Customer Care the Creative Labs way.

Question

Customer Care the Creative Labs way.The key phrases here are:we appreciate the opportunity to assist you. If you still require assistance, please reply to this email? To cut a long story short..I have a Creative Labs portable MP3 player (a Zen Sleek 20 Gb) which requires a new battery. The machine was bought new, has been well looked after and is otherwise in perfect working order. Although the machine is just 5 years old Creative say they no longer provide any after sales support for it and, although not in so many words, advise me that my only option is to replace it. Dear Marc,
For this issue, I do apologize but please understand that we no longer have any spare parts for the player like the battery to be able to offer repair serivces.
We have discontinued manufacturing parts for the player for more than 2
years now and without parts, we cannot offer any type of repairs.
If it were available, we would have offered you the repair service in
the first place. What good would it be for us to decline you of repair
options.
Do what you think is right abd proper but like I said and as what my
colleagues informed you previously, we no longer have any repair options
for the Zen Sleek player.
Regards,
xxxxxxx
Creative Customer Support Services, Creative Labs
Thanks for getting back to me so quickly xxxxxxx.
Creative designed (and sold) the machine with a built-in battery.
Creative's engineer's and product designer's know that rechargeable
batteries have a finite and rather short life-span. Much shorter than
the life span of the Zen Sleek 20 Gb as a whole.
I am not prepared to throw this machine away and buy a replacement when
all it needs is a new battery.
Unless Creative would like this entire correspondence to be posted on
relevant consumer web sites, such as anythingbutipod.com I suggest you
get back to me with an appropriate solution.
kind regards,
Marc
Date: Thu, Oct 2009 7:02:38 +0800
From: [email protected]
To:
Subject: RE: CLE - Technical Support Request - (Zen Sleek)
(KMM9595845I5977L0KM)
Dear Marc,
Thank you for getting back to us. I am sorry of what happened.
With regards to your issue, I am sorry to inform you that as the zen
Sleek is designed with the built-in battery which cannot be
replaceable.
Have a nice day!
Please retain all the previous correspondence when replying to this
email.
Best Regards,
xxxxxxx
Creative Customer Support Services
Creative Labs Europe
Thanks xxxxxxx,
In the case of the player in question, I still believe the battery
needs to be changed. THis is normal given the age of the player and the
amount of use it has had.
What are my solutions for achieving this?
I have always believed that Creative is not the sort of company which
lets its customers down when it comes to afer sales support.
As I have said previously, the machine is in perfect condition and is
only around 5 or 6 years old. It was a very high spec machine when I
bought it and I have neither the money nor the inclination to change
it.
Could you please advise as to how I can replace the battery, and not
refer me to any other parts of your web site.
Thanks in advance,
Date: Thu, Oct 2009 :53:2 +0800
From: [email protected]
To:
Subject: RE: CLE - Technical Support Request - (Zen Sleek)
(KMM959435I5977L0KM)
Dear Marc,
Thank you for getting back to us.
With regards to your enquiry, you might like to visit our website to view the article.
Prolonging Battery Life of a Creative Product
The Link: http://support.creative.com/kb/ShowA....aspx?sid=4672
Best Regards,
xxxxxxx
Creative Customer Support Services
Creative Labs Europe
Thanks for your response xxxxxxx,
What would you suggest? That I throw the machine away and buy a new one?
This player is still functioning perfectly. It never skips, rarely freezes and is generally in excellent condition.
All the interfaces, charge leads work perfectly. It deli'vers excellent sound quality.
As a result of being charged a great number of times, the battery no longer holds as much charge as it did when new. The player's autonomy has decreased sharply as a result and, unless I am able to charge it every 2-3 hours or so, I cannot use it.
The player is not that old, no more than 5 or 6 years.
Surely there must be some solution for prolonging its useful life.
I will leave it with you to make inquiries within the Creative Labs structures.
Thanks
Regards,
Marc
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 2009 7:34: +0800
From: [email protected]
To:
Subject: Re: CLE - Technical Support Request - (Zen Sleek)
(KMM958392I5977L0KM)
Dear Marc,
Thank you for reaching us at Creative Technical Support; we appreciate
the opportunity to assist you.
With regards to your enquiry, I am very sorry but unfortunately,
we do not have any replacement battery for the ZEN Sleek. Sorry for any
inconvenience that caused you.
If you still require assistance, please reply to this email with any previous correspondence to ensure the quickest and most accurate service.
Best Regards,
xxxxxxx
Creative Customer Support Services, Creative Labs Europe
Subject: CLE - Technical Support Request - (Zen Sleek)
E-mail Address:
Self Description: Intermediate PC User
Region: Europe
Country: United Kingdom
Support Inquiry: Other/Not Listed Above
Product: Zen Sleek
CCPP Certificate Number:
Serial Number: 390542004008M
Purchase Date: Aug/23/2004
Operating System: OS Independent
Firmware Version: .00.05
Creative Model Number:
Connected To:
Detailed Problem Description:
The battery in my Zen Sleek 20 GB MP3 player needs replacing. It is not accessible to the user. What are my options for replacing it's How long will this take? and what is the cost? Many thanks, regards, Marc

Answer 1

Thanks for taking the time to respond Mike,
This is an interesting take on the situation.
I do not consider 5 years as an acceptable life span for a machine which cost close to 200 GBP, was made by a highly reputable manufacturer and has been well looked after. 0 perha
ps.
If this is the case, then at the moment of sale the customer should be advised of the limited life span.
I have not the skills, the material, the time nor the inclanation to take the machine apart myself, even if a suitable new battery could be found.
I agree with you that the cost of repair is likely to exceed the cost of replacement.
I shall continue to use the machine for as long as I am able (despite its short autonomy) and will look to Creative's competitors when I eventually replace it.