coathanger007
Tomorrow Tweaking Today
- Joined
- 19 May 2003
- Messages
- 1,520
I am shocked by the customer disservice I have received in PC stores everywhere.
Recently, Landmark computers shopkeeper ripped me off by swapping my faulty Western Digital HDD with 8MB cache with one with only 2MB cache (refurbished). Dodgy Indian smoothtalker tried to give me a IBM deskstar (deathstar).Also tried to overcharge me $50 Aussie until I showed him the advert and he went silent. There's just no such thing as good customer support these days.
I've also had warranty issues with PCworld - they made me buy a replacement drive in advance then after 3 months had passed refused to give me a refund using all sorts of evasive tactics. The branch closed shortly after! The worst store from my experience was Infinity computers (Infinity of problems). So angry I wrote to Aussie papers (top opinion):
Penny Wise, Pound Foolish – An Extended Account
Ever pondered whether paying a premium to a well-established big-name company for guaranteed, trouble-free service and peace of mind was worthwhile? It is most unfortunate that this question is promptly resolved upon the full impact of customer disservice being experienced.
The price paid for a PC at Infinity Computers is considerably below that offered by big-name competitors. However, the hassles suffered consequentially are priceless. From day 1, Infinity Computers attempted short-changing me by providing a 2 rather than 4.1 speaker system and it took several phone calls and a subsequent visit to collect an Office suite which was part of the advertised package. Infinity Computers had also given a stick of generic RAM instead of the advertised Kingston RAM pointlessly arguing that the generic RAM was of superior quality. In fact, the generic RAM caused numerous irrecoverable CD burning errors on my overclocked system in stark contrast to the stable performance of Kingston RAM. I was left with an oversupply of CD coasters. Infinity Computers replaced the RAM but in order for me to have discovered the product discrepancy, I had opened the case by breaking the seal and therefore technically voided my 3 year warranty which was the sole reason for my full system purchase in the first place! A classic catch 22 situation.
The PC crashed on a regular basis. Infinity Computers advised that the Windows Operating System was not designed for multi-tasking (I suppose the Earth is flat as well). Lo and behold, the system lacked a system fan, the installation of which resolved this issue. The PC also refused to shut down, persisting in continual reboots. I paid (quite literally), the store a third visit to diagnose the problem only to depart $25 out of pocket, fuming after an hour long dispute with the PC in a non–bootable state. Infinity Computers had convinced themselves that the PC had already been in a non-booting state before they employed their troubleshooting (causing) expertise and even had the cheek to request I pay a further $80 to have the system restored to its previous bootable state. It was their word against mine. Long forgotten is the fundamental sales/marketing principle of the customer having right of way. It turned out that the OS could not be loaded because the technician’s 14” monitor simply could not handle the 1280x1024 resolution. Through self-diagnosis, I discovered the cause of the problematic repetitive reboots was in fact a faulty multimedia keyboard and the re-installation of the OS which was advised by the self-professed all-knowing Infinity Computers Technicians was a needless, tedious waste of time and effort.
A few days ago, I returned to the store for a fifth or sixth visit (I had lost count by this point). The system was unable to start up after powering down abruptly. Infinity Computers laid blame on a corrupt Windows OS … again. This seems to be their all-in-one explanation for any PC problem whether hardware or software. Infinity Computers never seems to learn. Again, the technician’s technological dinosaur of a monitor could not handle the standard 1280x1024 resolution which prevented Windows from loading. Aren’t technicians supposed to be esteemed I.T. professionals who we can lean on when all else fails? After all, ultimately it is their livelihoods at stake.
To cut this excruciating story short, there is no such thing as a free lunch (or free trouble-free service as the case may be). Beware the hidden cost behind the advertised cost.
WARNING: IF YOU KNOW ANYONE CONTEMPLATING A NEW PC SYSTEM PURCHASE, STRONGLY ADVISE THEM TO STEER CLEAR FROM INFINITY COMPUTERS AT ALL COSTS.
Recently, Landmark computers shopkeeper ripped me off by swapping my faulty Western Digital HDD with 8MB cache with one with only 2MB cache (refurbished). Dodgy Indian smoothtalker tried to give me a IBM deskstar (deathstar).Also tried to overcharge me $50 Aussie until I showed him the advert and he went silent. There's just no such thing as good customer support these days.
I've also had warranty issues with PCworld - they made me buy a replacement drive in advance then after 3 months had passed refused to give me a refund using all sorts of evasive tactics. The branch closed shortly after! The worst store from my experience was Infinity computers (Infinity of problems). So angry I wrote to Aussie papers (top opinion):
Penny Wise, Pound Foolish – An Extended Account
Ever pondered whether paying a premium to a well-established big-name company for guaranteed, trouble-free service and peace of mind was worthwhile? It is most unfortunate that this question is promptly resolved upon the full impact of customer disservice being experienced.
The price paid for a PC at Infinity Computers is considerably below that offered by big-name competitors. However, the hassles suffered consequentially are priceless. From day 1, Infinity Computers attempted short-changing me by providing a 2 rather than 4.1 speaker system and it took several phone calls and a subsequent visit to collect an Office suite which was part of the advertised package. Infinity Computers had also given a stick of generic RAM instead of the advertised Kingston RAM pointlessly arguing that the generic RAM was of superior quality. In fact, the generic RAM caused numerous irrecoverable CD burning errors on my overclocked system in stark contrast to the stable performance of Kingston RAM. I was left with an oversupply of CD coasters. Infinity Computers replaced the RAM but in order for me to have discovered the product discrepancy, I had opened the case by breaking the seal and therefore technically voided my 3 year warranty which was the sole reason for my full system purchase in the first place! A classic catch 22 situation.
The PC crashed on a regular basis. Infinity Computers advised that the Windows Operating System was not designed for multi-tasking (I suppose the Earth is flat as well). Lo and behold, the system lacked a system fan, the installation of which resolved this issue. The PC also refused to shut down, persisting in continual reboots. I paid (quite literally), the store a third visit to diagnose the problem only to depart $25 out of pocket, fuming after an hour long dispute with the PC in a non–bootable state. Infinity Computers had convinced themselves that the PC had already been in a non-booting state before they employed their troubleshooting (causing) expertise and even had the cheek to request I pay a further $80 to have the system restored to its previous bootable state. It was their word against mine. Long forgotten is the fundamental sales/marketing principle of the customer having right of way. It turned out that the OS could not be loaded because the technician’s 14” monitor simply could not handle the 1280x1024 resolution. Through self-diagnosis, I discovered the cause of the problematic repetitive reboots was in fact a faulty multimedia keyboard and the re-installation of the OS which was advised by the self-professed all-knowing Infinity Computers Technicians was a needless, tedious waste of time and effort.
A few days ago, I returned to the store for a fifth or sixth visit (I had lost count by this point). The system was unable to start up after powering down abruptly. Infinity Computers laid blame on a corrupt Windows OS … again. This seems to be their all-in-one explanation for any PC problem whether hardware or software. Infinity Computers never seems to learn. Again, the technician’s technological dinosaur of a monitor could not handle the standard 1280x1024 resolution which prevented Windows from loading. Aren’t technicians supposed to be esteemed I.T. professionals who we can lean on when all else fails? After all, ultimately it is their livelihoods at stake.
To cut this excruciating story short, there is no such thing as a free lunch (or free trouble-free service as the case may be). Beware the hidden cost behind the advertised cost.
WARNING: IF YOU KNOW ANYONE CONTEMPLATING A NEW PC SYSTEM PURCHASE, STRONGLY ADVISE THEM TO STEER CLEAR FROM INFINITY COMPUTERS AT ALL COSTS.