Sony VAIO Support Staff

Ok. As I am posting you...I'm posting via my Sony VAIO laptop. I bring it with me on vacations, commuting via the train to Chicago for school and sometimes for work-related engagements downtown.

Anyway, regular wear and tear and wrapping up my AC Adapter has caused the wiring to basically wear out. This was a problem of failing to charge my battery for the past few weeks. I recently discovered the issue was related to the wiring....so after localizing the problem I called up the Sony Support team.

The tricky part was that I called them on 9/12/2008 and I purchased the laptop on 9/9/2008 from Best Buy. So, my limited warranty was tecnically expired. After talking with the support team. Which the first call was only 26 minutes (included all the waiting on hold). I explained the situation to them and was honest about my limited warranty being expired. At first, they were adamant that I would have to purchase the part.

I then explained that I have had a great experience with my VAIO. Probably the best laptop I've had so far (which is true). There is just the one problem with the battery. Which is really a design flaw. Sort of like the iPod and iPhone earbuds have a design flaw. From the AC adapter that plugs into the computer there is the wire that sticks straight out of the "box". When just about anyone unplugs and wraps the cords what do you do? You wrap the cord around the boxy exterior. In so doing you put stress on the part of the cable that is coming out of the box. This is why many laptop power supplies and headphone jacks don't go straight up or out of the box. They have a 90 degree extension. So, from continuous wrapping the wiring wears out...and eventually needs to be replaced. (Probably a good topic to discuss in my Usability Engineering course).

Anyway, at the end of the day I had to fax the support staff a copy of my receipt (which I luckily had) and they would send me a new Adapter free of charge.

I had a very good experience with the support staff. And although I heard a lot of laughter and chatter between other coworkers in the background...which makes me think that their work environment is fun...but could make some customers feel self-concious if they aren't informed/computer-savvy people and have been struggling with the support team.

So, I thought I'd write a post about the experience. They did a great job and understood that 2-3 days demands leniency if Sony wants to maintain their brand image and customer base.

Good job Sony!