Valve's Response to my BROKEN Steam Deck was SURPRISING!!!

Yep, I broke my lovely anti-reflective screen on my 512GB Steam Deck 🤦‍♂️ Valve's response to my service request was surprising to say the least. In this video I share my customer service experience.
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#steamdeck #valve #gaming #customerservice

[@ConstantGeekery]

A few people are commenting that Valve only did this because I am a KZbinr. This is highly unlikely. My personal Steam account is not connected to my business or this channel, and I certainly didn't bring it up. So, unless they employ private investigators to check out every customer requesting support, it seems highly unlikely that I'm getting treated differently to anyone else.

[@RhizometricReality]

This is nice to know as if ever become more available I'd probably like to get one.

[@dieerstestunde8452]

@@RhizometricReality get one, best handheld I've ever owned.

[@_ryanspecter]

This happened to me as well, not a KZbinr...

[@RoboSkyrat]

As I've shared in my comment, this is 100% not a KZbinr only thing. Valves customer service is awesome when you can actually get ahold of someone

[@stryker0ae]

@@dieerstestunde8452 mines in the mail...

[@pixelplayground]

As you were describing the accident I looked at my Steam Deck on the edge of my coffee table with the charging cable hanging down and twisted around serval things. I carefully stood up, detached the cable and stowed the Steam Deck safely in the case. Turned around and immediately smashed into the coffee table, sending my drink over my keyboard. It could've been so much worse. Great video, and cheers!

[@ConstantGeekery]

😱😂 glad to be of service, and happy your Deck is safe!!!

[@pixelplayground]

@@ConstantGeekery Tell you what though, if you replaced my keyboard and drink, that would be amazing customer service. ;)

[@jo54763]

@@pixelplayground let me know if you need any keyboard suggestions 🤣

[@JayFight]

Personally I charge the deck while it is in the case, I just wish the orientation of the steam deck was where I could close the case and mostly zip it shut while still charging

[@josephellis4968]

It's like you've described me in my natural environment lol

[@8bitflea]

Valve is awesome. I didn’t get the email they sent to purchase my steam deck and only got the one saying they canceled my order. I gave up and said oh well I guess I’ll order another one and wait again. Well like 3 weeks after that I started to see people getting their deck and I was like “well this sucks I was one of the first to order and now I have to wait again”. I decided to contact valve and told them what happened and they jumped me to the front of the line and sent me a deck I couldn’t believe it. Top customer service.

[@lob06780]

They just really care about customer.

[@temmegaming1393]

yea their support is what every company wishes to have

[@jimdoom2276]

EXACTLY the same thing happened to me, with EXACTLY the same result. Was absolutely over the moon. Fantastic customer service.

[@missingno2401]

kings

[@DevilishImp]

@@missingno2401 yo your pfp is missing install its source

[@faldrino9728]

It's Steam Customer support at its finest. I remember when my dad passed away, I tried to log into his old Steam account, I couldn't as I didn't know the password, so I contacted Steam support regarding the matter. I said, y'know, dad's dead and I'd like access - I didn't have the email or anything really substantial, all I had was the username. They asked for his Death Certificate which I sent. About 48 hours later, they had sent an email reset link, a password reset link and steam authenticator reset link too. They gave their condolences and gave me my dads steam account back. My steam account just turned 18, and can legally drink. Edit: spelling mistakes

[@SaladaSla]

I'm crying rn. Sorry for your loss, I bet he was a great dad. I'm glad you got his account back

[@psuedobyte7276]

My condolences - your dad sounded like one cool ass guy. If i could seggest something, a steam account being used as an heirloom sounds like a good concept and if I were you I'd offer to pass it down to your children aswell; If valve lasts that long at least. But its pretty refreshing to have a company with this much focus towards customer service. Nice to hear that you had a good experience with them. Best wishes

[@faldrino9728]

@@SaladaSla he was definitely one of the good ones, but I've always got him whenever I log into Steam

[@faldrino9728]

@@psuedobyte7276 yeah, he was. I definitely plan on having my kids play on PC with me and their grandads account, come time I get around to having kids. Valve are one of the good companies out there. They don't make games anymore, but their customer service is some of the best I've ever experienced, full stop

[@dawensci7134]

@@faldrino9728 im not sry for your dad but gg for the free acc

[@andrewmorris483]

I once had a Steam Link that was plugged in when a neighbor's tree got struck by a big bolt of lightning. The tree cooked from the inside out faster than the speed of sound, meaning the tree literally detonated. The resulting electrical surge knocked out roughly 1/3 of the electronics on the cul-de-sac. Probably well over a $100,000 in damage total. Including my Steam Link. I emailed Valve something like "Hey, a tree got blown up by lightning, and so did my Steam Link. Can I send it back and get a new one discounted or something? I'll pay for shipping, I just need a new one." I got a reply back a day or two later that was something like "is this address good?" I said yeah and the next day I got an email saying it had shipped.

