Olympus Australia - Shit Products and Shit Service
Olympus Australia - You must be fucking kidding.
There really are people who give bullshit service that is THIS bad....
OK the story goes I wanted to by a dictation machine, to dictate long notes, lectures etc... and I settled on one of these. The Mighty Olympus VN-8600 Dictation Machine.
Let me let you in on a secret.
It's a piece of shit and so is the customer service from Olympus Australia.
I picked it up around the 20th of August 2011 - for $73... (remember that price)
Not much use... mainly stashed away for the needful moments.
The damned thing started to go into haywire mode....
Locking into the "set the date" function without any of the keys responding and not being able to get out of or terminate the function.
Contacted the "fabulous folks" (Urrrrk) in the customer service dept in Australia and sent them this email.
VN-8600PC - fairly new, not much use, looked after...
Started to give erratic messages, like the date popping up and the controls not working...
Starts up: as shown in Image 1.
Any buttons pressed result in funny screen in image 2.
And it just keeps on cycling around.
Seems to be a terminal error that cannot be fixed.
Is there any way to fix this, any OS download or hacking etc.. and if there isn't, where can I send it to?
Got a reply eventually......
And so I sent it to them within the 12 month warranty period.
They sent me back a quote:
$123 to FIX a $73 unit - under warranty.
That is $73 retail - which means it's probably about $30 wholesale.
So I stood my ground and said, "IT IS UNDER WARRANTY" - not long after having my whole world up ended from flooding and shit... And there were other complications and paper work stacked up and all that....
The general gist of the issue was "It's under warranty - don't be cunts - just fix it."
"Blaa, blaa, blaaaa, the policy is...... Blaa, blaa, blaaaa."
So they sent it back fixed all right - they "fixed it" by simply updating the firmware to the latest version of the OS..... and sent it back.
It was still fucked.
I thought, "You lazy bastards."
$123 to repair a unit that retailed for $73, and they import them into Australia for probably $30....
And the tech support does fucking nothing with it......
So I am busy - very busy.
I have so much to do and I kind of put things to one side and forget about them and find them months later...
So I think "Oh fuck this..." and I contact them, complain and send it back - saying FIX IT."
So I am able to find the bank transfer thing, and I find that I made a purchase for other items, on a particular bill, and I simply email the vendor and tell them I will transfer and additional amount for these items..
No wonder I could not find the ACTUAL receipt for the purchase - because there was none...
Or it's buried under paper work somewhere.
So anyway, I posted it back to them, fuming with protest over what a SHIT job they did of it the last time - "Hey guys thanks for fucking me around BIG TIME last time!!" and so they sent me a repair quote as an attachment.
"Your Olympus Quotation - Job Epic Fail.pdf"
I replied:
>> I am not reading your quotation.
>>
>> You did a monekeys arse of a brush off job the last time I sent it to
> you..
>>
>> I gave you ONE option.
>>
>> Repair and return it, Replace it and send it to me or we go to court
>> over this - with costs.
>>
>> You did not fix it up or replace it and send it back.
>>
>> It's not here, we go to court.
>>
>> In the mean time, I'll expose your standard of workmanship and
>> warranty for what it is.
>>
>> :)
>>
>> I will send you the links to the websites.
>>
>> Regards
>> Please provide your proof of purchase for warranty assessment.
>>
>> Alternatively we can return the unit unrepaired free of charge.
>>
>> Kind Regards,
> The original purchase from Vendor X and I manually added the Olympus recorder to the sale, and > added the extra money in the bank transfer.
>
> It all adds up. It's all proveable in court. (attached files)
>
>
> Now about the matter of your doing a dodgy repair job - the last time
> I sent it in.
>
> It's straight out unprofessional - in fact it's a disgrace.
>
> It's left me with a very poor opinion of the people working in this
> company and their standards for warranty and repair work.
>
> I want a better unit in lieu of the bad workmanship - something a
> little bit more "out doors and tougher" and not so likely to fall
> apart from indoor use.
>
> Regards
Thank you for providing the proof purchase details, as requested.
>
> A replacement unit will be organised under the purchase warranty.
>
> We do understand your frustration but for all future correspondence a less
> aggressive approach would be appreciated.
>
> If you wish for an upgraded unit, please advise and we will offer a price
> to do so. Your current unit has been re-placed with the same model.
>
> Kind Regards,
Make me an offer on a better model.
I just want reliability, simplicity and durability.
One button, on, recording as MP3.
Stereo mike might be nice.
Auto stop start - useful.
Charging by USB cable is an asset.
A degree of weather / dust resistance is considered desirable.
>> Please appreciate as a service department, we are not aware of all the
>> models and their features until they come in for repair.
>>
>> We suggest perusing our website and having a look at what models you are
>> interested in, we can then advise a discounted rate on what you were
>> looking at,
>> We would not want to offer a model that does not meet your needs,
>>
>> http://www.olympus.com.au/Products/Voice-Recorders.aspx
>>
>> Kind Regards,
> This looks like a straight swap.
>
> VN-8600PC
>
>
> This looks handy because it's so basic - good for mobile recordings of
> basic audio,
>
> DP-20 (Something like $45 retail - costs them fuck all)
>
>
> This is what I want because it is more sophisticated.
