Sony CDP-CX260 200-Disc CD Changer
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- Device Type: Changer
- Number of Discs: 200
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An example of Poor Quality Control at Sony...
Pros
Great unit, very user-friendly, full of neat features.
Cons
Attached to a VERY POOR customer service network at Sony.
Recommended it?
Yes
First of all, let me say that I hate to write a negative opinion of Sony, because I have been for the most part very happy with all of their products that I have owned. However, I will use my CD player example to demonstrate how an otherwise good company can go wrong.
For those of you who don't want to read the following novel, I'll just put the moral of the story right up front. After getting a good unit, I think that the CDP-CX260 is a GREAT CD changer. However, I almost lost my faith in Sony over the customer service hassle I had to deal with to get a good unit. Sony would be held in immeasurably high esteem by me if they would just tighten their quality control testing standards a bit, put out good units in the first place, and suck it up and exchange bad units without a hassle. What's the old saying? It's harder to win new customers than keep your good ones? Something like that...anyway, on to the novel.
I bought a CDP-CX260 from an online electronics store in mid-1999. I bought it mainly for my wife, who actually has a collection of CDs that numbers in the triple digits. Well, we got the unit, set it up, and mostly it worked fine. We were very happy with the keyboard entry system; it was a bit poorly explained in the manual, but once we got the hang of it, it was very simple to enter disc titles.
The problems with the unit started probably about three months after we had bought it. The main problem was that it would get confused when trying to play a disc, and just cycle it in and out ad nauseum. The problem usually corrected itself when we turned the power on and off, and was at most a minor inconvenience that happened about ten percent of the time we used the player. It certainly didn't offset the quality of the player enough to warrant any major complaints. Yet.
Well, as the days rolled on, this problem manifested itself more and more often. When it got to about the fifty percent mark, I decided it was time to explore warranty service options. Being the nerd I am, I actually read the owner's manual and the Sony web site and found the AUTHORIZED SERVICE CENTER nearest me. I took the unit to the service center, paid nothing, and in a mere four weeks had the unit back in exactly the same condition. Well, I can understand that. I mean, the problem didn't happen all the time, and I'm sure that Technician Bob just waved his wand over my CD player, tried it out and happened to hit it on a good moment, patted himself on the back and deemed it good.
All right, so now I have the same problem with the same unit. Now I call Sony Customer Service (which is another nasty phone entanglement in itself, but I won't really get into that). I told them of my adventures in Warrantyville, and asked for a replacement unit. Well, Sony scoffed and said, "Forsooth! The problem is not with your unit, but with the AUTHORIZED SERVICE CENTER! Naturally you must send what seems to be a logic problem to the OFFICIAL SONY SERVICE CENTER in Atlanta, GA."
So I packed the unit back up again, took it to my local friendly Mailboxes, Etc. and paid $25 to send the unit insured to Atlanta. Well, a mere two weeks later, I had the same unit back with the same problem.
Well, now calm, mild-mannered me is beginning to get a bit peeved. I mean, we're talking about an electronics giant here, aren't we? Not like a replacement CD changer is really going to affect their bottom line, now is it? So, I wandered my way through the web of telephony that is Sony's customer service once again, and this time I was taking no prisoners. I apologized to the first Customer Service Rep that I talked to, assuring her that I knew this wasn't HER fault, but could she please transfer me to someone important. After convincing her that I knew she couldn't handle this problem, and telling her several times that no, I did not want to send the unit back to Atlanta again, my problem was forwarded to the Sony CUSTOMER SERVICE BOARD, who would consider my problem and get back to me within 48 hours.
72 hours later, I called Sony back and told them that I was supposed to have been called the day before, and I believe that someone realized that I wasn't actually going to just go away. The rest of the story is pretty simple. I demanded a replacement unit, and after being very calm but assertive, my helpful Customer Service Manager agreed to send FedEx to pick up my old CD player and deliver the new one.
Now here is the moral of the story again, to reinforce it to those of you who actually read my whole opinion (and I do thank you for taking the time; it took me quite a while to write it).
