Before I have a stroke, PS2 help please!

I don't know where else to turn, and I am about to have a stroke with Sony and their product. So I thought I'd come here to see if anyone has a clue or...some advice... SOMETHING.

We had an older PS2 - you know, the "thick" black one. Had it for years. Loved it. Worked like a charm. Well, it died, of course, and then Sony dropped the price on PS2 to $99. So, we bought one back in April.

This thing has never worked. It plays one player 90% of the time. Two player 0% of the time. Memory cards 50% workability. So we sent it to Sony last month after trying new cards, new controllers, etc. They "fixed" it and sent it back. Still the same port problems. We sent it back again, and just received it on Friday...and it still doesn't work.

So I just got off the phone with some CSR who has no answers but "send it in." I'm done sending it in. I just want the darn thing to work. Why won't it? The CSR says they gave us a whole new console this time. What's the deal? Don't they work with old games? Are there some secret settings we don't know about?

Seriously, I am so CHEESED at this darn thing that I'm ready to sell off all our games and swear allegiance to Nintendo. Can anyone shed some light on this mystery?

 

I gave this advice to someone when they were having trouble with Dell tech support (who wouldn't refund them for something that was Dell's fault):

Most of it was more specific than I remembered, and I did my best to edit it, but let me paint some specifics for your case...

- escalate the problem
- escalate it to a supervisor
- explain how happy you were with the product and how long it lasted
- explain this is the second time you've sent it in, which is unfair and unacceptable
- ask, very politely, if perhaps instead of fixing it, they'd consider sending you a replacement console (and they can keep the old one)

The device you've purchased is faulty, and repairs have not corrected the issue. No one's been able to successfully identify the issue. All you want is a working console, and could they see their way clear of at least doing that for you?

I've personally found that half of working in IT is being able to communicate clearly and effectively over the phone with vendors, especially for hardware issues. Push the right buttons and say the right magic words, and you're more likely to get what you need instead of throwing tantrums. (Not that I'm accusing you of that, but threatening to move to Nintendo is much less effective than reminding them how long you've supported Sony, for example.)

Good luck! And if you need more help with PS2 issues, I'd try over at GameFAQs - it's an excellent community, with a lot of knowledgeable people, too, who might be able to point you to some customer issue resources that I haven't been able to suggest. (They once told me how to find and ask publishers of specific games to attempt to get out-of-print manuals, after I purchased games used without them, for example.)

 

I understand that the CSR is just a first line front defense for the Sony Generals. I used to work the Help Desk for EDS. That being said, I know what goes on when someone asks for a Supervisor (or when someone demands deskside support for something that can be fixed with a minute on the phone and some patience). I was kind to the CSR and apologized that he had to get a very irate "me" and my problem. Still, I find it entirely useless that their help desk script is all "send it in" and no troubleshooting.

At least TRY to do something for me. That's key. Make me believe that you're actually doing something to help. I swear their KBase must have 10,000 questions and one answer.

I'll try GameFAQs. Then I'm going to PlanetFeedback.com to register a complaint. (GREAT site, also.)

 

This is the PS2 discussion board, so you can get straight there and pick their brains.