This looked like a wonderful product, pretty slick and
pretty sleek, even if it was also pretty pricey. I bought the LG Tone Active+
Bluetooth Wireless Stereo Headset for about $180. For a while, I was pretty
enamored with the thing. I loved the way I could set it to play through the retractable
earbuds or out loud within my own earshot (without being overheard easily by
others).
Mostly, the product was a plus, even if the neckband pounded the heck
out of my collarbone when I ran.
Until it broke without
warning.
I wasn’t even using it when that happened. I simply reached
into my cushy padded gym bag, while standing on the elliptical machine at the
gym (ready to run), and found that it had snapped apart on one side. (See photos.)
This reviewer purchased the entry for the event described here, and the reviewer has no prior or existing relationship (either familial or professional) with the event organizer/promoter.
I took the LG Tone Active+ Bluetooth Wireless Stereo Headset
home and searched online for the company’s website. (OK, I had to snap some
photos of the small print on the unit, simply so I could enlarge those sections
for readability. Talk about tiny writing!)
The LG.com website offered virtually no way to contact the
company easily. I tried the email feature, which basically brought up an
address-less form. I completed the form and clicked, but it refused to send. I
tried the Live Chat feature, which went nowhere as well. Actually, that step took me back to product marketing pages, not to any sort of support feature.
Finally, I took down
the LG toll-free number and dialed.
After spending several minutes on hold, a technical service representative
answered and identified herself as Julie. She took down my name and address and
the product information. Then she instructed me that she would send me an email
with a customer case number and a proof of purchase upload portal, so I could
send a copy of my receipt for the LG Tone Active+ Bluetooth Wireless Stereo
Headset.
Julie (if that’s even her name) assured me that, if my
receipt indicated the product was purchased within the past 12 months, my
request would be considered for a warranty replacement.
I hunted through my files and found the receipt. I snapped
the image and uploaded it to my computer. I signed onto email and found the “Dear
Valued Customer” message (which was labeled as "No Reply") with the proof of purchase upload portal/link. I filled in
the requested information and uploaded the receipt and a selection of photos of
the broken headset. I hit the UPLOAD button.
And nothing happened.
After several tries, I telephoned LG again. I went through
the automated telephone system’s steps again. I waited on hold again.
Finally, a technical service rep answered, identifying
himself as Ron. I brought him up to date on the situation and all the steps I
had taken, including the telephone time with his colleague Julie.
I told Ron that I had been unable to upload my inquiry and
my receipt/photos through the LG website’s email or the proof of purchase
portal. I mentioned that I had tried unsuccessfully to access the LG Live Chat
feature, either.
Ron asked what was wrong with my LG Tone Active+ Bluetooth
Wireless Stereo Headset. I began to explain about the piece that was broken.
And then the truth
came out.
Ron cut me off, interjecting that the company warranty does
not cover product damage – only product malfunction. He said there was no way
LG would replace or repair my broken LG Tone Active+ Bluetooth Wireless Stereo
Headset.
I asked Ron why his coworker Julie would have taken me
through a somewhat detailed process and sent me on what proved to be a
time-consuming hunt for the LG Tone Active+ Bluetooth Wireless Stereo Headset receipt,
if the company was not going to help me anyway.
He had no answer, except that he sort of apologized. And I
get that it’s not his fault. It’s his company’s non-customer-friendly/bad-business
policy.
“So your company refuses to stand behind the product,” I
asked (after I happened to mention that I was a journalist with a running-focused
website and that I would most certainly be publishing a product review on the
subject).
“That’s right,” he said.
By the way they’re still selling the LG Tone Active+ Bluetooth Wireless Stereo
Headset on Amazon,
although that
vendor offers it for about $100 now, probably because of the speed at which
this sort of technology turns over. The LG website still lists it for $179.99. It seems you
can even pick up a refurbished unit for about $60. But I won’t be doing
that.
In fact, I’m likely to steer clear of LG products
altogether.
Images:
Photo/s by Runderdog: Runleashed and
Runstoppable
All rights reserved.
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