Elite Controller - Drifting Joystick & Microsoft Support Failure

I received an Elite Controller as a Christmas gift last year. A few months later I started to notice that my left joystick was starting to drift (push forward without any input from me). The drifting got worst so I decided to contact Microsoft. The
agent that I chatted with was very helpful and said he would send me a replacement controller. He checked to see if my controller was covered under warranty and it was not. He processed the replacement and told me it would arrive in about a week or two. A
week later I received replacement thumb sticks for my controller. I followed up with Microsoft support and found out that the agent that process the replacement controller had processed it incorrectly. She said that because my controller was out of warranty
there was nothing they could do.

Here is her email to me.

Hi there! Sorry for the late response. I had to check out with a specialist and during the time of contact, she is not yet around.

I do regret to inform you that there has been a miss on the previous representative's part. He erroneously processed a thumb stick replacement order instead of the controller. Unfortunately, the elite controller, upon verification,
is no longer under warranty so we could not process a replacement order for the elite controller.

There was a 23 USD charge for the thumbstick replacement. You can actually send back the the accessory and our service center will reverse the money once they receive the package. Should you have any concerns regarding the process,
please don't hesitate to contact us back here anytime.

My response back to her.

Hello,

Thank you for getting back to me, I don't mind waiting as I want to get this taken care of. I want to start of by saying that my experience with Microsoft support has been pleasant so far and I hope that it remains pleasant.
I understand that people make mistakes but I feel like this mistake was easily avoided. When I spoke with Marvin he mentioned that the controller would be replaced due to the defect. As I told Marvin, this controller is less
than 6 months old and should not be having this type of issues. He checked your system many times and informed me that the controller would be replaced with a small replacement fee charge of $23.
I'm not sure how he checked the system that many times and did not realize that my controller was not covered under warranty. I provided him all the information I had including the serial number of my controller as well as how
long I've owned the controller.
I think that based on the circumstances the best way to bring this matter to a close is to replace the faulty controller as per my conversation with Martin. If this is something you cannot approve please escalate this service
request to your manager. I would be more than happy to speak with them regarding this matter.
I look forward to hearing from you or your manager.
I've attached a copy of the conversation for your review.
Best regards


I waited about 2 weeks for a response back from her or anyone else at Microsoft support. I eventually contacted them again to resume the conversation.


Valentin: I responded to an email on May 5th and have not heard back yet

Eillene: I'm sorry to hear about that Valentin, let me just check on the case for you.

Eillene: Thank you for patiently waiting Valentin.

Valentin: no problem

Eillene: Let me just pull up your account and please give me 2-3 minutes to read your previous conversation.

Valentin: okay

Eillene: Thank you.

Eillene: I just need to ask you some question Valentin for me to isolate and understand the situation. Would that be okay?

Valentin: yes

Eillene: Thank you.

Eillene: May I please ask if when did you purchase your Elite Controller?

Valentin: I got it for Christmas

Eillene: Thank you.

Valentin: Do you have access to the email I sent on May 9th?

Eillene: Yes, I do. I am actually reading them all now.

Eillene: And may I also ask if you were inform that all accessories that were purchased bundled or separately has only 90 days warranty?

Valentin: I did not buy it. I received it as a gift.

Valentin: I get that the controller in no longer covered under warranty

Eillene: Yes, that is just the same. As that controller were being purchased on the Microsoft Store.

Eillene: Yup, thank you.

Valentin: The issues is that when I contacted you guys I was told that it would be replaced. There was no mention of any issues with the controller being out of warranty

Eillene: I understand that Valentin.

Eillene: And we are really sorry for the previous agent wasn't able to inform you properly with the process.

Eillene: And that maybe the reason why he was not able to send you an Elite Controller and it's just a thumbstick because it was the only option to process.

Eillene: As once the accessories are no longer in warranty, we no longer have an option on our end to process a replacement for the Elite Controller.

Valentin: In my email I asked for case to be escalated to a manager.

Valentin: Would you be able to escalate this please?

Eillene: Don't worry Valetin, I can definitely help you escalate this case to my Supervisor but still there's no guarantee that we can process any replacement for your Elite Controller.

Eillene: As our system was designed to process a replacement for Elite Controller only if the controller is still under warranty.

Valentin: I get that there are guidelines that you have to follow. That's why I think the best way to resolve this is to escalate it to a manager.

Valentin: I'm sure we can come to some kind of an agreement that makes everyone happy.

Eillene: I got that Valentin, if only I have the option right now why not process one for you.

Eillene: But then again, our system was only designed to process the replacement if the accessory is under warranty.

Eillene: That's why the previous agent was not really processed a replacement for the Elite Controller and he was not able to check that it was just for a thumb stick and not the Elite Controller.

Valentin: Looks like Marvin needs some better training. Him conversation with me was very very misleading

Eillene: I know Valentin, and we are very sorry for the hassle that has caused you and misinformation that were being provided.

Valentin: If you review the conversation you'll see the multiple opportunities Martin had to catch his error.

Eillene: And I have now informed my Supervisor regarding this and they will not review the previous conversation with the previous agent.

