A Zune user no more... SAD DAY!
Well... Microsoft has gone and done it. I didn't think it was possible, but they have worked very hard to completely turn me off the Zune. I'd been a die hard user and advocate for a year and a bit, but no more.

Here is the letter I'm sending them:

***

Hi there,

Regarding: Brown Zune, model number JS8-00003, supposedly discontinued
Case number -- #1061199838

I just got off the phone after nearly two hours speaking with various customer/tech service reps for Zune and I just wanted to put this in writing. Your customer service department needs to know this.

My brown 30GB Zune died a week or so ago. I wasn't sure if I could get it fixed in Canada, and it was out of warranty according to my online registration, but I figured I loved it so much I would just buy a new one. I live in Canada, so I drove an hour cross border to my nearest Target in Niagara Falls NY. They did not have any brown ones in stock, but said there was one at the Amherst NY store, about 20 minutes away. We called the store, confirmed it wasn't a display model, and they set it aside for me. I drove the extra distance and purchased the brown Zune -- identical to the one I had at home. I also purchased an extended-third-party warranty at the store. I did not look at the serial number on the bottom of the box. I assumed the store had done that. The picture on the front of the box was brown and was labelled "Brown".

I got home to Canada and this morning I broke the seal on the box. The box showed a brown Zune but the unit inside was black. The sticker on the bottom of the Zune box said it was black. Target kind of screwed up (as the barcode on the bottom clearly said black, although it was in their system listed as a brown one), but the box was brown, so Microsoft was also partially to blame for the snafu.

I called Target to see about an exchange. They had no brown units in stock in the stores nearest to me, but told me I could drive an extra hour out of the way (on top of the 1.5 hours to get to the second store I went to) who had a brown one in stock. I asked if it was possible to ship a brown one to the store closest to me, especially in light of the mislabelled box, and they said, no, they do not do that. They suggested I call Microsoft to see about customer service from their end. A five hour round trip journey for me with the current price of gas is not really plausible.

So I called 1-877-438-9863 (from the Zune.net website) and spoke to an initial customer service rep. He was very polite and I told him so. I told him that I had a couple of issues -- one is that I had a broken brown Zune in one hand, and I also had a working black Zune in my other hand, and what I really wanted was a functioning brown Zune. I was a longtime REALLY happy Zune customer, and what could he do to help me?

He suggested I pay $109 to get the brown unit repaired. I said I am holding in my hand $450 worth of Zunes that I already paid for... I really didn't want to spend another $109, but that I would if I had to. What were the options of getting the black one exchanged for a brown one through Microsoft? He said impossible. They do not guarantee colour on repair exchanges. I said it wasn't a repair... it was a mislabelled box. He repeated that there was nothing he could do. He told me I needed to deal with Target. I said Target had no brown units in stock near me. I thanked him for his polite nature, good customer service skills and time, but asked to speak to second level support, as I needed a solution to my problem. He told me to be aware that second level support would not likely be able to help me, but he could put me through. He wanted me to understand that there were to be no expectations.

He also gave me a case number -- #1061199838. I am sorry I didn't get his name.

I got passed through to Robin, second level support. I told her upfront that I was a longtime Zune customer and a very happy one at that. I loved my Zune so much that I bought others Zunes as gifts, and generally had no problem going cross border to get them, as even though it was a hike, it was worth it because the product was so superior. I had also purchased a lot of accessories for the Zunes, and as the cables are proprietary, I wanted to stay a Zune customer.

I repeated my problem, and she repeated that she would be unable to help me. She also told me that I was speaking to tech support, not customer service. Then she informed that because I was Canadian, I was ineligible for the $109 repair, as that service is only available to Americans with an American address. I said I would be willing to drive cross border, drop it at a depot and go back to get the repaired unit. She told me there was no such depot. I asked to speak to customer service. She told me there was no Zune customer service. I asked her to repeat that and she did. She said she would pass me through to her boss, Wayne.

I was very polite to her, thanking her for her time, and telling her that I, too, worked in computer service, and I was actually making the call from our Help Desk, and all the help desk reps at my place of work were listening in on the call on speaker phone. We all agreed that it was ridiculous that there appeared to be no solution to a pretty simple problem; the shocking nature of no customer service department, as well as the fact that both Robin and the previous fellow kept repeating lines from a guide, and were not actually listening to my problem. The fact that I could not get my broken Zune repaired. I kept reiterating that I was a VERY happy Zune customer and would likely be one for years to come if they could help me. I said that this level of customer service (or lack thereof) was turning me off the product.