[@ItzStardustYT]

That's nice. Sucks you lost a lot of other stuff

[@quinnmarchese6313]

ive never had electronics just fry like that during a power surge, but i have lost HOURS of save data and at least 50 bucks in proprietary console memory cards for PS2 and GameCube, those cards would always corrupt if you had a power surge

[@stanleybochenek1862]

Rip

[@Kyle17206]

Get yourself a surge protector my guy 😂

[@Rowza245]

To be fair, they were pretty much literally giving Steam Links away by the time they were discontinued. I remember getting mine for $10 AUD in a sale once and it came with the same amount of steam credit 😂

[@masterphoenixpraha]

It's true that people when they hate something, they tell it to 10 other people. If they like something, they tell maybe 1 or 2. So videos like this - shout outs to those who really care - is always important.

[@ribertfranhanreagen9821]

It's not only that, the listener also remember it longer. they remember negative stuff for years good stuff? Yeah couple months except they have need for it

[@Littlefighter1911]

I don't really tell the successful returns story too much to others because I'm afraid they will abuse it, like me complaining to Razer for the glued sticker wearing of, and the bottom of the mouse scratching the surface a bit, after a year of usage, they were like ok, "we'll send you the better Chroma model instead, just send us a picture of the mouse with the cord cut". AUKEY sending me a second pair of Bluetooth in-ears, because I reported connectivity issues, or Hi-Res Studios manually activating the (apparently) now deprecated all-heroes pack for Paladins. MSI accepting a mainboard as a return that was barely out of guarantee. My brother getting his Index HMD replaced after a dead pixel due to light falling in the wrong way. I have so many good stories about returns being actually very generous, but I kind of feel like telling them would make the business unreasonably harder.

[@Metallian81]

Exactly! It why I rarely trust reviews on anything. People who enjoy something usually don't take the time to review it. People who hate something or are upset will shout it to the world.

[@FenexDragonis]

Valve only responded like this due to him having a youtube channel, with some following. If anything it shows how cheaply made it actually is, relative to its price tag.

[@aikun9098]

@@FenexDragonis Quite ignorant aren't you I've seen few people have commented they got same treatment without being famous or youtuber. Yes, steamdeck is even cheaper than iphone phone but much better than any handheld console btw I'm nowhere near valve fanboy but when company do something good i remember it.

[@CodeBroRob]

Valve is probably the only company i am proud to be a loyal customer of for over a decade

[@RalseiGaming]

they try their hardest for quality over quantity

[@crazybadatoms5004]

@@RalseiGaming yep, and they actually care about the Linux community which makes them even better.

[@Red_MOON187]

Makes me thing of all the other gaming companies these days and just sigh.

[@meyr1992]

@@crazybadatoms5004 the linux community deserves no love

[@SamualN]

@@meyr1992 :'(

[@kildozer2012]

From personal experience with Valve I can safely say that this is just how they operate. I've had my Index replaced twice at no cost to me from something as simple as a cluster of dead pixels in the left display to something as non trivial as me running into a wall leaving a pretty nasty crack in the headset and breaking one of the headphone mounts. They had no questions, just sent me a shipping label and I had a new headset within a few weeks. Just like you I fully expected to have to pay some damage fees but no, they 100% earned my future patronage

[@stanleybochenek1862]

and.. your trust too

[@FMHikari]

A happy customer means a recurrent one.

[@remo218]

Valve is a pretty good company, only thing I don't like is that they're just sitting around not making any games or updating them.

[@chitorunya]

I've heard of them doing it with the index for people out of warranty even

[@brykanst9071]

its a great way to run a business seeing as 99% of their income comes from selling games and maybe 1% from hardware

[@electroplank587]

I commend your honesty and totally agree that free repair or replacement should not be expected especially when it was at the fault of the customer such as your self. you're very lucky to have been given a replacement. I hope everyone else looks after their steam deck. Thank for sharing your story.

[@sheekm227]

Valve's customer service has greatly improved from what it used to be some 10 to 12 years ago. I'm happy to see that they've turned around and made taking better care of their customers a top priority.

[@fredrodnick2881]

I'm not able to afford one of those those, and would not know much about using one, but I am glad they did the right thing for you and maybe others. I feel that usually electronics have a huge mark up so their reputation is more important. They are probably not losing money on any of this and gaining future sales by being reputable. It's nice to see there are still companies like this.

[@DisgorgeX]

Lot of similar stories in the subreddit of users dropping their deck or their kids sitting on them and Valve being good guys and replacing them. Definitely a top tier company who takes customer service very seriously.

[@colekirkendall3986]

I have grown to really appreciate valve recently. I had a busy workweek and totally missed my order notice when my reservation was ready, and was prepared to just reserve and wait again. I sent in smth to support letting them know what happened and got a friendly reply saying they reinstated it as a customer service gesture. Absolutely brilliant; I got mine a couple days ago, and totally love it.

[@ligametis]

You shouldn't it is just a corporation that holds pretty much a monopoly

[@fuiwfnbnufjehnfojui4251]

@@ligametis can it really be called a monopoly when the only things available to buy ONLY on steam are Valve produced games and hardware. If they are offering a service that is just THAT good over its competitors then it sounds like competitors need to step it up.

