Wii platform and that pursuing a Playstation 3, or Xbox 360, will produce the same problems and challenges for the consumer.
I have avoided video game consoles since 1993 when I got at Sega Genesis for Christmas. Four $50 games later that did nothing for me, I decided the whole system was crap and gave it to my brother, who enjoyed the sports games for many years afterward. I vowed that day I wouldn’t spend any money on video games for a long time.
I held to that promise because it took 15 years for me to decide to jump back into the fray. My original Nintendo Entertainment System finally crapped out last fall, and my Atari 2600 died several years ago and I don’t know anyone who might fix them. I liked the new features of the current video game systems, and the ability to download the older games and play them on the new systems appealed to me.
So I set aside some money and finally was able to find a Wii a few weeks ago. Upon opening the box, I found the system relatively easy to set up and play. That was the last easy thing about setting up a modern home video game console.
First, you only get one controller with the system. In the old days you got two, and with the Atari you also got alternative controllers called “Paddles” that worked with certain games.
Now, after spending $250, I still have to spend another $40 to get the second controller, and additional controllers to get “the full experience” of various games cost $20 a piece. Plus, the Wii controllers are wireless, therefore you need a good supply of batteries, or the convenient Wii Controller Charger available for $32.
Modern game consoles hook up to the Internet, but they don’t come with the connections, you have to buy them. Or, you set up a wireless router to tap into your Internet connection.
I’ve not gone wireless yet, so I explored my options. Option one was a LAN adaptor with a USB plug on one end and a Ethernet wire port on the other for $25+tax. The other option is a wireless router. Even a small one was $50 at the local Target. I chose the LAN adapter for purely price reasons.
After three stores and talking to three completely clueless people who somehow were employed as the “tech guys,” I found one guy who actually paid attention to his training and pointed me to the correct accessory hidden amongst everything else on the shelf.
So I get home, open the box and plug it in.
Nothing.
I reset the system, make sure my connections are secure, read the instructions AGAIN and test the connection.
Nothing.
Growing very irritated, I look at the “Troubleshooting” section, which gives me six options on what my error code could mean and how to fix it. All six options require a degree in computer programming to decipher.
Now very pissed off, I call the customer support line. The nice person on the other end asks me who manufactured the adaptor. I tell him “Datatel.” He tells me Datatel is not a licensed manufacturer for Wii accessories and that he can’t help me. I tell him the box states “LAN Adaptor FOR Nintendo Wii.” The man apologizes and states Nintendo manufactures their own adaptor and that is what they support. They can’t guarantee the functionality of any other product.
Now completely steam-pouring-from-my-ears angry, to the point my wife is refusing to speak to me, I return to the store I bought it from and demand a refund, which is granted. I find the person who sold me the box and told him (very nicely by the way) that he needs to pull that crap off the shelves because it doesn’t work.
I then go up the street to a Wal-Mart where another tech guy laughs sympathetically. “None of that stuff works,” he tells me. “Just use a router. Trust me. You try and use the LAN Adaptor and you’ll have nothing but problems. They designed the console to function on Wi-Fi.”
So, to summarize, while the console is $250, to get the “full experience,” you need to spend an additional $150 minimum – and I haven’t even bought one of the $50 games yet. That’s a long way from my old Atari that came with just about everything.
However, just to be perfectly clear, this problem is not unique to the Wii, and I knew what I was going into when I bought the damn thing (for the most part). You will have the exact same problems no matter what platform you choose. The bean counters at these video game companies realized that once you buy the system, they’ve got you by the shorthairs. I suppose it was only a matter of time, but only ONE controller with the console? That’s just low.
The sad part is I’ll end up doing it again, because if I’m going to get a Blu-Ray DVD player, I may as well get a Playstation 3 and maximize my dollar output.
I’m a glutton for punishment.
posted by M. | 8:54 AM
18 Comments:
It never fails to amaze me the crap that is put on the shelves for consumers to purchase.
I recently bought (at WalMart, Matt's favorite) a special edition CD album of the Eagles' best hits.
It contained two CDs with old hits and one with some new songs.
