Man Realizes His Nintendo Switch Is Broken, Experiences The Worst Customer Service Ever
It’s practically impossible to go through life without experiencing some incredibly bad customer service. Whether it’s a tired and angry barista who rolls her eyes when you order something more complicated than black coffee, or a consultant that ignores you while talking on their phone with their friend. All these little situations annoy every one of us, and the saddest part is – dealing with bad customer service is an experience that’s impossible to avoid. But these small examples are nothing compared to what you have to go through while dealing with big companies. They usually don’t respond to your calls or emails, and they are constantly telling you they are doing ‘the best they can’ to help you. Tired of all of this, one man decided to share his experience with terrible customer service, and it proves that saying ‘the customer is always right’ is not something companies actually practice.
Recently, Imgur user that goes by the nickname aranjevi has shared his terrible experience with Nintendo’s customer service
A week late he received an email from Nintendo Repairs stating the following:
Here’s what Julian replied:
In an interview with Bored Panda Arenjevi said that he tried to contact Nintendo but it was no use “I have contacted Nintendo Customer Service UK number of times, asking to either escalate this issue to the management or letting me speak to someone from the management team. On each and every occasion I was told that the manager is not available at the moment, or ‘they are currently having lunch.'” Also, he added that he didn’t expect to receive so much attention with his story, but he’s glad it did since it might help other people who are dealing with the same issue. “I was certain that such a ridiculous and shocking experience might only be expected from some below average brands, but definitely not Nintendo.” Once Arenjevi’s story got viral Nintendo did reply to him, but it wasn’t as nice as you would expect, “After the article, I have received an automated email from Nintendo Repair Service stating that they will now proceed with the repairs free of charge and that I should expect my Blue Joy-con back in 10 days. That would make it a month after I’ve sent it out.”
Here’s what people had to say about this messy situation:
60Kviews
Share on FacebookThis exact thing happened to my Switch! And I use it to play Fortnite, so its a bit difficult when you’re CONSTANTLY moving and looking down. And a week after that, I experienced the Blue Screen of Death.
Yeah, happened to me too! But my brother was so obsessed with Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild that he kept playing... even after you couldn't even move right using the blue... or left... and it moved for you... But we did get good customer service... Idk
Load More Replies...I've found that putting a comment about their horrible customer service on their Facebook page or Twitter (any company) gets more action than calling/emailing -- sad but true. The employees that monitor social media seem to have more authority to get things done.
Probably not more authority but they can’t have bad reviews/posts on their social media page since many people can see that/deter others from using said company. I’ve done this twice with 2 different companies, simply posted the issue on their fb page and it was solved within an hour.
Load More Replies...Aaaaa.... order summary is not a valid form of proof of purchase. Valid is a receipt or an invoice and or card statements. I know its easy to pick the order summary and check that but its just as easy to send the invoice you would have received during the purchase. I cant stress enough to my friends and family... keep the invoice and if not found get it regenerated by the company. Every country has laws pertaining to keeping the copy of invoices for some amount of time by the companies. Send them the proper invoice and get it sorted or claim your consumer law rights (if your country Has them - I know UK does)
The one who told him that was not a valid proof of payment should had have to provide instructions on what he should give them instead.... What an unfortunate situation. The implication that the fault was by the user reminds me of my opposite experience from Sony. I used to have a Sony Ericsson back in the day before smartphones. Once it just stopped charging its battery. To check whether it's the phone's problem or the cable, I tried to charge it from my computer and it worked just fine. So I went to the shop where I bought it, when both the worker and I noticed one of the little holes got damaged. The worker prepared the item to be sent for repair, but warned me that I might have to pay for it if they conclude the fault was mine. Guess what? Didn't have to pay anything and the damaged part of the phone looked like new. That phone served me for a long time afterwards.
Has anybody ever had to deal with Fandango?? This company is shady AF. They have no customer service and will not refund your money no matter what. I am surprised this company has not been sued. They literally steal your money. Please never use this company. If you do not believe me, just read the reviews here: https://www.sitejabber.com/reviews/fandango.com
Never bought a Nintendo, and don't expect to from the story shared here. Thanks for the warning.
This is disgraceful and under UK law you have reasonable grounds to take an item back up to 7 years after purchase, DO NOT USE YOUR WARRANTY, THEY CANNOT MAKE YOU LEGALLY USE A WARRANTY WHEN YOU HAVE LEGAL PROTECTION ANYWAY, USE YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS UNDER THE CONSUMER ACT, part of that law is satisfactory quality and fit for purpose and this doesn't fall under either of those.
