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From: Isaac_K_Rabinovitch@cup.portal.com
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: toshiba extended warranty
Message-ID: <1598@cup.portal.com>
Date: Wed, 25-Nov-87 13:04:27 EST
Article-I.D.: cup.1598
Posted: Wed Nov 25 13:04:27 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 29-Nov-87 12:27:46 EST
References: <4208@ecsvax.UUCP>
Organization: The Portal System (TM)
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XPortal-User-Id: 1.1001.1472


->
->
->Are there Toshiba T3100 owners out there with enough experience
->with the machine to comment on the Toshiba Exceptional Care
->program.  For $747 the original warranty is extended an
->additional 2 years, and Toshiba agrees to provide a replacement
->computer within 24hrs in the event of breakdown.
->
->Any comments on whether the plan is cost effective given the
->expectable rate of failure?
->
->Duncan McEwen
->
->bitnet:..jdmce@ecsvax
->usenet:..!decvax!mcnc!ecsvax!jdmce

I have a Toshiba T1100.  Shortly after I got it I had some trouble
with the Modem/Clock card, and called Toshiba.  Problems:

1) Major hassle getting through, due to inconsistent information in the
   Exceptional Care packet, busy phone number, phones that weren't answered
   (once it was picked up and put down again quickly, obviously by
   someone tired of hearing it ring), phones that were answered by
   people who'd never heard of the Exceptional Care Program, phones
   answered by people who wouldn't help me until I told them whether
   it was a software or hardware problem (something I needed *them* to
   tell *me*), phones answered by people who told me that someone who
   knew the problem would call me back (liars!).  To add injury to
   insult, the 800 numbers Toshiba gave me are only good *outside*
   California.

2) When you do finally get someone who's willing and able to help you,
   you have to practically threaten a lawsuit before they'll authorize
   a return.  Actually, there's good reason for this:

3) Forget about the 24-hour fix-or-replace guarantee.  I didn't get my
   machine back in a day, and I didn't get it back in a week.  And this
   was an extremely simple repair, perhaps two hours of technician
   time.  When I hassled them about the delay, they admitted flat out
   that they didn't have enough machines in the replacement pool to send
   me one and that had been why the avoided a return.

Really, I should have sued them for false advertising.  I notice they no
longer advertise the EC program extensively.  Yet another case of a
computer company making promises they didn't have the resources to keep.

Isaac Rabinovitch
isaac.rabinovitch@cup.portal.com
ucbvax!sun!cup.portal.com!isaac.rabinovitch
Disclaimer:  Just because I think you're wrong, doesn't
             mean I don't think you're a fun person!
:-)