Netgear refuses to supply replacement parts (fans) -- says buy a new switch!!!

I don't usually rant, but...

The two fans in a Netgear FS 524 (fast ethernet switch) are going bad
-- they have been howling for months. I have finally gotten around to
*attempting* to order new fans.

Their website did not list fans or parts. I called the number given
for sales and the nice lady sounded like she did not know what I was
talking about. She transfered me to tech support.

Tech support says that they do not sell fans or parts. They said that
they would replace the entire unit if under warranty. But this unit
is, of course, just a bit too old to be under warranty. Thus he said
that I could buy a new one!!!!!

What tech support did not say is how I was supposed to SEND the unit to
them -- even if I wanted them to look at it, which I don't -- without
buying another one to keep the network running.

I was very polite and respectful.

I asked to speak with a tech support supervisor (partly because we were
having a "language problem" -- I only speak English and I don't know
what language this fellow usually speaks -- and partly because I could
not believe what I thought I was hearing); the first guy asked the
supervisor for permission to let me speak to him/her and the supervisor
*refused* to take the call. The first guy said I could send a
letter!!!

I called corporate headquarters at 408-907-8000 and asked to speak to
the product manager responsible for switches. The receptionist asked
why and I stated that it was about buying switches. (I do actually need
to buy some more and I don't want to buy from Netgear if this is really
their policy.) The receptionist *refused* to transfer the call and
stated that it was company policy to not transfer a call if I did not
know the person's name. She would only take a message -- and we know
which round file that was going to go in.

I know that WHEN we replace this switch, we should replace it with a
10/100/1000 (but this particular small network is still all 10/100 for
the moment). DUH! However, I would STILL like to have this 10/100 as
a BACKUP unit at the least. There is no reason to throw out a unit
that originally cost several hundred dollars when it just needs two $2
fans!

Will I buy Netgear again? Heck no!

Jay

On Tue, 17 May 2005 20:33:53 +0200, Davide Bianchi
<davideyeahsure@onlyforfun.net> wrote:

>On 2005-05-17, jay@JaySmith.com <jay@JaySmith.com> wrote:
>> -- they have been howling for months. I have finally gotten around to
>> *attempting* to order new fans.
>
>AFAIK you can pick those things at any electronic shop and replace them
>yourself, of course opening the switch will void any warranty you have
>on the switch.
>
>> Tech support says that they do not sell fans or parts.
>
>And that make sense, AFAIK they are not even designed to be replaced.
>
>> Will I buy Netgear again? Heck no!
>
>Don't worry, 3Com or Cisco are exactly the same. In any sense.
>
>Davide
Sorry to hear that Netgear would not even reccommend havein a 3rd
party replace the fan.

Bad service on owned gear seems to be the rule.

My SMC storey
Years ago I bought a (then, not cheap) 5 port 10t hub of the same
model I already had. I noticed I was having lots of connecting, I
tried tis hub in place of the othe one and determined that the hub was
indead malfunctioning.
I read my warrenty, boxed it up with a description of the problem and
sent it by UPS to the address shown on the warrenty card.

20 days later, the Hub arrives back- rejected because "No RMA, wrong
address for repairs".

I re-read the warrenty. No where did it say a RMA was required. No
where was there ANY (paid or Toll Free) phone number to call for any
reason.

I always tell people to NEVER buy SMC.





, _
, | \ MKA: Steve Urbach
, | )erek No JUNK in my email please
, ____|_/ragonsclaw dragonsclawJUNK@JUNKmindspring.com
, / / / Running United Devices "Cure For Cancer" Project 24/7 Have you helped? http://www.grid.org

On Tue, 17 May 2005 18:08:02 UTC, jay@JaySmith.com opined:
> I don't usually rant, but...
>
> The two fans in a Netgear FS 524 (fast ethernet switch) are going bad
> -- they have been howling for months. I have finally gotten around to
> *attempting* to order new fans.
>
> Their website did not list fans or parts. I called the number given
> for sales and the nice lady sounded like she did not know what I was
> talking about. She transfered me to tech support.
>
> Tech support says that they do not sell fans or parts. They said that
> they would replace the entire unit if under warranty. But this unit
> is, of course, just a bit too old to be under warranty. Thus he said
> that I could buy a new one!!!!!


Are these fans a special/custom part? Or are they something like the
standardized muffin fans? In other words, are they something you could buy
from a normal parts supplier?

Years ago, I had trouble applying a commercial software program, and sent
the supplier (in Atlanta) a fax about it. Very quickly, I got a helpful
telephone call about my problem (here in Israel); and this was _long_ before
cheap VoIP telephone calls. Do you think that would happen today? Unlikely.

One of the unhappy side effects of the commoditization of any product is
that the brand name loses a lot of significance. One switch is much like
another, and the only way to compete is price; pennies assume great
importance, and the hand-holding to which we were all accustomed is no
longer affordable. We can't have both low prices and personal attention.
Warranty exchanges are easy: you just tell the customer to send it back for
a new one. Out of warranty is different every time, and therefore expensive,
and anyway no longer the responsibility of the supplier..

The way you were handled is deplorable; those people ought to take a course
on how to talk to customers. The rest of it is the result of the structure
of the industry, as described above.

