May 5, 2019
Acer Customer Service,
On January 3rd, 2019 I made the big decision to purchase a new laptop and bought an Acer Spin5. When it arrived, I was very excited to set it up and explore it’s features as my old laptop was very old. I was so happy with the features and the performance. I spent many evenings playing with it, getting it set up just like I wanted. However, under 2 weeks later, despite my taking great care with it, the touch pad was not performing- not clicking when pressed. On January 31, the store where bought it let me return it because it was such a fresh purchase and had a new one delivered to me about a week later.
Again, I spent my evenings setting it back up as I wanted, installing programs, moving files, but within a month, I noticed that my previously cool silent computer was getting very hot and the fan was running almost constantly. I spoke to Acer customer service March 17 who told me to ship it in for repair. This was a massive inconvenience for me, as I had to again clean my files and passwords off the computer, move my work, lock it down and then get it to the FexEd depot which is only open from 8-noon in my city. I shipped it away over a week later. It was delivered to the Burnaby location on April 8th, and I received it back home on April 12.
Once again, I set up my computer, installed my programs, moved my work- but despite having a work order that said the fan and battery were replaced, I was dismayed to find that the computer was still over heating and the battery life was very short, no matter what my settings were, or how clear I kept the vents from obstruction. On the day I tracked it, The Care Center app said my system was functioning “good” and my battery is “good” despite running down to nothing in just over 3 hours and had near constant audible fan noise when all I was doing was web surfing, word processing, and playing a card game. Again, I spoke to customer service April 23 who instructed me to send it in for repairs.
I have yet to do so, because I do actually have a busy life and have already spent far too many hours setting up and stripping, and being without a computer when I paid for one in January. In the mean time, I am hyper vigilant for every flaw. I have since noticed a glitch in the screen when scrolling on webpages. When a click on the touch pad didn’t register and I was already thinking about having to ship it back for this too. I am starting to believe this Spin 5 is a Lemon. It is sure acting like one. I am convinced that I will ship this back, get it back in the same condition it is in now, then repeat until my manufacturers warranty runs out and I am stuck with it. I didn’t want to send it in again until I had an opportunity to express my grave concerns, and honestly, having to find the time and emotional energy to make a phone call or write a letter like this is not something I should have to do. Again.
Watching this computer for defects has become a constant thing and has greatly impacted my enjoyment of it. This time, I had only set up the bare bones of what I needed in anticipation of having to send it back- and good thing, because here I am, having to send it back again. This should not be how a customer feels about a computer they bought 4 months ago. I bought a Microsoft Office subscription that I have hardly been able to use because my computer has been away or in the process of being sent away so many times. I have work projects I have delayed starting because I am uncertain if I will still have a functional computer actually in my home instead of in the mail.
I have had your people “apologize for the inconvenience” of this broken computer 3 times in 4 months, and frankly, apologies are not enough. I regret not spending the extra hundreds of dollars on the store warranty which would have at least made this whole fiasco more convenient for me- but how sad is that that I regret not paying a retail outlet for the convenience of dealing with manufacturer issues.
I want the love I had for this computer in those first few weeks in January back. I want to be excited and trust that I have a quality product that is worth what I paid for it, instead of feeling stupid for making a bad choice and keeping my computer barely functional to make it easier to send it back when the inevitable failings arise again. What is Acer willing to do to help me with that? Honestly, I have very little faith that if I send this in now, I will get anything aside from more hassles and frustration back. The only thing I can see starting to repair my faith in Acer products is for you to exchange this computer for a brand new one, with a fresh warrantee. That will hopefully work better than this one. I see this as the minimum service that should be provided for me after such inconvenience and negative experience. Just a functional computer that will wait at least a few years before breaking down.
Please forward my concerns to someone who can actually deal with them, instead of sending me apologies and a shipping label. Again.
May 16 Addendum: after writing this letter, I tried to find an email for customer service – but here was none. I used the live chat on April 5th, when I was told that I would be sent a contact email the next day. I did not receive that, I got shipping instructions again. I waited, and looked more, but nothing. I am a busy person and the sheer number of hours I have had to spend dealing with this computer is absolute nonsense. I finally had some time in my day to call in during my work day, and was told that there is no email for customer service, I would have to post anything written in the Acer Community.
I absolutely don’t want to post this publicly, I am uncomfortable doing so, but I guess I don’t have any choice. having to do this did not make me happier to be an Acer customer.
