Corporate denial

A few months ago I purchased an Archos 101 tablet. I was very impressed with this device - sure, the screen viewing angle isn't as good as the iPad, there's only 256M RAM and you need to install a hack to use the Google Market, but at half the weight of an iPad, its a nice little package.

But hardware engineering ain't always easy. Apple learned that with the iPhone 4 antenna fiasco, and Archos have learned the hard way with the A101.

Specifically, there's a problem with the USB host port. It will fail. When it does, the device will also stop being able to sleep, so you're up for turning it off when you're done using it and then rebooting every time you need to use it again. Otherwise the battery will run flat in a few hours.

Of course, I didn't know there was an endemic problem with the device until I had the problem. Now, modern electronic devices are so reliable (six sigma and all that), that it's been a while since I had a hardware failure. And pretty much every hardware failure I've had in the last decade can be traced back to the humble capacitor. A lot of these have failed due to a fascinating story in industrial espionage gone wrong - but you can google 'bad caps' to learn more about that one.

This was different. And, regrettably, so was the way Archos seem to be handling the situation.

Now, before I continue, let me just say that Micro Anvika, from whom I purchased the unit, have been very professional. I took it in, they accepted it for repair and what happened next was entirely out of their control.

What happened next was..... nothing..... Archos accepted the unit for repair and...... nothing. Nearly six weeks later it was clear that getting things sorted in a timely manner didn't look likely. Micro Anvika were quite willing to replace the unit, but by then I'd read all the postings where others had apparently had very similar issues. So I declined, and got a refund.

The point of this, though, is not that things fail. I accept that. Recently I had an LG monitor fail. Bad caps, I think. I was all ready to go and buy another one when I checked the warranty and found to my astonishment that LG warrant the monitor for a full three years. It was two and a half years in, so I rang them. Yes, sir. Bring it in to your place of work and we'll have a courier deliver you a replacement. Which they did. Fantastic service.

Archos, though, appear to be in denial. Is there a serious problem with the A101?. Well, forum posters think so. But Archos remain silent. The problem here is that this silence, coupled with an apparent inability to turn around warranty repairs in a timely manner, really impacts consumer confidence. I'd have accepted a replacement if I'd been confident in the company, but clearly, they aren't providing an acceptable level of after-sales service.

Companies have to learn that burying bad news always makes things worse. Right now, I'm very wary of ever purchasing - let alone recommending - any product from this company. Yet if they had been open about the issue and resolved it promptly, I'd have been more than happy to give them another chance.

I will be writing to the CEO of Archos about this. Reputational damage is very hard to overcome, and it's a shame - their products are innovative and cost-effective. But consumers are much more informed than they were a few years ago, and negative press will quickly pile up and overwhelm a company which buries its head in the sand when problems arise.