Three-star cell phone maintenance and exposure: $240 for spare parts at $3. 00
The mobile phone is sick and the screens are getting bigger and shorter. Consumers use mobile phones as “pets”, while mobile phone manufacturers use them as “players”. In particular, the mobile phone maintenance industry has been inundated and has changed its cores to at least hundreds, and high maintenance costs have caused consumers to suffer from headaches by calling “affordable, unrepairable”。
Who is responsible for the sharp profits of mobile phone maintenance? How can consumers seek to protect their own interests in the “trap” in which mobile phone maintenance markets are hidden? Journalists from the china newsweek network have conducted unannounced interviews。
I can afford it. I can't fix it
I'll give you three bucks for a recharging tail in 240
Most people choose to check and maintain mobile phones at a repair site authorized by the mobile phone manufacturer when problems arise. However, a survey of journalists in china's newsweek network found that “formal” after-sales maintenance sites in the eyes of consumers were not in fact necessarily formal。
On 4 november, journalists made an unannounced visit to the samsung electronic sales post-sale service centre, located on the 2nd floor of campus no. 2 at the west bank onion shop in beijing, which is an authorized three-star maintenance site with a licence on the wall for the “beijing tae hong eagle industries communications technology ltd”。
At midday, there were approximately 15 personnel waiting for maintenance. Journalists have come to understand that there are different situations in which people need to be maintained, such as dead bodies, open screens, uncharged power, software problems, etc. But without exception, you've got a big screen smartphone。
There, journalists saw wang liang (an alias) to repair his mobile phone. His “worshipful encounter” was that two months ago, he spent nearly $4,000 buying the samsung galaxys4 phone, and the night before, his cell phone suddenly appeared uncharged and all his phone records were missing. After-sale maintenance staff identified wang liang's mobile phone as a hardware problem and took it to the maintenance room where no one was able to enter。
Within an hour of waiting for the test, wang liang chatted with a journalist who said that he was a fan of samsung and that he had used excessive samsung mobile phones before, which made him feel good. An hour later, however, the tests at galaxys4 broke his heart. The post-sale maintenance staff informed him that his mobile phone could not be charged because the tail plugging interface (or what is called a tail plug) was corroded by the liquid, which was artificially damaged, was not covered by the warranty and required wang lian to pay $240 for replacement parts and had no room for negotiation. Wang liang said his cell phone never entered water this time, how could it be corrupted? The person who sold the phone did not show mr. Wong exactly what corruption was, but merely verbally. The king liang, who waited for his cell phone, had to pay for it。
Journalists asked after-sale maintenance staff where the price criteria for the original samsung mobile phone could be found, stating that samsung did not allow the disclosure of quotations for spare parts, but that the national price was flat and that they could find specific prices on the computer back-office system。
The journalist contacted zhang ming, who opened a mobile phone repair shop in shenzhen. Zhang ming went to a technical school in guangzhou in early 2004, where he studied mobile phone maintenance for six months, and then opened a mobile phone repair shop on the north road of wah jianxi, where, after several years of development, in addition to him, there are now four apple mobile mechanics and two three-star mobile mechanics. On average, they get dozens of phone repair orders a day. It is worth noting that zhang ming's maintenance shop is not an authorized after-sale repair site for branded mobile phones, and that zhang ming has tried to apply for it, but has abandoned it because of a certain amount of security and limited access to post-sale mobile phones。
After informing zhang of what he saw during the day, zhang gave q's offer on qq q, “in the case of samsung 9,300, the price of the goods is around $25”. Zhang ming's reference to “market” refers to the long vision, dragonsing digital city, which is also located on china's great north road. The originals of mobile phones obtained here are generally cheaper than elsewhere, as china's north road is one of the largest electronics manufacturing centres in the world。
If you search the rear plug of samsung galaxys4 on the treasure hunt, the price varies between $3 and $40。
Journalists are confused, and two issues are obvious:
First, the price of the $240 after the sale of an interface is nearly tenfold different from the price of the goods on the market. Why is there such a price difference in the middle, and who took the profits
Second, does the samsung post-sale maintenance centre meet maintenance process standards by simply stating that “tail plug interfaces are corroded by liquids” without any test reports and without showing the damage to the mobile phone to consumers
It's the bottom line for mobile phone maintenance
After the sword is sold
The bell must also be answered by the bellkeeper, and only after-sale maintenance staff from the brand mobile phone manufacturer can answer these confusions. However, journalists were not able to communicate with a number of after-sales maintenance sites online. In the end, the journalist-to-friend relationship found huang dong who had worked for five years at the after-sale centre in nokia。
Huang dong told the china newsweek correspondent that there were three levels of after-sale maintenance centres in nokia: after-sale repair shops in county cities were referred to as level i, after-sale maintenance centres in city cities were referred to as level ii, and three maintenance centres were located throughout the country, one in beijing and one in shenzhen. All of these maintenance centres were outsourced, i. E., not authorized by nokia, without a direct camp. Level i and level ii maintenance centres have the same competence, with the highest authority in level iii centres, for example, it can convict a mobile phone of “death penalty” - end-of-life; in addition, consumers take the mobile phone to the level i and ii maintenance centres, and if they fail to do so, then return to level iii。
Huang dong worked at the nokia secondary maintenance centre for nearly a year, followed by four years at the tertiary maintenance centre. When he was asked who had pushed up the price of smartphone maintenance, he was asked who was clear about the rules in the business
Huang dong went on to analyse three reasons for the high cost of mobile phone maintenance:
First, the mobile phone parts that were given by the mobile phone manufacturer were not at a low price. It costs only $8 to look at the glass panels that were exposed to the samsung mobile screen, while the maintenance costs range from 1,000 (including a change in the glass panels and touch screens). In practice, however, zhang ming, who opened a maintenance shop on the north road in shenzhen, told journalists that such a low price would be difficult to obtain in the market, would be very second-rate, let alone original。
However, huang is quite certain that the price of spare parts for mobile phones that have been provided by mobile phone manufacturers is not the main reason for the high maintenance costs. The logic is simple: the main purpose of mobile phone manufacturers is to sell more mobile phones, and they naturally want consumers to experience better before and after sale, so that they can create a reputation for more sales. As a result, huang did not agree with the media report that “cell phone manufacturers deliberately left gaps in their development in order to profit from maintenance at a later stage”. "the mobile phone manufacturer is fixing this piece, and it takes a lot of money every year."
