This is my experience with an Archos product and most important, with its customer service here in Spain. The experience has convinced me not to buy, and recommend people not to buy, any Archos product.
Update: Three months later, still no response from Archos. I contacted the Spanish Consumer Agency and filled a claim.
Update: I contacted the European Consumer Agency, and at last I got my unit repaired. I just needed seven months and a complain to the European Union. Awesome.
At first, everything was good. I bought an Archos 32 Internet Tablet that worked as expected. The unit itself was not the best of its class, but the quality-price ratio was more than acceptable. A good device at a competitive price, and Firmware was being updated regularly. It seemed like Archos delivered what they promised. Everything was good. At this moment I was recommending Archos products to other people.
Then the power button of my device stopped working. OK, these things happens, no worry. The device was only three months old, it was under full warranty. It's just a matter of contacting the customer service here in Spain...
Now is where the things start going bad. How to lose a customer in three easy steps:
Update: More than two months have passed, and additional attemps to get a response from Archos customer service, still no response from Archos Spain or Archos Europe.
I can contact the tech service using email or phone. I write an email, receive an automated notification saying "you'll be contacted in two days". A week later, no response. This is serious? I make another try, by phone. WTF, what's that? I'll be charged 33 cents / minute to talk to the customer service. Let me explain this "dummy style", charging for contacting the customer service is ILLEGAL in the European Union. Period. But they do it anyway. This gives us a hint on how Archos makes things with customers.
What could I do? I phoned anyway, and sent another mail. By mail, I got no response again, and by phone, it was no better. Someone took my details and told me "the customer service will contact you today or tomorrow, but you'll have to pay sending us the unit".
Letting aside the fact that making me pay for sending them a tablet that is still in warranty period is very stingy, they never contacted me back. That is, three days later, no response. So I tried to phone them again (paying again). I tried several times in a 30 minutes period, but no one got the phone on the other side, just an automated message telling me they were very sorry for making me wait.
Waiting at a price of 33 cents / minute, that is. That's what the paid customer service is for?
I didn't need a very complicated response, I just needed an email or phone call telling me where to send the device, and what papers do they need. This is all, no rocket science.
But I didn't get it.
Archos has managed to do something very complicated. First, they got me as customer and fan, then they lost me. And they lost me despite having a good product, but being so cheap on the customer service is unacceptable.
At this point I find no reason to buy any Archos device. Archos is not the only brand that makes Internet tablets at various sizes. Besides Apple's own solution, Cowon is about to launch their first one, and Samsung and RIM have other models too, in different sizes. Archos products are good, but other competitors' have stuff that is just as good or better, so what's the point on buying Archos and not any other ?
Certainly not their customer service.
Hi,
First, can you come to the place where you bought your item and ask them for warranty support?
I am not sure about Spain, but in the UK you can claim your credit card company (if you bought it with credit, not debit card) if things go wrong.
I fully support you! Bad service is not the thing you can expect from respectable company.
I bought an Archos 32 about 3 months ago and was thrilled with the quality and features for the low cost. I liked it so much I probably sounded like one of their salesmen.
Several weeks ago it broke and I contacted Archos via e-mail and then requested an RMA (return) via their online form.
Weeks go by with no reply, no RMA, nothing. Lousy customer support! I would not recommend them ever again!
Thanks both for your replies. Yes, lousy, lousy support. Even worse, they have no office here in Spain, so I couldn't send a complain to the Spanish Boureau of Industry and Commerce. I'll have to send my complain to the "Consumer office" (or whatever its named) of the European Union. I guess I'll have the device fixed by 2015.
I purchased an Archos 32 just before Christmas. I loved it, no issues. Did everything I wanted and for the right price. Then, like you, the power button stopped working. I called in to customer service, the woman on the other end was very pleasant and helpful. She gave me a RMA number, and then I received and email, asking me for a proof of purchase. I responded with the information, then nothing. No response, waiting.....waiting. I sent another email, simply asking for some kind of response...waiting...waiting...nothing. 3rd email, nothing. Ugghhh. Are they oblivious to the power of the internet, and complaints. I'll give them a little more time, maybe anther phone call.
Here's a doozy for ya...
To set the stage I have been a loyal Archos user for over a decade now. I started with a Jukebox 20 (lasted 5 years), then onto a Gmini 220 (lasted just over a year but I broke it), then a 605 Wifi (lasted for 4 years). Then I ordered an Archos 5IT a little over a year ago...
Over the first six months the battery was lasting for shorter and shorter periods of time until it would not hold a charge at all. I call up, get the RMA and am told I would have to pay to ship it to them. Here in the US, I live 35 minutes from the nation wide repair center for the US so I ask since I am in the neighborhood can I drop it off and they refused! So I send it in. 2 months later I finally receive a replacement. 4 months pass, I take it off of its dock to transfer some video onto the device and while I am searching for my USB cable the battery begins to expand. So much so that it pushes the screen through the case. 6 weeks ago, I sent it in. After expressing concerns that now I have gone through 2 units and the warranty period was not even up they tell me that the replacement is undergoing stress testing by a top tech (yeah right) to make sure the one they send me this time will be good. Two weeks ago they ship me someone else's unit (a regular Archos 5 with half the capacity my unit had). I promptly send it back. A week goes by and I hear nothing. So I call to inquire why I have not received any information regarding the return of my unit. After an hour on the phone, no one can answer my question. I try again the next day and am told that they will be shipping out my replacement that day without fail. Later that day I get an e-mail asking for proof of purchase AGAIN (which is so utterly ridiculous as I bought the damn thing from them in the first place) and then ANOTHER e-mail saying it will be an additional 10-15 days (translation 1-2 months). At this point I call up the corporate offices in Colorado and am given the number for the person on charge at corporate over the RMA process, whom I cannot get on the phone. After leaving a very angry voice mail the next day I am told they will be over-nighting me my replacement the following day (so that's 2 days past when they said they would be shipping it out without fail). It showed up here tonight, and there is a red dot on the screen that won't go away!
I gotta tell you I am absolutely done with this crap company! They had a LOYAL (you don't see loyal and Archos in the same sentence very often now do ya) customer who was pleased with the products he got for over a decade. If this had been some piddly little device in the $50-100 price range I wouldn't be nearly as upset, but we are talking a $450 investment (not to mention the cost of the Dock, the travel dock (so I can record band practices with it), the mount for the car, the cigarette power adapter) and the damn thing won't last through the warranty period! Scratch that, two of them didn't last through the warranty period and the third unit they sent (fourth if you count the one that wasn't mine) is defective as well!
Heed our words of wisdom people! This company is not to be trusted!
Dude, I feel your pain. thanks for sharing.
I have to agree with the original poster of this thread.
We are a retailer in Gibraltar and sell Archos products as from today we will NO longer stock Archos items nor recommend them to our customers as their customer service leaves much to be desired.
After following the procedure to customer service and sending untold emails after the waiting period of 10 days we still have no reply and already into the one month period. I have an UN happy customer and we will just replace the item with an Ipad and throw this archos in the bin and cut our losses.
If anyone is looking to buy items in this field I suggest you DO NOT BUY ARCHOS because if anything goes wrong with it you will be in trouble. Pay a little bit more on another brand trust me its worth it.
Many thanks for reading
Vijay Gibraltar
Post new comment