Nintendo sent me a banned Switch instead of a repair. 4 weeks later, I'm still stuck with it. [Up: Successfully replaced with 2 Switches]

[Professor Beef]

So here's my theory.

Nintendo Support probably have SOPs (standard operating procedures) for each expected event. Unfortunately no one ever considered that Nintendo will be sending anyone a banned console - and so your case probably falls under "customer console banned".

Their rules might tell them that they MUST file the case as one of the existing types. So every time you call, they file this under that case, under a sub branch such as "customer says did nothing wrong/it is not their fault" (since that is the best fit they have for this scenario, and if you think about it, it sort of fits). The standard response to such an issue may be a long investigation as to how the ban happened, and they can't send you a replacement until the investigation is over. All somewhat logical if you were really banned...

This is all just a theory of course, and for it to work, everyone you talk to must be unable to think outside of the box (or perhaps they are not allowed to?.That would be strange since you talked to supervisors as well).

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Former rep here, you're not far from the mark. It's been a few years, but for things like this you have to attach either an existing or "close enough" article to the case, and then either solve it there on the phone or send it up to the higher tier reps. I personally saw a case (not related to being banned, iirc) that had the person's CS info tagged as "if this person calls in, immediately transfer to higher rep."

 

[Tebunker]

Uh hot tip, for anyone that has battery issues, instead of dumping $100 just go to ifixit:

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Nintendo+Switch+Battery+Replacement/112995 they have kits for everything and they work great. Also have really good tutorials.

 

[Handicapped Duck]

Happy to see you get it resolved OP, I have two pairs of joy-cons with separate issues; one has drift, the other has connection issues while connected to the console. It's sad when people have to be worried about the repair process on whether they will get their stuff back in working order.

 

[Tidalwaves]

I'm glad things are working out but I disagree with the people saying not to be mean to cs reps here. I too work for a customer service team and when those obviously angry patients call in with good reason they get escalated immediately. Do they deserve it? No. But their job is dealing with you, so be angry and let them. It never hurts to throw in the "I know this isn't your fault specifically" so that it doesn't feel like you're attacking them, but being assertive works.

 

[Pancakes R Us]

Wait till you try to complain and learn that Nintendo don't have a complaints policy and therefore there's no way to lodge a formal complaint with the company.

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Someone in the UK opened up a case with the small claims court over joycon problems because Nintendo kept ignoring them. When Nintendo UK got a court summons, they contacted the guy stat and sorted it, haha.

 

[Cheerilee]

Why the fuck wouldn't they just swap the battery rather than send you a refurbished system.

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It's a revolving door system. They don't actually care what's wrong with your console, if you bring something in to be fixed and pay the "repair fee", they crudely toss the broken unit into a plastic "incoming" bin and hand you an entirely different console from their "outgoing" shelf, in order to rush you out of the building quicker (because they hate your face respect your time). If you go in with something to be fixed on one of the first days of the console, you're probably going to handed a brand new system after paying the "repair fee", not getting a repaired one, because there are no "repaired" units for them to give you, and they're not going to have you sit around and wait while the unit gets fixed (not even for something as simple as a battery replacement).

As their repair guys have time, they dig through the "incoming" bin full of broken consoles, and fix whatever they can fix. When something gets fixed and tested, it gets a good cleaning, and then Nintendo declares it "good as new" and puts it on the "outgoing" shelf, so that they don't have to keep putting brand new consoles out there.

Some guy got his console banned, so brought it in to Nintendo to be "repaired" (while deliberately leaving out the part where he got his console banned), and the repair guys fixed the obvious broken part while neglecting to look at the software and didn't realize that the console was banned.

Nintendo is shocked, shocked, I tell you, that one of their repair guys skipped the step of hooking the console up to a machine and testing it's software to see if it was banned or not. That's supposed to be a part of the repair/testing procedure! So Nintendo spent a week, two weeks, three weeks, a month, doing an investigation into their repair people, while leaving their customer sitting on the doorstep saying "Hello?" instead of giving the customer another "good as new" unit from the outgoing pile, to fix an issue that Nintendo was to blame for.

And to think, all it takes to get basic customer service these days is to get the support of 45,000 people on social media.

 

[ReginaldXIV]

Time to start a social media campaign against them. Seems like the only way to get companies to circumvent their own broken bureaucracy lately.

 

[Pancakes R Us]

UPDATE: We did it!

