I had a metal band G-Shock (G-7100D). Problem is, the band attaches to plastic anchors via metal pins (which I presume is the ultimate connection point in most /all G-Shocks). After slightly less than two years, one of the metal pins managed to shear through one of the plastic anchors. I am not easy on watches, but I'm not the hardest either: I still have Timex watches that are fine after over a decade. So I was pretty put off by the failure, especially since I wasn't doing anything stressful at the time (I shut a door, at which point the watch fell off my wrist). I presume the failure had been the result of time.
I was pretty upset, but I was assured by friends that G-Shock would make good on the deal. I called up and spoke with someone who informed me that my watch was out of warranty (only one year) unless I had taken an online poll when I purchased it, in which case my watch would have still been considered under warranty. I asked if an exception could be made since I had never been aware of the online poll. No deal: it would cost $40 to repair a $100 watch.
I sent the watch in with a thoughtful note explaining my situation. I explained that I had come to respect G-Shock based on what I had heard from friends of all walks including police/military. I explained what I had been told on the phone: that my watch would have been covered under a technicality if I had been more aware. I said I was more than happy to discuss it more if anyone was interested.
Almost six weeks later, I got a computer generated letter in the mail. Obviously, no one had even looked at my letter. The letter proposed three options:
1. Pay the $40 for repair
2. Pay $15 (IIRC) to get my broken watch sent back to me with nothing done
3. Pay nothing and they keep my broken watch
Annoyed, and determined not to pay so much to get back a broken watch, I paid the repair fee, which I presumed would most likely be getting me a new watch.
A couple weeks later, I did get a new watch in the mail, but it was not the model of watch I had sent in. It was a watch worth slightly less, and with different features than I wanted. Furious, I called their customer service. The person I talked to said that my original watch was no longer made, and therefore they had sent something of similar value. I asked why I was never contacted about this. He claimed that I must have been, and that I would have been offered the chance to pick out a watch. No, I definitely would have remembered that. When the conversation kept going in circles like that, I ended it.
I called the next day, after my internet research showed that my original watch was not discontinued as a model, but only in the face color. They could have sent me my same watch in a different face color, but instead sent me something completely different. This time a rep told me the same lines as the first. I assured her I had been given no choice in the matter (not even on the lovely computer generated notice). She finally conceded that I could send in the wrong watch on my dime, and that I would be given a credit of XXX value. Problem was, XXX value was not enough to get me my original watch, just another of the wrong ones that was sent. When my brain started to melt, I finally hung up.
I stuck the watch in a drawer and tried to forget it ever existed. $40 to replace a broken watch that could have been covered under warranty, only to get a cheaper watch with the wrong features, all in the quick turnaround of almost 8 weeks. Thanks G-Shock!
:jerkit:
