[Resolved]  Toshiba — PATHETIC AFTER SALES SERVICE

I am highly DISSATISFIED with Toshiba's AFTER SALES SERVICE.
I was quite happy when I bought my toshiba laptop and even recommended toshiba to my friends. But, after the extremely poor customer service, I have lost all my interest in the company and am sure not to buy any more of its products if I have an option.
1. Previously, there used to be an option - Talk-2-Toshiba, where I used to put in my phone number and a Toshiba personnel would call me. That service has been discontinued in India, and instead it is required for us to call on a given number. The problem is that the given number can only be called via a landline. I only have a mobile and that number is not functional through mobiles.
2. Somehow, I got across another number that can be called from a mobile as well. The service is extremely slow, and I had to call 3-4 times before I could be successfully transferred to a Toshiba personnel. As the number is not Toll-Free, I lost around Rs. 50 just to register my complaint.
3. Toshiba personnel was friendly, but he had no technical knowledge. I told him that my laptop adapter wire had burnt due to overheating while my laptop was still in warranty. He told me that the adaptor would be covered under warranty and registered my complaint.
4. When I visited the Toshiba-Chandigarh Customer Center, SCO 2453, Sec 22C, I received no attention. Inspite of being the only customer there, the personnel kept on doing his own work and addressed me after 15 minutes. He noticed my problem, registered the complaint and told me that it would take a minimum of 10 days for the new adpater to arrive from the headquarters.On inquiring about the facility of standby adapter that may be given to me as a substitute for the period of 10-15 days, I was told that there was no such option. This meant that I would loose a lot of my work.
5. When I bought the laptop, I was told that the Toshiba service is one of the best in laptop industry, and if anything happens to the laptop, a standby laptop is provided for the specified duration until the old laptop is restored so I can resume my work. On having a problem, I was denied any such service.
6. After 10 days, I called the Service center and enquired about my adapter. They told me that it had just arrived and I could go and collect it. On reaching there, I was told that my adapter had not arrived. When I told them about my phone conversation, they initially tried to tell me that I was mistaken and there phone was not working and I could not have called them. When I proved them wrong, they went in and told me that my adapter had actually arrived and it was they who had already called me for it.
7. When I presented my broken adapter, they told me it was not covered under warranty. The personnel at Toshiba care whom I had called in point 2 above, had told me it would be covered under warranty. The personnel who took my complaint at the Chandigarh Center also filed the complaint under warranty. But, on the day when I had to collect my adapter, I was told that it would not be covered under warranty.
8. The personnel at the Chandigarh center called the Head Office in Delhi, and the personnel at the head office tried to tell me that it was all my fault, that I should have known whether it was covered under warranty or not, and that I should have taken snapshots of the broken adapter to claim my warranty or otherwise. He told me that I would have to buy the adapter at a cost of Rs.6820 with a 3 months warranty. I told them that I would take the necessary steps later.
9. I went to a shop and enquired about Toshiba Adapter. They were offering a new ORIGINAL Toshiba adapter at a cost of Rs.3600 with 1 year warranty. In the end, I decided to get the adapter repaired at the shop at a decent cost of Rs.400.
It seems that the company produces decent products but does not care about the customer service. The personals at various checkpoints are not trained in any technical assistance, but it does seem that they are trained very well in lying and pushing the blame on the customer. Even, the Toshiba India website is very poorly designed and does not cover all the aspects as other well designed websites do.I had to browse through many pages just to find how to contact Toshiba via email.