saplanet originals

I am not sure if it was me, or just the sales guy. There is always some sort of drama for gadget purchases. 

Mike has decided to get me a laser printer, and he was really excited about the purchase. He got a HP printer, carried back the super heavy printer home, anticipating to see my thrilling expression.

To be honest, I had experiences with HP, and I love the products, I just think they should buck up with the after-service care. I was kind of resistant to HP purchases. Then again, I was really excited about the laser printer, and most importantly, I really appreciate Mike’s sweet thoughts. 

We spent some time installing the printer, just to realize that it printed multiple unwanted lines. Alright, so we spent some more time trying to fix that problem. We gave up, and called the vendor, to cut story short, it was decided that the printer is faulty.

We were promised a one-to-one exchange, if we fail to get the HP technical people to fix the problem. Since HP doesn’t provide on-site service, I told Mike that we should just change the printer to Canon. I am definitely a better fan of Canon to HP. 

Now.. the drama began… (I am naming all vendors’ names because this is more of a constructive feedback and response, there is no need to conceal the names)

M=Mike; BDG=Best Denki Guy

Mike carried the super heavy printer weighing over 16kg to Best Denki…

M (spent more than an hour there to process the exchange)
BDG: We are only left with the display set for LBP5000, do you want to take that unit?
M: (display set only comes with half full toner) No, I’d rather not
BDG: You can take LBP5100 instead, newer model, but you have to top up additional $100
M: (considering all the inconveniences that may arise) Ok then, I will take that
BDG: We have one unit left, for that model, is that ok?
M: Ok, I will just take that then
BDG: But that unit is reserved for another customer, due for delivery
M: (!!!!!!!)
BDG: I can order one in for you though, you have to come back again when it’s here
M: (!!!!!!!!!!) No way! You mean I have to carry back this heavy HP printer home, then carry it back here again to exchange for the new printer? I have to make another trip, and carry to/fro the heavy printer?
BDG: yes
M: (!!!!!!!!) I’m sure you can make arrangement for that, you can just get your delivery guy to collect the other set from another outlet to deliver to the customer, right?
BDG: hmmm, ok, I can do that
M: (almost delighted with the new arrangement)
BDG: We don’t have the warranty card here for that set though
M: (!!!!!!!!) WHAT! 
BDG: We can mail it to you if you want
M: Fine, so there is a promotion going on, where do I collect the free gifts?
BDG: Oh, because there is no warranty card, you can’t collect the gifts
M: (!!!!!!!!!!!) So, I still have to make another trip to collect the gifts after I even receive the warranty card?
BDG: Yes

As you may imagined, Mike came home with a really bad mood. When he told me the small episode, I was laughing out loud. I can’t help it. It was so funny, that BDG was really asking for it. It wasn’t intentional, but he just lack good customer skills, so to speak. 

Anyhow, I managed to set up the printer this morning, installed everything, printed the test page, pretty happy with it. 

I am planning to purchase the extended warranty, but first, I need to register the product which I couldn’t because I don’t have the warranty card, remember?

This is when all good things flow in. The canon customer service officer, Ms Noris called me right after my printer was installed. (good timing, I actually wrote an email to the customer service last night, on the warranty issue) She was so friendly, so helpful, and simply too sweet. 

She offered to help me trace the warranty registration number, which can be tracked from the serial number on the machine. I followed her instruction, and found the S/N. She called me very promptly once she found the registration number. I was furnished with many useful information, and she offered to guide me through the online registration process, which I declined, I can manage that myself.

Noris also patiently explained to me the various extended warranty coverage, and the methods to purchase it online, or offline. I had also feedback to her about the free gifts, and she told me that she would instruct the warranty department to send me the warranty card, so that I can provide that to the redemption counter for the gifts. 

She called me back again, while she went to retrieve the various redemption locations, she gave me such detailed information, such as addresses, operating hours etc. She had also highlighted the promotion period, and the last day of redemption. 

What can I say, the service was awesome! Whenever it comes to gadgets or products, the key determining factor to decide on the purchase, has always been the after-sales service, and technical support. It is not enough just to have a wonderful product, without proper after sales support, it’s almost meaning to say that this product may just turn into a white elephant the minute it cranks up and fails to perform as it should. I had the worst experience with Maxtor one-touch backup HDD, there was literally barely any support, and it only worked for barely a month, now, it’s just a not so fanciful decoration in a shopping bag tucked away somewhere I can’t even recall. 

Thumbs up for Canon! Great work there!