>
> WS-813
>
>
>
> OK send me this ASAP the "VN-8600PC" and toss in the DP 20, and can
> negotiate on the WS-813 - I will pick up one mid Jan
> I have spoke to our Service Manager and your request has not been approved.
>
> The replacement of your VN8600 with another VN8600, as previously advised,
> will be honoured. No DP-20 will be given free of charge.
> If you wish to purchase the DP-20 then we can advise a cost to purchase a
> unit.
>
> Unfortunately, in order to process any upgrade or purchase option, we need
> to retain the faulty unit.
> We will not be able to sell you a unit come January, as we are not able to
> sell direct to the public under our official Trade Agreement.
>
> Kind Regards,
If the VN8600 had of been actually repaired the first time, instead of
being given a firmware upgrade and then being sent back to me STILL
obviously defective, then I would not have had to spend a load of my
time chasing all of this up....
The DP20 should be considered as a token "we are sorry for doing such
a shit job of it and wasting your time".
Personally I would have sacked the person who did such a bullshit
repair on the spot... as the lack of ethics and the damage that does
to the customer relationships, and future sales and the tarnishing of
the companies reputation - well it just does not pay to be an
arsehole.
Things like that customer knows our repair dept is run by arseholes -
they know they may very well get more bullshit if they ever buy an
Olympus product and it breaks...
And they are going to tell a whole heap of other people - "Those
fucking arseholes in Olympus - I sent my dictation unit into them to
be repaired and they didn't do any thing, the idiots updated the
firmware, and sent it back with the same fault in it - when
mechanically it's fucked".
And all future sales - gone.
Every time they discuss it with their friends or in online forums,
they are going to say, "You know what happens if you buy an Olympus -
well this is what happened to me - you see the fucking arseholes in
the repair dept - this is what happened and this is what they did -
don't buy that brand - when it goes tits up - they will just fuck you
around."
So don't worry about the small change kind of "soothing the wounds of
the customer we shit in the face of" with our piss poor service.
Just send the replacement back, and include $10 for the second lot of
postage after you fucked up the first lot of repairs.....
And every time I get the opportunity to digress at length about
"Olympus" and their shoddy repairs and the petty tight arsed mentality
of their service dept....
Then I will.
In every forum, be it cameras, recording equipment, medical forums,
optics etc... I won't call you names, I will just tell them - hundreds
of thousands of people, with potentially tens of thousands of future
sales, exactly how you people operate.
I hate people who give shit service - I really do.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So will I be getting an more Olympus products?
Not likely.
There really are people who give bullshit service that is THIS bad....
OK the story goes I wanted to by a dictation machine, to dictate long notes, lectures etc... and I settled on one of these. The Mighty Olympus VN-8600 Dictation Machine.
It's a piece of shit and so is the customer service from Olympus Australia.
I picked it up around the 20th of August 2011 - for $73... (remember that price)
Not much use... mainly stashed away for the needful moments.
The damned thing started to go into haywire mode....
Locking into the "set the date" function without any of the keys responding and not being able to get out of or terminate the function.
Contacted the "fabulous folks" (Urrrrk) in the customer service dept in Australia and sent them this email.
VN-8600PC - fairly new, not much use, looked after...
Started to give erratic messages, like the date popping up and the controls not working...
Starts up: as shown in Image 1.
Any buttons pressed result in funny screen in image 2.
And it just keeps on cycling around.
Seems to be a terminal error that cannot be fixed.
Is there any way to fix this, any OS download or hacking etc.. and if there isn't, where can I send it to?
Got a reply eventually......
And so I sent it to them within the 12 month warranty period.
They sent me back a quote:
$123 to FIX a $73 unit - under warranty.
That is $73 retail - which means it's probably about $30 wholesale.
So I stood my ground and said, "IT IS UNDER WARRANTY" - not long after having my whole world up ended from flooding and shit... And there were other complications and paper work stacked up and all that....
The general gist of the issue was "It's under warranty - don't be cunts - just fix it."
"Blaa, blaa, blaaaa, the policy is...... Blaa, blaa, blaaaa."
So they sent it back fixed all right - they "fixed it" by simply updating the firmware to the latest version of the OS..... and sent it back.
It was still fucked.
I thought, "You lazy bastards."
$123 to repair a unit that retailed for $73, and they import them into Australia for probably $30....
And the tech support does fucking nothing with it......
So I am busy - very busy.
I have so much to do and I kind of put things to one side and forget about them and find them months later...
So I think "Oh fuck this..." and I contact them, complain and send it back - saying FIX IT."
So I am able to find the bank transfer thing, and I find that I made a purchase for other items, on a particular bill, and I simply email the vendor and tell them I will transfer and additional amount for these items..
No wonder I could not find the ACTUAL receipt for the purchase - because there was none...
Or it's buried under paper work somewhere.
So anyway, I posted it back to them, fuming with protest over what a SHIT job they did of it the last time - "Hey guys thanks for fucking me around BIG TIME last time!!" and so they sent me a repair quote as an attachment.