An awful story and Nintendo should be ashamed, but isn't it likely the child actually did break it? She is a child.
Huh. I sent in my console for repair last year and everything went splendidly. Maybe it's because I live close to Nintendo of America headquarters?
Given the fault occurred within 30 days (right ?), the retailer is legally obliged to provide you with your choice of refund, repair or replacement. That is as long as the fault is a result of a manufacturing defect and not accidental damage or misuse.
seriously my joy cons got messed up about 2 months after i got the switch whenever i played minecraft my would character go to the side which caused me to get lost a lot. i've gone through more then 3 controllers already and i'm very careful with my switch
Here in my country we don't have their costumer service yet luckily we can replace it back within 7 days and after that since we don't have a local Nintendo costumer service, we have tons of technicians that can repair them, affordable and conveniently.
May I, just for a moment here, point out the cheekiness the author of this article is guilty of? :P Read his name backwards! That is all. Carry on!
Going through hell with Square (CC processing company)....their disputes dept person told me there is NO ONE else i can talk to other than her and she told me she doesn't have to provide customer service because that's not her dept....ummmm what?! how does she have a job with this attitude.
Customer service is definitely gotten worse nowadays in many companies. I remember that in 1990s and early 2000's of I had any problems with any electronic device I purchased I usually got a new item or my money back from the same shop where I bought that item. Nowadays it the electronic device is broken you have to pay for the repair and send it to another place (or even abroad) to get it repaired. And the shop that sold that item does not have any resposibility. For example my smart phone was broken only 2 months after purchase so I had to send it to another country for a repair because no one here in Finland was not able to fix it.
Wow...and all these comments. Sounds very shameful of this company. The product sounds a bit shady too.
My 2DS XL is the only nintendo console I had slight issue with when some games after transfer from my old 3DS got only errors when trying to play but Nintendo of Norway helped me out. So atleast some good service exist in nintendo or I have just had pure luck with the consoles so far. Only consol I "broke" was my first 3DS were the L & R buttons stopped working after I got Okamiden were you use those button alot but I guess Animal Crossing picture taking did not help either
The last thing I bought from Nintendo was a New 3DS. It's was in the UK. Worked well and the games were okay. Then I moved abroad and I realized how Nintendo is just a bunch of money hungry thieves with no regard for its clientele... Simply because I tried to switch my UK eShop account to a Belgian one, so I could pay in euros instead of british pounds. Nope, you can't do that. You have to create a new account. So I do and format my 3DS to welcome the new account (being very cautious to save all my precious savegames on the SD card so I don't have to start everything over). "Sorry but you can't transfer the eShop's purchases you made with the original account". Wait, what? Bast... Bah, I'll just stay on my UK account and stop buying from the eShop. Load up the data from the SD card... Wait, where are my savegames? Turns out the 3DS encrypts the data everytime you put content linked to an eShop account on it. Even if the account has been used on the console before. 1/2
So if you format (or get a new 3DS), you're basically screwed. You can't use you're savegames anymore. I was outraged. Not even Sony does that with the Playstation! On the latter, you can perfectly save everything to a USB stick, format your console and put your stuff back afterward, as long as you use the same PS account. Nintendo decided that there are more thieves than clients in the world (which is rather unusual for a Japanese company). So they have to protect themselves from thieves at all cost, even if it means treating their clients as thieves... Not a decent commercial strategy. Not even mentioning the fact that due to their monopoly on so many game brands, Nintendo practically never decrease the price of their games. On PS or Xbox, game prices decrease with time, sometimes quite fast. On Nintendo consoles, it takes ages. For some brands, like Mario, it almost never happens. Bottom line: Nintendo are just a bunch of thieves. I'll never from them ever again. 2/2
Load More Replies...All I can say is keep every scrap of documentation, no matter how trivial. Even the box it came in! This kind of c**p happens more often now b/c they're cutting down on real people and going to automated services. Good luck to you and your Little One.
That hasn’t happened to me yet. I just hope it doesn’t happen to me. Or I will sue them
Some companies are a disgrace when it comes to customer service. I had a 2 week battle with Vodaphone over a broken phone on which I had been paying insurance (covering damage) for 3 years. They were asking me for 4 year old doccuments etc which I had never had in the first place as ordered online. A guy in the local phone shop told me that the agents are instructed to make the process as difficult as possible to discourage customers from claiming. Got a replacement phone after a month - many people would not have had the 3 hours in total which I spent on the phone (half of it on hold) to follow it through.