[@ligametis]

@@fuiwfnbnufjehnfojui4251 you hear how people are worshiping a corporation, how they are attached to it and game library that collected. Even Epic with free games gets criticised. This does not benefit consumers, we are overpaying due to such monopolies.

[@distaf2146]

@@ligametis overpaying what exactly? Steam is just a platform to buy games and stuff they don’t decide on the price for games and even do regular discounts and special offers

[@fuiwfnbnufjehnfojui4251]

@@ligametis epic gets the amount of flak it does simply because they started their journey with locking new releases behind a exclusivity deal. Absolutely goes against everything I and so many others believe in.

[@SionFrench]

Very nice of Valve, and very graciously accepted by you. And: YES, looking forward to your review!

[@bits2646]

I've heard that Valve's really surprising with RMA, they mostly replace devices almost without questions asked, I think they're more than fair and really commited. That's one thing that isn't much considered when calculating the true value/price of the device when comparing to others, mostly unknown brands on Kickstarter/Indiegogo without company history and distribution network and customer service figured and sorted out. That's what I'm pointing to a lot, on all things, not just handhelds. The great example is Tesla, it's easy to buy but fu*kin hard to service or get anything back from customer service. And isn't just Tesla, but it's the most significant... People don't take into consideration this, but you must if you want to calculate if something is a good value or overpriced... Bad RMA can turn cheaper device/item into expensive paper weight very easy

[@MonsterJuiced]

Steam staff, those absolute legends, they replaced my broken index controller with two new ones if I sent them mine back. Down the line I asked for advice on cleaning the screen inside my headset as it got some grit on it and I couldn't remove it. Very annoying to see dirt blocking the vr screen during a game. They asked me to send mine back and they sent out a replacement. I could have cried honestly. I love my index and I develop for it a lot so for them to do this was such a huge, huge relief. Not only that, I bought this from someone on ebay in the first place and luckily the guy gave me the info steam needed for me to use the warranty. I really couldn't believe my luck!

[@detested]

Hearing all the good storys actually makes me happy as someone who is a person who plays games and has delt with support and or lack of support its nice to hear of a company helping out and actually doing good

[@MikoYotsuya292]

Valve's customer support is superb. Even their refund policy in terms of games and hardware are unmatched; Yes, it's not perfect, but it *beats* every other similar service out there. I have refunded hundreds $$$ worth of games at this point, either due to a game being unplayable/buggy or simply...boring.

[@Frozander]

Exactly their refund system is amazing, they also quite commonly ignore the 2 hours of playtime limit depending on the situtation. I usually try to troubleshoot a game I buy that isn't behaving well, sometimes it works sometimes doesn't but almost always takes more than 2 hours and they always let me refund it if the game has technical issues etc. no matter the playtime (2 weeks of ownership limit is still there)

[@2e2e87]

They took a few games out my library after me not using my pc for a minute, what should I do ?

[@superguy7044]

? I never succeed in getting a refund.

[@iloveemiliaandrem9443]

When buy a digital I thought I'd like but didn't from other game companies. Well I'm stuck with it forever now.

[@uss_liberty_incident]

Valve has always blown me away with their amazing customer service. Thanks for sharing this positive story.

[@zjpeterson]

That’s a nice story to hear. I imagine a full replacement was only offered because the repair parts are presently unavailable. It’d be interesting to uncover the full internal policy.

[@mikldude9376]

It's very nice they looked after you. Its amazing how a simple good will gesture can make a loyal customer . And the opposite gesture of being mean can completely go the other way. my young brother had one of those infra red gadgets that shows heat that plugs into your smartphone , it was well out of warranty when it had some problem, my bro contracted them and sent it back , not only did they replace my bros item for free , but they upgraded it to a brand new much more expensive model , very impressive service, and they will have repeat customers for this gesture of goodwill.

[@larrs8887]

This is really nice to hear, excellent customer service from Valve. It’s nice when a company looks after their customers, especially ones that have invested in the brand and eco system over the years.

[@RoboSkyrat]

Valve is absolutely amazing with their Customer Service Gestures. I had mine drop into my cart too soon and didn't have the money until after the deadline, I sent in a support ticket and they told me to send them a message when I can afford it and they would "see if we can re-add it but we can't promise anything." and to my surprise they were able to do so and I got to get my deck without having to pre-order it a second time.

[@Matt.Gillard]

So happy to hear about this! Glad they got yours sorted out!

[@Graphics_PAD]

This kind of response always brightens up your day. I have had similar positive experiences with Corsair. I’ve been interested in the Steam Deck, and might wait and see if they do a version 2. I’d be interested in hearing your review on the device.

[@andynormancx]

The have been similarly generous to people who have accidentally damaged Index VR components. Though I’m sure there are some cases when they don’t. I’ve also had similar generosity from Apple in the past.

[@mrchrismiller]

I had a similar experience with Apple as well. Working in London years ago I dropped my phone and it cracked and would not start. Went into one of their stores fearing the worst. Came out with a new replacement. I am no apple fan (the phone died of its own accord a month after warranty ended) and have not had any apple products for years - as they are over priced, not secure and generally unreliable in my experience - but I was very impressed by the customer service.