Just got a call from a higher supervisor at Nintendo and they are overnight shipping a new console, plus adding Nintendo Switch Online for the month I missed out on and giving a copy of Pikmin 3 Deluxe. He didn't have any info about why this took so long (and didn't have anything to say when I mentioned that users shouldn't have to get 45,000 people involved just to get a customer support issue fixed), but he was nice and responsive.

So, there we go. Four weeks later and all it took was getting to the front page of Reddit and having hundreds of people retweet me.

Thanks to everyone's support here!

Also, if you're in America, GO VOTE.

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That's great news. I'm also really glad that you also gave it to him about not having to get so many people on the web supporting you to get this resolved. What a joke.

 

[nihilence]

Congrats. Was your original with the bigger battery, I'm assuming the new has the boosted capacity.

Crazy story.

 

[Pooroomoo]

Happy to see you get it resolved OP, I have two pairs of joy-cons with separate issues; one has drift, the other has connection issues while connected to the console. It's sad when people have to be worried about the repair process on whether they will get their stuff back in working order.

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Had the exact same situation as you, sent in for repair back in February (pre-Covid. US), got two brand new pairs a couple of weeks later.

 

[Nabbit]

UPDATE: We did it!

Just got a call from a higher supervisor at Nintendo and they are overnight shipping a new console, plus adding Nintendo Switch Online for the month I missed out on and giving a copy of Pikmin 3 Deluxe. He didn't have any info about why this took so long (and didn't have anything to say when I mentioned that users shouldn't have to get 45,000 people involved just to get a customer support issue fixed), but he was nice and responsive.

So, there we go. Four weeks later and all it took was getting to the front page of Reddit and having hundreds of people retweet me.

Thanks to everyone's support here!

Also, if you're in America, GO VOTE.

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That's a really great result. I'm sorry it took this long but I'm really glad to hear it worked out.

 

[Deleted member 13015]

Good shit OP, congrats.

 

[Handicapped Duck]

Had the exact same situation as you, sent in for repair back in February (pre-Covid. US), got two brand new pairs a couple of weeks later.

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The joy-con drift one isn't that bad yet, so I'll try the DIY method with the electrical contact cleaner to fix it, but I put in a repair ticket for the connection issue one. Probably the shoddiest controller Nintendo has made.

 

[Pooroomoo]

The joy-con drift one isn't that bad yet, so I'll try the DIY method with the electrical contact cleaner to fix it, but I put in a repair ticket for the connection issue one. Probably the shoddiest controller Nintendo has made.

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The DIY method works, with the caveat that the problem eventually returns. Anyway I wrote my post because at least based on my experience at the time (and others' during the same period) you shouldn't be afraid to send your joycons in for repair.

 

[TheMadTitan]

UPDATE: We did it!

Just got a call from a higher supervisor at Nintendo and they are overnight shipping a new console, plus adding Nintendo Switch Online for the month I missed out on and giving a copy of Pikmin 3 Deluxe. He didn't have any info about why this took so long (and didn't have anything to say when I mentioned that users shouldn't have to get 45,000 people involved just to get a customer support issue fixed), but he was nice and responsive.

So, there we go. Four weeks later and all it took was getting to the front page of Reddit and having hundreds of people retweet me.

Thanks to everyone's support here!

Also, if you're in America, GO VOTE.

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I'm glad it's resolved, but I'm pissed it took three websites and tens of thousands of people to get fixed.

 

[Handicapped Duck]

The DIY method works, with the caveat that the problem eventually returns. Anyway I wrote my post because at least based on my experience at the time (and others' during the same period) you shouldn't be afraid to send your joycons in for repair.

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I'm not afraid, but I'm just sympathizing with those that have had poor customer support, much like the OP.

 

[Doomburrito]

I'm glad it's resolved, but I'm pissed it took three websites and tens of thousands of people to get fixed.

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Quality customer service

 

[Chippu]

What about the banned console? Do you have to return it or are you allowed to keep it?

 

[headspawn]

You should ask for your $100 back while you're at it, considering they didn't actually repair anything. ;)

 

[rpm]

Congrats on finally getting this resolved, even though no one should have to go through the lengths that you did

 

[Epcott]

Congrats OP.

I actually got angry reading about your experience. 😂 I wouldn't have had the patience... whew

 

[Doomburrito]

What about the banned console? Do you have to return it or are you allowed to keep it?