"Your Olympus Quotation - Job Epic Fail.pdf"
I replied:
>> I am not reading your quotation.
>>
>> You did a monekeys arse of a brush off job the last time I sent it to
> you..
>>
>> I gave you ONE option.
>>
>> Repair and return it, Replace it and send it to me or we go to court
>> over this - with costs.
>>
>> You did not fix it up or replace it and send it back.
>>
>> It's not here, we go to court.
>>
>> In the mean time, I'll expose your standard of workmanship and
>> warranty for what it is.
>>
>> :)
>>
>> I will send you the links to the websites.
>>
>> Regards
>> Please provide your proof of purchase for warranty assessment.
>>
>> Alternatively we can return the unit unrepaired free of charge.
>>
>> Kind Regards,
> The original purchase from Vendor X and I manually added the Olympus recorder to the sale, and > added the extra money in the bank transfer.
>
> It all adds up. It's all proveable in court. (attached files)
>
>
> Now about the matter of your doing a dodgy repair job - the last time
> I sent it in.
>
> It's straight out unprofessional - in fact it's a disgrace.
>
> It's left me with a very poor opinion of the people working in this
> company and their standards for warranty and repair work.
>
> I want a better unit in lieu of the bad workmanship - something a
> little bit more "out doors and tougher" and not so likely to fall
> apart from indoor use.
>
> Regards
Thank you for providing the proof purchase details, as requested.
>
> A replacement unit will be organised under the purchase warranty.
>
> We do understand your frustration but for all future correspondence a less
> aggressive approach would be appreciated.
>
> If you wish for an upgraded unit, please advise and we will offer a price
> to do so. Your current unit has been re-placed with the same model.
>
> Kind Regards,
Make me an offer on a better model.
I just want reliability, simplicity and durability.
One button, on, recording as MP3.
Stereo mike might be nice.
Auto stop start - useful.
Charging by USB cable is an asset.
A degree of weather / dust resistance is considered desirable.
>> Please appreciate as a service department, we are not aware of all the
>> models and their features until they come in for repair.
>>
>> We suggest perusing our website and having a look at what models you are
>> interested in, we can then advise a discounted rate on what you were
>> looking at,
>> We would not want to offer a model that does not meet your needs,
>>
>> http://www.olympus.com.au/Products/Voice-Recorders.aspx
>>
>> Kind Regards,
> This looks like a straight swap.
>
> VN-8600PC
>
>
> This looks handy because it's so basic - good for mobile recordings of
> basic audio,
>
> DP-20 (Something like $45 retail - costs them fuck all)
>
>
> This is what I want because it is more sophisticated.
>
> WS-813
>
>
>
> OK send me this ASAP the "VN-8600PC" and toss in the DP 20, and can
> negotiate on the WS-813 - I will pick up one mid Jan
> I have spoke to our Service Manager and your request has not been approved.
>
> The replacement of your VN8600 with another VN8600, as previously advised,
> will be honoured. No DP-20 will be given free of charge.
> If you wish to purchase the DP-20 then we can advise a cost to purchase a
> unit.
>
> Unfortunately, in order to process any upgrade or purchase option, we need
> to retain the faulty unit.
> We will not be able to sell you a unit come January, as we are not able to
> sell direct to the public under our official Trade Agreement.
>
> Kind Regards,
If the VN8600 had of been actually repaired the first time, instead of
being given a firmware upgrade and then being sent back to me STILL
obviously defective, then I would not have had to spend a load of my
time chasing all of this up....
The DP20 should be considered as a token "we are sorry for doing such
a shit job of it and wasting your time".
Personally I would have sacked the person who did such a bullshit
repair on the spot... as the lack of ethics and the damage that does
to the customer relationships, and future sales and the tarnishing of
the companies reputation - well it just does not pay to be an
arsehole.
Things like that customer knows our repair dept is run by arseholes -
they know they may very well get more bullshit if they ever buy an
Olympus product and it breaks...
And they are going to tell a whole heap of other people - "Those
fucking arseholes in Olympus - I sent my dictation unit into them to
be repaired and they didn't do any thing, the idiots updated the
firmware, and sent it back with the same fault in it - when
mechanically it's fucked".
And all future sales - gone.
Every time they discuss it with their friends or in online forums,
they are going to say, "You know what happens if you buy an Olympus -
well this is what happened to me - you see the fucking arseholes in
the repair dept - this is what happened and this is what they did -
don't buy that brand - when it goes tits up - they will just fuck you
around."
So don't worry about the small change kind of "soothing the wounds of
the customer we shit in the face of" with our piss poor service.
Just send the replacement back, and include $10 for the second lot of
postage after you fucked up the first lot of repairs.....
And every time I get the opportunity to digress at length about
"Olympus" and their shoddy repairs and the petty tight arsed mentality
of their service dept....
Then I will.
In every forum, be it cameras, recording equipment, medical forums,
optics etc... I won't call you names, I will just tell them - hundreds
of thousands of people, with potentially tens of thousands of future
sales, exactly how you people operate.
I hate people who give shit service - I really do.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So will I be getting an more Olympus products?
Not likely.
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