Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Under the Lilies

I found it amusing to receive an email from a friend of mine yesterday asking me if I was still alive and if I was, where the hell was the blog?  I replied to say that I was most certainly still alive, but life has been hectic.  An answer fired back with “I was beginning to think you were in the back yard buried under the lilies…”  This made me laugh as I replied with “if anyone is going to end up under the lilies, we both know it won’t be me.”  She agreed.
So aside from life, work, kids and the normal hectic curveballs we usually get thrown, I’ve had an issue with my internet connection (now fixed) and an even worse issue with my laptop.
I’m a relatively careful person, so upon purchase I made sure to pay the extra and grab the extended warranty.  This proved to be fortunate since the hard drive was faulty and died about three seconds after the one year warranty ran out.  I was amazed that it ever so politely informed me “the hard drive is faulty; you should back up and contact the supplier”.  Ha!  Like everything I have isn’t backed up; then backed up again.  Organisation is my middle name! (Actually, it’s Jane, but you get my drift.)
So I called the number on the extended warranty pamphlet and was informed that I would receive a call from a company regarding its repair.
And that is where the drama began.  Wait one day to get a reply to my original call.  Then another day passes while I receive a post order print out, wrap the laptop, bubble wrap and pack it in a box.  I read and reread the documentation and suspicious of the world, wonder if there will be an issue that isn’t covered by the warranty – such as ill treatment.  Good luck with that.  I love my laptop and it looks like new.
A few days go by and I call to find out what is happening only to discover that the hard drive was indeed faulty and due to the size of it, they were awaiting one to come in.  Another couple of days go by and I get a call; all fixed – on its way back to me. 
Ahh my true love is coming home!
There is something I don’t quite understand about companies or the post office.  I have a post office box but things like computers or phones can’t be sent there; they have to go to your home address.  I’m at work so what do they do..?  Take it to the post office – and not my usual one either which throws more running around into the mix.
I don’t care about the run around; I rush into the house, rip the box open and there it is… Glistening and red, like a beam from the heavens is shining on it.  I open the lid reverently, press start and I see the windows firefly things whizz to life for about three seconds before all goes black.
I do it again.  Same thing.  Close the lid and march to the phone to call the company.
Of course they are not in by the time I’ve come home from work, traipsed off to two different post offices and made it home to test; so I don’t get a call back until the morning.  Now a week has passed.
I go to work with the laptop, boxed up, in the boot of my car, figuring I’ll have to send it back and get a call from some guy who gives me the instructions to press F8 while starting it, then select “last known configuration that worked” (which amazingly worked); then shut down and do it again.
The doing it again part didn’t go so well, it just went to a black screen again.
I call back, tell another guy what the problem was, what I was instructed to do and what the result was; where upon he tells me to send it back.  Great, another week without my damned laptop.
Yesterday I get a call from some receptionist to say that my computer is ready to be sent back to me.  There was a memory card in it and the boot sequence was going to that so it was my problem, not theirs and I’d have to pay the return postage.
I decided to argue the point.  I actually don’t care if the postage is $15 or $500 but I do expect a service, especially when I have paid for it.  I tell her that I am assuming it was tested prior to being sent back and that the tech should have seen that would happen and leave a note in it; if not then, then perhaps when I called and spoke to two people there, one of them should have mentioned the memory card.
Now I like to think I’m a reasonable person but this is where it all goes pear shaped.  Her tone turns cold and the rudeness level goes up as she basically tells me “too bad” at which point I remind her that I am the customer and she tells me “I don’t care what you are.”
Ooookkkaayyy.  The conversation moves along: (I’m sure you’ll get who is who)
“I can see this is going nowhere, I’d like to speak to the manager please.”
“He isn’t here.”
“Well I’d like his phone number.”
“I can’t give out his number.”
“Well… Why don’t you give him mine and ask him to call me.”
“He won’t.  He isn’t here.  He has personal issues and won’t be back this week”.
“Is there anyone else there I can speak to?”
Then I get the tech that worked on my laptop and was actually the first guy I spoke I had explained the issue to.  He proceeds to tell me he spoke with me, told me what to do and I didn’t bother to call back and say what happened.  I pointed out that my call back was answered by someone else, I explained in full and was emailed the post slip”
Then I had the same argument I’d just had with the bimbo.  I tell him that if there is a memory card in there, it’s been in there for months and that had never happened previously so why now?  He says that it was sitting in there but not pushed in and maybe while they were wrapping it in gladwrap and boxing it up; the packer had pushed it in.
Thinking that this is an admission of guilt..?  Of course not.  He says it is my fault and I have to pay the freight and then goes off and gets the cost only to come back onto the phone to say “lady, its $15 is it really worth all the arguing?”  I once again remind them that I am the customer and they are the business – so perhaps they should ask if the $15 is worth their reputation…
Where upon I get a “well I can’t help you” and I actually hear the phone moving away from him so I screech “don’t you DARE even think about hanging up on me!”  He comes back on the line, argues some more and then mentions that fine, if I want to cause such a fuss, they will pay it.
I hang up, fuming and suspecting that although it is ready to go Tuesday, it won’t be posted until Friday, meaning I don’t get it back til the week after.
Well N*tional PC Solutions; I emailed the store as soon as I got home and told them that I was instructed to do so by the bimbo who answers phones!

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Thanks. Better check it out but it should be up today!