Second, after obtaining the spare parts for the mobile phone, the centre naturally increases the price to the consumer. There's a lot of pussy in this part. For post-sale maintenance centres, they earn very little labour on mobile phones under maintenance warranty, and more “oil and water” can be obtained only if non-maintenance phones are maintained. In the interest trend, some after-sale maintenance workers are able to identify, through “drilling” - even the mobile phones within the warranty - some traces (e. G., water entry, crash, etc.) that cannot be maintained, so that the insured consumer can be billed. Such problems may arise in primary, secondary and tertiary maintenance centres. The following is a breakdown of the remaining ploys at the after-sale maintenance centre。
Thirdly, huang dong indicated that some of the mobile phone after-sale repair centres did not all collect spare parts from mobile phone manufacturers, but also through a supplier of spare parts. For mobile phone manufacturers, the suppliers of spare parts for mobile phones are level i dealers and after-sale repair centres are level ii dealers。
In general, the after-sale maintenance centre will enter into an agreement with the spare parts supplier, who will require the centre to obtain a specified number of primary panels, screens and spare parts per month. Isn't it strange to see people here? If there are fewer consumers at a maintenance centre one month, how will the centre complete the agreement with the spare parts supplier
Yes, as stated above, “find a way” to make as many of the mobile phones as possible covered by the warranty as non-painted。
Now you see who's behind all this upkeep-and-manipulation shit, right? The after-sale maintenance centre, designed to serve its own interests and achieve performance goals, has made the user “fish meat”。
Cell phone maintenance is a mess
What do you know after selling
How can consumers seek to protect their own interests in the “trap” in which mobile phone maintenance markets are hidden? It's important to know how deep the water is after sale. The following six manoeuvres for mobile phone maintenance are detailed to see how they “challenge” the bottom line for users。
I'd rather change the parts than go. Fix
The journalist also met with the consumer, mr. Li, during an unannounced visit to the sansung maintenance centre in xiamen, beijing. Mr. Lee bought a six-month-old samsung note 2 phone with an open screen, which had to be tested by the maintenance staff to replace the main panel. Mr. Lee immediately indicated that there were important records and messages in his cell phone that he hoped could be preserved, but the maintenance staff said that all the information in the telephone after the switchboard would be lost, and that “the three-star rule is to change the main board directly, and the after-sales maintenance centre does not allow the removal of the main board, which involves the three-star core technology”
In fact, journalists have looked at information that shows that consumers in the same situation have found non-sale after-sale repair shops, and that, after repairing the main board, not only the mobile phone is available, but the information contained in it is intact。
Is master's skill not as good as human? As a matter of fact, huang believed that it was a substitute for spare parts rather than repairing them after the sale. The reason for this is simple: “maintenance during warranty, after-sale maintenance centres do not make much money and instead of spending so much effort, they should be replaced directly by going back to work”
The change from "maintenance" to "non-insurance" is entirely at the disposal of the maintenance staff
Even if your cell phone is under warranty, it is important not to forget that there are several other conditions that make it impossible to fix it: the “accidents” that are common in life, such as access to water, squeeze, fall, etc., are considered to be human damage。
For post-sale maintenance centres, since the maintenance of “non-insured” mobile phones makes more money, a way is found to convert mobile phones during warranty periods to non-reporting。
We mentioned earlier that wang liang's mobile phone had been told by samsung's maintenance staff that the tail plug interface was corrupted by liquid, but the maintenance staff did not take out the phone to show mr. Wong exactly what it was. Huang dong indicated that the formal mobile phone maintenance process should be red labeled at the corrosive location and suggested to consumers that maintenance could only be performed if they agreed that it was indeed self-damaged。
“what conditions are there to warrant, what conditions are not to warrant, and there is a set of standards after sale. But the problem can be small, and the details are left to the maintenance staff。
Little "disease" major
Also a problematic mobile phone, different results may be detected in different after-sales maintenance centres and different maintenance prices may vary because some after-sale maintenance staff exaggerate the difficulty of repairing and describe minor problems as major problems. Consumers are perceived as “white” and have lost their sense of silence。
Sign the king's terms, and the phone repair becomes dangerous
“a mobile phone, which is not under warranty, can be moved by any part of the repairer after sale, even if it is broken during maintenance. This is because, prior to the repair of the mobile phone, the after-sale maintenance centre would allow consumers to sign an agreement that "the mobile phone is at risk of not being repaired". The repair process is likely to be worse if it is not fixed. It tests the level of maintenance staff." huang dong said。
