Samsung Customer Service

My Samsung GT-8500 comes to life again for the second time. Thanks to my own initiative and my housemate’s because if not on my belief that I could resurrect my phone, I would have abandoned it if not made it the most expensive paper weight in the world. However, I would not let the Samsung customer service escape my indignation on how they nearly duped me of my hard-earned money.

It’s already been a year since I purchase my phone. It is a smart phone with a very new OS. Being a techie myself I have been waiting of the next version and when it finally arrived, even in its beta version, I was excited to use it. So I downloaded it and tried flashing the phone on my own. Before doing that, I first master reset the phone as instructed in the flashing guide. Lo and behold! It went black and when I turned if off and on again, it just keeps on looping at the logo of the brand. I tried many times to take the battery out but to no avail, it got stuck on the logo. To minimize the damage, I decided to bring it to the customer service.

The lady at the customer service was very warm and accommodating. She told me what possibilities that could happen on the phone. She said that 3 out of 10 phones brought to them with the same problem got totally damaged. She asked me if I am willing to take the risk. I said yes and I asked her how much it would cost me since it’s not covered by a warranty anymore. She said it’s 500. I accepted the cost and she added that if they could not fix it, there’s no need to pay the price. However, if they could not and the problem could develop into a hardware problem, she told me that it could cost to 6,000 pesos. I told her to proceed.

During the negotiation, I told myself not to give any hint of distrust because I have this gut-feel that the phone is in the hands of the technicians. They could easily dismissed that it is a hardware problem and have me carry the burden of the paying the 6k. If I’m going to play smart with them, that would be the end of it. So, I was really friendly with them. After 30 minutes, the phone was fixed.

I thanked them and the lady even gave me an advice not to reset the phone by myself because if the problem would occur again, I could make it worse for the phone. I did not listen.

Back at home, I again tried to flash the phone with the new OS. To make the story short, it turned black again and when I pressed the power on, the display went orange. I pressed the power button again and some text turned up. “Upload data to the pc.” So I tried many ways to fix it but again to no avail. The customer service might solve the problem again.

It was HB who brought the phone to the customer service because I have work. They seem to notice the phone because they told HB that I should not have messed around with it. As a result, they diagnosed it as a hardware problem. I thought how it could be a hardware problem because it still charged and there’s still a display on the phone. They said that it cost 9k. What the hell! Just last night they told me it’s 6k. I told HB to retrieve the phone.

For four days, I was depressed because of what happened. I could just rationalize what I have done. I keep on telling myself that it’s just a material thing. You lost something; for sure another one will come. However, I could not believe what the customer service is saying. It could never be a hardware problem and sure 9k is abusive.

Last night, my housemate asked me where the phone is. He is a techie myself but more on the network thing. He asked me where the respective buttons are on the phone so he could bring it to download mode. I told him that I have tried that already but it didn’t work. But I thought, he could have it a try. He went at it and successfully, he was able to display it. With that, I tried to follow the flashing guide again. I was relieved that it went smoothly until all files were downloaded. I reset the phone and behold, the phone is fixed with the new OS. Am I not glad?

So, here’s my piece with the Samsung customer service. How dare them to misdiagnose the problem of my cellphone. I don’t know if they maliciously did it but either way, they should have not done it. It only speaks of their inefficiency and possibly their conniving effort to dupe me of an amount that is randomly charged. I really would like to go there again and on their faces make them realize how inefficient and opportunistic they are. But, is it wise to do that? I considered what if they would lose their jobs? No, I wouldn’t like that either. Writing this is a better medium to make other people aware and make them careful whenever they decide to go to avail their services.

Lessons learned. First, don’t get too adventurous with technology if you are not knowledgeable with it. Let the expert do it. Yes, it is ok to try something new but always know your limits. Second, follow the advice of people who are more knowledgeable than you. Sometimes it is ok to swallow your pride. Sometimes it is not good to insist on the things you like or want. Lastly, always be alert when you deal with people. Always watch out for the inconsistencies because this is where you will know if you are being fooled or not.

I was really disappointed on the people of Samsung. I was already glad that they disprove my theory on the first day. What could really be the reason why they turned into an opportunistic bunch? Is it because I am too persistent or too annoying, that I deserve to receive such treatment? Perhaps with people, it is always better to give them the benefit of the doubt because with people, one could never tell if they are trustworthy or not.