Surface Support sucks - if you need a Replacement Surface Book, you will be waiting a LONG time

[lakleeman]

UPDATE as of 1-28-2016: Still waiting on a replacement Surface Book. Coming up on 30 days with no shipment!

------ original message follows:...

After trying all tech support suggestions, my Surface Book will not turn on. So, I've arranged a replacement for my Surface Book. Microsoft said it should arrive in 3 to 5 days. However, 16 days later I am still waiting for one to be shipped!

The explanation: they are waiting on a Surface Book to show up in their inventory! Keep in mind there are plenty of Surface Books available at the Microsoft Store (with the same specs as mine). Apparently, Surface Support can't use those for replacements. I'm not sure if Support is waiting for someone to send in a faulty Surface Book to refurbish and send to me - I certainly hope not.

Regardless, this is ridiculous - waiting over 2 weeks so far. There is no definite timeframe as to when I will receive a replacement working Surface Book. It could be many more weeks or months!

Has anyone else experienced this frustration getting a replacement for a faulty Surface Book???

 

[Wes Smith]

Why can you not go in to the store and swap it out. I have done that with other times in the past when defective, just take it in and they swap it out for you on the spot

 

[jaimeastin]

Why can you not go in to the store and swap it out. I have done that with other times in the past when defective, just take it in and they swap it out for you on the spot

Their retail support is awesome. I have also had things exchanged under warranty by mail. when given the option, I will pay for express exchange where a company will will put a hold on your card. I have had surface support in store and by mail.

Maybe the IP is complaining about lack of exchange hardware... I admit, didn't read much of the post...

 

[orlbuckeye]

I had the same issue. I received the SB and configured it and did an update and it bricked. I did the online thing with a chat and they created as case to return the SB for an exchange. They emailed me the Fedex label it was the Thursday before Thanksgiving. I really wanted it back before Thanksgiving. So i went to Fedex and on Friday I received and email it have arrived at Microsoft i also was given the 3 to 5 days. I checked online everyday then Thanksgiving night i received an email from Fedex that is would be delivered on Black Friday. Since I didn't know when the truck would deliver I asked Fedex to hold it and I picked it up when Fedex opened. So I was really surprised that the Holiday didnt affect the time frame much at all. So I would check online and see if they are on back order.

When I was told i should exchange it the first question I asked was

1. Should I go to the store would it be faster he said sometime.
2. I bought it at Best Buy and they had to ship it so I know Best Buy still probably didn't have any in stock.

The result is I sent it back and that was the probably the fastest way to get it back. If you check online if it's on back order it will say that. Well at least when I sent my Alienware back Dell used back ordered part as the reason for a delay.

 

[lakleeman]

As the original poster, I'm providing an UPDATE as of 1-28-2016: Still waiting on a replacement Surface Book.
Coming up on 30 days with no shipment!

 

[barkerpc]

I'll share my experience that I posted on Reddit the other day
My Surface Book Warranty Saga (still ongoing)

It took awhile for me to decide to write and share my experiences with the MS warranty department. In the end I have come to the conclusion that its worth it to make sure others are informed before they take the Surface Book plunge. I had most of the minor annoyances with the surface book but nothing I wasnt willing to live with. After dealing with MS warranty services its going to take a lot before I trust them with my money again.

Background
After a month of use my Surface book stopped charging. Initially I suspected the charger and hopped on MS support to get it replaced. Shortly after the call I rememebered I had a surface dock and tested that charger too? no dice. Immediately called MS back and got them to cancel the replacement charger and start the replacement for my Surface Book?

That was Dec 21st, 2015
Initially that call went smooth and they told me they?d send me a return box (that was the first piece of miss information, they were never sending me a shipping box) and a shipping label over email to send the defective device back.

While waiting for a shipping box I recieved a shipping notification. Turns out MS screwed up and shipped me a SP4 even before I had a chance to ship my Surface book back.

Several days later and several calls later I finally got the information i needed to return my surface book and ship back the SP4 that never should have arrived. It was at that time I was informed that MS would not be sending the replacement SB back until they recieved the SP4 and my SB both.