[@baphomathedude8057]

They replaced my index controllers for free despite them being 3 months out of warrantee. I was floored they did that for me and it made me a steam fan boy a little bit XD.

[@TheCynicalJedi]

Makes you wonder whether it's the honesty of admitting the accident, like I'd assume the vast majority of people would try to bullshit their way around it to get a free fix expecting to have to pay if they say they did it, granted that assumption may be biased by my experience working in tech retail, but still

[@freya1548]

WOW, this makes me more excited for when I get mine. I knew from using Steam for years they have good CS but just wow. I was going to wait for the Steam Deck 2.0 but I decided to get into the queue for the current one because of all the positive things I have heard and the fact that I can repair it myself with the parts from ifix it (whenever they get a stock of them).

[@aelaan12]

Awesome experience for you and thanks for sharing. I will, once it is here, protect it for sure.

[@JamesGowan]

Amazing! I’m gonna get my Steam Deck sometime end of this year! Can’t wait! Customer service is so important. Don’t expect this kind of thing but good to know their awesome!

[@mosulmedic7048]

I stand firm that their customer service is second to none. I had such a great experience with having my Valve Index fixed that I went on and bought a steamdeck right away.

[@patrickhudson9236]

Well done Steam!! You have proven that your company cares about it’s customer base!!👍👏

[@erik.dahlberg]

Really great response from Valve. I had a similar experience some 10 years ago with SUUNTO - the Finnish Smart/Survival Watch maker, where I accidentally ripped the wrist band when rowing. I emailed them, expecting to send in the watch for repairs at my own expense. SUUNTO just gave me their shipping info, and a couple of weeks later a brand new watch arrived by mail, at ZERO expense for me other than the shipping of my broken device. SUUNTO is the GOAT.

[@ConstantGeekery]

Always wanted one of those! 😁

[@xhtran]

Lets spread its out there, Valve’s support is one of the most useful and I wouldnt say responsive because it will take them awhile to respond but as long as you are in the clear, they will always take your side

[@LifeInFrame]

Everything I've heard about Valves values and customer support has been good. My Steam deck has been ordered and now I'm considering getting there VR headset too just because I like there company.

[@NeoRichardBlake]

This is amazing to hear! And based on the comments of others, it sounds like Valve has basically just baked in an extended warranty with every Steam Deck purchase. That's a great customer service stance. It honestly probably doesn't cost them much to do this, but it makes so much difference to the end user. Makes me wonder how long this period will last. Have to keep my ears open to for similar stories after the 1 year of ownership mark. Also, from your screenshots, I feel like the cost for the parts is pretty darn fair as well. Full screen assembly and a top case for 120 doesn't seem too bad at all.

[@9876Godzilla]

I know this is way late but I love Valve's Steam Support. I got my left Index Knuckles Controller replaced because the sensor wasn't working correctly, and on a whim I asked about getting a new entire HEADSET replacement because I, in my infinite wisdom, decided to use my glasses INSIDE the headset and scratched my lenses. Valve sent me a whole new Valve Index headset and a refurbished left Knuckles Controller. I opened the ticket for my controller and got back a new headset and a controller. Some of the best support I've ever had in my life.

[@unia.]

I've had the valve index for around 3 years now, in that time i've gone through two pairs of controllers and also a whole new index headset. Every single time support have been so helpful and have completely replaced everything each time i've broken them. Even though im out of warrantry and also my index is second hand. They have extremely good hardware support.

[@phijay6838]

Planning on getting a deck in the future, + 1 for my S.O., so this only makes me even less worried shelling out the cash for them. Some devs don't seem to like their storefront due to the cut they take, but as a customer, I can't be more happy with them.

[@mrsearaphim4077]

I can confirm I've only ever had stellar customer service with Valve/Steam. I've had to replace components of my VR setup quite a few times and every single time I didn't have to pay a single penny.

[@BlackSnake225]

The exact same thing happened to me with one of my knuckles VR controllers. I just went back and forth with valve support for a few messages then they replaced the controller fully for free. I am so happy with Valve's support.

[@GazixVR]

I had a similar experience with my valve index, I was out of warranty for it, but Valve still replaced it two more times for no additional cost. they really do have some amazing customer service

[@twitchster77]

I had an amazing experience with Apple about a year ago. Got some dust under my MacBook Pro screen. I was prepared for a very expensive repair. They sent me a box and I dropped the box off at Fed Ex late on a Wednesday evening. Got a call the next morning that they received it and were repairing it for me. Fed Ex dropped the computer back off to me the very next day (Friday). I still can't believe how fast this whole process was. They replaced my screen, gave me a new battery, replaced my entire keyboard (I had a slightly sticky key I asked if they could look at) and replaced part the case for me. And they didn't charge me a cent. All of it was covered. I've always been an Apple fan...but holy smokes! lol I don't even have words!

[@carolinebarlow4795]

Hi Dave, That was a very heartening story! I would definitely be interested in a review.