Wayne, the manager, got off the phone and repeated what the other two said. He reiterated that they had no customer service department, and that was basically outsourced to retailer, and that I should deal with Target for any customer service issues. I said I had, but that they were not very helpful and had suggested I call Microsoft.

Wayne kept repeating that he could not help me. I was on the phone with these three reps for approximately an hour and a half, and the entire Help Desk at my place of work were dumbfounded by the lack of customer service. It was really something to listen to. Being in this business, we could NEVER say things like that to the customers (I can't help you. Period.)

I said that when I had some time, I would return the mislabelled black Zune to Target for a refund, and then that would leave me with a broken unfixable brown Zune. And that I would likely have to buy an iPod, as they are servicable in Canada. I really don't want to buy an iPod. I want to be a happy, satisfied Zune customer. I have several extra Zune cables and cases that cost me a lot of money.

Three reps (not customer service, but rather technical service reps) told me this:

1) Your broken brown Zune is irrepairable as you are Canadian. If you had an American address, we could fix it for $109. Since you don't have an American address, we can't fix it for you.
2) Your new Zune was in a mislabelled box. Sorry about that. You can return it to Target for a return or an exchange. We don't really care that you are nowhere near a Target, never mind one that might have a brown Zune in stock. That is not our problem. Target acts as our customer service. We have no customer service who can help you with this issue.
3) Seeing as Target is your customer service rep onsite, I will tell you what they told me. We do not order specific items (ie, brown Zunes) so if the item you want is not in stock, you will have to go to another store. I know you already went to another store and we led you down the garden path on that one. We're sorry about that. You'll have to go to yet ANOTHER store. We do not ship product between Target stores. The inconvenience rests on yours, the customer's, shoulders.
4) When I told them that I was a really die hard Zune user and it was going to take a lot for them to turn me off the product, they were nonplussed and did not even try to retain my business. I told them I'd spent over $1000 on Zunes so far (for myself and gifts for others) and that I was a dedicated customer who just wanted some customer service, but if I couldn't get it, what in essence they were telling me was to go buy an iPod, because iPod services Canadian customers. I was told that lots of non-American customers complain, however there was nothing they could do, as they only service Americans. I said I would be willing to drive and drop off the broken brown Zune at a US depot for repair and then drive back and pick it up. I was told there was no such thing. I needed an American mailing address.

I work in customer service in the computer field. It is our job to ask our customers HOW CAN WE HELP YOU and then focus on solutions to the problems at hand. Throughout this ordeal, I felt like I was asking questions that were not in the canned group of known Zune issues, and the reps were reading to me off a screen, "I'm sorry and I know you're frustrated, but I can't help you at this time." I CAN'T help you was repeated to me over and over again. I asked to speak to someone who could help me, and I was told there was no such thing as a customer service department for Zunes. Just tech support. But only for Americans.

I live in a border town. My 'local' Target has more Ontario licence plates in the lot than New York state plates. Canadians are a HUGE portion of their customer base and they know it. Nowhere in that store was any indication that the products they sold had no customer service available for their Canadian customers. Nowhere on the Zune was any indication that this item was for American use only.

***

I need for your customer service department (if there is such a thing) to know that this level of 'service' is grossly unacceptable. I was rendered kind of speechless by the sheer number of times I was told "We can't help you". I also need for you to know that Zune customers are (if I am any indication) fairly devoted to the product, and willing to spend extra money on parts, repairs and service, if only that service were available. If only we were treated like valued customers.

I have been completely turned off the Microsoft Zune. I plan to return the black unit for a full refund next time I'm in the States, trash the brown one that only lasted a year and two months and reluctantly become an iPod user. I will reiterate what I told the reps on the phone this morning -- you must know that word-of-mouth is imperative in this business, and that I was your biggest fan and your biggest champion for a long time. I participated readily and enthusiastically on tech/MP3 discussion boards and sang the praises of the Zune all the time. I am a computer technician by trade, and I know how important it is for a person to believe in and trust the brand they are using. My opinion holds weight in the circles I run in, and in my direct line of work, I influence the buying habits of hundreds, if not thousands of users. (I work for a school board with a staff of 6000 and we regularly suggest brands on the staff internal classified boards).

Losing me as a customer is only the start of the problem. I am going to reprint this letter on every tech and MP3 player forum I belong to, and encourage people NOT to buy the Zune, as the customer service is dreadful, and the prodcut only lasts a year anyhow.

I hope there is something you can do to remedy the problem. I can be reached at xxx xxx xxxx anytime, or at xxx@gmail.com if you care to offer some solutions to this problem.

Otherwise, please be aware that this is one of the many reasons the marketing product is failing so badly and sales are atrocious.

Sincerely,

J.