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UPS - Your Computer Repair Depot?
dcsmith writes "UPS and Toshiba are entering into an agreement to have UPS provide warranty service on Toshiba laptops. Might not be as weird as it sounds -- they claim that the bulk of the effort in a computer repair is moving the computer and the necessary parts together. The actual repair itself is often trivial. I'm not sure I'm onboard 100%, but if its a faulty display or a bad CD drive, this might actually work ..."
This is basically the same problem organ transplantation has - transporting and speed is essential. Hearts and lungs must be transplanted within approximately 4 hours after being removed from the donor. Livers can be preserved between 12 - 18 hours; pancreas can be preserved 8 - 12 hours; intestines can be preserved approximately 8 hours; kidneys can be preserved 24 - 48 hours. (quoted from ) I wouldn't be too surprised to see the UPS people coming out from the back room in scrubs (and shorts, of course), and then washing up really well before going back.
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Would the repair be done at the depot? How is this any easier than shipping the parts and computer to a central location?
All Troll + "offtopic" mods are meta moderated as "Unfair", because you abused the system.
I imagine they actually bring them into a regional repair depot so they don't have to train their whole fleet of drivers
I have mod points and I am not afraid to use them
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Since they're responsible for breaking most of the notebook computers during delivery, they decided to close the loop and profit from it.
In today's PCs and Laptops, everything is very modular. And at the same time the components are so tightly packed that you cannot possibly do 'real repairs' without major magnifying glass, special tools and access to documentation on the device that nobody outside the original manufacture can have.
:) Especially if the huge spares warehouse IS at the said shipping depot.
So its all about replacing dead parts until the thingy works. You can eliminate the cause by simple trial & error + pile of known working parts.
I know I've been 'trained' for laptop repairs of certain models. In about 30min for each model - which basically consisted of demonstrating how to disassemble and reassemble the thing, and which parts were replaceable and how ya could troubleshoot few of the most common faults.
Not rocket science... and if they can save on costs of moving things around by doing that in some shipping depot, more power to them
I bought a three year warranty for my HP laptop, and they promise next-day on-site service anywhere in the US. I'm sure HP hasn't got reps in every city on the continent. So how does this normally work? Where do the reps come from?
By using UPS outlets, Toshiba makes it really easy to provide service points for customers and nails the transport issue too.
Engineering is the art of compromise.
I would rather have a local STORE that can do this work and quickly too. Gateway used to have stores and the screwed that up. If they had actually stocked components at the store then they would have been able to do the repair a whole lot quicker. as it is, it would have probably taken the same time if I had UPS'd it instead of hauling it into the store. That's NOT the only reason Gateway closed their stores, but it's a big one.
Gorkman
A while back I got a laptop with a broken display handed to me, and managed to get my filthy fingersesss on a nice LCD screen that would fit it.
It was pretty damn hard and timeconsuming to replace that monitor, and I broke off a couple of plastic hinges. I thought I was treating it fairly well, but it required some force to get out. And I've worked tech support(yes hands on) for 5 years, for the Duuuude. Never with laptops though, I'm a server guy.
Getting back to the point - na, I dont think I'd like them to replace that part. But it's an interesting idea. Logistically it's not a problem at all, ANYTHING can be delivered "Next Business Day", as that's been used for years already. Most people that buy their own computer parts never see that, though, but if you buy your system with a nice system warranty from a serious vendor it's handy to know it'll be fixed the day after they send you a tech. Infact this is almost how it is today, except the courier doesn't replace the hardware at present, just exchange it with the customer. Imagine a disk fails in your server system and you wanna replace it yourself - ask to be sent just the new disk, and a courier brings it. Replacing a disk like that is not hard, though, so if you DON'T wanna do it yourself - why not have the courier do ALL that work and skip sending expensive technicians?
Great...., so not only will they repair your laptop, they'll drop kick it a few times before giving it back.
Army of One!