[@ConstantGeekery]

I’ll add it to my to-do list 😁

[@carolinebarlow4795]

@@ConstantGeekery Great, thank you!

[@GrivinTheSecond]

Valve support is just awesome, having this kind of support with my Index too, out of warrenty and still getting support and spare parts.

[@soulses4549]

Honestly really nice to hear they have good customer service because I just got the email to be able to buy one!

[@DavidS.Pumpkin]

I can't believe you're still out here with your deck all raw dog, lol. I got a case, screen protector, and GPS tracker inside of it. A lock on the case. Another GPS tracker is in the backpack it goes in. I would put it in a lead lockbox with a piece of Kryptonite if I could.

[@DavidS.Pumpkin]

@@terrykingpin1452 , I have the case with the kickstand from jasux. I use the tile sticker cause I have an android phone. You can use an air tag if you have iPhone. I have the 512 model, so I was worried about the screen protector. I thought it would interfere with the touch screen. To my amazement, it made it more responsive. It was from Amazon as well. I got them all from Amazon. The screen protector is a film. It has blue light filtration.

[@StockportJambo]

The thing you have to always bear in mind and remember with the Steam Deck is that Valve are selling these things at a loss. You are more important to them than the hardware. It's better for them that you stay on the platform and don't go somewhere else or have a bad taste in your mouth - and that's worth the cost of a new (or even subsidised) Steam Deck for them. They will make their money back (and then some) from you with the games you'll buy over the next few years. A bad experience by one person might cost them the sale of 10 or 20 future Steam Decks when they tell others about it. So if you're struggling to understand why it makes business sense for them to do this - there's your answer. Logitech did a similar thing with me a while back, when I had an old Harmony remote several years out of warranty that didn't work any more & the battery had expanded and couldn't be removed safely. I messaged them on the off-chance that they might suggest a way to make it work again. They asked me to send them a picture of it, and three days later, a brand new top of the line Harmony remote arrived from them in the post. As a direct result, I always try and buy Logitech stuff if I can.

[@pieceofschmidtgamer]

Also remember: This guy sent back the broken Steam Deck (along with everything that came with it). A broken Steam Deck that was still more or less functional, but that had a broken top glass. So all Valve had to do is replace the top glass and then they had a Deck they could send out to a customer (as a refurbished unit at least). So they didn't really lose that much in this specific case.

[@Captain_Chaz86]

true. my father keeps breaking his mouse. Logitech give him 3 replaces before they made him buy a new one.

[@tale_play]

Very happy for you. Enjoy your time on your Steam Deck!

[@DancePartyBlammo]

i got my email to purchase on Thursday and immediately purchased say's Friday delivery. i'm happy to see great customer service on valves part the 1 year warranty worried me a bit

[@michelletoni3067]

I learned Valve has great customer service , too, they always got back to me in a day max & put a lot of my fears to rest, which is great, Most my game library is now on Steam, I trust them, 100% great company, epic video.

[@Sn1peralex]

They probably understand that the demand for steam decks overvalues them. Enough so that they will still profit off the refurbished one after recouping the faster storage.

[@timothystevenhoward]

I just got the JSAUX kickstand sleeve case. Recommended. Glad your situation was resolved so well. Goes to show valve is more interested in customers for life vs profit margin off one device. They know you will buy more stuff in the future if your experience is 👍 great

[@AndreVieiraguitarist]

Great video! Valve rocks!! Received my 512 SD this past week! I'm loving it and it's going in a rubber case shortly! With a screen protector!

[@rebeccahenry9990]

That's what I ordered in the q4. I'm nervous and excited about it

[@jamesburland]

Nice. I’m becoming increasingly interested in the Steam Deck.

[@isaiah1516]

By the grace of God, I got mine the first month they launched. I use it almost every day. It absolutely lives up to the hype.

[@ConstantGeekery]

It is a cool device. As a casual gamer I find it great to just pick up for a quick session, rather than having to sit at the PC. The form factor doesn’t work for some games though, it seems best suited to games that work well with a controller.

[@rheller_82]

Very good response from Valve. Makes me feel good about my purchase.

[@TheTekEffect]

Same here!

[@hexagonal69]

The fact that people are completely blown away when a company offers to replace something out of goodwill really puts into perspective how normal it has become for companies to be 110% strict with what they fix and replace for free or cheap, and that’s sad, because that makes it a very awkward and cold market, because then you have to read up on everything before you buy something, you don’t just buy it and hope for the best. With the steam deck you can do that though. I’m not saying they’ll replace it everytime for everyone no matter what, that would get expensive for them really fast. I’m saying that Valve is showing goodwill to their customers by actually helping people out when they’re in a bind, because that gives good publicity, which leads to more sales. Again, it won’t lead to people saying "Oh don’t worry about taking care of your steam deck, valve will just replace it if something happens", it will lead to people saying; "Valve will take care of you and actually listen to you to help you in the best way they can, and if they see you’re in a bind, they’ll do their best to fix the problem. That’s why I love Valve.