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Interestingly enough, they want me to send EVERYTHING in, including the joycons and dock which are from the original Switch and never got sent in the first place. I probably would have argued against that because they are technically my property, but they have started getting drift and I'll have new ones anyway from this.

You should ask for your $100 back while you're at it, considering they didn't actually repair anything. ;)

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Lol I forgot to ask! I totally was planning on that, actually. Oh well, getting Pikmin 3 free (physical copy)

Congrats OP.

I actually got angry reading about your experience. 😂 I wouldn't have had the patience... whew

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I've developed a lot of patience over the last four years. Saving my emotions for the true injustices in the world. Someone on Reddit got annoyed I told people to vote in my last update. Fuck 'em.

 

[PortisheadBiscuit]

UPDATE: We did it!

Just got a call from a higher supervisor at Nintendo and they are overnight shipping a new console, plus adding Nintendo Switch Online for the month I missed out on and giving a copy of Pikmin 3 Deluxe. He didn't have any info about why this took so long (and didn't have anything to say when I mentioned that users shouldn't have to get 45,000 people involved just to get a customer support issue fixed), but he was nice and responsive.

So, there we go. Four weeks later and all it took was getting to the front page of Reddit and having hundreds of people retweet me.

Thanks to everyone's support here!

Also, if you're in America, GO VOTE.

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Glad they're sending you a brand new one, can't help but wonder how many people they F over who don't have the patience and persistence for fair treatment.

 

[Papercuts]

Are they not refunding the $100? The compensation for the time lost (and the effort on your part to fix their own mistake) seems...pretty bad still.

 

[Deleted member 68874]

Congrats on finally getting a replacement.

It's really shitty of Nintendo to only do anything once your story picked up traction.

 

[TheDestructiveSquirrel]

Always try Twitter or Facebook, a lot of companies have dedicated social media teams with more power than phone reps

Here's looking at you Walmart Canada lol

 

[Doomburrito]

Are they not refunding the $100? The compensation for the time lost (and the effort on your part to fix their own mistake) seems...pretty bad still.

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Eh, I mean, they're literally making me send in my old unrelated joycons just due to the fact the new switch comes with joycons by default. It's a weird mix of being very accommodating (giving me a free copy of Pikmin) and very rigid (sending in the joycons).

At the end of the day, I'm just glad they got blasted on social media. I hope some execs had a stressful morning. I do feel bad for any mid-tier reps caught in the middle though

 

[Deleted member 12867]

It's a revolving door system. They don't actually care what's wrong with your console, if you bring something in to be fixed and pay the "repair fee", they crudely toss the broken unit into a plastic "incoming" bin and hand you an entirely different console from their "outgoing" shelf, in order to rush you out of the building quicker (because they hate your face respect your time). If you go in with something to be fixed on one of the first days of the console, you're probably going to handed a brand new system after paying the "repair fee", not getting a repaired one, because there are no "repaired" units for them to give you, and they're not going to have you sit around and wait while the unit gets fixed (not even for something as simple as a battery replacement).

As their repair guys have time, they dig through the "incoming" bin full of broken consoles, and fix whatever they can fix. When something gets fixed and tested, it gets a good cleaning, and then Nintendo declares it "good as new" and puts it on the "outgoing" shelf, so that they don't have to keep putting brand new consoles out there.

Some guy got his console banned, so brought it in to Nintendo to be "repaired" (while deliberately leaving out the part where he got his console banned), and the repair guys fixed the obvious broken part while neglecting to look at the software and didn't realize that the console was banned.

Nintendo is shocked, shocked, I tell you, that one of their repair guys skipped the step of hooking the console up to a machine and testing it's software to see if it was banned or not. That's supposed to be a part of the repair/testing procedure! So Nintendo spent a week, two weeks, three weeks, a month, doing an investigation into their repair people, while leaving their customer sitting on the doorstep saying "Hello?" instead of giving the customer another "good as new" unit from the outgoing pile, to fix an issue that Nintendo was to blame for.

And to think, all it takes to get basic customer service these days is to get the support of 45,000 people on social media.

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This is the most ridiculous process I've ever heard of.

 

[Het_Nkik]

This is the most ridiculous process I've ever heard of.

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Standard procedure across all three console makers. I think the last system I sent in for repairs and actually got the same system back was the GameCube.

