Repairing my Asus Transformer TF300 Tablet

I went to the Asus Service Centre at Burn Road on 7 March 2014 (a Friday) to send my TF300 tablet for servicing. The problem with the power switch button had worsened tremendously, and no matter what technique I tried to depress the button, I just could not get the tablet to power on. I had called the service centre earlier, and was told that because the warranty had already expired, there will be a $60 diagnostic/labour charge. Replacement parts will be charged separately, should I decide to have the unit repaired after their initial investigation. I decided to risk a $60 gamble to send the tablet for repair. If it can be repaired, then I will regain a working tablet for only $60. If the replacement parts were too costly and I decide to not proceed with the repair, then I will only be out by $60.

Trivex Building at Burn Road is just 200 metres from the new Tai Seng MRT station (Circle Line), so getting to the service centre by public transport was relatively easy. The service centre was relatively quiet. There were only 2 customers ahead of me, so I was attended to within 5 minutes.

I showed the service officer the problem with the power switch, and told him that I had been able to, occasionally, power on the tablet. I also told him that if the tablet screen turns off due to sleep mode, it will be very difficult to turn it on because of the power switch problem. The service officer took the tablet, and told me that I will get a call within 5 working days with a quote for the repair.

On the evening (around 4 pm) of 14 March (the next Friday), I got a call from the Asus Service Centre. The service officer told me that there was some problem with the circuit board on the tablet, and a replacement board will cost $848!

Of course, this makes repairing the tablet pointless. At recent electronics fairs held at the Singapore Expo, the TF300 tablet was being sold for just $399. And that is with both the tablet and the keyboard dock. If you exclude the cost of the keyboard dock (which has its own battery), then the tablet itself is probably worth $299. It is a mockery to charge $848 for a replacement motherboard, when buying a brand new device will cost just one-third the amount.

I told the service officer that it does not make sense to repair the tablet. I also told him that I can give the faulty tablet to him so that he can salvage it for spare parts to repair other faulty TF300 tablets. But he said rules and regulations does not allow for this. He then said he will reassemble the tablet, and send me an email later to collect my unit.

Of course, I was pretty disappointed that it was so costly to repair something that appeared so trivial. To me, it is just a problem with the on/off switch, and the fact that I could occasionally get the tablet to turn on doesn't strike me as a cataclysmic fault on the motherboard that required its wholesale replacement.

In my mind, the replacement motherboard should at most cost $120. Together with the labour charge of $60, I estimated a maximum repair cost of $180 (I was willing to pay up to $200). But now, the total cost would be a ridiculous $848 + $60 = $908 to repair an already outdated device! Even Asus itself is selling their latest TF701 table for just $700 (brand new and with one year warranty).

But what hankered me most was the fact that I now have to pay the $60 labour charge to get back my non-working tablet. Although I knew this was a possibility before I sent my tablet to the service centre, the outcome still stung when it came true.

On Tuesday (18 March), Asus sent me the email to collect my tablet from the service centre. I went down the next day (19 March), resigned to the fact that I will have to pay $60 for nothing. However, I have already decided that the best way to make of this situation is to trade in the faulty tablet at the next computer show for a new gadget. Although Asus does not have a trade-in program, HP does, and during the last computer show, HP was offering a $50 trade-in for non-working tablets. If the trade-in promotion is still on, I will trade in the faulty TF300 tablet for one of HP new slates.

After the service officer handed my tablet over to me, I asked him wasn't I suppose to pay the $60 diagnostic fee first? I have seen the other customers ahead of me making payment for the repair charges at a separate cashier counter before they could collect their unit. He smiled and said there is no charge, since no repairs were done.

Immediately, the $60 cloud that had been hanging over my head disappeared, and my spirits were lifted. I thanked him for waiving the $60 charge. It is amazing just how happy a company can make their customers feel by simply doing the right thing, and not charging for something as nebulous as a "diagnostic fee". Sure, Asus have to spend money to run the service centre and to hire the staff to run it, and charging a "diagnostic" fee is not an unscrupulous thing to do to maintain the service centre. But surely this (the cost of maintaining a service centre) is peanuts compared to the advertising cost that they expend  routinely to promote their products? By waiving the $60 fee, Asus goodwill has created a happy customer in me, and I will be more likely to promote Asus products in the future because of this.

And the service centre itself is also a facet of the public relations department for Asus. Unfortunately, Asus service centre is still not top notch. Every one knows that it is ridiculous to charge a customer more for repairing a unit than buying a new one. If Asus is smart, then they should also have their service centre advising the customer to buy a new device, say with a discounted price (e.g. trade-in discount for the faulty device), and allowing the new device to be purchased on the spot. But the Asus service centre does not have a section for conducting such sales, so the opportunity is lost.

If a customer determines that it is ridiculous to pay more to repair than to buy a brand new device, the customer may decide to buy a COMPETITOR's device for the replacement instead of another Asus device. Asus then loses in 2 areas:

1. The customer will be dis-enchanted with Asus for "gouging" on repair charges. Good will/feeling with the Asus brand is lost.
2. Asus will lose the sale of a new device to its competitors.

Happy Postscript

Back home that evening, just as I was about to box the tablet and shelf it into the cupboard, I decided to depress the tablet's power on switch one more time just to confirm that the tablet is truly dead.

And a strange thing happened.

The tablet powered on immediately, displaying the usual lock screen with all my contact information.

I couldn't believe it. Didn't the service centre say that the tablet had a faulty motherboard, and that it was not repaired?

But there it is. The tablet is working, right as rain. And has been doing so for the past 4 days since it came back from the service centre. Some how, when the service centre reassembled the tablet to return it back to me, they must have inadvertently fix the on/off switch problem.

So, Asus had some how "repaired" my tablet despite everything. And thanks to the goodwill from Asus of waiving the diagnostic fee, I did not have to cough out $60 to get it repaired!

I am very happy now that the TF300 tablet is again in good working condition. But since I have now endeared myself to my new Samsung Galaxy Note tablet, I probably won't be using the Asus tablet on a daily basis any time soon.