Laptop Repair, Should I be worried?

[Gamerwolfsix]

In short:
How good is ASUS's repair facility? Looked at reviews after sending it in and am worried.

In long:
Late last month I sent in my [Gaming NB] GX531GXR to the Asus service center in Jeffersonville, IN for:
Fix a problem with its fan making a grinding sound (was rare at first and became more chronic)
check for heat damage since the laptop can run up to 95C+ with all sides except for two small areas on the bottom exposed. But its supposed to run hot I guess.
And the battery since one time I disconnected my laptop and it lasted a minuet while doing nothing.

The last two because might as well since it is going to the facility while under warranty and I wanted to have them checked.

So, I got bored and looked up their reviews and and saw its very low on different review sites. Reviews complaining of things not being fixed, stuff being broken, and computer being formatted. I backed up the most important things, but there are some things that would be a pain if I lost but did not back up due to time & didn't think my computer could be formatted from getting the fan fixed and checking that things are fine.

So I am asking if I should be worried. Low reviews could be because people post bad stuff happening more than if everything goes fine. But with the computer taking longer to repair for unknown reasons (maybe something had to be replaced, thought they'd just need to lube the fan and take a look inside that things are fine), bad reviews, and it being my only real computer; I'm worried.

[xeromist]

ASUS is a large company with millions of units sold. It has many different service centers and it seems like complaints have concentrated in some more than others. So if you are going to doomscroll reviews I would at least focus on the ones for Jeffersonville. There's nothing you can change by worrying though so try not to let boredom get the best of you.

That said, your issues seem fixable. Fan noise and battery issues should be easily replicated. Some of the issues people have are hard to replicate like crashing in specific circumstances. If your repair extends beyond the promised timeframe and you stop receiving updates you can post an inquiry in the sub-forum here. HQ will follow up for you.

[Gamerwolfsix]

Jeffersonville has 2.2/5, so it does not fill me with confidence.
Heh, I've caught up on everything I've previously put off. Activities now literally include watching grass grow and paint (varnish) dry, since quarantine is recommended. XD

They have a estimated complete date of next Tuesday. So I am hoping it is that date and they will ship it soon.
Does posting an inquiry here give me more information? I contacted their twitter (since it was one of the few places I could find to inquire at the time) when the first estimated date passed, to ask for an update, they told me it'll take longer and that they cannot provide any data till the computer is fixed. Fingers crossed.

[Gamerwolfsix]

xeromist wrote:
If your repair extends beyond the promised timeframe and you stop receiving updates you can post an inquiry in the sub-forum here. HQ will follow up for you.

So I just went past the second estimated fixing date at 17-18 work days. No future dates atm. Should I ask the sub-forum? And where is that? (couldn't find it)

[xeromist]

This section:
https://rog.asus.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?295

There is a sticky at the top of it with the following guidelines:
1. Please ONLY post here if you have already contacted customer service and have an open case ID or RMA, and:
a. You have not heard back from the customer service team for over 5 business days
b. You are unsatisfied with our service or RMA
c. RMA replacement received not working or still with the same issue(s)

[Gamerwolfsix]

Ok, I'll try to wait a week more before doing that. Just got off the phone with ASUS support. They said the repair group is waiting for advice, but couldn't say what about. It would be nice to know what has taken them a month now.

[xeromist]

Just speculation but my guess would be parts availability. Supply chains are all messed up.

[Gamerwolfsix]

Sorry, but I am going to vent HARD.

It would do all of us a world of good if they had a bit more communication than 'Check the RMA. Oh? Half a month has passed since the expected repair date? Um...check back in 48 hours'. I could understand if they are churning our repairs in a few days to two weeks, spending more time on repairs than keeping customers up to date. But in my case where the product has been with them for over a month, the RMA was updated more than half a month ago, and the situation is 'someone is waiting on an email from someone else'; they could, at the very least, send an email giving me some information or pay for quicker laptop return.

Like "Hey, fixed the fan. We found heat damage so we fixed the initial problem and am waiting on a replacement part, which may take a week to arrive and a day to replace. Battery was fine. Did not have to touch your SSD. Sorry for the inconvenience."; that would make me understand, get a time frame, and alleviate fears quite a bit. But for over a month it has been "repairing". Repairing just the fan? Are they waiting for lubricant for the fan? Did they find some other problem? Was the motherboard partially melted and they are waiting for a replacement? Is the battery ok? Are they going to format the computer because "reasons"? From emailing, calling, and tweeting last week all I could get was 'The RMA has not been updated for half a month, we will be more than happy to "escalate" it' whatever that means and 'the repair team is waiting on a response from someone else'. Which fantastic, can I get CC'ed so I can understand what is taking so long?

I am feeling like I should ask for my money back so I could buy a different laptop. Tomorrow I am going to post an inquiry.

[pndiode]

LOL! You are not alone! Some places post signs, due to COVID, shipment has been delayed�! What does COVID have to do with his laptop repair and my favorite grocery item?

[xeromist]

pndiode wrote:
LOL! You are not alone! Some places post signs, due to COVID, shipment has been delayed�! What does COVID have to do with his laptop repair and my favorite grocery item?

This is off topic but a lot of production and distribution business has had shutdowns or modifications to work in order to limit the spread of infection. When nothing is produced near you then disruptions to distribution impact everything.

Again, we don't know if that's why his repair is delayed but it certainly wouldn't be surprising. He's not wrong that more communication would help but communication seems to be an industry wide issue. I remember a time with another company where I got a shipment notification after the package had already arrived.