Anyone with Kickstand Scratches?

[fitchalcyone]

Hello everyone. I finally got my SP2 in the mail last week and just got around to opening it today. Without having any pictures ready at the moment, I wanted to see if anyone had this issue out of the box.

Where the "crease" of the kickstand meets the body of the Surface, I have a small portion of the top edge where the dark grey finish is already rubbed off. It happens to be lined up right where the screw-hinge is hidden underneath, which makes me believe something over here is the cause. The two edges of my kickstand aren't 100% flush, but they aren't on my SP1 either, so I'm not too worried about that. The area where the finish has rubbed off is maybe 2mm in length, so it's a very small part. But you know how it goes; I can't stop staring at it from time to time, haha.

Anyone with this? In any case, what would you do? This is a 512GB, and while I do understand that for the price I shouldn't really have this situation, I also partly don't want to deal with a potentially messy exchange process (resistance from store, second setup, have to buy more screen protectors, etc.) and the tablet may inevitably incur some cosmetic damage over time, as well (though I baby my electronics to some silly lengths, sometimes).

 

[BIGPADDY]

Can you post a picture so we can get a visual view?

 

[fitchalcyone]

It was a little late last night so I wasn't really up for uploading these at the time. The third picture shows how you can't really see this mark if you're looking at the tablet head-on.

 

[PandaSPUR]

I don't have that on mine but honestly it doesnt look like a big deal

 

[Bremen Cole]

The 512 is a very expensive device, that is IMHO unacceptable. I know though, it would be a major pain to return it. Your money and your SP2, but for the serious cash they ask for that 512 model, I would expect perfection.

 

[fitchalcyone]

Yeah, I am pretty divided on this one. It really is a tiny mark, but it's a little unnerving to have a day-one blemish that isn't even my fault (and like you said, Bremen, especially for the price). I think I'll at least explore my options and see if I can get an exchange while this unit is still young. I just hope Microsoft can work with me, because Best Buy (where I bought it) is all out.

 

[BIGPADDY]

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It was a little late last night so I wasn't really up for uploading these at the time. The third picture shows how you can't really see this mark if you're looking at the tablet head-on.

That very off putting and for the price I would definitely ask for a replacement.

I think Microsoft now do this method where they will ship the replacement to you and then when you get it you can ship yours to them. Which they put a hold of the cost of the Surface pro 2 on your account then get rid off it when your item gets received by themselves.

You can also talk to live chat as well.

 

[PandaSPUR]

Yea just chat with customer service. While I personally dont think its a big deal, I'm almost sure that they'll gladly send you a replacement.
I recently chatted with them about a pen issue ive been having, so they're shipping me a new pen and apparently I can even keep the old one. Didnt even need CC info for that (although for a SP2 replacement you probably need to give CC info lol).

Service is top notch so far, I guess they're learning.

 

[fitchalcyone]

Well, as an update, I spoke with Microsoft today and they've processed an exchange for me. No real hesitation, so that's good on their part. They can't guarantee exactly what I'll be getting (new vs. refurb), which is a little worrisome. Still, I will scrutinize the unit when I get it in and if there's any issue, they'll hear it from me. I'm hoping since they're still fairly new and rare (512) they will give me a new unit.

A little more waiting, but the peace of mind will be nice.

 

[bluetroll]

glad they got you a replacement.

i just checked mine and i didn't have that issue.

 

[Bremen Cole]

Sounds like they are taking care of you. Food deal.....

 

[fitchalcyone]

Yeah, thankfully they are doing this. I'll report back in a few days when the replacement comes in.

 

[fitchalcyone]

Okay, for a current update...

I got an email on Monday confirming that Microsoft received my SP2 and would process the exchange. On Tuesday, I was given another email, telling me that my replacement unit had shipped while also providing a FedEx tracking number. You know how it usually is, the tracking doesn't pop up right away. Cool. So, I woke up Wednesday morning and tracked again, and it was already on a truck for that day's delivery. Turns out, this thing was overnighted to me.

What did I get, you ask? They sent me a brand new 512GB SP2 replacement. This was sealed in factory packaging and all, which was great. Not only that, the exchange process instructed me to send only the tablet and nothing else, so now I have a second charger and pen, plus two more of those vouchers for 200GB of Skydrive and whatever the thing was for Skype. Thankfully, my kickstand looks as it should. I'll be putting the replacement through its paces over the holiday weekend to make sure everything else operates correctly. Fingers crossed, and a big thank you to Microsoft for how they handled this issue!

 

[MBytes]

That is TRULY an amazing and very generous gesture of Microsoft.

 

[fitchalcyone]

Well, looks like everything checked out. The thing's working great and I'll continue to benchmark it against my SP1 until I sell it. The kickstand is a reverse situation of the first one, where the middle is bumped out a bit, but that's fine. All I have left to get used to is this weird Zagg protector I bought for the screen.

Not a bad exchange. I got all the extra goodies and a reminder of how Microsoft treats their customers well.