> What tech support did not say is how I was supposed to SEND the unit to
> them -- even if I wanted them to look at it, which I don't -- without
> buying another one to keep the network running.
>
> I was very polite and respectful.
>
> I asked to speak with a tech support supervisor (partly because we were
> having a "language problem" -- I only speak English and I don't know
> what language this fellow usually speaks -- and partly because I could
> not believe what I thought I was hearing); the first guy asked the
> supervisor for permission to let me speak to him/her and the supervisor
> *refused* to take the call. The first guy said I could send a
> letter!!!
>
> I called corporate headquarters at 408-907-8000 and asked to speak to
> the product manager responsible for switches. The receptionist asked
> why and I stated that it was about buying switches. (I do actually need
> to buy some more and I don't want to buy from Netgear if this is really
> their policy.) The receptionist *refused* to transfer the call and
> stated that it was company policy to not transfer a call if I did not
> know the person's name. She would only take a message -- and we know
> which round file that was going to go in.
>
> I know that WHEN we replace this switch, we should replace it with a
> 10/100/1000 (but this particular small network is still all 10/100 for
> the moment). DUH! However, I would STILL like to have this 10/100 as
> a BACKUP unit at the least. There is no reason to throw out a unit
> that originally cost several hundred dollars when it just needs two $2
> fans!
>
> Will I buy Netgear again? Heck no!
>
> Jay
>

--
Stan Goodman
Qiryat Tiv'on
Israel

jay@jaysmith.com wrote:
> The two fans in a Netgear FS 524 (fast ethernet switch) are going
> bad -- they have been howling for months. I have finally gotten
> around to *attempting* to order new fans.

> ...

> Tech support says that they do not sell fans or parts. They said
> that they would replace the entire unit if under warranty. But this
> unit is, of course, just a bit too old to be under warranty. Thus
> he said that I could buy a new one!!!!!

If you had not waited for months, would the unit have still been under
warantee?

rick jones
--
denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance, rebirth...
where do you want to be today?
these opinions are mine, all mine; HP might not want them anyway... :)
feel free to post, OR email to rick.jones2 in hp.com but NOT BOTH...

jay@JaySmith.com writes:

>I don't usually rant, but...

>The two fans in a Netgear FS 524 (fast ethernet switch) are going bad
>-- they have been howling for months. I have finally gotten around to
>*attempting* to order new fans.

<Sad story deleted>

>I know that WHEN we replace this switch, we should replace it with a
>10/100/1000 (but this particular small network is still all 10/100 for
>the moment). DUH! However, I would STILL like to have this 10/100 as
>a BACKUP unit at the least. There is no reason to throw out a unit
>that originally cost several hundred dollars when it just needs two $2
>fans!

>Will I buy Netgear again? Heck no!

The other lesson is "do not buy a switch with a fan again"!

>Jay

jay@JaySmith.com wrote:
> I don't usually rant, but...
>
> The two fans in a Netgear FS 524 (fast ethernet switch) are going bad
> -- they have been howling for months. I have finally gotten around to
> *attempting* to order new fans.
>
> Their website did not list fans or parts. I called the number given
> for sales and the nice lady sounded like she did not know what I was
> talking about. She transfered me to tech support.
>
> Tech support says that they do not sell fans or parts. They said that
> they would replace the entire unit if under warranty. But this unit
> is, of course, just a bit too old to be under warranty. Thus he said
> that I could buy a new one!!!!!
>
> What tech support did not say is how I was supposed to SEND the unit to
> them -- even if I wanted them to look at it, which I don't -- without
> buying another one to keep the network running.
>
> I was very polite and respectful.
>
> I asked to speak with a tech support supervisor (partly because we were
> having a "language problem" -- I only speak English and I don't know
> what language this fellow usually speaks -- and partly because I could
> not believe what I thought I was hearing); the first guy asked the
> supervisor for permission to let me speak to him/her and the supervisor
> *refused* to take the call. The first guy said I could send a
> letter!!!
>
> I called corporate headquarters at 408-907-8000 and asked to speak to
> the product manager responsible for switches. The receptionist asked
> why and I stated that it was about buying switches. (I do actually need
> to buy some more and I don't want to buy from Netgear if this is really
> their policy.) The receptionist *refused* to transfer the call and
> stated that it was company policy to not transfer a call if I did not
> know the person's name. She would only take a message -- and we know
> which round file that was going to go in.
>
> I know that WHEN we replace this switch, we should replace it with a
> 10/100/1000 (but this particular small network is still all 10/100 for
> the moment). DUH! However, I would STILL like to have this 10/100 as
> a BACKUP unit at the least. There is no reason to throw out a unit
> that originally cost several hundred dollars when it just needs two $2
> fans!
>
> Will I buy Netgear again? Heck no!
>
> Jay
>

Well if it has worked without a hitch, and the only problem you have is
the thing eats fans 1/year, then thats not so bad. It does cost a lot
less that some of the other manufacturers. To be fair, they dont seem
to have tech support. Just warranty support...

I bought an Intel Netcard. I was not working so I called tech support.
She had me go through some procedures then said the card was bad and
the replacement was on the way. I would be charged immediately for it
and refunded when I send this one back. I explained that I might have
fried it since I was a rookie and probably miswired the wall. She
didn't care.

got my new card. Was a good deal.


CL


--
Respectfully,


CL Gilbert

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door() into
the sheepfold{}, but climbeth up some other *way, the same is a thief
and a robber."

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