[Nexus 7 General] JaSauders:
I've posted continuously through other threads bits and pieces about my story, but I wanted to make a full blown front to back thread regarding the issue that I was dealing with. There's a TL : DR synopsis at the bottom for those who don't want to read through the details.

I first purchased a Nexus 7 at Staples. Due to pretty extreme screen flickering, I returned it. At times it felt like I was continually toggling the brightness setting on the power control widget. It was a C6O. Screen lift was minimal, not creaky whatsoever, but if I had to split hairs I would say I could “feel” a slight bezel depth difference on the left versus right. That said, it was hardly anything to raise a tiffle about, but the screen flickering was bothersome enough that I returned it.

Next I purchased a Nexus 7 at Wal-Mart. It too had a very subtle amount of screen lift, but it was not creaky or squishy like some other users described. Both tablets (Wal-Mart and Staples) had little enough screen lift that I would bet my car if anybody who didn't read about the screen lift issue would pick up either tablet, they wouldn't have noticed it. It was that minimal on both units. The Wal-Mart unit was also a C6O.

I was a long time hater of tablets, mostly because of their price vs performance ratio as I always felt they were significantly overpriced. The Nexus 7 changed that, not to mention the 7 inch form factor. Exceptional tablet on all accounts, in my opinion. One day I was about to leave for work. I heard my tablet beep signifying I got an email. I typed out a response on it when I was standing in the kitchen about to leave out the door. Once done, I left the house and walked to my car. As I got in the car I placed the N7 on my passenger seat. I saw what I thought was a hair. A closer look revealed it was not a hair, but indeed two fine cracks originating from the left side of the tablet.

Let it be known:

I did not sit on my tablet.

I did not drop my tablet.

I did not get hit by a car with my tablet in hand.

I did not go mountain biking off a cliff with the tablet in my backpack.

I did not go skiing down a black diamond course with the N7 tracking my speed via GPS only to wreck into a massively epic wipeout and live to tell the story.

I sent an email, walked 10 steps, and my Nexus 7 screen cracked.

Of course, I was a bit miffed by this (miffed as in, facing a borderline homicidal rage), so I called ASUS. They of course played the “If your device was handled in an irresponsible or accidental manner, the repair would not be covered under warranty.” Perfectly understandable, because if I did mishandle my device and I did not have an accidental warranty to cover it, that's how things should be. I faced a difficult problem here justifying my story. The screen was cracked. How does a screen magically crack? Beats me. If I were running a company that made tablets and someone came to me complaining their screen magically cracked, I'd be asking some serious questions too. But here's the curve ball... I did not drop mine or handle it irresponsibly, so I'll be damned if I wasn't going to get this unit covered under warranty. The only thing going in my favor with justifying my story was the fact that my Nexus 7 was in perfect shape aside from the screen crack, which would help coincide with the “manufacturer's flaw” story since there was no other physical evidence that I mishandled the tablet.

With the first call I set up the RMA process and shortly after sent my tablet in. But that wasn't enough for me. I was reading online that more people were being told by ASUS that they would have to pay ~170 dollars in repairs for their tablet. Now, I cannot attest to the condition or exact situation of those users. I wasn't a fly on the wall to witness just how every situation played out. All I could do was justify my case since I was the direct party involved. At any rate, the stories I was hearing (despite not having been a witness to further solidify the cases) only enraged me further. I called ASUS again.

The second time I called ASUS I realized during the on hold process there was a very ironic message. They indicated “Did you know if you have even one bright pixel on your ASUS laptop, we will replace the entire thing for free?” OH, REALLY? Perfect. I'll keep that in mind when I get on the line with the next rep. The rep finally got on the line and I told him my story. I blatantly asked, “Has ASUS changed their policy in regards to owning up to their design flaws? Or are they still in denial about that?” He indicated the same thing the original rep did, citing that if there is damage on the unit that suggests it was dropped, it won't be serviced under warranty, but if the damage suggests it was from a manufacturer's defect, it'll be covered. Okay, great. Since I cannot argue the physical condition of my tablet that they cannot see since it was on a UPS truck to Texas, I found little justification in arguing further.

A day passed and I called ASUS again, mostly because their online RMA tracker wasn't working and I wanted a status update. ASUS had not yet looked at my tablet, despite the fact the tracking information said it was delivered the day before. I once again brought up the previous story, but this rep made the mistake of saying “The Nexus 7 is perfect in every way. There are absolutely no design flaws with it.” I couldn't just listen to this, so I lost it and regrettably unloaded on him. I told him I work in IT, I use a lot of different devices from many different vendors. In almost every case, there have always been some degree of lemons, even if the product is otherwise completely successful. Part of my issue with that comment wasn't so much the wording, but the way it was said... it was the “well you seem to be an idiot if you think otherwise” type of demeanor that just set me off. At any rate, that conversation ended without getting any further, aside from the verbal skewing I delivered that I halfway felt bad about later.

