Sony’s Second Class Service
I recently had to call Sony Service because I wanted them to look at my girlfriend’s Sony Core Walkman NW-E505 which recently started acting erraticly. The support person I spoke with was friendly and took all of my information so that he could look up the terms of the service. He informed me that since I was under warranty, that I was eligible for their exchange service.
At first I thought this was great since it seemed like a good solution…that is, until I found out they wanted to charge me $29.99 for the replacement even though the unit was still under warranty! Apparently, all of the US models get a 1 year warranty on parts and 90 days warranty on labor. Of course, the NW-E505 I had was an Overseas Model which came with an official Sony Warranty card (which I believe is legally binding) that specifically said that it came with a 1 year parts AND labor warranty. So, I’m still working out the details with Sony Service right and will keep you all updated on the situation.
The whole situation got me thinking warranties and how the 1 year/90 days warranty seems like complete nonsense. A proper basic warranty should include at least 1 year for both parts and labor. Such a chintzy warranty doesn’t build the greatest confidence in a company’s product. If they can’t build something that will last a year under normal usage then they shouldn’t be selling that product to begin with. Even the industry leader (Apple) gives you at least a year on parts and labor. They do get you with the 90 days on phone support but at least they’ll fix it.
I browsed around to the SonyStyle Japan site and found out that the same models there get a 3 year parts and labor warranty. Additionally, one can pay 420-630 YEN (roughy $4-6 USD) to add accidental coverage which includes accidental drops and fire and water damage.
Sony US charges $29.99 to extend your warranty to match that of Sony Japan’s standard 3 year warranty. Even worse, it’s $56.99 to extend your warranty to 3 years with accidental warranty. That’s just plain wrong.
So, why are Sony’s US customers getting the shaft when it comes to warranty? Yes, I know that it’s probably a strategy that some genius MBA came up with to lower costs. Personally, I think it’s a poor strategy that diminishes the integrity Sony’s brand. It’s also yet another example of a bad decision that’s eroding Sony’s mystique of building quality products.