 

[Pooroomoo]

It's a revolving door system. They don't actually care what's wrong with your console, if you bring something in to be fixed and pay the "repair fee", they crudely toss the broken unit into a plastic "incoming" bin and hand you an entirely different console from their "outgoing" shelf, in order to rush you out of the building quicker (because they hate your face respect your time). If you go in with something to be fixed on one of the first days of the console, you're probably going to handed a brand new system after paying the "repair fee", not getting a repaired one, because there are no "repaired" units for them to give you, and they're not going to have you sit around and wait while the unit gets fixed (not even for something as simple as a battery replacement).

As their repair guys have time, they dig through the "incoming" bin full of broken consoles, and fix whatever they can fix. When something gets fixed and tested, it gets a good cleaning, and then Nintendo declares it "good as new" and puts it on the "outgoing" shelf, so that they don't have to keep putting brand new consoles out there.

Some guy got his console banned, so brought it in to Nintendo to be "repaired" (while deliberately leaving out the part where he got his console banned), and the repair guys fixed the obvious broken part while neglecting to look at the software and didn't realize that the console was banned.

Nintendo is shocked, shocked, I tell you, that one of their repair guys skipped the step of hooking the console up to a machine and testing it's software to see if it was banned or not. That's supposed to be a part of the repair/testing procedure! So Nintendo spent a week, two weeks, three weeks, a month, doing an investigation into their repair people, while leaving their customer sitting on the doorstep saying "Hello?" instead of giving the customer another "good as new" unit from the outgoing pile, to fix an issue that Nintendo was to blame for.

And to think, all it takes to get basic customer service these days is to get the support of 45,000 people on social media.

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So you have actual internal knowledge of specifically Nintendo's customer service?

 

[Cheerilee]

So you have actual internal knowledge of specifically Nintendo's customer service?

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I've personally brought both an OG GameBoy and an SNES into their actual physical repair center before, and yes, they toss your broken console into a plastic bin and hand you a "good as new" one off the shelf. I thought it was odd, and asked why I couldn't have my own console back, repaired (because I loved my Nintendo, and was attached to that particular one), and they explained how that's not how they do things. And since the internet I've heard many, many people mention how they sent something in for repairs but the console that came back was not the one that was sent to them, because it never is.

And it makes sense to do it this way. If you take your VCR to a VCR repair shop, they'll diagnose and hunt down the problem and maybe order some parts and you'll get your VCR back after however long it takes to fix. But Nintendo's repair works with the exact same unit, every single time. A Switch is a Switch is a Switch. They all look alike to Nintendo, and it's just product to them. It's faster and easier to just replace the unit with an identical one than it is to try to diagnose on the spot and figure out exactly what the problem is. And from the perspective of the guys doing the actual repair work, it's the most convenient to just pick a unit out from the many in the bin that looks like it has a problem that you think you can fix easily, and leave the more complicated challenges for times when you're less busy. This also means that there is literally no problem that Nintendo can't fix, because they're not actually fixing it, they're sending you a new one. Whether the problem actually can be fixed or not is something they'll deal with later.

Aside from that, no, I don't have any work history inside their repair centers, or inside sources, or anything like that. But I do think I properly answered the question of "Why would they send you a different unit instead of just changing the battery?" When your broken console goes into the Nintendo repair center, a "good as new" repaired console immediately gets sent back out to you. Your "needs a new battery" console gets tossed in a pile, and the repairman will come along shortly, look at it's attached tag that explains it's problems as you reported them, and say "Well, that's an easy fix" and get started working on it, but easy as that fix is, it can't possibly be fixed faster than the immediate sendout of your replacement.

 

[FF Seraphim]

UPDATE: We did it!

Just got a call from a higher supervisor at Nintendo and they are overnight shipping a new console, plus adding Nintendo Switch Online for the month I missed out on and giving a copy of Pikmin 3 Deluxe. He didn't have any info about why this took so long (and didn't have anything to say when I mentioned that users shouldn't have to get 45,000 people involved just to get a customer support issue fixed), but he was nice and responsive.

So, there we go. Four weeks later and all it took was getting to the front page of Reddit and having hundreds of people retweet me.

Thanks to everyone's support here!

Also, if you're in America, GO VOTE.

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Good. However, this whole ordeal you had to go through is fucking stupid. No customer should have to go through that. Hopefully it doesn't happen to anyone else but knowing Nintendo it probably will.

