Monday, July 09, 2007

Microsoft increases XBOX360 warranty, says "Oops!"


Good business decision making in action:



Redmond, Wash. — Microsoft is expanding its global Xbox 360 warranty coverage.
Prompted by what the company called an “unacceptable number of repairs to Xbox 360 consoles,” Microsoft is now offering a three-year warranty from date of purchase to any Xbox 360 customer who experiences a general hardware failure.
Under the new warranty, the company said it will repair or replace any Xbox 360 that experiences the “three flashing red lights” error message within three years from the time of purchase free of charge, including shipping costs. It also said that it will retroactively reimburse any customer who has previously paid for repair expenses related to this error message.
Microsoft said it has identified a number of factors which can cause general hardware failures and has made improvements to the Xbox 360 console.
The company also announced that it is taking a $1.05 billion to $1.15 billion pre-tax charge to its earnings for the quarter ended June 30 to cover the anticipated costs of carrying out this enhanced warranty policy.


It's great to see a company actually take responsibility for its problems, instead of trying to blame them on outside circumstances. A billion dollars may be more than pocket change, even for Microsoft, but in the long run, this move will pay off for them.

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