Here we go again...

[repsac]

Ok, so the box came today...the empty one.

Guess what? It too was dented beyond usage. So, I ended up taking several photos of it, and stuffing them inside another box which, per Xbox instructions, I'm sending along.

Talking with J, my service rep, I found out that this type of problem isn't entirely uncommon. In fact, it's becoming more and more common, to the point that Xbox is threatening to quit shipping with UPS. Not only that, but Xbox has been sued several times because of this. In short, it's a total FUBAR.

So, where have I been? Hee hee. Playing WoW. (World of Warcraft) If you happen to play, on the first world that your system chooses, send Kierie or Jandrilla (yeah...I play femme charries) a tell and I'll see if I can help you out.

[repsac]

Good lords, it's been forever since I updated this. Many things have happened in that time. So let me see if I can recap:

The box came, but it was effectively crushed. I was NOT a happy camper. So I called Xbox and they shipped one out. That's where we last left this.

They told me that it would take seventy two hours for the box to come. No more, no less. Third day air express I think. Seventy two hours came and went. No box. Ok, I figured maybe it was a holiday weekend. So, I gave them another day. Then another. A full week later and no box, I gave up and called. The first tech I got said the rote "it takes five to ten days..." to which I must admit I went a bit sucky. Grumbling into the phone I retorted. "Ok, that's nice, but I was talking to a supervisor earlier and she said that it would take seventy two hours to get here. Not five to ten days."

Well, the person on the other end inhaled sharply, (I heard that) and cold transferred me to a supervisor. This person turned out to be awesome, and doing some research discovered that the box had never been shipped out. It was supposed to have shipped, but the way the code works, it just failed to execute. So, he appologizes and sends me another box.


About a week passes. This box comes and it's in pristine (all be it a bit dirty) condition. WOOO! I've got my box so I can send the thing in. All the while I've been getting a call from the repair center every other day. So, I send the Xbox in, and after several calls find out that yes, it had been dropped. So, they fixed it free of charge and sent it back to me. Never sent my game with it, but I did get another one of those (fake cheer) one month membership cards with it.

Problem.

The thing came back while my mother was in ICU. So naturally I just put the thing on the kitchen table and left it unopened for about two weeks. At some point, I felt like gaming, so I ran up and rented "Crackdown". Wisely, I chose "play guard" which meant I wouldn't be charged for any damages to the game.

Heading home, I put the game in and start having fun killing bad guys. Then odd things happen. Walls start dissappearing, cars float on air, and then things go really bad. Textures vanish, parts of the city vanish. At one point, I can stand on a building and see how they made the world and what buildings have interiors just by looking through the walls. Then it all freezes. This is bad.

I called Xbox again, end up on hold again.

Will the madness ever stop? Please make the hurting stop.

Part two to follow.

[repsac]

Part Two:

I won't go into all the details, the call ended up being pretty much the same as the last ones. I tell them something's wrong, they see that it's now the fourth time I've sent one of these things in, and then they start getting all nice and submissive. Yes sir, we can help you. No, we're sorry that happened. HERE talk to my supervisor...please don't sue me sir. You know the drill.

So the supervisor comes on, we talk back and forth some and eventually he sighs. "Well, we have a problem here." My heart sinks. Problem. Meaning I can't send it in for repair? Oh that's not good. NO!

"Problem?" I choked out. "Yeah." he responds. "You'll have to send it in...again. I'm sorry, there's nothing you can do on your end to fix it."

my heart skipped a beat, birds sang, the masses cheered. Life was good. Ok, maybe two of those didn't happen, but my heart did skip a beat.

So, I sit now awaiting a box.

Last saturday, I get a phone call. It's an "Agent". Her message for me is rather short and sweet, and causes me to nearly drop the phone.

Mr. Repsac? Yes, this is (so and so) speaking. In reference to your repair order, we contacted Microsoft, and they have authorized us to replace your Xbox with a new one. Given the trouble you've been through, and your prior request for a new one, we've decided that the best course of action is this. When your box arrives, please send the unit in. Keep your hard drive and all accessories, and any games you may have. As soon as we recieve your defective unit, we'll be shipping your replacement."

I was taken aback. I'm getting a new one? WOAH...cool. Life really IS good. What came next though, is what prompted me to nearly drop the phone. (No exaggeration there. I nearly DID drop it.)

"We're sorry for the trouble you've been through sir, and hope you enjoy many hours with your "elite" when it arrives. We will call you when it ships."



wait...

did she say...

"Elite?" I must have said it aloud, because she seemed to chuckle. "Yes sir. that's right. You did say that was what you had wanted?" Trying not to sound too quick I responded "YEAH...sure....whatever. That's right!"

Epilogue:

It's not arrived yet, but did I ever say that? Yes. Sorta. I don't know if I wrote it here, but during one call I had mentioned to a tech support guy that I'd considered at one time buying an Elite. The problem was, due to all the trouble I had been having with my 360, that I wasn't likely to do that. In fact, I was tempted to just trade the stupid thing in and be done with it.

Apparently he wrote that down.

[lumlite]

Let it never be said that you didn't earn it.

[Shabo]

Apparently you aren't the only one having issues with your Xbox. ITWire article here stating that Microsoft has finally admitted there is a huge problem, and they are doing what they can to resolve it-- at the cost of $1 billion to them!

Is this the end of the Xbox?

[Geek King]

Apparently you aren't the only one having issues with your Xbox. ITWire article here stating that Microsoft has finally admitted there is a huge problem, and they are doing what they can to resolve it-- at the cost of $1 billion to them!

Is this the end of the Xbox?

No, not the end. Looking at some sites that have pics of the fixes that get installed, I would guess the problems are related to long-term heat issues. Not really something you can catch in a hardware test, and anyone who has one can tell you about the heat output. I have to chase my cat away from it on a regular basis. To their credit, Xbox has extended warrenties to 3-years, which helps me, because I have just had the three-red-lights-o-doom. My empty box arrived in good condition, so maybe my Xbox will return in like condition. Not that I wouldn't like an Elite, but Tenchu Z begs to be finished ^^

Oh, and I'm back, but mostly lurking. I may write about my hiatus in off-topic once I catch up to all the threads I missed reading. Hey all

[Andara Bledin]

Welcome back. Was wondering where you'd got off to.

Nekojin's pushing to get an XBox. He wants that driving game everyone's gushing over. He's already got two different custom cars reserved from a guy on another forum that does really nice paintjob work.

^-.-^