That was Dec 28th by the time I got enough information from their escalation department to ship the device back. It was at that time i was informed that as soon as they recieved the two devices i should expect my replacement in 3-5 days if not sooner

Dec 30th ?.Feeling pretty good, escalation sends me an email that according to their system it shipped and to watch for the tracking number

Jan 3rd? Followed up with escalation to get an update. Told that they would check with the logistics team and get back to me.

Jan 4th Escalation gets back to me saying that warranties in Canada are delayed because of inventory issues. My new revised ship date is Jan8th

Jan 8th went and passed still no surface book and my new estimated ship date is Jan 13th

Jan 13th no shipping notice? Followed up with Escalation again

Jan 14th followed up to find out my new shipping date? Told by escalation that its actually showing as Jan 14th ?. Jan 14th comes and goes still now shipping notificiation. At this point given how long its been I ask if there is inventory to fulfill my warranty with an upgraded model if it is instock as an alternative. They quickly replied that this was not an option

Jan 20th follow up again with escalation. I was informed that the system is showing it should go out today? that did not happen

Jan 25th follow up again with escalation. I was informed that the system is showing it should go out today? that did not happen.

Today? still no surface book but Im sure the system shows it shipping today?.

At this point Im starting to really feel like MS just flat out stole my surface book and the piece that really grinds me is that i can walk into stores where i live and buy it new but apparently MS doesnt have stock to honor their warranty properly.

 

[Dush Ku]

Wow, very sorry for people with no MS store near by.

 

[orlbuckeye]

When I talked to online support I asked if faster the Store is faster then sending it back thru Fedex and he said sometimes.

 

[anon(5383410)]

They just started filling back orders for surface books ordered as early as October last week. I ordered mine on October 26th and got it last week. Others have had theirs pushed from last week to 2/5.

They're filling backorders in the order they were received so while I feel your pain I wouldn't doubt that they really are waiting for one to hit inventory. It becomes a question of who gets their surface first: the guy who ordered his 3 months ago or the guy who requested a replacement a few weeks ago.

Hang in there man. It's a sticky situation all around. It would've been nice if they had produced more, but it was also the initial inventory of their very first laptop and no one had any idea what would happen. It could've flopped. Good luck and I hope you get it soon.

 

[Jeff Hollon]

im not sure why my experiences are so much different than the ones about long wait times. I ordered my SB the second week of December and got it on the 18th. Love it truely, had one problem lately dealing with build quality where the screen had come loose from the bezel on the lower right hand corner. So, since it was new and so expensive, decided to send it in for a exchange. I will grant you talking to tech support was miserable, but after a while, they finally got the point and issued me a return overnight fedex label on Jan 15th. I thought i had it fixed myself, but a week later it got worse so i went ahead and sent it in on Jan 21st. This was the weekend before the winter storms that rolled through. This weather was the only thing that held up my shipment. as i look right now, my replacement is on the fedex truck out for delivery to my warehouse right now.

so,
ordered on Dec 11th and received unit on 18th = 7days
returned SB for replacement on Jan 21st and replacement will be hear today Jan 29th = 8days (with weather delays)

I don't see my experience being any worse than any other vendor (apple, lenovo and whoever) for ordering or service. I live in Mobile, AL and nearest store is in Atlanta, so that wasn't an option. The SB is for work, but wasn't ordered on a business account, so no special treatment there....

Besides the build quality issue on a first run product, i have been extremely happy with the SB and it even made me convert from Linux (12 year laptop OS pref, IT/ISP/Telecom work engineering) to Windows 10 and actually be happy with it. the battery life and some multiple screen dock issues aside, i see this as a huge step forward and even the crazies at my office that swear by apple are damned impressed with the SB.

just sharing my thoughts. sorry for anyone that has had similar bad issues. i know how that feels and don't wish that on my worst enemy.

cheers.

jeff

 