This is either incredibly smart or incredibly stupid. It sounds like one of those business arrangements that in hindsight everyone says was brilliant or should never be mentioned again.
Developers: We can use your help.
I just got an order of books from Amazon today, shipped using their free Super Saver shipping, which ended up being UPS Ground in this case. I'm in Wisconsin, it came from Kentucky. I ordered Monday, they shipped Tuesday, they arrived Wednesday. That's pretty damned fast.
Mod down posts with a "Free Mac Mini/iPod" sig, they're spam!
I wish companies offered discounted DIY warranties, where they shipped you the part and a short instruction sheet and you could replace it yourself, even for semi-complicated things like keyboards.
Basically, it'd be a warranty on only parts, but you could choose to supply your own labor (instead of paying them to do it).
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Now UPS can read your hard drive as well as open your packages.
Apparently, the only reason that the specific search in the linked case was questionable was the fact that the UPS employee opening the packages would sometimes allow DEA agents to assist her if they were on site and the package was difficult to open.
Of course, a "Toshiba repair shop" would likely be free to do the same, as they are also a private entity. (Only government entities are "required" to abide by the Bill of Rights.)
Read, L
...trust me, this is a bad idea. I did a year as a Loader/Unloader at UPS. With the way we treated those packages I'm surporised andyone gets anything from UPS in good condition. One time the Stanley Cup came through my hub and got lost for 3 days. Management had us combing the building for the crate. And on the third day it just showed up in the international section. Whoever stole it must have realized the shitstorm they had started up. Before thanksgiving one year we had 50 Turkeys packed in ice that somehow didn't make it on the last truck (on Monday we had a small hill of individually packed rotting meat floating in water. I've got a million UPS horror stories. Trust me you don't want to ship anything UPS. And if you do ship UPS, package your stuff so that it could at least withstand being drop kicked 20 feet into a metal wall...
My days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle...
Like the article says the laptops are shipped to a central facility where the laptops are worked on. Radio Shack does the same thing, as they take Compaq laptops for repair. I should have trusted my gut on Radio Shack and stayed far away, but I brought an out-of-warranty Compaq to them that had problems turning on without a battery. So I give them the laptop and the bobo at the repair facility says they have to replace the mobo to the tune of $800. I explained to him that I thought the problem was probably with the charging unit and to try that first, but he wouldn't have any of it. I told him to pack it up and send it back.
After that I went in search of a way to repair it myself, and I found Impact Computers, which stocks just about every laptop component under the sun for a decent price (including replacement plastic covers for your more clutzy co-workers) I ordered a new charging board and sure enough it worked for a fraction of the price even if they had made a correct diagnosis in the first place. Suck on that you so-called technician!
-R
I worked for a company years ago that did pretty much this same thing. It was a freight and logistics company and one of the customers was Apple Computer. We coordinated supply chains for the parts and brought the assembled systems, packaged and all, to where the end customer or store was. Less bother for the manufacturer.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
i read about this 6 months ago in Fast Company, a management magazine... Go figure...
They claim that the bulk of the effort in a computer repair is moving the computer and the necessary parts together.
Hey! UPS' own incompetence is finally paying off!
1. Obstruct and make shipping process as difficult as possible.
2. ????
3. Profit from Toshiba
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I remember when we used to have to do computer repair for UPS. Back in '95 or '96 there was quite a rash of false computer damage claims. I think someone started passing around instructions on how to rip off UPS, but it didn't take UPS long to catch on and start bringing in damage claims for assessment and repair.
I was working for a small local computer shop at the time and we didn't do a huge volume of UPS claims, but what I saw was outrageous. Yeah, there were a couple of legitimate claims - almost always loose cards or cables from vibration - but most of the fraudulent ones didn't even try. VLB cards stuck in ISA slots, toasted motherboards, junk components just jammed in a case... nothing that even looked remotely like shipping damage.
Not sure what they did to the people that tried to pull this stuff, but the claims seemed to stop almost as fast as they started.
