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Technology’s Infestation of my Life

Examples of how technology has permeated every single bit of my life.

Computer Down: Part X – The Recovery

Now starts the fun part. Picked up my tablet and now I have to install Windows XP Tablet PC Editition on it. Fun part is, the M200 doesn’t have a DVD drive built it and in all my infinite wisdom, I left my drive back in Colorado because I didn’t think I would need it.

So I stopped by Costco on the way back home and picked up a HP DVD Writer dvd740e to use. And it doesn’t work. Well, it works…it just doesn’t want to be bootale in BIOS. I’m going to return it tomorrow.

Computer Down: Part VIII – “Succesfully Diagnosed”

From the Inboxen™ of Andrew Ferguson:

Your Toshiba with serial # ********* has been succesfully diagnosed by J***** on 1/5/2006. We will contact you once the job is completed or if we need any additional information to finish the repair. The rest of the repair process is now dependant upon part availability and the time it may take to complete the repair. Your repair will be completed as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.

Please do not respond to this E-Mail. You will be notified if we need any additional info or when your repair is complete.

Thank You,

Micro Computer Systems
Service Department Team

Nice of them to send me an email, although I’m not quite sure why takes so long for them to figure out what was going on. I told them that my hard drive had crashed and that it wouldn’t spin up. They’re not equipped to diagnose anything beyond that. They even asked for my Windows password to which I replied, “You’re not going to need it.” Not that I would have given it to them anyway, I would rather drive up and type it in every time they wanted it.

In any event, I was previously told that Toshiba would overnight the part once they knew what was wrong. Hopefully the part will be in tomorrow and I can pick it up and get back to my normal life…whatever that is.

Computer Down: Part VII – Day 4

…if you count Sunday, otherwise Day 3; unless you don’t count Monday because it was a holiday and then it would really only be Day 2.

In any event, I called MCS just after lunch to see if they had an update on my tablet. And they don’t, just to say that they haven’t even gotten to it yet (which also means they haven’t even ordered the part yet). They are supposed to get to it by the end of the day. The part may come in tomorrow, but I probably won’t get it back until Friday (that’s my guess at least).

In the meantime, feel free to send me email, but your best bet to get a hold of me will be cell phone. I also won’t be on IM.

[tags]Toshiba, m200, tablet pc, repair[/tags]

Computer Down: VI – Cross Me and You Will Pay

Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc.
Computer Systems Division
9740 Irvine Boulevard
Irvine, CA 92618-1697

To Whom it May Concern:

I am writing to express my concern over a recent and unpleasant experience I had while dealing with Mura, a Customer Relations representative at Toshiba. The Case Reference Number is 1-295858363. My name is Andrew Ferguson and the call occurred on Tuesday, January 3rd, 2006 at approximately 9:30 am Pacific Time:

The Sunday prior to my call, my Toshiba Portege M200 suffered what I believe to have been a “head crash,” where the read/write head of the hard drive physically crashes into the disc platter, causing the drive to lock up and become completely useless. Fortunately, I had made backups of my critical data and my laptop was still under warranty. I called Toshiba that night and was told that I could either send my laptop in for repair or take it to one of the local repair shops. I opted to take my laptop to a repair shop because I believe that it would be a faster turn around time.
Monday was a Federal Holiday, so on Tuesday, I drove up north to Micro Computer Systems, Inc., a certified Toshiba Repair Center. I asked them about what could be done and if they might be able to recover any more of the data on my hard drive. They said that data recover was not covered under warranty and it would cost about $1000 to recover the data. I then asked if I might be able to keep the hard drive so I could personally try and recover the data. Micro Computer Systems said that they were required to send my old hard drive back to Toshiba.

At this point I made another call to Toshiba Customer Relations, asking if might be able to keep my old hard drive for two days after I received my new one so that I could try and recover the data myself. The first woman I talked with indicated that she did not think this was possible, however she offered to elevate me to a level 2 Customer Relations person.

After talking to Mura, the Level 2 person, for some time, it was clear she was very adamant that nothing could be done. I asked if there was someone else I could speak to or if I could have my case elevated to the next level. Mura retorted that there was no one else to speak I could speak with and that in order to elevate my case to the next letter, I would have to write a letter. I then asked if Mura was in customer service or technical support. Before I could finish asking my question, Mura had interrupted to correct me, saying, “Customer Relations.”

I paused a moment in disbelief that she had interrupted me mid-sentence and then restated my
question, “Are you in Customer Relations or Technical Support?”

Mura responds that it does not matter and if there is anything else she could do. I politely ask her again, “Are you in Customer Service or Technical Support?”

Again Mura interrupts to correct me, saying, “Customer Relations.”

I restate my question again, “Are you in Customer Relations or Technical Support?”

And then Mura hangs up. Not a single word, just ‘click’.

This left me very frustrated and confused. I sat in a state of shock for a few moments, then collected my thoughts and called back.

I was finally able to talk with someone who explained to me that it was an issue that Micro Computer Systems would have to deal with. It took over 45 minutes, but I had finally received an answer.

After I had gotten of the phone, I talked with a rep from an independent data recover agency and we agreed that since I had all my critical files, it would not make much sense to try and recover anything else. Micro Computer Systems agreed with this assessment and I turned over my laptop for repair.

