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]
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