Another original use for UPS (UPS Stores, actually) is as a drop-off point for stuff to sell on eBay. You don't even have to have an eBay account - this company will take care of everything for you (for a commission, of course).
I worked as a technician for UPS once. It's amazing what people will do to try to get their machines replaced by UPS. Some would ship really ancient machines with thousands in insurance then claim it was damaged in shipment. One guy was really upset because he had paid to have an old machine sent as a high value shipment but on inspection it was worth less than $50. Blame it on Seinfeld episodes...
This is not to say that UPS didn't damage stuff. THey did. Lots of stuff. Sometimes I was amazed that equipment actually arrived in working order. There was one machine that was run over by a truck -- no kidding. Footprints on boxes? Yup, many times. Pilferage. Yup.
No point to this post other than a rant. They have the illusion of high tech but their hubs are ripped right from the 1940's.
I'll post this AC for fear of being hunted down and slaughtered by my evil UPS-corporate overlords... but the rumours are true. We, at UPS, really do drop-kick your boxes. Off the trucks to the belt isn't so bad, the damages happen in the trailer. They crank the belt up so high that packages will literally start piling into the ass end of the trailer if your packers aren't working fast enough. Unfortunatly, most of the time the only way to work fast enough is to not give a shit about the packages, and just start throwing them. But of course, the managers would never slow the belts down, because then we might be a little late *gasp*. So yeah, you basically get trained to break things.
:).
;)
:)
After a while it becomes fun though, almost like a game. We do all sorts of stuff to your crap. Sit on boxes, stand on boxes, drop boxes, throw them, kick them, drop heavy boxes on lighter boxes... its a great stress reliever really! Some highlights from my UPS-trailer career include:
- Sliding on packages down the rollers like a slip'n'slide.
- Taking long, heavy automotive parts like suspension pieces, and using them as javelins to impale other boxes
- Finding the absolute heaviest package on the truck, lining it up over some other boxes, and then going "Oops!" as you roll it into the belly to smash the other boxes
- Using any sort of metallic crate, case, or box, and tossing it onto other boxes so the sharp corners rip into the packages
- Building a wall of packages until only a small, 2 ft gap is left at the top of the trailer, and then taking small, light packages, and drop-kicking them over the wall like a football player. We even keep score (honestly, we do).
- Having shotput competitions with really heavy packages. The bags we use for letters are really fun, because you can swing them like a hammer-toss for extra distance.
- Playing "smash-up-boxes", or "Darwinism". Basically two guys take random boxes and throw them at eachother and see which one survives the impact the best. The winner then takes on a new challanger. Its supposed to find the "ultimate package", but generally it just leaves a whole lot of beat up crap scattered around.
Oh, and don't bother labling your packages "fragile". For one, they don't get treated any better than anything else (the ONLY packages that get treated with kid-gloves are the specially insured high-values). For a second thing, fragiles can actually be treated WORSE than regular packages. Probably 75% of everything we move has a "fragile" sticker somewhere on it. Even if the part is an 80lb chunk of metal, you idiot customers still seem to think its "fragile" and that we need to gently carress while placing it in the trailer. So when we see boxes that are marked fragile, its kind of insulting. Especially packages that are obviously not fragile, or overly labled ("OMG FRAGIEL PLZ DONT DROP OR STAND ON END PLZ K THNX BYE!!"). We target those packages for extra abuse
Other things we hate and tend to abuse are boxes that are shitty and falling apart, or just too thin to hold their contents correctly. Since those kinds of things tend to bust open easilly, we like to drop the heavier stuff on them to see what happens. Also, be wary of heavier boxes with shifting loads. If a worker is ever injured by your box (contents shift and smack you in the face, box opens and contents fall on your foot or whatever), then your package will get the "royal treatment". Royal meaning we royally beat the fuck out of your stupid goddamn package.
Anyways, I hope that little insight into UPS was enough to convince some of you to never ship with our shitty fucking company ever again.
Cheers!
