Recent (Bad) Experience with Motorola
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I purchased a Motorola V60i in February, paying full retail (no discount
for being part of a cellular package). FYI, I live in Newfoundland,
Canada so this really applies to Motorola Canada.
The phone had a particularly bad echo when used with hands-free
speakerphone car kits. Since I didn't purchase a hands-free kit until
recently (new local legislation), I had no idea that there was a problem
with the phone until now.
When I discovered the problem, I brought the phone back to the retailer
where I purchased it (no reflection on them) and they in turn sent it on
to Atlantic Wireless Service in Bedford, NS, which is the local service
centre for Motorola. After supposedly repairing the unit, they returned
the unit to me.
The first thing that I noticed was that the phone was stuck in analog
mode (as indicated by an "A" on the display and confirmed by the fact
that call-display no longer worked). Worse still, when using the phone
while it was on charge, it heated up in my hand, almost to the point of
not being able to continue holding it. I immediately shut the phone off
and took it off charge.
Being a computer repair tech, I am fully aware of the dangers of heat
and short-circuits to electrical components. While I considered the echo
to be a significant but relatively minor problem, this new development
was clearly not minor and just as clearly the fault of the repair
centre. One would think that they would have fully tested and inspected
the unit before returning it to me; however, they hadn't even bothered
to check the display or they would have noticed the "A" on the display.
In my view, the unit was now in worse condition than it was originally,
its life-span possibly shortened significantly.
I had the unit sent back to Atlantic Wireless asking that the unit be
replaced with a new unit (same model, nothing extra). They agreed to
replace it, but with a refurbished unit, insisting that was all that was
in their power to do. Fair enough - they are only a repair facility,
after all. However, I paid for top-quality and expected just that. To
me, this seemed to be exchanging my garbage for someone else's and I had
no way of knowing the extent of damage to the refurb or it's probable
life span. They gave me the phone number of Motorola and I proceeded to
take the matter up with them.
After speaking with one person, I was transferred to a man who, while
pleasant to speak with, seemed to have the job of saying "no" in as
polite a manner as possible. He proceeded to inform me that I was
welcome to have my old phone forwarded on to their Mississauga, ON
location, but that the chances were small that I would receive a
brand-new phone in its place. I wasn't given any real explanation why I
had to settle for unit with a "history"; however, I was given the
impression that the matter was an issue of policy and that exchanging
new for damaged units (even when the damage was their own fault) would
place undue hardship on Motorola. It makes you wonder about the quality
of their products if they can't back them with a decent warranty.
Anyway, I apologize for the rant but it may be of some assistance to
someone out there who is in the process of trying to choose between
brands of cell phones. And, while I may not be able to recover my money
on this deal, if I can discourage at least one person out there from
buying Motorola, I'll have at least recovered it vicariously....
Regards,
Derek T.
Linear Mode
