Thursday, April 16, 2009

Saga of The Computer from Hell (CFH), Purchase, Problems, Part 1

Luckie does not like this saga as the frequent trips described, resulted her her being boarded at the local veterinarian kennels which she dislikes.

The saga includes references to a big box store and an internationally known computer manufacturer. After reading an article in the NEW YOUR TIMES, the big box store will be named BBS and the computer manufacturer, CM.
[http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/16/business/media/16dominos.html?th&emc=th].

In October, 2007 I decided my husband needed a new desktop computer to replace one I built prior to Windows XP version and upgraded to XP. Nothing was wrong the home-built version, except it was not VISTA compatible. (After two years of Vista this purchase was doomed from the start!)

In this time frame we had frequent appointments at the VA hospital in Little Rock (LR), Arkansas [300 mi. round trip] for my husband's medical problems.

I ordered a slim computer from BBS's website to be delivered to BBS's retail store in LR. The slimmed down model's small footprint seemed ideal for my husband's computer nook with limited desk real estate.

At pickup I purchased an in-store 2-year warranty extension/maintenance agreement and memory upgrade, approximate total price, $600. The warranty extension/maintenance agreement was an in-store subcontractor service.

So far, here are lessons learned from mistakes, #1, #2 and #3 in this story:
  1. Never buy a new model on-line without intense research.
  2. Never purchase an in-store warranty when you are 300 mi. round trip away from store.
  3. Read fine print and ask seemingly stupid questions, like if defective, can I ship it to store.
We made this trip in one day, arriving home late evening, so we did not unpack the CFH until the next day. When we did, the DVD-CD ROM recorder/player was defective, the insertion door did not open; it did not initialize on boot.

Frequent long-distance phone calls to the BBS were fruitless; I was told I had to return it to the store for exchange, another 300 mi trip.

Fortunately, my husband had another appointment at VA; we planned a 2-night stay at a motel. I exchanged the unit; the warranty extension/maintenance agreement was transferred to new unit.

At this point estimated costs of our motel and Luckie's boarding, 300 mi. of fuel (not counting original purchase), long distant phone calls, and dining equaled or exceeded the original purchase. I am beginning to seethe.

The saga only gets worse.

Watch for Part 2.

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