One day a couple weeks ago, I finally was going to be home long enough at a stretch that I thought it would be a good day to put in the three CDs, crank up the sound and enjoy one of my favorite groups.
I started with the CD of new tunes and it was good.
Put in one of the other CDs, and -- as you said, Brian -- NOTHING> no sound, nothing.
The CD player showed "No disc" in the whatever-you-call-it, where it shows what song is playing (word is escaping me right now).
So, I take the third CD out, plop it in and NOTHING. Again, it shows ND in the display area, no disc.
So I go in and drag out my grandsons' CD player thinking mine must have crapped out (even though it played the first one perfectly).
Plop in both CDs, NOTHING.
I take the album (showing my age with that terminology) back to WalMart (sans receipt of course because who expects to return a CD they really wanted to hear)and am told I can only return it in exchange for the SAME album.
There is none, of course.
So, here I am stuck with a collection of Eagles songs I can't listen to. It's not right but apparently that's the American way.
I can't tell you how many appliances and other items I've bought in recent years that absolutely DO NOT work as they should.
I had 2-year-old refrigerator (GE) conk out on me (it actually didn't work that well when new) and learned there was a class action suit brought against GE because of the VERY SAME PROBLEM that caused mine to quit.
We had repairmen in three or four times and finally said to hell with it, junked it and got a new one, then we found out about the lawsuit.
Sent in all the paperwork, all the repair slips, etc.
Well, lo and behold, because our repairmen failed to use the term "moisture" on any of the repair slips, we couldn't qualify for a new frig or reimbursement for the new one.
Bullshit.
Our microwave (also GE) conked out after three years (hardly ever used). Our dishwasher (GE again), only about two years old , has rarely ever worked properly and we've heard there is some sort of recall of some of them due to fire danger. of course, ours isn't "quite" the right model number...yeah right.
Our oven range (you guessed it, GE)regularly overheats and burns things and no it's not my cooking style. It is too hot and probably not regulated. But that means another repairman. I just turn the temp down a bit.
I am not hard on my appliances. They are cleaned regularly and well maintained, not abused. There is no excuse for brand new appliances being so shoddily made.
I will never buy another GE appliance as long as I have breath in my body (which I advised the company after the refrigerator debacle).
But it's not just that company. I've had the same sort of poor quality in many things I've purchased: clothing, household items, vehicles, even food.
No one seems to care if they are making good products today. But, then if you have to worry every day that your job is being shipped overseas, maybe that's why.
It's not easy to find quality products anymore. Unfortunately, our economy is built upon the concept of planned obsolescence, which means it's all about the buying, not the keeping.
To a large degree we deserve it, though. The whole Chinese-discount-Wal-mart lifestyle we have been forced to embrace has created a society of consumers of things rather than makers of things. Any connection between the user and manufacturer of a product has been severed and replaced by the distributor, whose only recourse is to replace faulty products with replicas of the same faulty products.
Unfortunately the situation has gotten so far out of hand that nothing can be done about it. Our entire economy is based upon this degrading system we call "consumer culture."
Everywhere I go I search for American-made products. It is rare--extremely rare--that I find one. Try it, and you'll see what I mean. Still, most Americans will applaud and defend Wal-mart and its ilk. Remember those old connect-the-dot games you played as a kid? Most people can't do that anymore.
The lifespan of any modern electronic gadget is only about 5 years on average. Matt is absolutely right. I'm not that old, but I remember when I was young there were repairmen for everything. There's no point in fixing things now because it's cheaper (and usually advantageous)to buy new.
I bought a brand new microwave about 18 months ago. It replaced a hand-me-down microwave my dad bequeathed to me that he won at work in 1982. I replaced it because it finally started to break down after more than two decades of faithful, trouble free work.
Eighteen months in, I just noticed the other day the new microwave seems to be making a funny noise. And yes, I clean and maintain it.
I forwarded an article to Matt last week that announced the new frontier in Home Entertainment, Ultra-High Definition. This is what is going to replace Blu-Ray and HDTV in about 7-10 years. So even as the Hi-Def movement gets legs and takes over the electronics store, the powers that be already are planning the next big step. I imagine once the upgrade is made, we consumers will have no choice but to follow through and dig out our wallets.
