1. sunny231's Avatar
    here is what happened:

    i get my 16gb playbook a day after Christmas after having ordered it and waiting forever for it. But thats not the issue. i can care less about delayed shipping. What happened was i opened the box and the playbook had 3 distinctive dead pixels. i called up rim and explained the situation and they set me up for my first rma.

    I sent my playbook in for the first rma and i was told itll be fixed and sent back max a week. so i waited it out. I get a call 5 days after and they say my playbook has been shipped. I was happy and asked so everything is good right? and they respond saying nothing is wrong with it? im like WTF? so to sum that up i wasted 5 days for nothing... and they stated nothing was wrong when there was 3 dead pixels right there on the screen. I thought maybe it was "stuck" pixels where they go away eventually. So i waited to get my playbook.

    Once the playbook came in the pixels were still there! i was so pissed off and called right away and complained. They set me up for the 2 rma now. and i'm like its ok itll be fixed this time around. Just got bad luck the first time.

    So i sent the playbook for the 2 rma and its been 6 days now and i call them back cuz they havnt updated me with no detail, so i ask whats going on and if it has been shipping the 6th day of sending the rma. They said you should get it today or tom based of the information they have. And the representative specifically said its fixed as what it says from the repair facility notes. So i was happy and just waiting.

    I get it after a long wait, and i open the box. I turn on the playbook with excitement and i noticed over 50 dead pixels all through the top screen. Not only that it was a totally different playbook compared to the serial number one i sent originally and the one i bought. So i got a playbook with even more dead pixels and worst condition and they replaced the one i purchased with a refurbished one and not even letting me know in advanced that they will do this.

    So at this point i was so mad and my anger just built up since Christmas because i haven't officially used my playbook in the longest time. And onto of that i have been calling rim everyday to this moment to check for updates on my playbook cuz they didnt give the effort to tell me when its been sent etc. So at this point im just lost in words. i cant describe my situation.

    So i call rim back this time furious. i explain wtf just happened and the process i have been going through to just get a working playbook. I couldn't stand the customer rep and just gave up and said give it to the manager cuz i couldn't take it. After swearing to the manager and being pissed he understood my position.

    He offered me a 3 rma again as usual but im like wtf thats it? i complained how other companies would just replace the electronic with a new one cuz 3 rma's is just way to many. 2 was to much the first time it should have been fixed period. but he just offers me a rma. i complained more and he finally offered me a compensation as i was wanting for all the i been through. He offers me one thing and luckily it was good enough to satisfy my and cool me down a little

    he offers me a rapid charger *with the dock* as he told me. so we were a go. and i did my 3 rma after getting there shipping box and the charger was sent out to me.

    i got no calls again for the 3rd rma and just kept calling for updates, and waited a week and a half for my rapid charger.

    i got my rapid charger and all was good. it was brand new so i was happy and couldn't wait to test it with my working playbook.

    I get my playbook back from rim after a long wait and it has 1 dead pixel on it. you cant see it unless you focus. so i was soooooOOOOOooooo PISSEEEDD offf and just thought to myself if i should just keep it. But my parents said if you paid 200 for this you might aswell get it in its best working condition with no problems. and i agreed with them cuz it made sense. So i called rim again. this time talking straight to a manager.

    after fighting my off on the phone they finally said they can ASKKKKK key work< to offer me a new playbook. This time im like wtf u have to ASK for a new playbook after all iv been through, so i got him to not to just ask for a new playbook but for a 64gb so an upgrade from my 16 gb. So its still in the process right now and ive had this dead pixel-ed playbook for a week now cuz there really slow in responding to the request. i just hope i get a new one so i don't have to worry.

    that's my situation as of right now and i really hope rim sends me a BRAND NEW ONE opposed to going through with a 4th rma. im just pissed right now. but i thought ill share my experience. let me know if you guys been in the same situation to see if they responded to you guys differently.

    feel free to comment. i wanna here what u guys think of this madness.

    thanks again if u took ur time to read this. there might be typos, i didnt revise this as i just wrote it and submitted it.
    01-28-12 06:28 PM
  2. jessedlyons2's Avatar
    So you have to ask for a new one, check. I have 2 dead pixels they are not noticeable unless I am viewing a black background. However I am now starting to have problems with my micro usb slot not charging and I have to remove the cord and put it back in carefully and it will connect. But i've only had the tablet for a week, if just bought a rapid charging dock so that will cut down on the uses but I fear it's an inevitability that the connection will fail sooner than later.
    01-28-12 06:34 PM
  3. sunny231's Avatar
    mine airnt noticeable unless black background to. like when watching movies itll get in the way and ruin my experience. i would get urs fixed from rim. but then again would they your really be FIXED when sent back from rma? thats something u have to find out lol.
    01-28-12 06:36 PM
  4. hpjrt's Avatar
    I am so sorry that you've had this problem with RIM. I wouldn't blame you if you decided to give up on the PB entirely for another device!

