Discussion about HTC's Customer Support

[Blazen]

Hello everyone!

 

I'm creating this post as a means to hopefully compile some of the forum posts that have been showing up recently about HTC's customer support.. As well as to strike up some discussion between consumers and staff. I said I would do a follow up post on my previous interaction with HTC customer support ( https://community.viveport.com/t5/Technical-Support/My-Experience-with-HTC-Customer-Support/m-p/22418?__woopraid=pv7laUpFLVRo ) so here it is.

 

As of right now, the nightmare that I had to endure with HTC's customer support is over. Yesterday I received my new replacement 3-1 cable. However, the means I had to go about finally getting support is upsetting to me. I spent over 2 weeks on the official vive.com website trying to get support to no avail. It was only after making a forum post about my awful experience that my problem was finally remedied by the wonderful staff here on viveport. However, why did I have to come here to get my problem remedied? This is not HTC's official customer support page, so why was I helped over here better than on the official site? My main concern, however, is that my problem was not remedied because HTC cares about their customers, but rather because they did not want me to continue to tarnish their reputation by telling my story on multiple websites that sell HTC products.. Kind of like a "hush money" type situation.. I don't know, what do you guys think?

 

Anyways, I'm no longer tied up by my own situation anymore, but rather other people's situations who have also purchased the vive and are experiencing early hardware issues. Here are a few examples of them in the last week or so:

 

https://community.viveport.com/t5/Technical-Support/Sweat-damage-voided-warranty-rant-and-questions/m-p/22307#M8261

 

https://community.viveport.com/t5/Technical-Support/HTC-are-claiming-I-have-broken-my-Vive/m-p/22603#M8423

 

https://community.viveport.com/t5/Technical-Support/HTC-Vive-out-of-warranty-due-to-sweat-damage/m-p/21769#M8081

 

https://community.viveport.com/t5/Technical-Support/Headset-further-damaged-by-repair/m-p/22696#M8459

 

There's a few questions that I have for HTC that I will just post here. These were originally written in an email that has gone unanswered for quite some time. I'm sure if you're a consumer who is reading this that one of your problems are adressed somewhere in here:

 

1. Does HTC Plan on notifying customers in their warranty that accessories are 1 time replacements? This was my biggest issue with this problem personally as I, and many other customers of HTC, were not aware of this even after reading the warranty.

 

2.  This question is completely different from my issue but a worry for me in the future. How come HTC changed their warranty to no longer protect from sweat? I discovered in previous versions of the warranty it did protect it but now it doesn’t no longer.

 

3. In regards the previous question, is it legal to void a warranty for being used under normal use conditions? I mean, it’s virtual reality, and no matter how much you take care of it, sweating in vr is, for the most part, unavoidable. According to some things I’ve heard, HTC is not above the law and normal use condition laws are pretty lenient towards customers in cases such as these.

 

4. Is there any plans to make a new 3-1 cable that’s stronger? My first one died after only 3 months of use and the second one I believe was defective, so I’m curious if you have any plans on making the cables with different, stronger cords. Ex. Rope-like charge cords from 3rd parties for apple devices.

 
5. I am one of the many people who had a touch-pad defect less than a month after receiving my vive. I’ve repaired it myself because I had heard stories about the RMA department and I figured it would be much easier to self repair – which it was. The defect with the touchpad is that the glue used for the rubber disc seems weak and extremely cheap. Is HTC aware that this is the issue and do they plan on fixing it for new controllers?

---

 

What do you guys think? Should HTC make their primary focus on customer support and hardware improvement rather than trying to create and market new items when there are serious defects in the current ones?

[jagibson]

Hi  ,

 

Thank you for your writeup and comments.

 

My first reaction is that under no circumstance is there a "hush", "censor",  "hush money"  (or other derivative) policy at HTC.  I understand you went through a poor experience and I believe you have shared this in other threads.  I believe the last issue you reported a member of my team was able to assist.  If any request was made of you to not discuss your experience, please let me know.

 

I'll try to tackle your questions one by one below, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns:

 

1. Does HTC Plan on notifying customers in their warranty that accessories are 1 time replacements? This was my biggest issue with this problem personally as I, and many other customers of HTC, were not aware of this even after reading the warranty.

 

 

Response: The policy is that any warranty request on accessories beyond the 1st request requires a review and approval by the supervisor team.  This is to determine warranty defect vs. externally induced damage (i.e. shredding the cable by rolling over it with a chair).  These requests will be reviewed and can be fulfilled after the review process.  In your case, it appears the review process criteria was not followed and this has been addressed with that specific team.