...UPS has announced they plan to change their name to "un1tED P4rc3l 53RViC3"
Punctanym: alternate spelling of words using punctuation or numerals in place of some or all of its letters; see 'leet'
We were just talking about this in class the other day. Its not all that new. UPS has been building many Dell's computers for awhile now.
Business News and Resources: www.usasource.net
I'm going to guess that UPS uses a lot of Tosiba laptops and this made business sense for them, as they now probably get lots of parts at cost.
This is kinda like Amazon becoming a ICANN certified domain selling company.... it was cheaper for them to manage all the domains themselves then it was to go through netsol.
UPS drivers aren't replacing anything, they are simply shipping them to a center where techs replace the parts, then ship them back. While the article gives the impression that the techs will be UPS employees, they still are most likely experienced laptop repair techs, not guys pulled from big brown trucks - if only because it's probably easier to find good laptop techs then good truck drivers these days.
It isn't that unusual for shipping companies to do other loosly related stuff - for example, outpost.com outsources their wharehousing/pick n pack/shipping to Airborne - if you buy anything from outpost, it will ship from "1 Airborne Drive" somwhere in Ohio.
I have blog like everyone else
the package for $300, which was a few dollars less than it was worth. They paid the claim almost a year later. UPS seems OK for most things, but I will never send anything fragile or irreplaceable by UPS again.
...in other news, parent actually works for FedEx and just got a stock bonus...
Corruptissima re publica plurimae leges.
The idea is utterly preposterous. United Parcel Service is clueless about computer issues, if my experience is any guide. UPS WorldShip software is amazingly poorly designed, and the installation is primitive. I needed installation instructions, and had to write them myself: UPS Online WorldShip Software Installation and Un-installation Instructions. No one at UPS has thought to put the instructions online. One UPS tech support rep. told me that was because they wanted to have as many people calling them as possible, so they could keep their jobs.
I'd be more inclined to agree with you, if we were talking about DESKTOPS here, but we're talking NOTEBOOKS!
I don't know how many notebook computers you've personally repaired, but I've worked on quite a few - and I'd say it's by far the most challenging type of computer repair out there.
Among other things, it takes lots of patience and care, because you're dealing with lots of very small screws (often several different sizes for different parts of the system) that can easily get lost, along with fragile ribbon cables, etc. Outer plastic shell parts are often tricky to snap apart without breaking off tabs, and sometimes you have little pieces that have to be carefully placed in just the right spot before snapping other pieces closed around them (CPU cooling ducts and the like).
The last thing I want is some moron rushing through a $3000 laptop repair, losing parts and breaking things in the process!
Is it rocket science? Of course not. But like anything involving tiny parts crammed into small spaces, you have to be CAREFUL.
Yep.... Granted, this was at least 5 years ago, but one of my good friends worked for UPS and told me a story about their loading dock here in the midwest.
He said they had been short on space, so they were ordered to stack boxes up in a 6 or 7 foot high "wall". When it came time to get these boxes loaded on the trucks, a supervisor came along, ordering them to "tear it down!". They just let the whole thing fall all over the concrete floor, without any concern as to whether or not boxes near the top of the pile were "fragile".
The last thing I want is some moron rushing through a $3000 laptop repair, losing parts and breaking things in the process!
Honestly, whom do you think Toshiba employs in their repair shops now? You can be sure it's not an EE. Six of one...
Besides, you all aren't reading TFA. They aren't going to be doing computer repairs in the local UPS hub or depot, all of the repairs are going to one central UPS shop in Louisville, KY. So it's either morons who work for Toshiba in God Knows Where or morons who work for UPS in Kentucky, what's the difference from the consumer POV?
Evidently you are lacking the Toshiba laptop repair and service guide. Toshiba actually have a book on how to replace any part on any Toshiba model that is in the book.
Not only that, but Toshiba number their screw holes and the guide of which screw size to which hole is in the guide.