Eillene: Yeah I saw that actually, and I even double check that with our Offline Team and they have confirmed to me that we really have no option to process a replacement even on their end that is because the system can only process a replacement
for the Elite Controller if it's under warranty.

Eillene: And if it's already out of warranty, we advise the customer like you to purchase on local retailer store or online stores for Microsoft.

Valentin: Let's meet in the middle.

Valentin: Is there anyway I can pay a discounted price for a replacement controller?

Eillene: I'm sorry but we are only have one system and it was designed to process a replacement if the Elite Controller is still in warranty.

Eillene: Once we search for your controller serial number, the system will then show that your controller is no longer in warranty and then will not provide any option to process any replacement for it.

Eillene: That's why even if I would love to send you one, we are not given any option to do so.

Eillene: ;(

Valentin: Well this is a bit disappointing

Eillene: I understand were you are coming from Valentin, maybe we can just stick with the standard policy that all accessories have only 90 days warranty on where we can process replacement.

Valentin: I know your options are limited.

Valentin: What do you recommend I do?

Eillene: Thank you for your kind understanding Valentin.

Eillene: With that, like what we usually recommend to all of our customers that has out of warranty Elite Controller, is to advise to purchase another Elite Controller.

Eillene: On your local retailer store or online Microsoft Store.

Valentin: As a consumer I'm a bit disappointing with the entire experience. The elite controller is supposed to be a high quality product that should not have issues like this within the first 5 months. The experience with
the support has been as disappointing as the quality of the elite controller. I'm not blaming you for any of this.

Valentin: I guess the final question is why would I purchase another Elite Controller when the last controller failed so quickly and Microsoft is not willing to stand by their product or satisfy a frustrated customer?

Valentin: Again, I'm not blaming you Eillene, you are just doing your job.

Eillene: To tell you honestly Valentin, I would agree with you. And will take note of this and maybe you can put that as a feedback which you can write down at xbox.uservoice.com.

Eillene: And I'm still thankful for being understanding in this kind of issue.

Valentin: I'll do that Eillene. Thank you for your help.

Eillene: And with regards to the question why you would purchase another controller, that make sense.

Eillene: Even me as a single mother of 2, would not actually spend for an expensive item that won't really last based on my experience.

Eillene: And if you could put as well that as a feedback if they could have like put that in consideration that having an expensive item would deserve something better.

Eillene: No Valentin, thank you for your wide and mature understanding to this kind of situation, really appreciate that. Really.

Valentin: I can't tell you how much money I've spent with Microsoft over the years. I have multiple Xbox's, games, xbox live accounts and other products. Things like this just put a bad taste in my mouth. Feel free to look
into my Xbox live purchasing history and you'll see how much money I've spent over the years. This is not a very good way to treat a faithful customer

Valentin: Have a good day.

Eillene: I know and I understand that Valentin. And I felt bad as well after seeing your previous conversation actually.

Eillene: But then again, even though I wanted to provide you the best resolution but our option was limited as the system that we are using are only designed on the standard policy that we use to follow.

Eillene: And also, I have take note everything and definitely escalate this to my Supervisor.

Eillene: Aside from this Valentin, do you have any other question that I might answer for you while I'm here?

Valentin: No

Eillene: If that was everything, I'd like to thank you again for contacting Xbox Customer Support. To properly end the chat session, please click on the "Close chat" button on the upper right hand corner of the chat window. Have a wonderful
rest of your day!

As a consumer I'm a bit disappointing with the entire experience. The elite controller is supposed to be a high quality product that should not have issues like this within the first 5 months. The experience with the support has been as disappointing
as the quality of the elite controller. I'm not blaming any specific agent for any of this. Most of them were very helpful and honest with me.

I guess the final question is why would I purchase another Elite Controller when the last controller failed so quickly and Microsoft is not willing to stand by their product or satisfy a frustrated customer?

:)

 

Xbox One Elite Controller Right Thumbstick is Drifting

Xbox One Elite Controller Right Thumbstick is Drifting

 

Controller Scheme Layout Setting Xbox One Elite

Does any one know if the Xbox One Elite Controller is able to support a certain layout ( Legacy, Southpaw, etc.) No matter if the game only has the Default setting. I believe it's possible for Microsoft to incorporate some sort of method in which we can
switch the controller joysticks to our preference. If not then the Elite is a waste of money due to it being able to switch buttons to what ever you want but not joysticks. Very disappointing.

 

You can still get your controller repaired, you'll just have to pay for the shipping and servicing. For the exact price you'll need to contact support again though.

You can find info about servicing your Elite controller here
support.xbox.com/.../servicing-elite-controller

 

General--

This was the same experience I had with support--over all the money we spend with microsoft, experiences like that really put a sour taste in your mouth. I purchased my elite controller for Christmas so I've been using it for the last 5 months and the LB
bumper is no longer working. It's come loose from the controller and XBOX support told me I have to buy a new one. Why would we do that when they only last 5 months... For a new product that's expensive and considered high quality--it's rather pathetic.