RMA issue

[CustardInc]

So my RMA (335225) was recently 'completed' after well over a month of waiting, I sent in my GPU, your people tested it twice and said they couldn't hear the loud rattling fan, you then sent it to Gigabyte and they authorised a refund / replacement. Before I'd even sent off the GPU I was asked whether I wanted a refund or replacement, I asked for refund but the RMA tracker says a replacement is being arranged. I did try sending an email in but I haven't heard back yet, and it's been over a day so I figured I'd try here. I would've liked to have done this somewhere other than a public forum but it seems to take several days to get an email reply and I'd rather deal with this before a replacement gets sent off only to be returned - not sure if there have been cutbacks in the customer support department but I haven't been impressed lately.

[KeyboardDemon]

You posted this thread at 09:09 PM which is outside of Scan's normal office hours. Ring them Monday morning on 08714724747 or 01204474747 around 09:00 AM, I have always found them to be very helpful when calling them, have your RMA number at hand when you call to speed things up.

[CustardInc]

You posted this thread at 09:09 PM which is outside of Scan's normal office hours. Ring them Monday morning on 08714724747 or 01204474747 around 09:00 AM, I have always found them to be very helpful when calling them, have your RMA number at hand when you call to speed things up.

I'm aware it's out of office hours, I'm not expecting a response that soon. As far as the phone number, I hadn't noticed they showed one, it's not like it's hidden at all but it's not in their Support section at the bottom of the page, which is where I've been looking. I tried using the callback service once, I got a call from an unknown number a day later, which I don't tend to answer - they phoned again and I answered... my point is that I presumed they didn't want people to know their number so I didn't go looking for it ^^ I guess I'll phone it at some point tomorrow if I haven't heard anything.

[KeyboardDemon]

Cool, I'm sure you meant Monday as Scan don't open on Sundays. I hope you get it sorted. Post back on here and left us know how you got on.

[CustardInc]

Ah yes, the company that is 'arguably the UK's most customer-focused retailer of PC technology' isn't open for customer support for 14% of the week... sigh, do I come across as bitter?

[KeyboardDemon]

Ah yes, the company that is 'arguably the UK's most customer-focused retailer of PC technology' isn't open for customer support for 14% of the week... sigh, do I come across as bitter?

Sigh. Are you saying that you can't find time to contact them during the 86% of the time when they are open?

[CustardInc]

I can contact them, it's them contacting me that I'm more worried about.

[KeyboardDemon]

Exactly, that's why you need to take control and keep chasing them. If they say they are going to call you back find out who will call you and when, then if you don't get that call at that time call them and ask to speak to the person that promised they would call you. Don't be rude to them, just explain the facts and how it is inconvenient for you to have been waiting this long and make sure you make it clear what sort of resolution you are after.

[CustardInc]

I shouldn't have to chase them looking for customer support. If request a callback and ask to know when I'm going to be called, by the time they email me and tell me when they're going to call me they would've called me a day or two before. I've already told them what resolution I'm after, I did that right at the beginning, why am I having to chase them to reiterate what they already know? Assuming they've read my emails and used the RMA tracking feature they'll know all the facts and how long it's been since I requested the RMA, sent it to them, had them test it, have them retest it, find no fault, send it to gigabyte (by the cheapest method possible it seems, taking almost a month for it to arrive), then when gigabyte test it they authorise the refund I requested but scan chose to ignore this and arrange a replacement?

Saying that customer satisfaction is low isn't being rude, it's feedback.

[KeyboardDemon]

I guess I'm describing the way I would deal with an issue, I would want some sort of a commitment at the end of every conversation which is why I would deal with it by phone and not email, it's too easy for people to pass the buck by email but when you have them on the phone, have their name and have been given a commitment from them then you have the right to go back and chase them should they fail to make good on their promises.

As to why should you have to chase them? Well you shouldn't and yet you find yourself posting a thread to do just that. All I am suggesting is that you take a pro-active and not a reactive approach, keep the conversations friendly and polite, make them want to help you and not have to help you because it's their job and you may find they go above and beyond your expectations. It's what usually works for me.

[CustardInc]

It feels to me like you're defending them, don't you feel like they should improve their system and be more proactive, rather than relying on customers badgering them to get what they're promised?

Also I like your passive aggressive tone, it's nice irony ^^

[kalniel]

It feels to me like you're defending them, don't you feel like they should improve their system and be more proactive, rather than relying on customers badgering them to get what they're promised?