[@83ky]

I had a great experience with their customer service too. I bought a 2nd hand Valve Index from the first owner late last year and it had a few months left of the mandatory European 2 year warranty. It had some flickering issues before the warranty ended but like a week after it was up it stopped working properly (no video or no audio, never had both at the same time). So I started a ticket and I stated that I am not the original owner, I bought these 2nd hand and they did not hang onto that or that the warranty had ended. They just asked me to locate the serial number on the headset and also I had to provide them with log files from SteamVR. Then they instructed to disconnect certain devices from my setup try again + send log files. After that they said that they will replace it and provided me with DHL return labels to print out myself. Packed up the headset and dropped it off at the parcel center nearby, a few weeks later I got a brand new headset in a retail box.

[@tomscott88]

Would love a review 🙌🏻

[@deavo74]

For a brief moment I though you was the other ToM Scott lol

[@maggoteye87]

Valve is notorious for its good customer support but damn they outdid themselves on your case.

[@idogaming3532]

"notorious" has a negative connotation (meaning interpreted by society).

[@justinlepage5133]

Very glad you had such a positive experience with Valve. On the other hand, mine is set to arrive on Monday, had you not gotten the free replacement I wonder if I'd be sitting on the couch with my steam deck right now. The pain...

[@justinlepage5133]

@@mellohi6175 So fortunate we have a newcomer. Glad you could be here. Welcome to earth, this is known as sarcasm. Enjoy your stay.

[@jkon156]

it warms my heart hearing how superb their customer service is with the hardware side of things, being that it is excellent on steam.

[@plungy]

Yeah Valve is amazing, I had similar experiences with them. best company ever!

[@bluemidnight5926]

I'm not gonna lie, I was a bit salty hearing you say that you got a replacement Deck when I've been in the que for almost an entire year. Not your fault though, and I'm at least glad to hear that Valve is really great about their customer service, which is where all their competitors can't compete being that they're all overseas.

[@Joreel]

That's pretty cool of Valve to do a complete swap with you 😋 I've been slightly paranoid about taking my Deck out of the house for fear of dropping it on the cement lol

[@ConstantGeekery]

Mine is staying in the case whenever I’m not using it from now on!

[@grimfang5023]

Wow! I wasn't expecting that outcome when I clicked on this video. Customer service excellence still exists out there. Kudos Valve!

[@theusual5uspect]

This positive experience has given me renewed positivity for Valve. I had become disheartened with them in recent years due to their game development decisions (Dota2, Artefact) and seeming abandonment of their legacy. The Switch has been a fantastic machine and I’d really like a Deck.

[@seeibe]

Valve really seems to have this issue where they can make a few things that are really awesome, but when it comes to maintaining a broader catalog of games / software / hardware, they just plain suck. They really should just officially discontinue them sooner, rather than trying to keep up and ending up delivering a bad product.

[@ViolentCop]

Valve, you the real MVP. Respect to them for replacing your deck hassle free; makes me feel a bit more relieved if something were to happen to mine.

[@jekecho-4983]

See, stuff like this is exactly why I feel like Valve ACTUALLY believes in what they are doing with the deck. The fact that they are going out of their way to make these things (at a loss, mind you), pushing the limits of the OS and the Hardware supporting it for the size this thing is, and even doing repairs/replacements for people (it’s not just him I’ve seen non-KZbinrs reporting the same good customer service) It all feels like they genuinely care about their brand and customer loyalty. Excellent.

[@An1mat0rz]

Valve has also done the same thing for Index owners. Whenever they got damaged they sent over a brand new replacement and took back your old one. My hypothesis is that Valve either repairs the devices to the best of their ability, or they scrap it for the parts that are still good in order to save them money.

[@xDARKSHADEx]

I think that valve is just, in general, a pretty exceptional company. I've heard they're also very good to their employees. My best guess is that they're already taking a pretty big loss on the steam deck hardware and this is their first time shipping something on this scale and "entering the console space" so to speak, so they're putting their best foot forward and trying to appease as many as they can even if it's at a financial loss to them. The PR and goodwill garnered likely makes up for it.

[@marksapollo]

Valve are fantastic with their support. I place them with Xbox who also offer great support in regards to refunds, they are incredibly fair in their refunds on their digital store, far better then any other console. Things like this make me a valued customer, if they look after you it makes you stay with them.

[@artofwar420]

Thanks for the tip, I usually leave it out the case on my night stand when not in use. I think I’ll start putting it in the case.

[@isaiah1516]

I have cats. Mine lives in its case if I'm not using it. I'm afraid that they'll jump on my desk, not realizing it's there, and knock it over or scratch the screen with their claws.

[@PietaRosary]

Good Job Mate! Glad you got that good customer service!

[@kvnhack3_VIA_IG]

👆Thanks for watching ❣️💞 I really appreciate, message me by the name to receive Gift🎁

[@kahvikone]

Valve has provided incredible customer service to me as well. I've had two Index controllers start having severe stick drift and both times they sent me a replacement before I had to send mine back. It has been a very hassle free experience both times.

