First off, I've been an avid Asus supporter/user for years. I've had multiple heavily OC'd desktops that have run for astonishing amounts of time (some still running) and I've been extremely satisfied with them as a company. I briefly worked as a computer salesman in between career jobs due to the economy, and I usually steered customers to the Asus line just because of their warranty and product reliability.

Then three weeks ago happened.

I own a ROG G73SW-A1 which I purchased in March of 2011. I have always kept up to date on the drivers and these forum boards (Throttle stop, fixes, etc.) to make sure when I've had quirks to have them addressed.

A month ago my hard drives/video card (one of the two, or both) started having issues. Games and applications that the computer was solely bought for and installed on right after purchase can no longer perform like they used to. A simple game like Team Fortress 2 that my computer could spit out is now having hard audio/frames freezes for a few seconds at a time. Programs like Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop are struggling to work with the files I've always worked with at work. (I'm a designer.) I suspected the video card at first and tried rolling back, uninstalling/re-installing/driver cleaning yada yada yada. I made sure the firmware on the known troublesome Seagate Momentus XT drives was up to date and ran diagnostics. The problem persisted and at one point my computer booted up from cold boot with the known 'HDD chirping' and could not find a boot device. Oh joy. After a few reboots it found it and I immediately double checked that my full system back up was current and then called Asus.

And then my troubles really began...

I explained to the representative on the phone what the issues were. They read the script/list of items to do first, yes I checked the drivers, yes I even did a full system recover at one point, yes I did that, blah blah blah. Finally they agreed I needed to RMA it (I already knew this). They issued me a RMA slip and we verified my information as I had just moved. Everything seemed good so off I went to the FedEx store to send my computer off. I didn't have a proper sized box/packing material so I purchased one at the FedEx store (~$25). Unit was sent off and I hoped the problem could be resolved quickly.

Fast forward about a week and a half later...

I get an e-mail survey asking how the customer repair service/customer phone service had been. I didn't have my computer back, but according to the e-mail the repairs were complete. Also in the e-mail it states the survey sometimes arrives before the unit depending on mailing location. So I called up good ol' Asus to get some tracking information to see where my computer was as doing my work at the office without the computer was proving to be obnoxiously difficult. The person on the phone never made it to the tracking information bit. Instead, they made it to the point where they told me what had been fixed.

They replaced a fan... to which I asked 'and what else?'. The representative says "That's all I see."... I can feel my vein in my forehead starting to bulge and I tell the representative that the issue was with the HDD/freezing not a fan. (I'm really not so clueless to as not have checked temperatures). The representative then goes on to apologize and tells me they guess I'll just have to RMA it again. Admittedly, I wasn't happy and didn't do the most professional thing... before I could start swearing, I hung up.

A day goes by and I still don't have my computer. I get a phone call from an unknown phone number. An older lady asks if I am who I am, I answer yes, and then find out she has my computer. She lives at a residence I haven't lived at in over two years. By the grace of this good person who could have just kept my computer, she tells me I can come pick it up. By now I feel that vein starting to pulse, but I retrieve the computer and thank her very much. Which wasn't in the same box I had purchased, but a box that looked like it had been crushed by the Hulk or sat on by a very large person. (Luckily there was very nice packaging inside) And then the fun starts...

I turn on the computer, which hasn't been reformatted after I had been told numerous times I'd have to re-install my Anytime Upgrade to Ultimate b/c it would be reformatted. I run the diagnostics, they're showing the same as before I sent. I start up Photoshop and try a file. Same issue. I start up Illustrator, again same issue. I load up about 5 different games, guess what? Same issue. Was I surprised? No. All they did was replace a fan that I knew wasn't the issue. So, back to calling Asus we go.

They apologize, read the script, apologize some more. I actually was very courteous/nice just because I wanted the issue fixed (Promise I was nice.). The woman on the phone is very nice and I make sure she writes exactly what the issue is and read it back to me - I wasn't sure if the tech didn't care or the service rep. didn't provide the problem description, but I wanted to make sure. I also made sure she changed/verified/double verified my mailing address. She tells me she sends me the slip, go to FedEx and send it off again. I ask about a box for sending it off. Yes, its not their issue normally, but the I bought one the first time, sent it off, they screwed up, sent it back to the wrong house, and in a crushed box to boot that was in no way re-usable). She informed me there was nothing she could do about the box. Again, I was nice because I figured this wasn't normal so I asked to speak to a Supervisor. Here comes Reynaldo. Reynaldo reads me the script she just said twice before I cut him off and tell him why this situation is different and to be honest I don't think it should be an issue for a $25 box since someone on their side screwed up. Reynaldo goes back to reading the script a third time. Really? The girl needs to be a supervisor over this guy. So by now I'm losing my patience and tell him to escalate me. Into the queue I go!

Next day (today) I get a call from Herman. Herman reads me the same script. I cut him short right away this time because to be honest I don't think I should have to keep re-telling my story or re-explaining. Herman admitted this was their fault and it looked like the unit wasn't even really looked at or maybe not tested after the fact for issues, b/c surely they wouldn't send it back still with issues. I tell Herman that b/c it was their fault as he admitted and b/c they somehow have an agreement with FedEx for shipping, that someone, somewhere in the large good company Asus, whether it be a Supply Chain Coordinator, or a Controller, somebody there has a FedEx account number and they call the company, tell them what facility the unit is coming from and the RMA number, and guess what - add the cost of a box to their account. Because after all, that's what good customer service is. My company also has a FedEx account, we've done this before when there's been issues, so what Herman says next I know just is good old fashioned bull****. Herman tells me that there is nobody in the whole company of Asus that can find a way to get me a box whether putting it on a FedEx account or sending me one. And quite frankly it isn't a part of the warranty agreement and I should get over it.

Hi bulging blood vessel. I've seen you a lot lately? What's that snapping sound? Oh that's the point when I lost my cool. You see, I had one other problem ever in all of my years using Asus products. And after escalating, and escalating, and escalating some more, I got a hold of a nice woman by the name of Chenelle. Chenelle was at the time the vice president of RMAs on the components side. At the time I was having issues with a motherboard and I was having similar issues with customer service. Chenelle took all of 30 seconds to listen to my problem, apologize, and take care of the issue. Just like that. And guess what? The guys that were beneath Chenelle that told me there was nobody that could help me? They sent me messages voicing their apologies as well and were supposedly sat down in a nice class on how to address problems by not only just reading a script, but pulling their head out of their ass and listening and coming up with a viable solution.

I recounted the story to Herman. Herman didn't seem to care. In fact, Herman started to read his script again. So I cut him off, told him to escalate me and he told me he'd have someone from Corporate contact me and quickly got off the phone with me.

I realize things fall between the cracks and things come up. And I realize that you're not always going to have the answer to a problem. But when did Asus, a company I've loved and respected/recommended for years, become just another spitting image of Dell or HP's outsourced customer support? When did not getting the issue resolved, but reading line by line a script that solves no problem - become the prerogative?

I sincerely hope someone from Asus sees this. As I would love for someone to take the initiative and ensure that someone admit they were wrong and own up to the fact of costs. $25 bucks is measly to the cost of what the computer was. But its a matter of principal and as a business when you do a customer wrong, you make it right. You don't have to give them the world, but take care of the original problem and don't expect the customer to pony up more cash because of someone in your company's incompetence.

TLDR: Sent in for RMA, did nothing. Having to send back in for RMA after having unit back for two days. Asus is jacking me around over money even though the item is still in warranty and the fault is theirs.