Also I like your passive aggressive tone, it's nice irony ^^

I don't read that. Sounds like he's just trying to help and suggesting a strategy that works for him (and me). Yes, you shouldn't *have* to, but there are humans at the other end too - a little charm and active engagement always helps when dealing with people.

[CustardInc]

You're both suggesting that I be more friendly, don't get me wrong, I'm aware that it's a good thing, and I usually am friendlier than that. To be honest, I think I did pretty well with the first post, seeing as I sent in my GPU over 40 days ago and it feels like scan have done the bare minimum to try to satisfy me. Scan effectively owe me £250 and are taking their sweet time getting it to me. If I bought something from them, received it and then didn't pay them for it, I think they'd be pretty pissed.

[KeyboardDemon]

It feels to me like you're defending them

I'm not defending them, nor am I attacking them, I would use the same approach in any situation where I need to get help from customer services staff.

don't you feel like they should improve their system and be more proactive, rather than relying on customers badgering them to get what they're promised?

That's exactly how I feel, but if after 40 days I had no resolution to an issue then whatever improvements they might be making are clearly not being made fast enough to resolve that current issue.

If I had £250 of my money tied up in a customer services RMA hole, then I wouldn't be pinning my hopes on someone else dealing with it with the same level of urgency that they would put behind their own £250 worth of faulty graphics card, this is one of the reasons I only shop with people that I can contact by phone.

Also I like your passive aggressive tone, it's nice irony ^^

I'm sorry you feel that way, as Kalniel said, I was trying to pass on tips that I have found to be helpful when I have been in a similar situation.

You're both suggesting that I be more friendly, don't get me wrong, I'm aware that it's a good thing, and I usually am friendlier than that. To be honest, I think I did pretty well with the first post, seeing as I sent in my GPU over 40 days ago and it feels like scan have done the bare minimum to try to satisfy me. Scan effectively owe me £250 and are taking their sweet time getting it to me. If I bought something from them, received it and then didn't pay them for it, I think they'd be pretty pissed.

Not long after finishing Uni, when I couldn't find a decent job I ended up working behind a customer services desk for not much money per hour where I had to deal with people that were frustrated as they had items they had bought that had failed for one reason or another, even more frustrated that they had to queue for far too long before they could tell me about it and most of all frustrated because they have had to take time out to deal with the issue in the first place. In those situations what I observed was that he who shouts the loudest waits the longest and it was remarkable how the likeable customers got the speediest and best service. So yes, I am suggesting being friendly, but more than that I am telling you that you need to find a friendly way to take control of the situation and taking control means having a plan.

If I were you I might use this as my plan when I ring them, I usually write some of this down before I call:

- Ask them to tell you when they first got your GPU? - "Can you remind, I've been so busy lately that I can't even remember, when exactly did you get my GPU?"
- Act surpised, "Really?" "So how long ago was that?"
Then a closing question, "has it been that long already?" and what you would get there is the CS person saying yes, give him a moment to let that feeling sink in.

- Ask, "I really can't be without my GPU for this long, Can you tell me how close my case is to being resolved?"

Questions to have in mind:
- How soon can I expect my case to be closed?
- What will happen next?
- When can I expect an answer? What day? what time? Is there anyway you can get back to me sooner? (You can guilt trip them with questions like - How long did you say I've been waiting?)
- Is there anything else you can do to help me?
- Is there anything else I need to do to get my refund through faster?

Use sweeteners like:
- I had to wait quite a while to get through to you, so I know you must be busy, but have you got the time to answer a couple of other questions?

When they are taking their time getting details from their computers:
- Oh wow, I thought our systems where I work were slow, I feel sorry for you having to work on systems as slow as yours.

It also helps to build rapport, which is something I do to buy myself some thinking time, it's surprising how much more time people have when they are given the chance to talk about themselves.
- How long have you worked here?
- It must be hard to be surrounded by all that new hardware all of the time, do you end up buying loads of stuff yourself?

So you said passive aggressive, well I guess in your situation that might be the perfect approach, using questions to take control of a situation until you have a commitment towards getting a resolution. You might not always get the exact thing you want, but usually you would get the best that they can offer you.

[CustardInc]

I'll bear that advice in mind for calls. For the record I'm not complaining about the support staff directly, more the penny counting higher ups

[KeyboardDemon]

Cool, let us know how it goes.