Care Center: Wheelock Place, Singapore

I would just like to say how disappointed/angry i am with the lip service i was given at Wheelock Nokia Care Centre (Singapore).

I own a Nokia N81 which was purchased on 16th December 2007. Within weeks of purchase, paint was flaking off from the phone housing. It got so bad that in June (within 6 months of purchase), i wrote in to this very website to ask for assistance on remedying the problem. As i recall, the advice from the reply email was to bring it down to any Nokia Care Centre for them to check. No charges were mentioned and as i know of at least 2 friends who own the N81 who had the same paint flaking problem and 2 other retailers who work in the handphone trade also verified my point, i hardly think this is an “uncommon” problem, so as to quote the Nokia Care Centre personnel who attended to me today.

Little did i expect to be quoted $120 for replacement of the handphone housing, for paint flaking off which i doubt was due to my handling of the phone. I have owned the 5110, 6110, 8250, 6510 and 6280 without ANY of them having their paint flake off. I still have the 6280 and 6510 in my possession. As they are both still in immaculate condition some 3 and 5 years til present, you will no doubt understand why i was more than a little angry when the customer care officer (i use this term loosely since there was no service to speak of) keep saying that my paint flaking problem is “uncommon”.

She even went so far as to say that both she and the techician in charge both use the N81 and they have never come across this problem commonly. I quote this word for word and do not be mistaken in thinking that it was in anyway embellished. It is for this very reason that i write to you now while the situation is still clear in my mind.

This customer care officer, Nu Nu Win, went in and out of the back office several times to check with the techician on the costs of replacing the housing, and even wrote them down on a sheet of paper. As i’m left with no doubts that i do want to check on why I’m being penalised for a problem not of my own doing, i asked for the technician’s name and the costs in writing so that i can have a reference when i write in here. To my astonishment, even this request was refused with no reason given other than she’s “not allowed” to pass on the technician’s name. Even her name and costs for the housing was only written on the back of my queue number slip.

I cannot understand why this technician does not dare to have his name quoted unless he does indeed know that the paint flaking problem on the N81 exists and does not wish to be quoted on record as saying he never came across it. Or perhaps, he thought that this problem would go away. I certainly hope not as i intend to make my case known since Nokia Care Centre at Wheelock Place has shown itself to be ignorant on issues concerning particular phone models, have no regard for customer care and charge exorbitant prices on replacing a housing that is still under warranty, on a phone which is KNOWN to have the paint flaking problem. “Customer care” indeed.

I was at Nokia Care Centre (Wheelock Place) at 2.55pm, 16th December 2008 and my queue number was S108.

-Unknown