HOUSE 77 Xmas EDITION

Dear Microsoft, and those whom this might concern:

I purchased my Xbox in September of this year. I have played on my roommates since January 2002, and honestly I loved it. I had never experienced gameplay like Halo's, and the system was fantastic. Now, my roommate's was one of the first batches of Xbox, and it died mysteriously one day. We called tech support, within about two days a box arrived at our door. He sent if off and about a week later it returned working beautifully, and it has not had a problem since.

With Halo 2 approaching I finally bit the bullet and bought my own system. I played Halo religiously on it, and at the beginning of October I bought the latest Splinter Cell. The problems started then, however. My Xbox would rarely be able to boot to any games - saying it could not read the disc. Considering maybe only one in five boots was successful, I was concerned, and decided to take advantage of the warranty. So I called, and they told me a box would be sent in 2-4 days. "Fantastic!" I thought. I'll have it repaired and back before Halo 2 no problem. Well, about two weeks later, the box had not arrived. So I called, and they informed me the package had been sent on October 11th. The date at that time was the 20th, and they told me something clearly had been messed up in the system, and that they'd send me a second.

Well today is November 6th, and to date, I've recieved neither box. My Xbox actually stopped having trouble reading discs, and so I didn't care anymore. Today though it gave me a bit of trouble, stating it couldnt read my precious Halo disc, and I decided to call and ask what happened to the boxes. So I called - I explained, and say I dont care about the boxes, and asked when my warranty ran out just so I knew. They told me I'd be put on hold. Okay whatever...then they tell me they dont know where the boxes are or where they went. Or even if they got shipped. "Okay...I'd like to look into the extended warranty." They tell me I'll be on hold again. "Okay...." FInally they come back and ask me to confirm that I'd like another box sent. I explain again I don't care about the boxes. So they ask if I want the warranty - I still love my Xbox so I say yes, just so I can make sure it's safe for the future. But what's this? They can't actually seem to put a warranty on because the last issue I had with them hasn't been resolved - they put me on hold.

Twenty five minutes later - and a switch from one portable phone to the other, and I am still on hold. And not the fun hold that has the cool sounding guys voice. No, instead its silence with "Please stay on hold" every thirty seconds or so. Twenty five minutes of a woman from an abyss stating "Please stay on hold." Twenty five minutes for a guy to talk to his manager. Twenty five minutes for them to talk about a situation I've now explained some four times or five times. Twenty five minutes.

I hang up.

I call again, this time instead of Frank, I am talking to Paul. Hi Paul, how can you not help me today? What's that? You need to know what happend again? Sure no problem. Fifth or sixth time I've explained it to you guys! Ever thought of taking a note of it? What's that? Do I want another box sent? No. No thank you. No more boxes. Would I like the extended warranty? Why yes, yes I would. You want my contact info again? Sure no problem, it's not like I haven't already given it enough times. Wait. What is that? Your system isn't working because the times in the past I dealt with you haven't been resolved? Big surprise. On hold? Sure no problem.

Five minutes pass.

Hi, yah. Yah I'd like the warranty. I'm sorry what? Your computer system is being upgraded? Not even your supervisor can help me? You are calling me back? In half an hour to forty-five minutes? Just to get the warranty? "Uhm, actually, no. Now I am filing an official complaint."

Ladies and gentlemen of the Xbox community - I have spent over $400 (Canadian) on an Xbox, Xbox Live!, and games. I am willing to shell out another $25 or so to buy an extended warranty. I had no problem with the first box for my repairs didn't arrive. I didn't even care when the second one didn't come. Heck, I didn't care about being put on hold the first, second, and even third time. I didn't care that I had to call again. I didn't care that I got put on hold. I didn't care that I got asked for my personal information, my reason for calling, or the fact that I didnt want a blasted cardboard box to get my Xbox repaired five times.

I just care that Xbox doesn't seem to care at all either. In a week my friend had his shipped off and repaired. That was two years ago. Now they cannot even gouge more money out of me because their computer system is down.

Do yourself a favour - if your Xbox has a problem - hit it with a hammer. Or drop it on your foot repeatedly until it blleds - you'll get the same satisfaction as I got with Xbox Customer Service.