small customer service rant... guillemot/Hercules video card

[blakerwry]

here's a small rant I made on guillemot's tech support forums after I got mad at them for not honoring their warantee.

Previous reference to the problem can be found here: http://storageforum.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1615&highlight=guillemot

I am the "not so proud" owner of a gullemot TNT2 m64 card that recently broke...

From what I was told on this forum and from guillemot tech support via phone the card was still under warrantee("all our cards carry a 3 year warantee") and could be returned for an exchange....

That turned out to be bogus!

I was really impressed with the tech support at 1st... That is, until I actually dealt with them. I called tech support, got an RMA, fedex'd them the package.... no word for nearly a month. I eventually recieved a package via UPS and I was excited that I had recieved a new card.... Until I openned the box and found the exact same card that I sent in... still in unworking condition...

Along with the card (still broken) was a paragraph note saying that they were not going to replace it because it was a "white box" product. This is inspite of the fact that I was told the card was under warantee, that I had already recieved RMA authorization, and that I had been told I could exchange this card for a new one.... not to mention paid for certified insured shipping and wasted 1 month.

This has been a good lesson, I will never deal with Guillemot or Hercules again. Not just because a video card failed after ~2 years (even though I think they should last upwards of 10 and I have several to prove my point) But because they do not stand behind their products and there is no reason to buy Guillemot's products when there are reputable companies that are more focused on their customers' satisfaction and offer the same products.

so this leaves me with a half way broken guillemot maxi gamer Cougar (32MB TNT2 m64)... I bet you could send in the card with a forged reciept that didnt have the words "white box" next to the item.....

Anybody want this piece of junk?

 

[blakerwry]

so good i had to post it twice i guess....

 

[Mercutio]

It probably would've actually cost them less to ship you another M64. Assuming you'd want such a thing.

Of course, I'm not going to sympathize over a broken nvidia card, since I think they're ALL broken, but at least you can buy something better now.

 

[blakerwry]

heh.. im buying an ELSA Synergy II TNT2 32MB card for ~$11 off ebay... im not sure if it's an m64 (64bit memory bus vs the standard 128bit).. but it will do the trick.

yes, I agree that it might have been cheaper just to send me a new card.

 

[Tea]

Why iz this a "small customer" service rant? Are you short like me? Do you think they give better service to tall people?

 

[Tannin]

Ignore her. She incoherent becoming iz Fridays effect possibly this on us of most.

 

[Buck]

Ignore her. She incoherent becoming iz Fridays effect possibly this on us of most.

Wow, either not enough sleep or too much Scotch.

 

[Cliptin]

Ignore her. She incoherent becoming iz Fridays effect possibly this on us of most.

Wow, either not enough sleep or too much Scotch.

It's Friday!

 

[honold]

they replaced my ancient retail geforce2/pro 450 promptly with no questions asked really.

i did a whois on their domain to call their corporate office and got right through to support, explained i had tried the card in multiple systems and it wouldn't display a video signal.

no box, no serial, no receipt, they simply sent me a new one. they were probably able to validate it as a retail card with the s/n, but still, i'd say they had best of breed service.

 

[blakerwry]

I had the reciept, serial number, etc.... infact I believe they WOULD have replaced it if the recipet had not said "white box" next to the cards description. Unfortunately they required 2 copies of the reciept/a proof of purchse in order to return the card.


Like i said i was impressed by their phone support... I called them up and got through immediately and was off the phone in a few minutes...

The phone call consisted of me telling the rep. that I had tried different cables/monitors/resolutions and that the problem occured at the BIOS screens as well as in an OS. He asked for the S/N on the card and then he emailed me an RMA number and instructions for returning the card.


so.. I agree that their telephone support was excellent... but their tech support forum is iffy at best (you might get a reply you might not.. and it might be awhile)... and them not honoring their stated warantee just plain sucks.

I understand that most gfx cards probably dont have 3 year warantees and that most white/brown/OEM products probably carry less of a warantee than retail their retail counter parts... but when a rep of the company says "all our cards carry a 3 year warantee" that should mean all their cards carry a 3 year warantee.