Toshiba have got it right, most internal parts are either clearly labled, or the diagram in the service guide is clear enough to follow to the last screw. The guide even covers how to put it all back together with notes on the tricky parts.
I would actualy wager that you could use the guide and order all the parts seperatly, and build your own Toshiba laptop...
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They man-handled the box so roughly that components came loose from their sockets on the motherboard.
And we never got a dime on the claim we filed for damages.
Dear Shit for Brains,
You didn't convince me of somthing that I didn't alreay know. Almost every company has some disgruntled workers - perhaps fifteen percent of their workforce. But the majority of their workers are hard working honest people who take pride in their work. Sure, they may have a few gripes but they do the best they can do and many, perhaps most - really stretch to go the extra distance.
Too bad that small percentage - the people like you - hurt the reputation of the majority! If you worked flipping burgers, you would be the asshole that spits on the burgers. Jerks like you are everywhere and you hurt the honest hardworking people who only want a decent day's pay for a decent days work.
You can't possibly convince me that you are more than a small percentage of the workforce. I get laptops shipped to me every day and of the thousands that I have handled over the years, I have yet to have had one damaged in shipping. You should see some of them I get too. At least once a week, I will get one in a "letter box."
One of your competitors has delivered a laptop in working condition to me that had the shipping label pasted directly on the computer!
I'd advise you to find a better attitude, the one you have now does not serve you well and will prevent you from getting somewhere in life.
It was Friday afternoon around quitting time, and it hadn't arrived.
So you went home.
So UPS showed up, and left the package (perhaps ignoring the 'signature required' - you don't say so, but perhaps).
What were they supposed to do? Bring it back to their special freezer for people who don't stick around to make sure $20K packages are properly handled?
And what about insurance, anyway? Had you not heard that packages don't *always* arrive on time and intact?
Sheesh.
Your absolutely right! I've repaired hundreds of laptops and frankly after a full day of working on them, you feel like someone beat the hell out of you with a baseball bat from all that concentrating on not screwing something up. However the real problem with an "A+" tech doing the repair and it being a monkey-replace-part issue, is that you have to get the part right the first time! Your warranty reimbursement from the manufacturer is directly proportional to the repair's efficiency. The dotbomb days of "throw parts at it until it starts working" doesn't work today. With the 50 USD per warranty claim reimbursement the company is getting, how good do you think these bench monkeys are?
So if you think about it, anyone good at troubleshooting hardware problems is not going to work for the wages they want to pay. Therefore, the repair is nearly guaranteed at being screwed up. Either due to a hasty repair or a moron.
Until someone has actually done the work, they shouldn't comment on it being a "replace parts issue" like the grandparent post.
IANAUPSE (I am not a UPS employee), but I used
to be a customer. Never again.
(1) on the delivery dock of my employer when
$15K worth of Compaq servers were delivered,
and signed for. The product was originally
destined for a company across town.
(2) packages marked "Signature Only" delivery
left on a neighboring business's doorstep
(3) package marked (all over) "Fragile Glass"
arrived with a smashed corner & tinkled:
$6K flatbed scanner (in original factory
box) was dropped from a height of 6 feet.
(The same packaging protected same equipment
on 12K mile trip from Japan.)
Why would anyone trust such a delivery company?
IMHO, UPS is good for one thing only: stress
testing MIL spec ruggedized equipment.
I'm betting this will come down to- you say there's something wrong with your laptop, they swap your hard disk into another refirbished laptop of your model and send it back- it still dosen't work; they try it one more time, then you loose the hard drive.
Somewhere along the line a tech will look at all the 'dead' laptops and find the working ones, as well as fix easy to repair ones, and lable them refirbished for other people to get on exchange.
But all UPS will be doing is swapping hard disks- you grandmother, while drunk, could do that.
-Millions of Monkeys, Millions of typewriters, 6 hours of sorting through faeces encrusted pages to find: This post
Reminds me of this poor guy who shipped his mac with UPS ground (and yes, the images are still online).
They took care of his computer all right...