Another day passed and I called ASUS again. This time I spoke to somebody who was down to earth and not an ego driven support zealot. I told him my story, and he said “Dude, if I were you I'd be just as mad and be doing the exact same thing.” He indicated that there's not a lot to go on over the phone because, despite wanting to give me the benefit of the doubt and believe my story to 100% accuracy, he didn't have the device there in front of him to check (although at this point my tablet was in the review process, but no answers were on the table yet). I fully understood this, as it's impossible to believe people over the phone like this. It's sort of like back in the day working retail when you're in high school and someone's debit card gets declined, and they argue with you that they have money in the account and insist you run it again, yet it keeps failing. Yeah okay, because the bank is lying and the stranger before me is telling the truth.

I fully understood this, and was just thankful I was able to speak to somebody who was down to earth and logical about how they presented themselves, instead of being fake and obnoxious like the last rep was. Since I felt as though I had a decent conversation going, I threw out something else on the table, and blatantly told the rep that I do a lot of side work in the evenings on my computer, and that I can easily multitask my work while being on a headset. I said the reason I'm telling you this is if ASUS refuses to repair my tablet under warranty, I will call ASUS repeatedly for weeks on end until they repair it. I worked hard for the money I earned to purchase the tablet. If ASUS wouldn't own up to my unexplainable screen crack then I would do everything in my power to burn up as much of their time as possible. After all, time is money, right?

This rep said the one thing that is going to work in my favor is the fact that the previous reps took a lot of notes. He read some of them back to me and he said it seems as if you're well aware of the left side screen issue that hit some of these devices and you're well aware of the internal design, etc. He said these kind of things will help your case out versus being “ahhh blah blah I'm mad! My tablet broke fix it now ahhh!” like some people are doing. I thanked him for his time and thanked him for being so honest with me. Because of that particular experience, my opinion of ASUS's customer service almost turned around entirely. It's hard to be excited about a home run when you just struck out 3 times, though. ;)

A few hours later I was all but asleep when I heard my phone go off with an email. I checked it and it was ASUS. Sure enough, it was tracking info for my tablet. No charge was noted, no dispute had taken place. Just... my tablet on a truck coming back. I called ASUS to see what was done with my tablet, as for all I knew it could have just been the broken unit coming back. The rep quickly brought up the info and told me “Your screen was replaced and your tablet is now fully repaired. You should receive it in 3 days.” Wow. Another +1, ASUS.

For what it's worth, it took ASUS 3 business days to cycle through to my tablet. I sent shipped it out Thursday, Friday of course it was en route, Sat/Sun being the weekend, and Monday being a holiday means that Tuesday (delivery day according to tracking info) was game day #1 for ASUS taking a look at it. I received the email late that Thursday with the tracking info, and by the following Wednesday I was supposed to receive it, but it required a signature and I was at work. I called FedEx and had it routed to a nearby facility and I went there on Thursday and picked it up in person.

I immediately checked out the screen lift. Please understand, I'm splitting some very extreme hairs here. If I look at it from an angle and I study the gray line, I can visibly see a very faint rise. In comparison to the right side, it's really not much different. It's absolutely acceptable in my book. The only time I really noticed the faint rise was after I put on a screen protector, which of course brings the screen higher up to the level of the silver bezel. That said, there's no creaking, no squishy feeling, nothing. Feels solid to me. I ran a few intensive apps for a bit and felt the tablet heat up a little, but so far I haven't felt any adhesive unlatch. In fact, I've never personally seen a Nexus 7 with any sort of clicking or squishiness. If they've been raised or lifted, it's been a solid lift, no degree of movement whatsoever, even after a 4 hour GPS run in a cement building with the unit trying to continually get a lock.

I do have to wonder something. If I was not as pushy as I was, or if I did not spout my awareness of the left side screen issue that hit some of these devices... if I would have gotten the same service. I wonder if I had not called in several times if my turn around time would have been longer. That being said, there's a lot of questions on the table, and there was a decent amount of verbal pushing I had to do over the phone which I'm sure helped make this situation end as seamlessly as it did. I urge all of you who have legitimate screen crack cases (if your tablet fell down the stairs or similar, this of course wouldn't be classified as legitimate) to make sure ASUS knows you're aware of the issue, and that you will not be paying for the repair. You can be stone cold firm without being belligerent or disrespectful. I don't think those of you who had unexplainable screen cracks should back down.

TL : DR

Call 1 to ASUS: Uneventful, RMA set up.

Item shipped to ASUS repair facility.

Call 2 to ASUS: Uneventful, RMA status unchanged. Indicated my awareness of the screen lift issue as well as my frustration.

Call 3 to ASUS: Ripped the rep a new one due to intolerable demeanor and choice of comments. Indicated my awareness again of the screen lift issue as well as my frustration.

Call 4 to ASUS: Indicated my awareness again of the screen lift issue as well as my frustration. Rep was exceptional to talk to and understood my frustrations without sounding fake. Indicated the notes on my account were solid.

Hours later, email received. RMA processed, N7 repaired, shipped back.

Thursday, received unit. Very slight screen lift still apparent, but very very minimal. No squishiness, clicking, creaking, nothing. Seems solid. Very satisfied with unit.

Overall satisfaction: 8/10