Good Job Microsoft Hardware!

If you have read enough of my blog, you will notice MOST of the time, I go about suxing about some poor services, something that doesn't work etc... Today, I am going to do something different! Yes, and Microsoft happens to be our focus today. Let me tell the story first.

My trusty Microsoft mouse finally broke down near the end of its warranty period and I figure I probably should send it back for a replacement. The mouse was show signs of skipping and I could even shoot properly in F3ar. So I begin to kick start the process by emailing Microsoft hardware. anyway, as usual the links was really hard to find and I think I just email the general support in the end. After which, I swap my mouse to something usable.

Within a day, I received a reply asking me to confirm some drivers, settings etc plus to give them the proof of ownership of the mouse, which I went through and promptly replied. Then I was too busy for a few days and spending some time outside office. So, I totally forgotten about it.

One afternoon not long after I actually got a call from a foreign number (I guess support is not hosted locally then) and a representative from Microsoft actually spoke to me on the phone, giving me an update that the Mouse is now schedule for replacement and I need to confirm that I will accept the replacement model (apparently my model was no longer in production). I was so surprise! When have the support bother to actually try and close the case by contacting the customer? In mose case, if you never call and bug them after a certain time period, they will just throw the case in some store room. But NOT Microsoft. They proactively contacted me (even a phone call, after I had failed to read my emails). After the verbal confirmation, I sent out my official OK on the email and the replacement Mouse came the next evening. n fact, I still got another call in a few days after that. The Microsoft representative wanted to check with me if I had gotten the replacement Mouse and whether it is working alright for me. Definitely a 5 ***** service I say. With that, I am also require to reply and close the case.

I know some of you will probably guess that their support KPI is probably based on cases closed, but their promptness and proactiveness in making sure the case get closed sucessfully is impresssive. I think this is one of the reason why even today. I still own the top of the line Microsoft Gaming products instead of switching to Razor or Logitech. OK, they are cheaper btw, but in no way inferior in my impression.

Well, maybe you can share your experience in dealing with Microsoft hardware support in my comments!

Cool Blue to Evil Red - The switch to the dark side

I am surprised that during the 80s, show were so stereotype. The good guys always uses the blue laser, and the bad guys the red in almost all the sci fi movie I can name. But today, I find the evil red looks cool. See for yourself :

This mouse has some functions that seriously make hte habu looks bad, like Quick Turn, which allows you to calibrate and turn 180 degrees in your FPS, looking behind and back is just 1 click away. For FPS, this mouse also has on-the-fly Precision Booster which allows you to zoom in with high precision when using a sniper rifle. The mouse also feature custom weights so that you can adjust until you love hte weight on the mouse. Cool? There is a on the fly dpi changer with 3 adjustable settings. This has pro and con with Habu's dpi up/down switch. This also comes with a angler to weight down the execessive cables so that it does get in your way when you are trying to do quick movements with your mouse.

See more at :
http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/gaming/productdetails.aspx?pid=100

Well, the down side is this mouse is not for everyone. The size and shape is one thing. some people just can't reach the button based on they way they hold the mouse. For me, its just nice. The connector is not 24k gold. Also this is not from Razor, but Microsoft. So if put together with the Reclusa, it a clear contrast of Cool Blue vs Evil Red there... Maybe Microsoft will reveal a Evil Red Keyboard soon?

Microsoft Hardware Warranty

I wonder how many people actually needed this. J once had a mouse that did not work out of the box. Sent it to the SLS shop for replacement. Took about 10 days. BUT I just realized there was a better way to RMA with Microsoft. And you will never believe this.

It was little known that Microsoft actually has a support number for hardware. Well, its the same number to activate your software actually. So I called, but only after returning the retail shop and realized that I can't return to the shop. But at least they gave me the Microsoft contact number, so I am not going to bad mouth them. :)

I called and asked about hte RMA procedure for the Microsoft Mouse. Well, here is the surprise. I need ot be in front of a computer... where I was not. Anyway, what will happen is actually they will ask you to run some checks to ensure that the software is not the fault... Things like not plugin in the USB properly, driver not installed etc... Anyway, once they confirmed its a hardware issue. They will ship you the NEW hardware via courier. Cool right? How come nobody told me about this?

Anyway, I will post the Singapore Microsoft support number here for future reference. BTW, I had tons of Microsoft keyboards and mouse. And this is the only time I had to RMA.

Microsoft Support (Singapore)
6882 8899
800 852 3543