By Christopher Elliott
Google promised to replace my Pixel 3A. It’s been three months!
Tom Kenny’s Pixel 3A phone stops working. Google promised to replace it, but stalls for three months. How can he get a new phone?
Q: I bought a Google Pixel 3A phone last year. In October, while the phone was still under warranty, it stopped working. Google asked me to return the phone. I did. I’ve been waiting for a replacement phone since then.
In November, Google said it received the Pixel. A representative assured me in writing that I would receive a replacement in 5 to 10 business days. I’ve written to Google several times since then to find out where the phone is. A manager said that they were having “inventory issues.” I’d like to get a working phone back or a refund for the $400 I spent on the Pixel 3A. Please help! — Tom Kenny, Allentown, Pa.
A: Tom, by the time you contacted me, three months had passed. Three months without a phone is unimaginable for most people. I can’t go five minutes without checking mine. (Disclosure: I’m a loyal Google customer and own a Pixel 5.) So I feel your pain.
Google should have kept you in the loop every step of the way and sent you a replacement phone immediately, and at least within the written promise of 5 to 10 business days. Instead, it sent you form letters — and excuses. The final response from a manager, claiming Google was having inventory problems, was an insult. I mean, it was the holidays, so of course they were having inventory problems. Everyone was having inventory problems. But that’s not your problem; it’s the company’s. Instead of telling you why it couldn’t get you the phone on time, maybe it should have taken a minute to explain what it was doing to help you get a phone faster.
In a situation like this, where Google didn’t have any new Pixel 3As to send you, it might have considered replacing your broken phone with a newer model that it did have in stock. Or it could have offered you a full refund, and you could have bought a different phone. But leaving you without a mobile device for three months is inexcusable.
I list the names, numbers and email addresses of <a href=”https://www.elliott.org/company-contacts/google/”>Google’s customer service managers</a> on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org. A brief, polite email to one of them might have helped retrieve your replacement Pixel 3A faster.
Your case is a classic example of corporate tone-deafness. Rather than fixing a problem — sending you a new phone — Google thought it could keep you happy by giving you the reasons for not complying To show it the error of its ways, I propose we take the manager’s phones away for three months. Let’s see how they do!
I contacted Google on your behalf. It promptly sent you a new Pixel phone.
Christopher Elliott is the chief advocacy officer for Elliott Advocacy. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help with any consumer problem by contacting him at http://www.elliott.org/help
© 2021 Christ