Rehabilitated parts are repaired and provided to consumers again
Whether during warranty or after warranty, the most common maintenance action is to change the main panel or screen. Will the change of the main panel or screen be new? Consumers are afraid that the factory will re-repair the main plate and switch it to their cell phone. The staff at the west naumen samsung maintenance centre said that they could not answer because the change of the master plate was from the samsung, new or old, and they were not informed。
Huang dong also confirmed this. “the manufacturer never wrote about `replacement of the new master plate', because the main plate was likely to have been repaired after it had been rebuilt. This is the rule of openness within the industry。
Tie up and repair, and tie the risk to the consumer
One of the problems with smartphone maintenance that many consumers suffer from is that it is not possible to repair what is damaged in a targeted manner, but rather that it is a way of repairing “a bad whole”. For example, liquid crystal screens of smart phones are synthesized in two parts, touch screens and glass covers above, and if only glass is crushed and the touch screens are not broken, after-sale maintenance staff will also require an overall replacement。
Huang dong explained the reasons: “if the two were to be repaired separately, it would be necessary to remove the joint liquid crystal screen, in which case the glass covers could be broken. If your touch screen is broken and you're paid to repair the touch screen, then if you break the glass sheet when you repair it, you have to pay for it.”
The same is true of the previously mentioned switch-off of $240 by wang lian to the end-of-phone interface. “the same tail plug, which can be used on high-end, middle-end, low-end machines, may cost $50, medium-end 100 and high-end 300. This is because the tailings of high-end machines may need to be welded to the main panel, which would increase the risk of maintenance. At this time, it is likely to be 60 dollars in tail, plus 240 dollars for the main board of the circuit。
But we have to ask why consumers should bear the maintenance risks posed by after-sale maintenance workers for their own technical reasons? This whole-of-the-body repair will inevitably impose a significant economic burden on consumers。
The standard gap stings public nerves
Who will govern the maintenance industry's sub-rules
Unreasonable maintenance after the sale of a mobile phone not only violates the rights of consumers but also damages the brand image of the mobile phone manufacturer。
At a time when electronics are highly homogenous, optimizing the use of experience and fostering brand loyalty is the recipe for extraordinary success. After all, the sense of trust generated by good service can be an important consideration when most consumers choose brand names. Conversely, it can be said that if consumer dissatisfaction with post-sale maintenance is not resolved and unreasonable post-sale services are not improved, the brand may well be eliminated, even now as it is in the middle of the day. There are a lot of proxies that bear witness to the age of the internet, where giant stars fall faster than we thought。
Mobile phone manufacturers should therefore bear most of the responsibility. There is an urgent need to strengthen the management of authorized sites. The high incidence of post-sale repair and repair of various types of “dippa” behaviour points to the lack of standards in the mobile phone maintenance industry and requires mobile phone manufacturers to continuously improve their own post-sale service policies and develop a uniform service process for authorized maintenance centres。
The second source of sharp profits from mobile phone maintenance is the lack of transparency in maintenance and parts pricing. Huang dong indicated that some branded mobile phone replacement parts had been negotiated by several large after-sale outlets in the region and would naturally increase prices for their own benefit. It also requires mobile phone manufacturers to develop a transparent price system and to communicate pricing mechanisms to consumers so that they can understand consumption。
Once again, after-sale services fail to keep pace with and mirror the low entry threshold for the industry, and some practitioners are able to get on duty in short periods of training, and how can the quality of mobile phone maintenance be ensured? Mobile phone manufacturers should therefore also focus on checking the qualifications of post-sale maintenance staff and even provide technical training on a permanent basis。
In addition, it is necessary to strengthen the regulatory system for mobile phone maintenance and to develop relevant industry standards and regulations。
Finally, consumers should be more active in defending their legitimate rights and interests when repairing their mobile phones, so that the maintenance workers do not feel that “tigers are less powerful and can be considered hello kitty”. Once the repairs have been completed, they should be carefully examined and, in the event of any impairment of rights, promptly reported to the mobile phone manufacturer and the authorities concerned。
When consumers are no longer a mobile phone repair centre, “the platinum on the board, to be slaughtered”, requires many efforts。