I can confirm that one comment... Here in Brazil we just assume the costumer service will suck and that the warranty will be worthless. We're actually pleasantly surprised in the rare occasion that it does work out. We have a website explicitly for complaining online, and it at least works better than just calling.
A typical case of customer relationship management failure. Obviously, this could have been solved unbureocratically. I would not even blame individual employess. These are bad business processes, which mean that when something unexpected happens customer enquiries can get stuck. It is incomprehensible that companies have no means to detect this other than to read about in on social media.
No, that is letting the big, rich corporations get away with bending over the normal consumer, this is disgraceful and under UK law you have reasonable grounds to take an item back up to 7 years after purchase, DO NOT USE YOUR WARRANTY, USE YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS UNDER THE CONSUMER ACT,, part of that law is satisfactory quality and fit for purpose and this doesn't fall under either of those.
Load More Replies...This exact thing happened to my Switch! And I use it to play Fortnite, so its a bit difficult when you’re CONSTANTLY moving and looking down. And a week after that, I experienced the Blue Screen of Death.
Yeah, happened to me too! But my brother was so obsessed with Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild that he kept playing... even after you couldn't even move right using the blue... or left... and it moved for you... But we did get good customer service... Idk
Load More Replies...I've found that putting a comment about their horrible customer service on their Facebook page or Twitter (any company) gets more action than calling/emailing -- sad but true. The employees that monitor social media seem to have more authority to get things done.
Probably not more authority but they can’t have bad reviews/posts on their social media page since many people can see that/deter others from using said company. I’ve done this twice with 2 different companies, simply posted the issue on their fb page and it was solved within an hour.
Load More Replies...Aaaaa.... order summary is not a valid form of proof of purchase. Valid is a receipt or an invoice and or card statements. I know its easy to pick the order summary and check that but its just as easy to send the invoice you would have received during the purchase. I cant stress enough to my friends and family... keep the invoice and if not found get it regenerated by the company. Every country has laws pertaining to keeping the copy of invoices for some amount of time by the companies. Send them the proper invoice and get it sorted or claim your consumer law rights (if your country Has them - I know UK does)
The one who told him that was not a valid proof of payment should had have to provide instructions on what he should give them instead.... What an unfortunate situation. The implication that the fault was by the user reminds me of my opposite experience from Sony. I used to have a Sony Ericsson back in the day before smartphones. Once it just stopped charging its battery. To check whether it's the phone's problem or the cable, I tried to charge it from my computer and it worked just fine. So I went to the shop where I bought it, when both the worker and I noticed one of the little holes got damaged. The worker prepared the item to be sent for repair, but warned me that I might have to pay for it if they conclude the fault was mine. Guess what? Didn't have to pay anything and the damaged part of the phone looked like new. That phone served me for a long time afterwards.
Has anybody ever had to deal with Fandango?? This company is shady AF. They have no customer service and will not refund your money no matter what. I am surprised this company has not been sued. They literally steal your money. Please never use this company. If you do not believe me, just read the reviews here: https://www.sitejabber.com/reviews/fandango.com
Never bought a Nintendo, and don't expect to from the story shared here. Thanks for the warning.
This is disgraceful and under UK law you have reasonable grounds to take an item back up to 7 years after purchase, DO NOT USE YOUR WARRANTY, THEY CANNOT MAKE YOU LEGALLY USE A WARRANTY WHEN YOU HAVE LEGAL PROTECTION ANYWAY, USE YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS UNDER THE CONSUMER ACT, part of that law is satisfactory quality and fit for purpose and this doesn't fall under either of those.
An awful story and Nintendo should be ashamed, but isn't it likely the child actually did break it? She is a child.
Huh. I sent in my console for repair last year and everything went splendidly. Maybe it's because I live close to Nintendo of America headquarters?
Given the fault occurred within 30 days (right ?), the retailer is legally obliged to provide you with your choice of refund, repair or replacement. That is as long as the fault is a result of a manufacturing defect and not accidental damage or misuse.
seriously my joy cons got messed up about 2 months after i got the switch whenever i played minecraft my would character go to the side which caused me to get lost a lot. i've gone through more then 3 controllers already and i'm very careful with my switch
Here in my country we don't have their costumer service yet luckily we can replace it back within 7 days and after that since we don't have a local Nintendo costumer service, we have tons of technicians that can repair them, affordable and conveniently.
