Gamesmanship wins in strange case of Xbox 360

Dear Greg: In early February, I sent my Xbox 360 for repairs to a company Microsoft uses in Texas.

[Dillydog]

This column is so informative! I have a become a much more intelligent shopper as a result. Thank you so much for the service you provide, as well as a bit of humor

[Frankly Now]

Extended warranty's make the retailers more money than the items' sale upon which the warranty supposedly covers ever does. Why do you think outfits like "Best Buy" and "Circuit City" and many office supply outfits immediately confront you with offers to purchase extended warranty plans? I have even had offers presented to me for paper shredders and nose hair clippers! Refuse, refuse, run, run fast. Your purchased item has generally a quite ample warranty for initial failure and if something is going to fail for defective material or workmanship it will fail shortly after purchase, well within the maker's warranty.

[gatorbait]

I guess I shouldn't be, but I'm constantly amazed at companies like Comcast who think all's well because they refund the original amount of the mistake.

Never mind whatever interest the customer lost AND Comcast made on that money for a year, what about all the time and trouble, letters, phone calls, copies of documents, etc., the customer has to deal with for a resolution of what Comcast caused in the first place?

Comcast came out far ahead of the customer in the end, unless the customer and all who read the column realize the customer got hosed when it was all over.

Grade Comcast customer service, even under your pressure, a hard and firm F.

[Paul Bunyan]

Consider a missing XBox a blessing. A game lost, a mind found.

[Moon News]

Certainly over the years something I've noticed is how the quality of many items has been on the south side of even good, so I have taken out some of these warranties just for peace of mind. Generally what I have encountered on the medium ticket sized items, like refrigerators, big screen tv's and such, I ended up being grateful that I took out more than the year manufacturer warranty. Why? Because it has seemed that the built in obsolescence factor has frequently literally occurred right after the day of the original warranty. So in my case it has been worth it, maybe not for you, and with the cost of todays services, trying to get someone good to repair something, much the less at a reasonable rate is more of a pain in the wallet than a few extra bucks. So for my self the Clark Howard admonistion hasn't proven accurate.

[Kaylee42]

If you need repairs on a video game system, try asking around. There are lots of local gamers who repair and modify their own systems. It's not hard for those who are already computer savvy. Also, most of them will do it for free, since most issues can be fixed with a 10-cent part from Skycraft and a little solder. :)

[Nicsta]

FedEx dropped the ball, yes. But has anyone ever been able to write legibly on those credit card machines that ask for you signature? Or to sign for an UPS package? Those magnetic pens and screens are worthless.

[Inane]

This makes no sense. We were able to get MLB Extra Innings from Comcast last year (2007). To say Comcast did not offer it is absurd. And the price was not $89. It was more like $150. Does Greg Dawson do any investigating at all?

[You are a moron]

Paul Bunyan wrote:

Consider a missing XBox a blessing. A game lost, a mind found.

So you would deprive a disabled boy a video game? Good job moron!

[Rosy]

I cant count how many times Fed-ex has left packages at my front door that have a different address on them. Lucky I am a nice person and hand deliver them to the people they do belong to in my neiborhood.

[You are a moron]

Rosy wrote:

I cant count how many times Fed-ex has left packages at my front door that have a different address on them. Lucky I am a nice person and hand deliver them to the people they do belong to in my neiborhood.

That just doesn't make sense. I've had Fed-Ex and UPS knock on my door and ASK if they could leave a package for a neighbor with me but never have they just left something at my door for someone else.

If it is really happening, and frequently at that, I would call Fed-Ex and notify them as they have obviously got a nut on that route.