Terrible Sony Customer Service

Question

Hi,
I am posting this message here as a first step to create awareness regarding Sony's awful customer service. I stay in Toronto, Canada. My laptop's screen had issues with it and so I wanted to send it in for repair.
I called Sony and they told me they would have a box sent to me which I could use to send them my laptop. As it turned out, the delivery company they used lost the box. Since, I am a research student, I need use of my laptop all the time and not wanting to waste more time, I decided to drop the laptop off at a Sony Repair Center. I call their customer service number and I ask them where I can drop it off. They gave me the following address: 115 Gordon Baker Road Toronto, Ontario. In order to ensure, my trip was not a waste, I decided to call their number associated with this address and ensure that they received laptops for repairs. I called their number, and a lady picked up. Our conversation went as follows:
Me: Hi, I have a laptop which I wished to ... and before I could complete my question or go any further;
Lady: That is technical support transferring
So, I hung up since I was not interested in talking to the call center guys again as I had just finished talking to them anyway. I call again hoping to be answered with more politeness and patience. This is how the conversation went:
Me: Hi, I just want to know if you accept ..
Lady: Hung up
And no matter when I call, it would be the same lady. I was so frustrated that I called the call center again and again asked them for a service center address. This time, the customer service representative gives me a different address. I go there and drop off the laptop. I am told definitely within 10-12 days your laptop will be repaired.
Called them after a week and was told they were awaiting shipment of the screen. Part would certainly arrive by next week. Called again in week 3 and was said part would certainly arrive in week4. I told them to give me a definitive date by which the part would arrive at which they say they have no clue. I said you must have atleast a tracking number for the shipment, what kind of a company ships something without a tracking number. So use that number and give me an date and then add the number of days technician needs and give me a final date. Sorry, don't have a tracking or shipment number. But definitely by next week the part will arrive and a technician will call you asap.
Called again week 4, and this time part was to arrive by end of the week for sure. And when part arrived I would certainly receive a call from the technician who would immediately begin work on the laptop. Never received a single call. So, I call again at end of week 4 and this is how the conversation went:
Me: Hi, this is my reference number .... What is the status of my laptop repair?
Rep: Oh, the part arrived yesterday. Your laptop would be ready for pickup by next week.
Me: You told me you would have a technician call me back as soon as you receive the part. From 10 days your repair time has gone to 1 month. What are you doing about that? (And by the way I called on a Friday morning ). Why can't you have it repaired by tomorrow (They are open Saturdays)?
Rep: Sorry, but the technicians don't work on weekends.
( By exactly which definition is Thursday and Friday a weekend, God alone knows.)
Rep: I will tell the technician about your emergency and would see to it that your order gets looked after.
Me: Ok
At this point I was really angry. So, I called Sony Vaio Customer Support and lodged a complaint against their customer service. They tell me I will receive a call back from them.
I call again that evening. Rep read me the exact same script as before. I am like you already said that in the morning, so is the technician working on my laptop yet or not. Rep says your laptop would be certainly ready by next week. No other response.
Now I was at my wits end. They will simply not take the matter seriously, I did not receive any call back from them. So I call their Sony Vaio Customer Support again. I am talking to the rep and instead of helping me and taking me seriously, he has the audacity to say: We have a lot of Sony promotions going on, would you like to receive the offers by email? I am going in my head, is this guy serious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then I ask him to connect me to someone with more authority as I am fed up of being lied to and he makes me wait 15 minutes. The new guy says the exact same thing and he is like we can only handle complaints within USA since you are in Canada, the Canadian Complaint Center will call you back within one to two business days -- Meaning not before Tuesday next week. I am like why wont you simply give me their number and I will call them. He is like we don't have that number and kept apologizing,
Conclusion:
Never purchase Sony products again as they take customer loyalty for granted.
Have zero (I would go further to say negative respect) for customer's needs and very poor and pathetic after sales care.
Have rude and insensitive customer service agents who have no idea regarding the gravity of a situation.
And most amazingly, funny and I would say lousy management if they don't have a clue as to how to contact their customer service center in Canada.
And even yet I still await my poor laptop's return. I had better expectations from Sony but they have done absolutely nothing to live up to those.
If anybody else here has faced a similar problem and found a way to deal with these people, please do share it with me. Your time and help are appreciated.
Regards,
a very unhappy customer

Answer 1

I was raised on Sony products, my family has always held their products in high regard. Thats why when got the chance to purchase a new Bravia and Sony BD system I picked it up as fast as I could get to the store.
18 months later and the HDMI output no longer works, only audio half the time/nothing the other half, wont sync with my TV anymore, pretty much useless............hey speaking of useless, Sony's 1 year parts and labour warranty is incredibly useless. If something were to go wrong within the first year it most likely happened right out of the box, and that would be covered by a simple exchange.
Do not purchase a BD system from Sony YOU WILL REGRET IT!!!!!
I'm out $1000 now, and I could fix it I guess, but after paying all that less than 2 years ago and with the prices as low as they are now it would not be worth the repair. I think it's time for me to start a new relationship with another consumer electronic manufacturer.
Good bye Sony, you once stood for Quality, now I think youre too busy trying to come up with DRM. GET BACK TO YOUR CORE COMPETENCIES BEFORE YOU LOSE ALL BRAND EQUITY!!!!