[anon(5383410)]

im not sure why my experiences are so much different than the ones about long wait times. I ordered my SB the second week of December and got it on the 18th. Love it truely, had one problem lately dealing with build quality where the screen had come loose from the bezel on the lower right hand corner. So, since it was new and so expensive, decided to send it in for a exchange. I will grant you talking to tech support was miserable, but after a while, they finally got the point and issued me a return overnight fedex label on Jan 15th. I thought i had it fixed myself, but a week later it got worse so i went ahead and sent it in on Jan 21st. This was the weekend before the winter storms that rolled through. This weather was the only thing that held up my shipment. as i look right now, my replacement is on the fedex truck out for delivery to my warehouse right now.

so,
ordered on Dec 11th and received unit on 18th = 7days
returned SB for replacement on Jan 21st and replacement will be hear today Jan 29th = 8days (with weather delays)

I don't see my experience being any worse than any other vendor (apple, lenovo and whoever) for ordering or service. I live in Mobile, AL and nearest store is in Atlanta, so that wasn't an option. The SB is for work, but wasn't ordered on a business account, so no special treatment there....

Besides the build quality issue on a first run product, i have been extremely happy with the SB and it even made me convert from Linux (12 year laptop OS pref, IT/ISP/Telecom work engineering) to Windows 10 and actually be happy with it. the battery life and some multiple screen dock issues aside, i see this as a huge step forward and even the crazies at my office that swear by apple are damned impressed with the SB.

just sharing my thoughts. sorry for anyone that has had similar bad issues. i know how that feels and don't wish that on my worst enemy.

cheers.

jeff

You were probably lucky enough to hit that sweet spot. Some configurations were better stocked that others and you probably caught one of those right around the time they started a new round of shipments.

 

[jerry200909]

Have your replacement been shipped? I'm in the same boat. My SB's screen has really bad light bleed, asked for an advanced replacement yesterday, and started worrying about the delays after reading this. What's your model?

 

[barkerpc]

Mine is an i5/256gb/8gb/dGPU

And no it still hasn't shipped

 

[jerry200909]

Mine is an i5/256gb/8gb/dGPU

And no it still hasn't shipped

I'm thinking about going to a store to get it exchanged. But man, it's 4 hours round trip.......MS should really learn from Apple on warranty exchange.

 

[barkerpc]

If you've already mailed it back and started the replacement the store can't do anything. I called them a few days ago to inquire (closest one is 6 hours away)

 

[asiaworldcity]

Oh, I would never trust Surface Answer Desk again. I requested my replacement on the Dec 15. They promised me the confirmation and tracking number will be provided in 3 to 5 days. However, I did not receive any email. Since I will be away for christmas vacation, so I contact the Answer Desk again (like 4 to 5 times). Every single time they said the device will be shipped soon, and they PROMISED the device will arrive on time. And they will personally follow my case (like send email). Okay, I trusted them and yet, the device never arrive before my vacation. After I return from the vacation, I contact them again, and this time they give me a exact date that the device will be shipped. Again, nothing happened. So I contact that again, this this I request to talk to their supervisor and asking for refund. Oh, finally they are able to confirm the status of the replacement. However, I still didn't receive any email even after I received my replacement.

My record:
Contact Answer Desk: >10 times
Follow up email: >10 (Promised), 0 (Received)
Time Wasted: >12 hours
Receive the replacement after: ~58 days
Tracking number? Never received
BTW It seems my replacement is new

 

[Andrea988]

People are getting carried away with this. As frustrating as it is, 30 days isn't a massively long time to wait for an exchange. I work "on the other side of the desk" and I can tell you that the far biggest problem faced by these departments is people calling and emailing time and time again. Part of the job is filing reports and checking statuses but all of you who are constantly asking for updates are massively contributing to the delay.

Operators have cases stacking up and not getting time to forward them to the repair/replacement teams for hours because of the constant influx of calls and messages that need answering. This is especially true where a larger than average numbers of a particular model are being returned. We had a similar issue at work with an item we sold of which a large number turned out to have defective batteries and I spent so long on the phone the first few days that it took me, and the other operators, an average of 3 days just to find the time to read emails, let alone reply to them.