[@vik2051]

Funny story they did the exact same thing with my valve index, I was amazed at how they were willing to pretty much replace my whole unit because I scratched one of the lenses, I was willing to pay for a new lens but they just sent me completely new headset instead. They have great customer service.

[@AMustachioedYoshi]

I had something similar-ish happen a while back with a valve index controller. Thumbstick popped right out of the controller when I tried to get it unstuck, and while it was still under warranty (barely), I was under the impression that I'd end up having to pay for it, since it was caused by a piece of plastic breaking from the wrist strap adjustment. Lo and behold, they initiated an rma, I sent the broken controller (and thumbstick), and they sent a new one back, no additional cost.

[@Lyghfe]

Valve has been incredibly kind when it comes to their hardware, atleast what I and a buddy of mine experienced. One of my Index Base Station was dead on arrival. I tried tinkering around with it, like trying new firmware and stuff but nothing worked; I opened a ticket and within 3-4 days I had a new base station delivered to me at no cost even though I played around with stuff I obviously shouldn't; they also told me to keep the broken one until the replacement arrived and to recycle the package to send back the broken one. Also: I wouldn't have been able to buy a new one if I wanted to, since they only sold entire Index kits around the time I got mine. Anything that was sold seperately like base stations and controllers, was listed "out of stock"; I think it's like you said: to have a sort of "replacement stock" on hand, if peoples hardware fails. My buddy for example managed to break his Index power cable, which is 140€, by tripping over it and was 3 month out of valves 1 year warranty. Opened a ticket and, like I did, got a replacement within a few days and didn't need to pay even though it was his fault and he was 3 month out of warranty. This and watching your video strengthened my brand loyalty for sure!

[@GBennie]

I had this with my Index, was nigh on a year old when I noticed my glasses had scratched the lens.... Valve simply sent me a new one, straight out, said to pack old in the new box if I didn't have the old one and arranged an uplift, didn't cost me a penny and still using the new one to this day, stellar customer support.... oh and they said to keep the face plate, so ended up with a fresh spare one to boot!! :)

[@imcan19]

Had the same experience with my Nvidia Shield Tablet that I broke, contacted them to find out where I could get it fixed. They replaced it, as you say your brand loyalty is increased immensely due to this type of customer service.

[@KevDee]

I've had nothing but good things regarding steam support. I've had a completely new Index cable sent, at this point like 3 replacement index controllers, only one of which needing to be sent beforehand and they even shipped me out replacement face gaskets when mine started to break... like they sent a double pack which cost a fair chunk on their own.

[@Antthraxx]

Well i have to say that after almost one year of pre-ordering i got my email that i could now buy my deck. Only problem being the money at that exact time. Times have been tough lately but still doable. Like im doing fine im just dumb some times... anyway i sent support a mail saying i need more time please like 6 days PLEASE!! They sent me a mail saying i should write them when i am able to buy and they will look what they can do. 6 Days pass and i write. Support gave me on the same day a mail telling me that i can go on steam and buy the Deck now. Went to Steam and was able to buy my Deck! It has only been a few days and i dont have it yet. But Kudos for Valve! I was thinking i will have to wait again.

[@asushiroll]

valve support has been excellent with my past experiences with the Valve Index. Had to replace the HMD, and controllers several times and they were great about even doing an Advanced RMA for my controllers by just sending new ones right away and i just had to send them back the old ones once i received the package. As long as your equipment is still within the 1 year warranty (i think it's their standard) they are usually pretty good about repairing/replacing any damaged product, even if it's accidental damage. I would imagine it's the same for the Deck

[@reverse6470]

Well the same thing happened with my valve index they just replaced the parts without much questions asked and i love it

[@israelmendoza5262]

Im amazed by how valve resolved your issue. I recently queued for a unit of my own 3 days ago. And i heard it takes 3 to 4 months for valve to confirm your reservation.

[@oswith971]

In many cases when I've had a faulty bit of equipment I've just had companies send me a new device, and told me to "dispose of the old one the best way I see fit". One time was a battery powered chainsaw that had a dead battery on arrival, instead of a new battery they sent the entire package and allowed me to keep the old working saw(it has a removable battery as most power tools do). I then took the original battery apart and used a bench power supply to charge all cells individually and the battery is still working, the original charger just refused to charge it because of the voltage being way too low before I trickle charged them. So yes, definitely up to a certain point it's better for companies to just send you a new one as long as they can obviously make sure you don't abuse the system

[@cylotron5447]

I had a couple of similar situations. Back when the Index was out of stock, mine started to develop these weird semi-transparent vertical lines. I submitted a support ticket, then Valve sent out a replacement(which included a box/label to send mine back in). It was relatively quick. Another time, one of the RTX 3090 cards I had ordered back in Dec 2020 went missing(it was showing as delivered, but nothing at my door). Again... even though they were 'out of stock', I had a replacement shipped out to me within 2 days.

[@dasLlamas_94]

The convertion rate of USD to BRL is almost 1:6 so I won't be getting a SteamDeck so soon, sadly. Good to know about their commitment to customer service, it really shows that they care and they are taking seriously this integration between the platform and console.

