This content is not specifically written for SONY Corporation, but for anyone who is

#1
Below is the open letter which I have written to SONY service head. Plese read and comment.

"A customer is the most important, visitor of our premises. He is not dependent on us - we are dependent on him. He is not an interruption on our work - he is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider on our business- he is a part of it. We are not doing him a favour by serving him- He is doing us a favour by giving us an opportunity to do so." - Mahatma Gandhi.


Hi SONY,
I would like to share my experience as a customer about what I am facing from approximately last two months, in one of your service centres. The Store I have been visiting past two months is Sonnet Care located on the 13th cross, CMH Road HAL 2nd Stage, Indira Nagar, Bangalore. Pin- 560038.

I had recently purchased a Sony Experia Z ultra-phone in the month of December, 2014 for INR 22290. As the device belong to the Phablet category, so the USP of the phone is its screen.

March 2015
On 14th March, 2015, when I took out the phone from my pocket, I realised that the screen of the phone is cracked. I went to the service centre on the same day as I was desperate. The lady at the reception immediately told me that the phone is broken, so the warranty of the phone is lapsed. As the phone was just 3 months old so I decided to pay for the repair. Just when I was making up my mind, the lady told me that the phone screen cannot be repaired and that I can opt for another solution.
The Solution was to pay INR 10,499 and get a brand new set in seven days.
This came as a shock!! INR 10,499 only because I broke my phone screen...It was unbelievable that I will now have to pay the amount which is around 50% price of what I paid at the time of initial purchase, and 60% of the current price of the phone.

I was stuck, so the only option I was left with was to either buy a new phone or pay 10k to SONY for my unintentional mistake. I opted to pay SONY, as the service centre lady told me that I will get a brand new phone in 10K (NOW I CURSE MYSELF FOR PAYING SONY 10K). I asked for a standby set, but I was told that in my case the phone does not comes under warranty, so I am not eligible for the standby set, and anyways it is just a matter of seven days (amazing).
My First Job No was W115031606209.

ON 16th March, 2015, I paid the amount and waited for the never ending 7 days to pass. After 7 days, ON 24th March when I called the service centre, that same lady told me that I would have to wait for another 7 days, I was really annoyed. I asked her that if it is a new handset then why it is taking so much time. She told me the set is coming from headquarters that is why it is taking time (as if it was coming straight from Minato).
ON 31st March when I again called them, they said that I would have to be patient for some more days as the handset which they had received had a fault in the motherboard.

April 2015
ON 4th April, when I again called to check, they told me that the phone is in QUALITY CHECK testing phase and I will get it in a day.
Next day I waited for the whole day but nobody called me.

On 8th when I called to check, they told me that it will take one more day for QC. I asked the lady that IF THE PHONE IS NEW THEN WHY ARE THEY TAKING SO MANY DAYS JUST FOR QUAITY CHECK? Lady told me that the phone is new and they just want to be sure that there is no problem.

ON 11TH April, I received a call from the store, informing me that I can collect the phone. When I went to pick the phone, I casually asked if it is really a new handset. Then the same lady told me that it is not a new handset, but a refurbished set. I was really annoyed, because the strongest reason, because of which I decided to spend 10K was based on the information that the phone is new. I had been CHEATED and this is certainly not expected from a reputed organization like SONY.

I went home and immediately noticed that my phone was not charging in the switched on state. It is only charging when it is switched off. This clearly brings out the reality of the refurbished set and the number of days they took for the Quality Check.
On 14th April, I again went to the SONY service centre and told them about the whole story and asked for the justification on whatever is happening from last month. I demanded to talk to the manager. Just like the other staff, Mr. Anand (manager of Sonnet Care centre) was also clueless. He could not give me any reasonable answer to my questions.

On 14th April, Mr. Anand asked me to submit my handset again (JOB NO- W115041405169) and ensured me that he will call me in a day or two and will give me an update regarding the handset. He also provided me his personal phone number so that I can call him.

On 16th April, and told me it will take 5 more days for the new handset to come from the HQ.

On 22nd April, I called him to check, he told me that he will get back to me.

May 2015 (It’s been almost two months)
Since 22nd April till date, 6th May, I am trying to reach out the manager, Mr. Anand, but he is not picking up my call. I have called umpteen times at the store to enquire the status of my handset, but every time the lady say that the manager is not in office or on leave and she will only be able to update me after discussing the matter with manager. Also, every time she ensures me a call back in sometime, but never have I received any call from their end.

I have still not received any update about the progress of the work. Disappointed with such a reputed organization because of my very BAD experience I truly feel like I have been cheated by SONY and my money is being for their(Sonnet Care) personal use and I will now be personally looking into each and every aspect of the last two month wonderful journey offered by Sony Service Centre.

List of questions:
• Why was I not informed till the last moment that the handset I will be getting after spending 10K would not be a brand new set?
• What took so long in getting the handset from HQ?
• Why was the phone in test for 4 days?
• Even after the long 4 days of QC, the set was not working properly (as soon as I picked up the set and went home, I realised that it is not charging in the switched ON state)?
• Who is responsible for wasting my precious time, energy and money?
• Do they expect the customer to be without phone for a month or two (SONY never provided me any stand by handset)?
• Why is the manager of the store not taking my calls and is never available at the store?
• Is it not under the KRA of the “Customer Service” team to proactively call the customer and give an update about the request?
• What happens to my RS 10,499?

I hope you realise the seriousness of the matter. It is not just about the solution of this particular case, but implementing rational and transparent policies in your service centre stores. A policy in which people are responsible, on behalf of the company, for what they communicate to the customer and what they deliver.

Thank you for being patient enough and reading this. I hope to get an answer from someone who cares about the customers, if any.

Again, by Father of The Nation-
"A customer is the most important, visitor of our premises. He is not dependent on us - we are dependent on him. He is not an interruption on our work - he is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider on our business- he is a part of it. We are not doing him a favour by serving him- He is doing us a favour by giving us an opportunity to do so." - Mahatma Gandhi.
 

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