 

2.  This question is completely different from my issue but a worry for me in the future. How come HTC changed their warranty to no longer protect from sweat? I discovered in previous versions of the warranty it did protect it but now it doesn’t no longer.

 

Response: HTC warranty and policy updates conform to all FTC and other governing policy guidelines and can be reviewed by those government entities globally on a regular basis.  The Vive HMD is not ingress protected rated can be susceptible to any form of liquid damage.  I recommend the following best practices to prevent liquid damage:

1. If excessive sweat is noticed, pause your play periodically to wipe the hmd with a dry cloth.
2. After usage, wipe with a dry cloth and sanitize (we recommend len wipes such as these https://www.amazon.com/Zeiss-Pre-moistened-Cleaning-Wipes-Count/dp/B01E9NC2Z4/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_200_tr_t_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=0FD8VY9YD1QMCADFDRE6)
3. When putting the HMD away, especially when engaging in active usage, store the HMD in a vertical way so that any moisture is drawn away from the lens (i.e. with the lens facing down). This way moisture does not risk running into the circuitry due to gravity. 
4. Breathable "faux" leather face covers such as those provided by VR Cover can help contain any moisture and provide easy cleanup and drying.

3. In regards the previous question, is it legal to void a warranty for being used under normal use conditions? I mean, it’s virtual reality, and no matter how much you take care of it, sweating in vr is, for the most part, unavoidable. According to some things I’ve heard, HTC is not above the law and normal use condition laws are pretty lenient towards customers in cases such as these.

 

Response: As stated above, HTC complies with all laws and regulations and our warranty across our products are regularly reviewed by consumer agencies across the globe for compliance.

 

4. Is there any plans to make a new 3-1 cable that’s stronger? My first one died after only 3 months of use and the second one I believe was defective, so I’m curious if you have any plans on making the cables with different, stronger cords. Ex. Rope-like charge cords from 3rd parties for apple devices.

 

Response: I don't have access to roadmap items so I'm afraid I don't have an answer to provide or comment on this.

 

5. I am one of the many people who had a touch-pad defect less than a month after receiving my vive. I’ve repaired it myself because I had heard stories about the RMA department and I figured it would be much easier to self repair – which it was. The defect with the touchpad is that the glue used for the rubber disc seems weak and extremely cheap. Is HTC aware that this is the issue and do they plan on fixing it for new controllers?

 

Response: As per the warranty terms, HTC will repair any defects that meet our warranty criteria in warranty, this applies to controllers and trackpad functionality as well.

 

Thank you for your time in reading through this and for your comments.

 

Regards,

 

edit: grammar *sigh*

 

[Blazen]

Hi,

 

Thank you for taking the time to write out that response.

 

There was no point in time where there was an obvious attempt to silence me. I should have been more specific in saying it's just how it felt at the time since the problem persisted for 2 weeks and was resolved the moment I went more public with the matter. I am not dissatisfied with the support I recieved here, I'm actually very pleased. My dissatisfaction only comes from the official vive website support team. I apologize if you took offense to that as I did not mean for it to seem like a direct attack to you or any of the members on the support team. The only reason I'm continuing to make posts about this even after my own issue was resolved is because I want to see improvement in HTC's customer support, not only for my own benefit but for everybody else who has paid top dollar and put their faith in HTC.

 

The reason I asked about the sweat portion of the warranty is because I've been made aware recently that the original warranty protected the HMD from this kind of damage, but has been changed. Does sweating while playing VR not account for "Normal Use Conditions"? I guess from a consumer point of view seeing this protection removed completely was disappointing, as I can't think of any reason HTC would other than to save a few bucks.

 

As for the touchpad issue, My biggest concern is with sending anything to HTC for repair only to be billed regardless if I request the item to be repaired or not. I was under the assumption that warranty meant the company would take responsibility for any technical issues during the warranty period. I've also heard enough stories about devices being lost/taking weeks and even months to get back/getting back unrepaired/ect. This has made me skeptical about sending anything for repair, as anyone else would likely be. The main point I was trying to get across there however was me asking if HTC is aware that they are defective the moment they are made in a sense that the glue used to hold the rubber disk in place is not strong enough.

 

Thanks again for taking the time to respond. I know this is a post about negative issues, but I'd like to keep it as positive as possible.