Sunday, January 31, 2010

Skullcandy Repair Process and 4th Grade Reading Comprehension.

Back in September of 2008 I was lucky enough to find a pair of $70 headphones on sale for $40.

SK1

I really liked the aesthetics, especially the pinstripes. However, what really sets these apart from most other headphones is the Bass Boost function.

SK2

This was especially fantastic for watching movies. Sadly, not even a year later, they broke.

SK3

The left side socket must have gone soft on me. It apparently felt that it could no longer hold that speaker captive and wanted to set it free.

SK4

So I went to the manufacturers site and filled out an RMA request. I scrolled straight past all the text and immediately begin filling out the forms. In the ISSUE section, I noted that I would also be sending along my Ink'd headphones because one of the speakers was no longer producing sound. Also, I didn't want to pay two separate shipping charges.

So I packaged up my Skullcrushers and my Ink'd.

SK5

Once everything was ready, I sent the box off for service.

SK6

Two weeks later. I received a package from Skullcandy via Fedex. I noticed inside was a Brand Spanking New pair of Skullcrushers. They didn't even bother to repair the broken ones. What I received was a NEW, in Retail Packaging, pair of headphones. AWESOME! Unfortunately, the Ink'd set was not returned, repaired, or replaced.

So I sent them an email. Using the Contact Us page on their site asking why I was only sent 1 pair of headphones when I had sent in 2.

I received a reply from Brian a few days later.
"Andrew,
Thanks for the email. Our policy is that we can only replace 1 item per RMA number (stated on the rma page) So in order to get both replaced you would have needed 2 RMA numbers.
Thanks for the info, hope you enjoy the new crushers!

BRYANANDERSON"


Later that same day, I replied curiously,
"So is there any way that I can get the ink'd buds back?"


In a matter of minutes Brian sends me this message.
"There is no way to know that you sent in ink’d at this point (no second RMA #) So unfortunately, there is no way to get those …

Thanks,"


My final message to him was the last of our communications.
"I had them listed in the details of the skullcrushers rma and they were on top of the box that I sent the skullcrushers in. I guess if it was opened upside down, they would have been on the bottom. Also, I took pictures before I sent them off. But that's ok, I've been needing some to vlog about anyway.. I was kind of expecting this so I had already bought another pair to replace them before I received the skullcrusher replacements."

I was FURIOUS. If I lived in California, I would have given him a piece of my mind, up close and in person. I'm glad I didn't though, because a few days later as I prepared to make that vlog I went back and looked at the RMA page, and sure enough...

"*Please fill out a separate warranty form for each defective product that you intend to submit for the aggressive listening discount, or warranty replacement. Each product needs its own warranty claim in order to be processed, if you send in multiple products but only fill out the form once you will only receive one discount coupon/product replacement."

I failed to read all of the instructions before submitting. I have no one to blame but myself. I'm still not happy about it, but it was my own fault. I still think that they make decent products. I still think they have the best warranty of any headphone company. I will consider giving them my business in the future.

Actually, I had even been prepared for this situation since grade school. We had an in-class exercise, which stated at the top, "Read the entire page before answering any questions" The last line of the page said basically, "Ignore all other instructions. Sign the page, Turn it in, and return to your desk quietly.".

The paper had maybe 20-30 parts to fill out, but the very last one was the key to it all. I was the first one in the class to compete that successfully. I guess my School Teachers knew what they were doing after all.

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