    Did you try contacting the Head Office in Waterloo, Ontario? I would think they'd be anxious to know that one of their satellite offices were giving such poor service. I know there have been several threads here on receiving wonderful customer support from RIM. It's such a shame your experience was so dreadful!
    01-28-12 07:11 PM
  5. sunny231's Avatar
    I am so sorry that you've had this problem with RIM. I wouldn't blame you if you decided to give up on the PB entirely for another device!

    Did you try contacting the Head Office in Waterloo, Ontario? I would think they'd be anxious to know that one of their satellite offices were giving such poor service. I know there have been several threads here on receiving wonderful customer support from RIM. It's such a shame your experience was so dreadful!
    thats a good point. i should notisfy them that this is happening and prob take action towards my incident and give me what i want . ill call them on monday cuz i assume there closed on the weekend.

    this is there info
    Corporate Head Office
    Research In Motion
    295 Phillip Street
    Waterloo, Ontario
    Canada N2L 3W8

    tel: (519) 888-7465
    fax: (519) 888-7884
    aaast36 likes this.
    01-28-12 08:36 PM
  6. aaast36's Avatar
    Sunny,
    Don't know where youre writing from, but in the US, we have state to state, this great protection ,called "the lemon law". Basically, it's three strikes, and they're out. Ask for your money back. I've worked in the service industry, and it's always nice for someone on the company side to notice your frustration, and do something extra to make up for it. Granted, what's expected is that the item or service is replaced, fixed, etc. The worst way to have any situation remedied is through vulgarity, or taking your frustration out on the person who's there at the time to help you. If you've been completely frustrated and are sick of the interaction, ask for your money back. Any electronic form of payment is protected under the consumer's bill of rights. Expecting more, or lashing out at the poor soul who's on the receiving end of your frustrations doesn't help you, and won't get that Playbook fixed. Sure they can always notify someone of your escalating issues, but then again, they can also throw you through the loop again just to shut you up, and get you off the line. Most manufactures who take these products back, will replace a malfunctioning unit with a refurbished unit, per their replacement policy. It's typically written explicitly in their warranty. If you're not satisfied with the outcome of the first two or three attempts, ask for your money back. I don't know of any company which would replace the malfunctioning unit with a higher end model because the current item is faulty. My only other thought is, that rapid charging dock has terrible reliability, and mine, which I purchased new, in April, isn't the godsend it appears to be. I think you might find it even worse to try and use than your pixelated Playbook. So, if this try around doesn't work, have your funds returned. If you really want a Playbook, go hit up your nearest BestBuy or electronics store. You'll have a new unit, and an added layer of customer service.
    Last edited by aaast36; 01-28-12 at 11:11 PM.
    kennyliu and hpjrt like this.
    01-28-12 11:07 PM
  7. kennyliu's Avatar
    Sunny,
    Don't know where youre writing from, but in the US, we have state to state, this great protection ,called "the lemon law". Basically, it's three strikes, and they're out. Ask for your money back. I've worked in the service industry, and it's always nice for someone on the company side to notice your frustration, and do something extra to make up for it. Granted, what's expected is that the item or service is replaced, fixed, etc. The worst way to have any situation remedied is through vulgarity, or taking your frustration out on the person who's there at the time to help you. If you've been completely frustrated and are sick of the interaction, ask for your money back. Any electronic form of payment is protected under the consumer's bill of rights. Expecting more, or lashing out at the poor soul who's on the receiving end of your frustrations doesn't help you, and won't get that Playbook fixed. Sure they can always notify someone of your escalating issues, but then again, they can also throw you through the loop again just to shut you up, and get you off the line. Most manufactures who take these products back, will replace a malfunctioning unit with a refurbished unit, per their replacement policy. It's typically written explicitly in their warranty. If you're not satisfied with the outcome of the first two or three attempts, ask for your money back. I don't know of any company which would replace the malfunctioning unit with a higher end model because the current item is faulty. My only other thought is, that rapid charging dock has terrible reliability, and mine, which I purchased new, in April, isn't the godsend it appears to be. I think you might find it even worse to try and use than your pixelated Playbook. So, if this try around doesn't work, have your funds returned. If you really want a Playbook, go hit up your nearest BestBuy or electronics store. You'll have a new unit, and an added layer of customer service.
    Just a clarification; State lemon laws mostly apply to used/leased cars. The federal (Magnuson�Moss Warranty Act ) applies to equipment and possibly electronics. I may be wrong though.
    01-28-12 11:19 PM
  8. FSeverino's Avatar
    so .. yo got the 64gb for $200 but had to wait an extra couple of weeks?

