Tales of customer service and online shopping don't seize to amuse and the latest incident involves Google and a Pixel 3 customer who simply wants a refund for his defective phone. But it turned out to be a tale that would tickle your funny bone and leave you wondering how a company as big as Google would end up in such a turmoil.
A Pixel 3 buyer had requested a refund from Google after receiving a defective smartphone, but he only got $80 (roughly Rs 5,500) for a $900 worth Clearly White Pixel 3 smartphone. But when he placed a replacement order of a Not Pink Pixel 3, someone at Google messed it up by shipping 10 of those. Now, the buyer is sitting with 9 extra Not Pink Pixel 3s that are worth $9,000.
According to Android Police, which picked up the story from the buyer's confession of "airing my dirty laundry" post on Reddit, the buyer is on the right side of the law if he chooses to keep all the phones clearly dispatched to him in error. Google could realise its blunder and block Google account or blacklist the IMEI numbers of the phones, but that's just a possibility if things go extreme.
The buyer, identified as Cheetohz on his Reddit account, is willing to do the right thing here by returning the extra 9 Pixel 3 phones to Google. But he has one condition: Google must refund the full amount for the original defective phone. Sounds fair, right.
In any event, Google fails to do so, Cheetohz, in his Reddit post, said he will attempt to return the extra 9 phones via $1,000 COD. Still a fair attempt. But if the shipment is rejected, the person said he will be selling the extra phones "to recoup my money that wasn't refunded."
In a comment on his own thread, Cheetohz said: "Google, I have your phones, you have my money. Let's sort this out." Google's official Reddit account responded to the post and promised to follow up in private message. There's no update on whether the confusion has been straightened out, but we'll keep an eye out for any updates. Stay tuned.
