Finally got my replacement keyboard, after 2 weeks from when i returned it to the store and i finally get to use the keyboard i wanted 3 weeks from the date of the online purchase.
There is a twist and i found out that Cooler Master was not the one to blame for the lenghty replacement time. As it turns out Cooler Master does not deal with the keyboard RMAs directly, if the keyboard comes from a store that bought it from a Cooler Master resseler.
In such a case if a defective keyboard is found the customer should return it to the store which will replace the keyboard asap (even right the way if available) and they will handle the rest of the RMA process without the customer ever having to wait or be involved, if ofc the warranty claim is legitimate, which in my case was.
Here is the message i got from Cooler Master
Cooler Master Employee wrote:Sep 09 05:41 pm (CST)
Dear Mr./Ms,
Thank you for your inquiry, sorry for the late reply.
Normally the store should have replaced your keyboard directly when you returned it. They might want to first check if the keyboard is faulty and then replace it. I have checked with your serial number if the RMA is handled but we do not have checked your keyboard yet. Also the store will first return your keyboard to there distributor and the distributor will send the keyboard to us.
We recommend you to contact the store and ask for your keyboard.
Kind regards,
But that's not what the guy from the store told me two weeks ago when i returned it to them, he told me (lied to me) they have sent it back to Cooler Master which will see if the claim is valid and then send a replacement.
How i found they were lying and making me wait for 2 weeks needlessly? I submitted a ticket on the Cooler Master support site and i sent the reply i received from them to the guy from the store that handled my order. I called him one hour later and he said that they just received the replacement and they are just about to send it by courrier.
Right...
So here ends my saga, i do fault Cooler Master though for replying to my question about the RMA process 12 days after i submitted it. Had they replied earlier i could have gotten my keyboard faster. But that's not their problem really since that's not how they handle business, i get it, the company that sold the keyboard to me was at fault
I would have made a formal complaint but at this point i don't even care anymore. I learned my lesson and will never buy from that store ever again.
To clarify, the store is actually quite a big local company with a business model simillar to Microcenter from the US.