 

[Bonejack]

So they finally made some common sense decisions? Good for you, OP.

That whole mess could've been avoided if they would've just sent you another replacement and took the banned one back and THEN start investigating whatever they want to investigate ...

Dumb dumb moves.

 

[Doomburrito]

So they finally made some common sense decisions? Good for you, OP.

That whole mess could've been avoided if they would've just sent you another replacement and took the banned one back and THEN start investigating whatever they want to investigate ...

Dumb dumb moves.

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I tried to tell them from the start lol

Even if they had just sent back a working refurbished model from the get-go, I wouldn't have had any issue with that. It's a fault completely of their own making.

What's funny is they must have scrambled to get this done, because the UPS return label they sent me is a photocopy scan with details handwritten in haha

 

[Doomburrito]

Small little update:

My replacement Switch hasn't shipped yet. The order has been "pending" since Monday and just switched to "backordered". No ETA. Fucking L-O-L. This company, ya'll.

 

[Spacejaws]

New Reddit post lets gooooo

 

[Cleve]

Ugh, that still sucks, OP. Keep us posted on how it goes.

 

[Doomburrito]

New Reddit post lets gooooo

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Haha, oh god, can you imagine?

I'm gonna give em' the leeway on this one, being in a pandemic and all, lol. I just think it's funny because the rep was like, "we're going to send this out to you and you'll have it no later than Thursday." Gotta learn to underpromise and overdeliver, Nintendo!

 

[giancarlo123x]

Small little update:

My replacement Switch hasn't shipped yet. The order has been "pending" since Monday and just switched to "backordered". No ETA. Fucking L-O-L. This company, ya'll.

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I dont want to laugh but this is just comical at this point.

 

[Doomburrito]

Well, I'll be. The package just shipped! Guess it was only "backordered" for a few hours, heh.

Think that about wraps up this story. Been an interesting one. Looking forward to playing Pikmin 3...for like five days until Yakuza 7 comes out, haha.

 

[NoKisum]

Well, I'll be. The package just shipped! Guess it was only "backordered" for a few hours, heh.

Think that about wraps up this story. Been an interesting one. Looking forward to playing Pikmin 3...for like five days until Yakuza 7 comes out, haha.

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Let's keep this thread open for a few more days if possible. I'm curious if this Switch will also have some weird problem.

 

[Alvis]

inb4 op receives a switch with a shattered screen AND has a character distorsion glitch

 

[Doomburrito]

inb4 op receives a switch with a shattered screen AND has a character distorsion glitch

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I open the box and it's just completely full of bees

 

[Alvis]

I open the box and it's just completely full of bees

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Banned bees

 

[NoKisum]

Banned bees

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Guys! We found the murder hornets!

 

[Spacejaws]

 

[Psittacus]

But Nintendo's repair works with the exact same unit, every single time. A Switch is a Switch is a Switch. They all look alike to Nintendo, and it's just product to them. It's faster and easier to just replace the unit with an identical one than it is to try to diagnose on the spot and figure out exactly what the problem is.

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Except they also locked save data to the hardware which is it's own headache

 

[Amauri14]

It is good that you got everything solved

 

[Combichristoffersen]

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[regenhuber]

Possible explanation how a banned Switch ended up in "the system":

Used to work part-time at an electronics store ca. a decade ago.
Flashing the Xbox 360 DVD drive to play burned games while still being able to connect to XBL used to be a very popular method of piracy back then.
The downside for the pirates? Every now and then MS was able to detect the custom firmware and would ban the consoles (not the Live accounts) running said fw.

The pirates were stuck with an offline/single player console. Some of them got really creative:

1. buy a new Xbox 360
2. carefully replace the new 360 console with the banned one
3. return the banned 360 to the store and get a refund
4. free new 360 with XBL access

At our store I found it strange that so many 360s were being returned compared to PS3s. But all my boss asked me to do in terms of testing, was to hook the 360 up to a TV, power it on, put a game in and see it worked. Then we had to fill out a form and send it back to MS as a working return. Nobody ever tried to login on to XBL or anything.
At some point there was a new directive to always check the Serialnumber on the console against the one on the box.
And boom, soon as we did that 9 out of 10 returns turned out to be fraudulent. We hit everyone we caught with a store ban and obviously refused to accept the return.

tl;dr I bet somebody did the swap with a Switch and thats how it ended up in Nintendos posession flagged as a refurb.