May I, just for a moment here, point out the cheekiness the author of this article is guilty of? :P Read his name backwards! That is all. Carry on!
Going through hell with Square (CC processing company)....their disputes dept person told me there is NO ONE else i can talk to other than her and she told me she doesn't have to provide customer service because that's not her dept....ummmm what?! how does she have a job with this attitude.
Customer service is definitely gotten worse nowadays in many companies. I remember that in 1990s and early 2000's of I had any problems with any electronic device I purchased I usually got a new item or my money back from the same shop where I bought that item. Nowadays it the electronic device is broken you have to pay for the repair and send it to another place (or even abroad) to get it repaired. And the shop that sold that item does not have any resposibility. For example my smart phone was broken only 2 months after purchase so I had to send it to another country for a repair because no one here in Finland was not able to fix it.
Wow...and all these comments. Sounds very shameful of this company. The product sounds a bit shady too.
My 2DS XL is the only nintendo console I had slight issue with when some games after transfer from my old 3DS got only errors when trying to play but Nintendo of Norway helped me out. So atleast some good service exist in nintendo or I have just had pure luck with the consoles so far. Only consol I "broke" was my first 3DS were the L & R buttons stopped working after I got Okamiden were you use those button alot but I guess Animal Crossing picture taking did not help either
The last thing I bought from Nintendo was a New 3DS. It's was in the UK. Worked well and the games were okay. Then I moved abroad and I realized how Nintendo is just a bunch of money hungry thieves with no regard for its clientele... Simply because I tried to switch my UK eShop account to a Belgian one, so I could pay in euros instead of british pounds. Nope, you can't do that. You have to create a new account. So I do and format my 3DS to welcome the new account (being very cautious to save all my precious savegames on the SD card so I don't have to start everything over). "Sorry but you can't transfer the eShop's purchases you made with the original account". Wait, what? Bast... Bah, I'll just stay on my UK account and stop buying from the eShop. Load up the data from the SD card... Wait, where are my savegames? Turns out the 3DS encrypts the data everytime you put content linked to an eShop account on it. Even if the account has been used on the console before. 1/2
So if you format (or get a new 3DS), you're basically screwed. You can't use you're savegames anymore. I was outraged. Not even Sony does that with the Playstation! On the latter, you can perfectly save everything to a USB stick, format your console and put your stuff back afterward, as long as you use the same PS account. Nintendo decided that there are more thieves than clients in the world (which is rather unusual for a Japanese company). So they have to protect themselves from thieves at all cost, even if it means treating their clients as thieves... Not a decent commercial strategy. Not even mentioning the fact that due to their monopoly on so many game brands, Nintendo practically never decrease the price of their games. On PS or Xbox, game prices decrease with time, sometimes quite fast. On Nintendo consoles, it takes ages. For some brands, like Mario, it almost never happens. Bottom line: Nintendo are just a bunch of thieves. I'll never from them ever again. 2/2
Load More Replies...All I can say is keep every scrap of documentation, no matter how trivial. Even the box it came in! This kind of c**p happens more often now b/c they're cutting down on real people and going to automated services. Good luck to you and your Little One.
That hasn’t happened to me yet. I just hope it doesn’t happen to me. Or I will sue them
Some companies are a disgrace when it comes to customer service. I had a 2 week battle with Vodaphone over a broken phone on which I had been paying insurance (covering damage) for 3 years. They were asking me for 4 year old doccuments etc which I had never had in the first place as ordered online. A guy in the local phone shop told me that the agents are instructed to make the process as difficult as possible to discourage customers from claiming. Got a replacement phone after a month - many people would not have had the 3 hours in total which I spent on the phone (half of it on hold) to follow it through.
I can confirm that one comment... Here in Brazil we just assume the costumer service will suck and that the warranty will be worthless. We're actually pleasantly surprised in the rare occasion that it does work out. We have a website explicitly for complaining online, and it at least works better than just calling.
A typical case of customer relationship management failure. Obviously, this could have been solved unbureocratically. I would not even blame individual employess. These are bad business processes, which mean that when something unexpected happens customer enquiries can get stuck. It is incomprehensible that companies have no means to detect this other than to read about in on social media.
No, that is letting the big, rich corporations get away with bending over the normal consumer, this is disgraceful and under UK law you have reasonable grounds to take an item back up to 7 years after purchase, DO NOT USE YOUR WARRANTY, USE YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS UNDER THE CONSUMER ACT,, part of that law is satisfactory quality and fit for purpose and this doesn't fall under either of those.
Load More Replies...
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