How not to do XBox 360 support

2008-10-29

I’ve had a XBox 360 for around a year now and I have to say it has been a fine console. I can’t get enough of Command & Conquer.

Unfortunately, my dear XBox 360 has decided to die a horrible death. There was no warning it just wouldn’t work one day.

Whilst it is pretty bad that Microsoft release a product that is so unreliable, it is far worse the amount of grief I have to go through to get my 360 fixed.

The hoops I need to jump through:

Create an account on the XBox 360 support site
Register my 360 on said account
Log a problem report with Microsoft detailing the fault
Package my 360 to await collection by courier
Wait for a new or repaired 360 to come back

Now, I’ve got a better way:

Take it back to the retailer I purchased my 360 from and have them handle it for me. This would have the benefit that I would be returning to the shop at least once and would in all probability buy at least one new game whilst I’m there.

Big businesses like Microsoft have the luxury of messing their customers around, small games retailers do not. I’m not sure who to blame. It could be that Microsoft won’t handle support through the retailer. Even so, my retailer could have made the process a much easier process for me and would have found me a far more loyal customer as a result.