This, however, does not resolve the absolute horrible way I was treated my Mura, an authorized representative of Toshiba. I have been a loyal Toshiba user for 6 years, purchasing 3 computers in total. Many friends and family members also consult me before purchasing a computer and I have always directed them towards Toshiba machines. Mura is not representative of the service and commitment that I have received from Toshiba in the past and I hope that it is not indicative of the service I can expect in the future. What will be done to remedy this situation?

Furthermore, while I understand and acknowledge that Toshiba is not responsible for my data, I believe that it is only fair that a user be provided an appropriate amount of time to attempt to transfer or recover data from the old hard drive to the new hard drive. Is this something Toshiba would consider offering in the future?

I look forward to reading your response.

Respectfully Yours,

[Andrew Ferguson] //signed//

Andrew Ferguson

[tags]Toshiba, customer service, customer relations, letter[/tags]

Computer Down: V – Horrible “Customer Relations”

Micro Computer Systems was open today and I was able to drop off my computer, but not before I made phone calls to Toshiba were I had one of the worst experiences ever.

My issue was this: While I have backups of all my important stuff, there are a variety of things that I would like to try and recover. However, MCS is required (my Toshiba) to return the defective hard drive. I called Toshiba and after being on hold for about 10 minutes, was finally able to talk with someone. With an accent so prevalent in today’s call centers, she informed me that should could not doing anything and offered to “escalate” my call to the next level. The level 2 tech, Marua (or something foreign like that) was very adamant that nothing could be done. When I asked to have my case elevated to the next level, she said I would have to write a letter (um, yea right). So I asked to speak with her supervisor. Apparently she was the CEO of Toshiba because she said that was no one else I could talk with. Her voice began elevate and I immediately asked for her name and some number that I could reference. She did not have an employee number, but did give me the case number, being very careful to give it to me quickly and not repeat it without having me to ask. I began to relate how the customer service representative I talked with earlier had escalated my call to the next level and I was simply asking to have it escalated again. First thing out of her mouth is “customer relations.”

I’m sitting here in the car with my mouth on the floor thinking to myself, did you just fucking correct me?!? You have got to be shitting me!

I then ask her if I am speaking with a customer service rep or a technical service rep. Again she corrects me.

You have got to be fucking kidding me! Let me explain something to you woman, I am the customer, you are the service person. You provide service to the customer and are therefore a customer service rep, no matter what your PR director tells you. Furthermore, under no circumstances, should you EVER correct a customer for calling you something that means the SAME FUCKING THING! (Side note: while at Nordstrom, they mentioned to us, the interns, that while the store is called Nordstrom, some people call it Nordstrom‘s and we were instructed to never correct them)

I start over again, asking her if I am speaking with a customer service relations rep or a technical service rep and she hangs up.

Son of a Bitch.

I paused in disbelief. Rule number one: Never, under any circumstances, hang up on a customer. Rule number two: Never, under any circumstances, hang up on a customer. Rule number three: If you hang up on Andrew Ferguson, you will have hell to pay.

I called Nick Lew, the technician at SAAS, to see if he had any ideas. While he had no ideas, he provided me with some valuable information about the process as he worked at MCS prior to SAAS.

So, I called Toshiba back and promptly explained that the last person had just hung up on me and that I would like to speak with an American. The closest they could get was someone from Toronto, that was fine. I explained my situation as before, although this time I added that I had classified information on the hard drive that needed to be removed before I could release the drive. Someone was finally able to explain that I was going about it the wrong way.

“No” is a fine answer as long as you can explain why you are saying no, this person did.

Less then a minute after I hung up with Toshiba, Ed from American Data Recovery called. I explained my situation to him and said that it probably was not worth trying to recover the data.

I had no choice but to concede. Ed was right and after an hour and a half on the phone I was sure there was nothing I had overlooked.

I turned off the car and walked back into MCS turned my Tablet over.

It might be ready as soon as tomorrow, hopefully.

[tags]Toshiba, m200, tablet pc, repair, customer relations, customer service, horrible, bad experience[/tags]

Computer Down: Part III

Hell of a way to start off the New Year, eh? Anybody know the recovery rates of head crash’s?

As I figured, MCS wasn’t open at 9:30 on a Sunday night. But they do open at eight in the morning (although their website says 9…hmmm)! Hopefully they’ll be open despite the fact that it is a holiday.

In the meantime, I’ve been having to sit on my hands and that is just frustrating. So I headed over to Quinn’s and watched Sin City and Donnie Darko. I was going to watch another movie, but Quinn said he wanted to go to bed because he starts school in two days. I took Chasing Amy with me and just finished that.

Less then three hours until they open…I think I can make it.

[tags]Toshiba, m200, tablet pc, repair[/tags]

Computer Down: Part II

I’ve been on the phone with Toshiba for the last 15 minutes or so (I’ve never had a more scripted conversation). My computer is still under warranty (until Oct. 2007, baby) and I can either send it in to the depot or take it to my local Toshiba rep. Based on Tracy’s experience, I’m opting to take it to the local Toshiba center, Micro Computer Systems, Inc.

I’m calling them now.

[tags]Toshiba, m200, tablet pc, repair[/tags]

Computer Down! Computer Down! Oh Shit!

I think my computer’s hard drive just got shot. It made this weird noise, then the computer beeped twice, and then the hard drive just locked up.

I think the arm of the hard drive locked against one or more of the platters.

I have most of my data backed up or online, so it’s not the biggest deal in the world, but it’s still going to be a hastle to get fixed and I would like to be able to recover all of my data.