[@At_Amsterdam]

They’ve been doing this for broken Index headsets so it’s pleasantly not surprising to hear this. I’m really glad money isn’t being thrown into the aether with Valve. You get really high quality customer service with them

[@Escanor375]

I just ordered my steam deck two days ago (unreasonably excited for it) and I’m relieved to know that Valve will take care of it if anything does happen to it.

[@pegasaurisrex9707]

Steam support is absolutely top notch. They RMA'd my valve index twice after its warranty expired. First time, the link cable that tethers the headset to the pc was failing, causing individual pixels to flash white randomly. At the time, they didn't sell replacement cables on the store (they do now) and so I opened a support ticket with them to see if I could buy one through that. They just sent one to me for free, and told me to throw out the old one. This happened maybe 15 months past the warranty expiring. Second issue I had was the base station turning on a red light and completely failing. The replacements were sold out and so I figured I would open up a support ticket to see if they could help trouble shoot, like factory reset the device or something. They just said "as a gesture of good faith, we are sending you a replacement. This isn't a typical RMA process so special steps will be taken etc." Basically they sent me the replacement and then wanted me to send the broken one back in the same box as the new one, with a peace of paper on top of it. This happened maybe just over 2 years after the warranty period ended?

[@DingBoyVR]

I have 8 friends who own a Valve Index and as our group has found out, the Index controllers can break on you, especially the thumbsticks. Everyone has had great experience with Steam support replacing their controllers.

[@caramelpepsi2582]

I've had a similar experience with Valves customer service, I have a Valve index and one day i put it down a bit too forcefully and the headband cracked. Messaged steam support, got a reply super quick that they'd replace the entire headset portion. so i sent off the headset without the controllers or base stations because that's what they asked, and a few weeks later got a new headset, in full retail packaging. Valve's hardware support is freaking awesome. You'd think well its a £1000 VR headset of course the service is gonna be top tier, but just look at all the other companies that sell expensive tech products. Take apple for example even if your phone stops charging for whatever reason, if you don't have an expensive "Apple Protect" plan for your expensive I phone, be prepared to go through a big song and dance with apple about even getting it fixed let alone replaced. and a phone not charging isn't exactly Your fault especially if its a newer phone Valve replaced my index even though I was careless and accidentally broke it.

[@dtm4trix]

Good customer service is rare these days...everything I have heard regarding Valve and the support of their platform has been extremely positive. This kind of customer rapport pays dividends down the road with customer loyalty. I think this platform is going to blow up. Anyway thanks for the video.

[@calcifir]

So, I'm not surprised by their response after a longtime user over the Valve Index. They've been incredible to customers with their products and RMA and replacements in a way I've never seen any other company do. I have my controllers for the headset get damaged admittedly by my own fault, but still contacted to see about getting repairs, and was given a similar experience, but instead they followed their Advanced RMA procedures, sending me a new pair of controllers, along with shipping labels to send the old ones back in the same packaging. Valve has truly set a standard for support of their products and customer experience throughout my entire time using their services and product.

[@fitch8363]

Outstanding. Please do a review of it. I look forward to your objective well reasoned posts on about any subject.

[@deanoaks7690]

Valve did something similar for me when one of my Index's knuckles broke when I slammed it into a coffee table playing Gorn. I was wanting it to be repaired or seeing if they would be willing to sell me a single knuckle replacement. To my surprise, they RMA'd the knuckle and I got it back 2 weeks or so later.

[@TurkeyFaceX]

I'm glad I store it in the case whenever I'm not using it or charging it. Its rare to hear a story of top tier customer service like this. I have brand loyalty with other companies just because I like the product, but Valve is really putting in the effort to show their customers their products are not only worth buying but the company themselves will take care of their fans. I also like Nintendo and Sony, but they should be taking notes because their customer service really needs improvement. It's good that Valve is setting a good example.

[@bulwinkle]

Boy am I jealous. I'm still waiting for mine here in the UK. Latest news is 4th 1/4 for delivery. It was 3rd 1/4 when I first reserved mine. Kudos to Steam for going above and beyond for you.

[@ConstantGeekery]

My order got bumped twice, despite getting it in the first 10 minutes of pre-ordering. Must admit I got fed up, but it has been worth the wait. Valve are ramping up production, so I hope it’s not much longer until you get it.

[@LoliPolice-bf7mw]

Once a tree in the place I used to live got struck by lightning on a day we were partying outside. It was storming real hard so we were all just taking cover under the tree right next to the tree that copped zapped. The zapped tree was split in half, one half in the ground the other falling. The half fell down inbetween my house, garage, electric poles and I had thought that I lucked out but then I noticed something that was destroyed. Our brand new picnic table was completely destroyed. Anyways, that is why you should always make sure to buy house insurance so that if the half ever falls on your property, then at least it is insured.

[@kvakosekboyo]

My friend scratched up lenses on his new index. He wanted to replace lenses or something but he got replacement even after confessing that he was the one who scratched it trying to 'buff it out'.

[@-hurtbear-3170]

nearly lifelong valve customer and fan, this has certainly boosted my opinion even further