About / FAQ
I’ve created this site in frustration borne from my attempts to get warranty coverage for my Razer Lycosa keyboard. It is meant as both a way to encourage companies like Razer to offer better, no-hassle support for their customers, and to allow myself a way to let off a little steam in a manner that might offer some amusement to at least a few people who have dealt with similar frustrations.
Q: What actually prompted you to call Razer for support?
A: The long and short of it is that my right-side shift key died. The way I type, that’s the only shift key I use, and I use it extensively for gaming as well as day to day typing. Also, it occasionally would cease to do any “repeat” key entries, such as holding down an arrow key to move while gaming. Or, it would enter a “shifted” key state but not release it. These once-to-twice nightly problems were temporarily fixed when the keyboard was unplugged, then plugged back in. The shift key failure however, was the final straw.
Q: Don’t you know you need to keep a receipt when you buy things like $80 keyboards?
A: Sure. I could (and probably should) have kept the receipt.
Q: So why are you making a big deal out of this even though you admit you screwed up?
A: Because I think that companies like Razer have forgotten a principal tenet of doing good business. Keep the customer happy, and the customer will come back and bring you even more customers. The way Razer has handled this kind of complaint simply does not seem to be good business to me, in terms of keeping happy customers buying more products. I also believe that there is no excuse for Razer not to offer me warranty coverage, as the keyboard has not even been on the market for over a year. It is completely impossible for my keyboard to have been sold outside the window of warranty coverage.
Q: Why did you buy the Lycosa in the first place?
A: Like some gamers, I’m left handed. Many modern gaming peripherals screw those of us who mouse southpaw pretty badly. Logitech doesn’t make a good ambidextrous gaming mouse, nor does Microsoft. Razer has been the only game in town for quite some time. My first Razer mouse, despite a few issues, still works. My current Razer mouse has flaws, but I’m willing to overlook them as they’re not as great as, say, not being able to hold a mouse at all. I figured Razer would be able to offer a capable keyboard, and until mine failed, they did.
Q: How many Razer products have you owned?
A: Three and a half. I have a Razer Diamondback mouse which I use as a backup, I briefly owned (but returned due to poor drivers and a disapproval of the “compressed” keyboard layout) a Razer Tarantula keyboard, and still use a Razer Lachesis mouse complete with a Razer eXactMat mouse pad.
Q: Would you recommend Razer products to anyone else?
A: Right now the only thing I would recommend to anyone, would be the last generation of Razer mice (The Copperhead/Diamondback models) to left-handed gamers only.
Q: Why wouldn’t you recommend the Razer Lachesis mouse you say you still own?
A: Finicky drivers, erratic movement even on one of Razer’s hard surface mouse pads. I had to spend more than two hours getting the firmware upgraded, including the use of a freshly installed OS on a laptop just to get the update to run. There are times my mouse simply locks up and refuses to move.
Q: If you don’t like the Lycosa, what did you replace it with?
A: A Logitech G15 (second generation). Logitech’s first attempt at a gaming keyboard, the original G15 was a great buy when it was released. However, the issues with that keyboard weren’t trivial. When I contacted Logitech about the key covers wearing away to clear plastic, they simply sent me a new one. No hassle. No reciept. No requirement that I return the bad one, just had to send them some pictures and the serial. Eventually the G15′s I have wound up relegated to the side for something smaller, but Logitech really did step up to the plate on support. So they got my money again.
Q: You’re talking about some pretty extreme measures to possibly kill this keyboard. Why so brutal? And is it safe to use guns on a keyboard like this?
A: Because it’s fun. And I know that I’m not the only person on the Internet who loves to see things getting destroyed. Any shooting that may take place will happen on the premises of a public gun range with appropriate safety equipment, and will take place with capable, careful shooters.
Q: Do you own all the guns you’re suggesting using?
A: No. Some of them are mine, others belong to friends.
Q: If Razer offers you a replacement keyboard, will you still destroy the one you have now?
A: Yes. No matter what Razer does from this point on, the keyboard in my possession now will be shot and destroyed. If Razer wishes to send me a replacement, that would be great. If they want the one I have in exchange, I they’ll get it in baggies. However, for them to receive my recommendation, there are other steps that I would like to see them take. For example, a one-year no-hassle warranty period after the official retail distribution date for any new products.
Q: What do you do for a living or hobbies? Who are you? Is this some sort of viral marketing?
A: I’m a freelance technology consultant and occasional web designer. I have been a PC hardware enthusiast for 15 years, and it is both my hobby and my job. My name is Josh, and this is not any form of marketing. Yes, I may have a Logitech G15 now and I talk about this, but what I really want is a keyboard that nobody’s bothered to make yet. Though I’d settle for a Deck Legend.
And yes, I know about the Optimus Maximus.
Q: How can I contact you?
A: killmyrazer@bowdownbefore.us will work.
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