After getting a good unit, I think that the CDP-CX260 is a GREAT CD changer. However, I almost lost my faith in Sony over the customer service hassle I had to deal with to get a good unit. Sony would be held in immeasurably high esteem by me if they would just tighten their quality control testing standards a bit, put out good units in the first place, and suck it up and exchange bad units without a hassle.
For those of you who don't want to read the following novel, I'll just put the moral of the story right up front. After getting a good unit, I think that the CDP-CX260 is a GREAT CD changer. However, I almost lost my faith in Sony over the customer service hassle I had to deal with to get a good unit. Sony would be held in immeasurably high esteem by me if they would just tighten their quality control testing standards a bit, put out good units in the first place, and suck it up and exchange bad units without a hassle. What's the old saying? It's harder to win new customers than keep your good ones? Something like that...anyway, on to the novel.
I bought a CDP-CX260 from an online electronics store in mid-1999. I bought it mainly for my wife, who actually has a collection of CDs that numbers in the triple digits. Well, we got the unit, set it up, and mostly it worked fine. We were very happy with the keyboard entry system; it was a bit poorly explained in the manual, but once we got the hang of it, it was very simple to enter disc titles.
The problems with the unit started probably about three months after we had bought it. The main problem was that it would get confused when trying to play a disc, and just cycle it in and out ad nauseum. The problem usually corrected itself when we turned the power on and off, and was at most a minor inconvenience that happened about ten percent of the time we used the player. It certainly didn't offset the quality of the player enough to warrant any major complaints. Yet.
Well, as the days rolled on, this problem manifested itself more and more often. When it got to about the fifty percent mark, I decided it was time to explore warranty service options. Being the nerd I am, I actually read the owner's manual and the Sony web site and found the AUTHORIZED SERVICE CENTER nearest me. I took the unit to the service center, paid nothing, and in a mere four weeks had the unit back in exactly the same condition. Well, I can understand that. I mean, the problem didn't happen all the time, and I'm sure that Technician Bob just waved his wand over my CD player, tried it out and happened to hit it on a good moment, patted himself on the back and deemed it good.
All right, so now I have the same problem with the same unit. Now I call Sony Customer Service (which is another nasty phone entanglement in itself, but I won't really get into that). I told them of my adventures in Warrantyville, and asked for a replacement unit. Well, Sony scoffed and said, "Forsooth! The problem is not with your unit, but with the AUTHORIZED SERVICE CENTER! Naturally you must send what seems to be a logic problem to the OFFICIAL SONY SERVICE CENTER in Atlanta, GA."
So I packed the unit back up again, took it to my local friendly Mailboxes, Etc. and paid $25 to send the unit insured to Atlanta. Well, a mere two weeks later, I had the same unit back with the same problem.
Well, now calm, mild-mannered me is beginning to get a bit peeved. I mean, we're talking about an electronics giant here, aren't we? Not like a replacement CD changer is really going to affect their bottom line, now is it? So, I wandered my way through the web of telephony that is Sony's customer service once again, and this time I was taking no prisoners. I apologized to the first Customer Service Rep that I talked to, assuring her that I knew this wasn't HER fault, but could she please transfer me to someone important. After convincing her that I knew she couldn't handle this problem, and telling her several times that no, I did not want to send the unit back to Atlanta again, my problem was forwarded to the Sony CUSTOMER SERVICE BOARD, who would consider my problem and get back to me within 48 hours.
72 hours later, I called Sony back and told them that I was supposed to have been called the day before, and I believe that someone realized that I wasn't actually going to just go away. The rest of the story is pretty simple. I demanded a replacement unit, and after being very calm but assertive, my helpful Customer Service Manager agreed to send FedEx to pick up my old CD player and deliver the new one.
Now here is the moral of the story again, to reinforce it to those of you who actually read my whole opinion (and I do thank you for taking the time; it took me quite a while to write it).
After getting a good unit, I think that the CDP-CX260 is a GREAT CD changer. However, I almost lost my faith in Sony over the customer service hassle I had to deal with to get a good unit. Sony would be held in immeasurably high esteem by me if they would just tighten their quality control testing standards a bit, put out good units in the first place, and suck it up and exchange bad units without a hassle.
