Toshiba Tackles Delays in Laptop Computer Repair

In response to customer complaints about delays of up to five months in repairs of its laptop computers, Toshiba America’s Computer Systems Division is upgrading its technical support and consolidating its field services in a new 35,000-square-foot building, the company confirmed Tuesday.

“We’ve been behind in getting parts to several resellers,” said Bill Johnson, divisional vice president and general manager. “We don’t have a quality problem (with the laptops); we had a parts problem.”

Johnson said the spare parts shortage--particularly heavy from December through March--extended nationwide and affected most of Toshiba’s 10 laptop models. He attributed the shortage to the unexpected rapid sales growth of the laptops in the United States.

Johnson also said the company was streamlining its service operation by combining four buildings into a single site in Irvine, which will open in June.

The field service center will have an electronic ordering and inventory system to speed the repair process and will be electronically linked with the parent company’s manufacturing headquarters in Tokyo.

“This new automated equipment and repair system will enable field service to make repairs within one to two days,” said Mark Fritz, director of field service.

Johnson said most customers experienced delays of several weeks, but some isolated customers waited as long as five months to get their computers repaired. For customers in critical situations, Toshiba replaced the computers with “loaners” and sometimes cannibalized new computers to get the parts, Johnson said.

“We spared no expense since this was an issue of customer service,” Johnson said. “I suspect in early June we’ll have repairs back to a steady state.”