The following text was just submitted to Sony Belgium. I post it here not because I think it will get me improved customer service, but to show the difference between the vision and the reality of “.eu-driven businesses” in Europe’s single market.

The original post follows the updates.

Updates

[Update 1: so I finally heard from the right (i.e., Belgian) customer support team, and have filled out my forms, scanned all sorts of things and sent them off. The point of this post remains valid: a company which asks you to register to a .eu site should at least be able to organise its various national customer support teams.
Update 2: Apparently they now want numbers from the 'tickets de caisse' which don't appear there, or something. Looks like a systemic approach to getting out of the commitment they made when I purchased the set. I emailed them scans of everything, and a link to this post, but the email bounced. Typical. Moral of story: never buy Sony.
Update 3: Now it's getting fun. I was asked by Sony to review my customer experience! But when I submitted my opinion, I was told my text was 'inappropriate' and so was not published. ;-(

You be the judge (click the screenshot to enlarge). My question is what was inappropriate? Stating that "I will NEVER buy Sony again"? The use of the word 'dongle'? Or for claiming that this blog is 'much read'?

/Updates off]

Original post

The following text was just submitted to Sony Belgium. I post it here not because I think it will get me improved customer service, but to show the difference between the vision and the reality of “.eu-driven businesses” in Europe’s single market:

Dear Sony Belgium,

When I bought my new TV, I asked the salesman at Carrefour whether it connected directly to the internet.

He told me no, but that if I registered the TV on MySony, I would be able to request Sony to send me the ‘dongle’ free of charge via the post.

Well, I then registered to sony.eu (as it said on the card included with the TV), and I saw no possibility to make such a request.

I then submitted an enquiry via the sony.eu site. The result was pathetic:

1) I received an email from Sony France telling me that I had made a mistake, and I should contact Sony Belgium.

2) I told them I used their Sony.eu site, and had registered as a Belgian resident, so I didn’t understand why I was being contacted by Sony France! I invited them to forward my request to Sony Belgium for me, rather than passing the buck like a useless bureaucrat.

3) I then got an ameil from Sony Belgium, giving me a telephone number.

4) I called it. I found myself talking to … Sony France!

5) They were terribly sorry but they:
- couldn’t help me
- couldn’t pass me to Belgium
- couldn’t even give me the Belgian support telephone number “because our system is down”

6) So I replied to them by email, telling them this terrible, sad story.

7) To which I got another email, asking me to START THE WHOLE THING AGAIN ON THIS SITE!

This is ridiculous. I’ve seen better organised riots.

Mathew Lowry