While Video Game systems definitely are not a necessity, they're nice to have. I just wish customer service would come back into style. And it would be nice if generic products would work on brand specific items like they used to. That's what happened with the Wii. Only Wii products will interface with it. Once again, the bean counters win.
Brian
Brian: When you said...."And it would be nice if generic products would work on brand specific items like they used to" it bought to mind what, for my life span, has always been the case.
Not sure how old you are, but in my many years at no time have I ever been able to replace a refrigerator door, car hood, wheel, or anything for that matter unless I went back to the original manufacturer. The manufacturers of old knew what made a dollar and worked it well.
And when you said, no need to repair today just toss. This is a direct result of high US labor costs. However, the cheap foreign labor market has resolved that area of concern. Notice none of this has anything to do with the consumer, his needs/wants. It just doesn’t enter into the equation and realistically why should it? Who is going to complain? They have even taken care of the issue if you want to complain…they just don’t answer or call back. Really is sad, isn't it? But as Matt said, “we just can’t help ourselves from returning for more abuse. Check the parking lot!
Matt,
I have to agree with what you're saying. You could put a nice store downtown that sold items a little more expensive than wal-mart yet our society will still drive to wal-mart. They believe what they're told, that wal-mart is cheaper, without realizing what they're spending on gas and time. So everyone marches to the wal-mart to buy cheaper chinese made products full of lead and then complain that our downtown is dying
TO Believe what they're told,
If it were only that simple. You'd have to have a store the size of half the downtown area to duplicate what Walmart has done under one roof.
As for the gamer problem: I don't play games, I don't like games, I don't waste my money or time on games. But I do have a suggestion: When you purchase a new electronic item regardless of what it is or how much you paid for it, always ALWAYS keep the package and the sales slip for a minimum of 30 days. That way when it breaks you have everything you need to take it back. That's been my policy for years and it works today as it has for many years. If the gadget or gismo doesn't work the first time out of the box for me it goes back. No fooling around wishing it would.
It's really not WalMart's fault that the CD didn't work...they aren't in the business of making CDs. I'm sure if the first gentleman asked for a raincheck for that CD, he could go back up and get it when it was in stock. But almost all stores only let you return something for the same title; if they didn't, people would just record CDs and return them.
And Brian...as for the Wii...it's really not that confusing. My son has had his for two years. You can use the controller as a wand or sideways as a traditional controller. The Wi-Fi connector cost us an extra $35, but you don't need that unless you are going to download games from the Internet. You can get games pretty cheaply used or on e-Bay...and I recommend Amazon.com. If you buy through them, there is no shipping after the first $25 purchase.
My son does download a lot of the traditional games online, like the Mario Brothers games and things, for under $5 each.
And I have to admit, this 45-year-old has a lot of fun on the Wii playing the bowling, golf, tennis or baseball games with the kids. The Wii is a pretty great system.
Sounds like you need to befriend a family with a teenager to get you set up...
And I do agree with that last fellow. If I buy something expensive, and it doesn't work when I first plug it in, it goes back. Period. No repairmen, nothing like that. If it's new, it shouldn't need repairs. Of course, I tend to buy major appliances pre-owned. I bought my last clothes dryer, a Whirlpool, for $50 from a girl who was moving from my neighborhood. That's a lot better than $350! i've also never owned a new car. That's an incredible waste of money.