So I'm sorry guys, but to some degree YOU are probably the cause of the delay. You have to remember that there is a limit to how many of a new product like this is produced, firstly to see how popular it is going to be, and secondly because there is a physical limit to just how many can be built within a given timeframe. That's why they are not released simultaneously worldwide and we are still waiting for them here in the UK.

If they start exchanging new store stock they will soon have none to sell and if people are waiting a month or more for new stock many of them are simply going to go and buy something else, so it's bad business to replace faulty items with new stock that is allocated for sale.

Hope this explains a little but of it but please just have a little patience, as frustrating as it is.

 

[barkerpc]

Tell you what , you mail me your computer for 40 days , and only use your cell phone to do everything ( the SB was my only computer). When I buy a product I absolutely expect for them to honor their warranty claim within their stated time (5-7 days) not to still be waiting after 6x that time frame.

While I understand why theyre doing it , I have no sympathy for them continuing to ship stock to stores when they're struggling to provide a basic level of warranty service. And I'm certainly going to speak up about it and help make sure people know what they're potentially getting into before they buy a product.

The issue isn't people calling in; it is stock. The people on the other side of the phone have little to no impact on the warehouses ability to fill and ship orders especially when there isn't stock.

 

[asiaworldcity]

Sorry, but I cannot agree with you. Do you think customers had no work to do every day, and waste an hours for asking the information they deserve to know? If the replacement is going to delay then they shouldn't promise that the replacement will arrive on time. Not providing any email communication, any phone call and keeping the customer in dark. Do you think this is appropriate? Do you think this can solve frustration of the customers? It is customer's fault to get information that they deserve to know? I won't contact them more then twice if I know the replacement will be late.

I honestly won't get angry if I know my replacement is going to late (However, I bet those use SB as their primary computer will).
The reason of the delay is the replacement department. We all know Surface Book had a relatively high failure rate, and they did not prepare any replacement for that failure rate? Simply ridiculous, that's why Microsoft will never be Apple. I guess this problem can be solved by just adding a return shipment label to a new device.

 

[jerry200909]

People are getting carried away with this. As frustrating as it is, 30 days isn't a massively long time to wait for an exchange. I work "on the other side of the desk" and I can tell you that the far biggest problem faced by these departments is people calling and emailing time and time again. Part of the job is filing reports and checking statuses but all of you who are constantly asking for updates are massively contributing to the delay.

Operators have cases stacking up and not getting time to forward them to the repair/replacement teams for hours because of the constant influx of calls and messages that need answering. This is especially true where a larger than average numbers of a particular model are being returned. We had a similar issue at work with an item we sold of which a large number turned out to have defective batteries and I spent so long on the phone the first few days that it took me, and the other operators, an average of 3 days just to find the time to read emails, let alone reply to them.

So I'm sorry guys, but to some degree YOU are probably the cause of the delay. You have to remember that there is a limit to how many of a new product like this is produced, firstly to see how popular it is going to be, and secondly because there is a physical limit to just how many can be built within a given timeframe. That's why they are not released simultaneously worldwide and we are still waiting for them here in the UK.

If they start exchanging new store stock they will soon have none to sell and if people are waiting a month or more for new stock many of them are simply going to go and buy something else, so it's bad business to replace faulty items with new stock that is allocated for sale.

Hope this explains a little but of it but please just have a little patience, as frustrating as it is.

Like others stated above, I really can't agree with you! If delay is a must, then why should MS send out email saying that your replacement product should be shipped in the next 24 to 48 hours??? I've also had similar experience on the answer desk, most of them are not helpful at all, they asked for your contact info, promised you with follow up phone calls or emails for status updates, but never happened. Really don't think you should keep your customer in the dark especially you promised that you would provide some updates. And stock issue shouldn't be an excuse! Most manufacturers have two dedicated manufacturing lines for new and certified units for exchange purposes, like Apple. I used to get my iPad and iPhone exchanged right after launch date due to hardware defects. Replacement devices were shipped the next day after I filed the claim. Admit it, MS is not ready for hardware business at least yet!!