I suspect the guys was just making small talk about GOW. After the hassle I had they wouldn't even agree to pay for the postage if I decided to send it out before the prepaid box arrived. If they give you GOW as a compensation I'll be some pissed. Keep us posted.

I have a quick question to ask that I haven't seen information on in this thread.

How does this prepaid box arrive ?
I too have been waiting and have been assuming it's coming via CanadaPost but it sounds like maybe it should be coming via Purolator.

BTW.
My unit died over the holidays as well, they told me 12 - 15 business days for the box to arrive. 17 days later I call only to find out that the request was mysteriously cancelled. They told me I should have my box in 3 - 4 business days. That was 6 days ago :(

The box arrives by Purolator. It comes with a prepaid sticker inside and a plastic bag to wrap the xbox in. It also comes with a short form to fill out. After sending my xbox out on Saturday I got a phonecall and email from Microsoft. I wont discuss who it was from or the nature of the call until my issue is resoved. I have made a couple of requests and I don't want to screw it up by creating a flood of similar requests. Once I get a response and resolution I'll fill you in. But things are looking better than they were a week ago.

There are two alternatives for those who don't want to deal with hassle of waiting for the box (which for some has taken months now): 1) drop it off if you live close to Vaughan, or 2) ship it at your own cost which is what I ended up doing (as I reported in an earlier post) and it cost me $20 for everything including box and bubble wrap. I know for some it is a question of principle in terms of paying for something we shouldn't be paying for. But I figured my time is worth more and I decide that I would take a "3 strikes" approach before I make this decision... so I did after making the third call and not getting a response that made me comfortable

Ironically, the box arrive a week after I shipped it!!!

Btw it took about a week to get the replacement

I'm not advocating paying for shipping, but it's worth assessing this option vs. all the hassles... and yes it does suck!

My XBOX died last week. It was about 10 months old (from when I bought it).

I read this forum first and figured it would take for ever to get my box. For whatever reason within 5 business days as promised I got a box from purolator yesterday. I quickly put the xbox in the box, called purolator back and they picked it up yesterday.

We'll see how long it takes.

The CSR did tell me that since I am in Canada it is a direct exchange and no repairs are done - she did not mention if it would be new or re-furb though.

I'm crossing my fingers that the replacement comes back soon.

I received a replacement X-Box today! It took exactly three weeks from the time I left it at the Vaughan location. I never ever received an empty box for shipping and I’m glad that I live close enough to drop it off myself.

The replacement unit looks brand new and has a newer manufacture date than my original and it came with a face plate installed, which is great since I sent mine without one as per the repair department instructions.

Here is what I’ve learned; the units that are sent to the Vaughan location are not repaired there, they are shipped directly to a repair center in Texas. The repair center then decides either to repair or replace and sends the unit back to the Vaughan location where they are then shipped directly back to the customer. This happens for all units received at the Vaughan location, whether dropped off or shipped there originally.

Good luck to everyone that has still not had their units replaced or repaired… I feel your pain.:(

WW

I received my return box from Purolator today. It took 5 business days from when I called. I will drop it off tomorrow morning. So far everything is going as planned. (Except for the whole console dying after 6 weeks thing.) Fingers still crossed.

That's a bit rediculous. So if I live in Vancouver the box goes to Ontario then Texas, then back to Ontario then back to Vancouver. Seems like a very odd way of doing things. Especially since I'm only a couple hours drive from MS headquarters in Redmond.

After the hassle I had and the letter I faxed to Phil Sorgen, I received a call from one of his assistants. They offered to arrange for me to exchange my Xbox at a local retailer. Unfortunately the box came on Friday and I sent it out on Saturday...before the phonecall came on Monday. I asked if, as compensation they would replace it with the Second Gen 360 Zephyr (hey, it was worth a try). Was told that they have no information on the Zephyr yet. All that they were willing to do is expedite my repair. Who knows....maybe they'll still throw me a bone of some kind.

I actually don't think they go to Texas before replacements are shipped. I think they simply ship out refurbished boxes from Ontario and then ship the defective ones to Texas for repair to put back into refurb inventory.

There certainly wasn't enough time in my transaction for a Texas two-step.

As far as the idea of asking for a Zephyr ... nice try;) I did get an offer from MS for a token of their appreciation in light of all the difficulty I went through. I would suggest you provide some alternatives to them ....

JC, mind if I asked what compensation they provided?

I wouldn't term it compensation, merely recognition of the hassle I went through. A good faith gesture on their part.

Such as? Your message is a little too cryptic for me... Not to pressure you or anything.

If they did something nice for you what was it?:eek:

Do they ask for a copy of the receipt for a warranty repair?

Do they ask for a copy of the receipt for a warranty repair?
Yes, the first part of the process is they confirm your purchase date for when they regoster the console. Tooks me 2 weeks a number of calls and 2 faxes to even get a warranty purchased. Having the receipt is important, although with the new 1 year warranty there may be less hassles.

They did not ask for any documentation from me, but my console was already registered and also had a service contract on it.

As far as the questions about what I may have received from Microsoft, I don't think it's appropriate for me to publish it. In my view, I have no idea whether the gesture was a typical approach or not and, in any event, I wouldn't consider it fair game to make it public without Microsoft's knowledge or approval.

I will say that it was reasonable, not over the top, recognition of my inconvenience as a customer. It was neither extravagant nor anything that would make the hassle profitable. It was simply a nice gesture by sending me something from their catalogue.

They never asked for a receipt from me. I assume that they could tell the manufacture date from the serial number.

As far as the questions about what I may have received from Microsoft, I don't think it's appropriate for me to publish it.

It was simply a nice gesture by sending me something from their catalogue.

Very good, at least MS is looking after the customers, cheers! :cool:

I'm pretty sure MS is aware there are some major issues with support. Although I have been frustrated with them they do seem to be trying to make thigns work but there are some major problems in how their system and call centers work. Hopefully they get it fixed up.

It was simply a nice gesture by sending me something from their catalogue. That's good to hear, they probably don't realize that the PR from tokens like that does ripple across more than just one's friends list. As someone who didn't have to go through the MS route to replace my xbox(es), it is nice to hear that they are working to 'make right' any issues they get made aware of. If I ever need to engage that warranty process (*knocks wood*), I hope it goes smoothly.