When it comes to purchasing something for your home, bigger is not always better. A couple of years ago, we purchased a whole new kitchen full of cabinets and pantries, a very large expense. We requested solid oak, semi-custom cabinets from Lowes thinking that Lowes would save us the most because they are so big (WalMart thinking). I wanted my wife to have the best kitchen she has ever had and I was willing to spare no expense. I did the lay-out thing at Lowes and received a quote that I was stunned by, but I was told it was going to be expensive. Shortly after receiving the quote from Lowes, they pissed my wife off and she wanted to speak to another supplier of cabinets to obtain a second quote. Wanting to spend our money in Columbiana County anyways, we went to Bowyers in Calcutta. We were treated like royalty and the plans from Lowes were handed over to them for their quote. Their quote saved us approximately $4,000.00. The EXACT cabinets! Same brand, same finish, same old same old. We purchased the cabinets and in the couple of years afterwards have been treated like the King and Queen when we stop in their place for the little things we need. They remember us and thank us for our loyalty to their store. I can not remember being treated like that because I spend a lot of money at WalMart. I do spend a lot of money at WalMart because they are a store that has what I need without going to several other stores. It is very nice to do the one-stop shopping thing. I will never spend a dime at Lowes for something that I can buy from Bowyers though. I imagine that most would find the same thing to be true if they shopped around. You can get a really good deal on meat at the Penn Ave. Sparkle and you get treated well also. I have never been treated badly at WalMart but I can honestly say that I have never been treated real good there either.
I refuse to shop at Wal-Mart except for extreme circumstances.
I'm lucky, though, I have a Target and many other stores available to me in the Big City.
I literally only buy bottled water at Wal-Mart because they're the only ones who still carry 20 oz. bottles. All the other manufacturers have gone down to 16.9 oz bottles or charge $6 for the larger bottles now.
In case you're wondering why I buy bottled water, Phoenix water tastes like crap. I'll be divorcing myself from the bottled water habit soon when I buy one of those Brita filters for the faucet.
Anything else I might buy at Wal-Mart would be the result of not being able to find what I'm looking for anywhere else and I need it now.
While it may not be the smartest economics, I'll pay more to buy products at places other than Wal-Mart. That's how much I hate Wal-Mart.
Brian
Addendum to my last comment: Obviously I won't pay more money for water elsewhere. Deal with it.
Brian,
You can hate Walmart all you want and it won't make one bit of difference. Walmart isn't going to fall apart because you don't shop there and you aren't influencing anyone to stop shopping there by saying you hate the place. It's like looking into the sky and screaming you hate the sun. Doing so doesn't change anything.
Anyway, it's your money if you want to spend it on the same goods and services at a higher price that's up to you.
I just love Wal-Mart snobs like Brian. "I hate Wal-Mart, and I never, ever go shopping in there...but..."
If he were all that principled, he would have bought that Brita filter by now. They sell them everywhere, including his beloved Target, which, honestly, is just a more upscale Wal-Mart.
After all, it really doesn't cost very much to rent a Culligan cooler and jugs of water for your home. You can buy a Brita filter and pitcher anywhere.
I'm thinking that Brian still goes to Wal-Mart, buys lots of stuff and then puts on the disdain for his friends and people on blog sites.
I can't speak for Brian, but I will tell you that I shop at Wal-mart because I really can't afford not to. That doesn't mean I like Wal-mart and that I don't understand how the company works. It's a store where you can buy Chinese stuff cheap. Sometimes dealing with the Devil can be advantageous. That doesn't mean you have to like him.
I really don't shop at Wal-Mart. In fact, I was thrown out of the Calcutta Wal-Mart many years ago for trying to do my job as a reporter covering a fire in their AC Unit that prompted the entire St. Clair Twp FD to respond(of course they wanted me back the next week to do a photo op. I declined).
That's where my dislike of Wal-Mart began, and that became compounded over the years by the completely trashy, dirty look of the stores, the filth inside and the generally terrible experience. I really only buy water there, or the occasional odd item I'm actively looking for that other stores just don't have.
I am proud to be a Wal-Mart snob and I hope the residents of the EL area one day have a good alternative to that crap hole.
If you disagree with my opinion of Wal-Mart, that's fine. I don't care. I'm not telling you not to shop there. I'm just saying I avoid it whenever I possibly can.
