Why it truly sucks to be an OQO customer in Asia

[Guest]

[Bungee]

subject
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e2 Out-of-Warranty repair for Internationl Customer
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Discussion Thread
Response

Unfortunately we are unable to ship outside of the US. If you could provide a US address that you could use then we would be able to set up an Out of Warranty RMA, but you would also need to have a credit card issued through a US bank in order to pay for the repairs. If this is not able to be done than you can go through Dynamism where the original purchase was made and they will send it to us and they will bill you. Thank You, OQO Customer Care

emphasis mine.

Way to go, OQO. Seriously, who cares about Asia? Phsst... only 4 billion people, 60% of the world's population, and most of us are either credit card thieves or probably can't afford an OQO anyway, right? Oh well, the Sony Vaio P series is beginning to look better every day!

(can you tell that I'm pissed?!  > )

[2disbetter]

Have you tried to get stuff from ASIA (with it's 4 Billion people and dealing with the same size company) in the US? Ever tried to do a warranty issue there from here as well?

Curse you OQO, why can't you service the entire world, and have a repair center in my back yard???!!!! I mean there is 4 BILLION people in it!!!

But all jokes aside, I do understand your frustration.

2d

[intfan]

Amen....

[Optiglow]

When I originally purchased my OQOs, I was living in the US and so I didn't have to worry about international service.  While I lived in the US, the time needed to service my OQO was within reason.  After moving to Asia my power adapter failed, it took about between one and two months to get it replaced because I had to obtain a US address even though I purchased it in the US. 

I've only used my OQO once since I've got my new power adapter so that I could transfer all my data to a new SONY VAIO UX that I could get reasonable time for service over in
Asia.  I've seen and been tempted by the 02 over in Hong Kong but the time needed to service it just makes me shudder.  This is the major reason I probably will not buy another OQO.  Anywhere, Anytime computer but not in Asia!

[24hrs]

not a big deal leh....

go vpost sg paya lebar...get their usa address for oqo usa to ship to..then arrange vpost to send it back to you in sg so u can track shipment& deliver to yr office...

arrange with oqo usa to pay by TT as alternative to US bank issued credit card...

I did it with mine everything ok in 3wks....

[intfan]

not a big deal leh....

go vpost sg paya lebar...get their usa address for oqo usa to ship to..then arrange vpost to send it back to you in sg so u can track shipment& deliver to yr office...

arrange with oqo usa to pay by TT as alternative to US bank issued credit card...

I did it with mine everything ok in 3wks....

Hello are you from Earth? That is a totally not acceptable way to handle anything... plus who has a us cc anyway, or wants one for that matter, those banks need asia money just to make ends meet.....

[roger]

Perhaps OQO needs to be prepared to sell internationally direct to a newly established class of OQO Authorised Customers.

Local purchasing only becomes a problem when repairs are required to be directed through these resellers and inordinate delays occur because local repairs are effectively impossible as OQO wont supply spares and the defective unit eventually has to be returned to Texas.

The only ones who benefit from these arrangements are the carriers who charge separately each time the unit moves from one place to another.

[Bungee]

2d, I can't say for sure how difficult it will be to get stuff in the US from a similar sized company, but it can't be much worse. Granted that Asia is a more difficult market (read fragmented) to serve, but it still sucks that US & EU/EFTA countries enjoy direct OQO support, but Asia and the rest of the world doesn't.

Optiglow, my point exactly. You can forget about reasonable service time for OQO repairs once the reseller needs to be involved. This was the route of my last RMA: Singapore -> Chicago (Dynamism) -> Texas (Repair Facility) -> Chicago (Dynamism) -> Singapore. To add insult to injury, the back of my OQO says "manufacture: singapore".

24hrs, no thanks. If I need to get a 3rd party involved, I'd rather it be an authorised reseller like Dynamism. Unlike vPOST (USA address Oregon), which is essentially a trans-shipping service, Dynamism will actually verify that your unit is working properly before shipping it back to you. I'd also rather not go through the additional hassle of arranging for a TT (with bank commission) for OQO, and then still having to settle with vPOST separately. It's sad that in this day and age, there are still companies that insist on a credit card issues through a US bank. I've lost count of the number of items that I've purchased from US online sellers without issues.

roger, I wished that were the case. Nevertheless, I'm pleasently surprised by Dynamism. Once again, they've proven their excellent customer service. I just received a RMA# from them (with their sympathies), including instructions to ship my OQO for Dynamism to handle the out-of-warranty repair. They have advised that they will not charge any handling cost, so I should only be responsible for the repair and shipping cost.

[roger]

I have had a sympathetic response to dynamism essentially saying they want my business.
I have gone back to them essentially saying their website wont allow me to proceed with an OQO 2+ pre-order as I don't have a business or university address.  As I want a new air/car power supply to replace my unserviceable one, and dynamism is the only real choice, I will continue to try and resolve the reasonable method of payment issue with them.

[Bungee]

Good luck, roger. I wasn't aware of the restriction from Dynamism. Did they explain why? I've always gotten my orders shipped to my office so that someone's around to sign for it. Try getting a friend (with an office/university address) to help.
I suppose you know this already but I only just realised that both Expansys Australia and Singapore have stopped listing OQOs at their country-specific Expansys websites. Expansys Hong Kong still lists some model e2s, but unfortunately no air/car power adaptors. Neither does TegaTech, another Australia OQO 'authorised international reseller'. 
Oh well, another example how OQO customers in Asia keep getting shafted!

[roger]

Good luck, roger. I wasn't aware of the restriction from Dynamism. Did they explain why? I've always gotten my orders shipped to my office so that someone's around to sign for it. Try getting a friend (with an office/university address) to help.
I suppose you know this already but I only just realised that both Expansys Australia and Singapore have stopped listing OQOs at their country-specific Expansys websites. Expansys Hong Kong still lists some model e2s, but unfortunately no air/car power adaptors. Neither does TegaTech, another Australia OQO 'authorised international reseller'. 
Oh well, another example how OQO customers in Asia keep getting shafted!

Try getting a friend (with an office/university address) to help.
At my age most  of my friends with those qualifications are dead.

[Picasso]

Id be happy to force my woman to to deal with any OQO user who wants to use me to ship units to OQO for repair. As for dealing with the payment part.....Amex gift cards or Visa can be used. Or Id be will to help with that side of things.

[Optiglow]

Try getting a friend (with an office/university address) to help.
At my age most  of my friends with those qualifications are dead.

Roger:

I don't know if I can help you but I'll be in the US for a couple of weeks at the end of this month until the first week of March.  I typically transit through Hong Kong when I go to Asia.

[Bungee]

Picasso, I appreciate your generous offer. I'd keep that in mind in the future. I'm just about to drop off my OQO with FedEx. Moreover, since it'll likely need a costly out-of-warranty motherboard replacement, I'd rather not burden your credit card with the high out-of-pocket expense.

Hey roger, make some new friends (preferably younger than yourself), it's easy!

Optiglow, that's mighty nice of you. It's heartening to see the community helping each other out.

[Optiglow]

Hey Bungee, thanks for your comments.  Despite all that you have to go through to get your motherboard fixed, I hope that you get your OQO back in a reasonable time.  I felt like my life was in suspended animation when I was unable to power my OQO.