    SIGN ME UP!

    I know it is a hassle and it sucks, but if they end up giving you the 64gb plus the dock then you are getting over $400 worth of stuff for half that price... i think that is a good 'fix' to you being angry.

    Dont get me wrong, if it happened to me i would be MAD, but i havent heard of any other stories like this and i think you should wait it out before you make your final judgement.

    If you arent happy when you open the 64gb let me know and i will buy it plus the dock off of you for $350 and you will make $150.
    01-28-12 11:25 PM
  9. Screen_Munch5's Avatar
    When an RMA is processed you ALWAYS..and I repeat.. ALWAYS get an e-mail with an RMA number and a link so you can track your RMA. The purpose of this is so you can track your tablet. Technical support is happy to help you if you call and ask them for an update on the status of your RMA in my experience. So instead of blaming technical support for not following up with you, why don't you actually pay attention to information provided to you. In terms of the issue with your dead pixels, my Ipad had 3 dead pixels, according to apple, I wasn't eligible for repairs under the warranty unless it was five or more. That's the day I became a happy owner of a PlayBook.
    01-28-12 11:38 PM
  10. VRaptor's Avatar
    After read all the problems with the playbook, i bought the nookcolor and love it.
    mikeplus1 likes this.
    01-29-12 12:07 AM
  11. Unsure2's Avatar
    Judging from the comments on Crackberry, the level of user satisfaction is pretty high; so, most Playbooks do not arrive in a defective state. Mine is completely free of hardware defects, so far as I know, knock on wood. Of course, that's not much comfort to someone who gets the lemon, let alone multiple lemons. It's also clear from the experiences posted here that RIM allowed a batch of defective screens to slip past its quality control--very sloppy, of course; but at least the defect is easy to spot for the consumer, unlike a lot of other potential problems.
    01-29-12 12:27 AM
  12. pallav_gupta's Avatar
    seems one odd case. most of the guys i know who use pb and bythe way its over 50 are very satisfied with the product.
    01-29-12 01:32 AM
  13. sunny231's Avatar
    Pallav - im not lieing about this case. lol i love blackberry and the playbook, but i hate rim for not taking action to fix it sooner, let alone the first time it should have been done.

    FSeverino- ill keep it in mind lol .


    aaast36 - im from canada but the thing is, i wouldnt want my money back cuz i paid 199 for my 16 gig christmas season, and now its priced 299 i believe i may be wrong. but i wouldnt want to pay more for another set. plus as someone stated i got a rapid charger that has a 40-60 dollar value depending on place u purchase it. Now i might get a 64gb. i just wanted my playbook to be fixed the first time around and not the fourth but i just want a working playbook so i can relieve this crazy tension.


    Unsure2- thats crazy. i guess i got hit with the bad set multiple times. i just want this to be over lol. im still waiting for a dam response from them. till then i cant do much with my playbook.
    01-29-12 10:15 AM
  14. Shadrackc's Avatar
    Did you order it from an online store?
    If so, why were you dealing with RIM?
    I find it faster when I buy something at Future shop, to return it to them and get a new one no questions asked.
    01-29-12 10:26 AM
  15. sunny231's Avatar
    Did you order it from an online store?
    If so, why were you dealing with RIM?
    I find it faster when I buy something at Future shop, to return it to them and get a new one no questions asked.
    see thats the problem. i ordered it online through indigo chapters as they had the last one in stock online. or atleast very very few cuz after i bought it it was out of stock. now i called them up as soon as i found the dead pixels and spoke to the manager regarding the issue. the manager said we can do refund of cash but we cant replace the playbook because there DISCONTINUED. i was like can u make the effort to order one for me etc so it can be replaced and he said no. then he gave me tech support number for rim and thats what ive been doing from then on.

    i know if i got it from bestbuy or future shop i would have got it replaced right away. but i didnt so i couldnt. im dealing with this crap issue now by phone
    01-29-12 10:30 AM
  16. sunny231's Avatar
    heres an UPDATE:

    so its confirmed there sending me a 64gb brand new playbook. so im happy to hear that. and there fixing my docking situation as they found that they made an error. so both problems are fixed. will my 64gb be good? we have to wait and c. and im suppose to receive it tom so its really quick shipping.


    all around the exp sucks but they made a great effort to get me what i want. it was a painful process but i think i might be happy once i get the 64 gb playbook as the 16 was already full so the extra space is huge for me.
    01-31-12 12:57 PM
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