Brian
Brian, I don't know what Wal-Mart you have been going to. The Calcutta one isn't that great, but there are some Wal-Marts that are new stores and they're shiny and spotless. Plus, not everything that is sold in a Wal-Mart is Chinese made. I'm sure you won't believe this link, because it is from the company, but it shows how much of their merchandise does come from companies in the United States. I'm not a Wal-Mart manager, and I'm not the biggest cheerleader in the world...but hey, it's your money. Be a snob.
http://www.walmartfacts.com/FactSheets/Merchandising.pdf
[Quote:It's really not WalMart's fault that the CD didn't work...they aren't in the business of making CDs. I'm sure if the first gentleman asked for a raincheck for that CD, he could go back up and get it when it was in stock. But almost all stores only let you return something for the same title; if they didn't, people would just record CDs and return them. ]
It certainly is not WalMart's fault the CD doesn't work but it is their fault they sold a defective product and won't let me return it.
I was not given any other option (including getting raincheck) but looking to see if there was another one just like it. Of course, since there wasn't, I am just screwed.
I think a local merchant would have gone out of his way to see if he could FIND me one at another store. In fact, I had a similar situation at the Sam Goody's store when it was in Calcutta (I didn't return one but wanted a specific one they didn't have) and they bent over backward to find me one and have it shipped from BF Egypt to Calcutta, all in time for me to give it was a present. I appreciated that extra effort and shopped there whenever I could. Unfortunately, it closed.
Like everyone else here (except maybe Brian), I shop at WalMart because it's handy and it offers one-stop shopping. I don't agree with the idea that it's dirty or not one of the nicest WalMarts, because I've been in them all over Ohio and, believe me, Calcutta's IS one of the nicest.
I think I read somewhere it is one of the highest-generating WalMarts in the state or the country.
Youngstown's is dirty and haphazard-looking (which is how I think of the Calcutta K-Mart too, so never shop there).
As for "shopper's" experience with Bowyers, good for you, but I went there MANY years ago to have a quart of paint mixed. I told them exactly what color I wanted: PEACH.
They mixed it, I took it home and it was LILAC. I took the can of paint back, told them it wasn't even close to what I asked for.
They refused to let me return it and were not nice about it but quite huffy and snotty.
I nearly threw it through their plate glass window I was so mad, but I've never been back.
I do not deal with merchants who treat me badly. There are too many stores for me to have to put up with that.
I am always honest and TELL them, too, why I will not be back. Not that it matters to them, but I feel better having made my point.
I don't believe the customer is always right; that's a fallacy. But customers should be treated with respect. Too many small businesses act as though they are doing you a favor by letting you shop there.
The anonymity of WalMart is better than that.
Here's an example: My husband went to the (calcutta) bank where we had our mortgage payment for years and wanted to cash his paycheck so he could pay the mortgage.
because he had no CHECKING or SAVINGS account at that bank, they refused to cash his check, even so he could pay their payment.
Later that day, we were going to buy a new vehicle and planned on financing it through a local bank.
Do you think that bank got the loan? No it did not...we went to another lending institution.
Treat me right or lose my business.
recently, i went to sparkle market on penn ave. and purchased the ingredients that i needed to make lasagna. as i returned home and started to mix my ingredients i noticed as i opened one of the containers of ricotta cheese that the container felt hard. i opened the container and witnessed a healthy mold farm growing. i then opened the other container and the same thing. i immediately called sparkle and was greeted by a friendly female who advised me to give her my name and when i came back into the store they would replace the two containers of ricotta. approx. one month goes by and i again go to sparkle market and purchase yet again the ingredients i needed for lasagna. as i placed my items on the belt i advised the cashier what had taken place and told her that the girl took my name and advised me that the ricotta would be replaced. the clerk then had a guy that i never knew his name but he has been there since i was a kid ( kinda reminds me of david carradine)sp? tell me that there was no way that they were going to replace the ricotta. the stock boy? then asked if i had the original containers and i advised him that i was not keeping molded ricotta cheese in my fridge until i made it back down to sparkle and he stated well, i don't know what to tell ya. well, i knew what to tell him and no i have not been back since and will not ever go back. i now do all my shopping at giant eagle and that's too bad for sparkle market cause i usually spend around $1,000. a month on groceries.
Well, moldy ricotta, I think you're making lasagne too often...it's pretty expensive and could explain why you spend a THOUSAND DOLLARS a month on groceries...WOW! (lol)
I hope you called Gordon Todd the owner and let him know why you are no longer shopping there.
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