Screw the system that's screwing me (just a rant)

The BBQ Pit
1

GodDAMMIT!

First of all, my wife is in Europe for two months to study abroad to get her Masters. She is the breadwinner in the relationship; I’m just a piano teacher who’s lucky if his students show up. So she’s in Europe spending money everyday (obviously something that can’t be helped) and the only money coming in is what I’m making. So I’m already on edge. Not to mention the obvious fact that I miss the hell out of her.

Then a month ago my car breaks down after just having it fixed four months ago. The new shop I take it to (a MUCH better, and more honest shop) tells me, “Well the other shop you went to used defective parts. We had to make up for their mistakes. Upside, it’ll last for another 30,000 miles and if it doesn’t I’ll fix it for free. Downside, it’ll be $700.” Well thanks for your honesty, Walt.

So I go to the old shop and demand a refund for the $400 I had just spent four months ago. Yeah, like anything is really that easy. “Um, sorry… no can do. You should have brought it back here instead. Have a nice day.” Fuck you.

Then today I get a letter in the mail from Gateway, from whom I bought my computer a little over a year ago. Two months ago my monitor was giving me trouble so I called up the Gateway Country store down the street from where I live. Hell I wasn’t even sure if I HAD a warranty, I just wanted to see what I could do about it. Well sure enough the guy on the phone says, “Congratulations, you have a 3 year warranty. You want I should send you a new monitor?” Well of course, and thank you very much. So I get the new monitor a short 3 days later, “Wow, this is great, isn’t it honey? Such fast service and an even better monitor than before! Hmmm… that’s weird… there’s nothing in the box about sending the old one back.” Really, are you sure? “Yeah, I’ve taken everything out… and the guy on the phone didn’t mention anything about it either.” Oh well, we’ll just throw it away then; what do we want with an old monitor?

So the letter I get in the mail today wonders where in the hell their monitor is, and states that I will have to pay $211 unless I send it back. So I call them up, explain that I was NEVER told that was necessary, and that I even mentioned to my wife how strange it was that they didn’t want it back. “Sorry sir, it clearly states in your warranty… and we always send a letter with the new product.” I fucking told you I didn’t have a copy of my warranty, and you and I both know that you guys ship out a ton of boxes… it is NOT UNLIKELY that the letter did not make it into one of those boxes. “Sorry, sir. There’s nothing we can do. We expect the payment to be made in full as soon as possible. Have a nice day.” Fuck you.

I know I was foolish for not knowing to send it back, but Jesus when someone TELLS you they didn’t get the letter, NOR did your EMPLOYEE tell me anything, don’t they ever make exceptions?

I feel a little better now… this message board can be very therapeutic. :mad:

2

So what are they planning on doing if you don’t pay?

3

I’m not really sure. I asked the lady what would happen if I couldn’t pay right away, and she said, “We will put a hold on your account, and you won’t be able to receive any technical support.”

I laughed as soon as she said that and told her I didn’t need any technical support now that I got my new monitor. She didn’t say anything. I don’t usually act like that with people, but I was pretty pissed. I worked at Progressive Insurance for 15 months taking calls from pissed off customers whose policies had just been cancelled; I know how it can be and I try to give these people some respect because of that. BUT I also know that there are ALWAYS exceptions to be made, and I think in a situation such as this, the customer should have been considered right.

So to answer your question, Ryan, I’m not sure what “putting a hold on my account” means. They aren’t the ones I make the payments to; MBNA is. So I’m not sure what they’re planning.

4

Exceptions can always be made, but the person who called you can almost never make them. If you feel yours is an extraordinary circumstance, ask to speak with her supervisor and climb the chain from there.

And report the car shop to the BBB. Won’t do much, but you should anyway.

5

You should also report the first car shop to American Automobile Association. They keep records about complaints, and will pull their contracts with that shop if they get too many. The number is bound to be in the yellow pages.

6

You’ve obviously never had the pleasure of dealing with Gateway Customer Service/Tech Support.

7

I used to work in the same building as Gateway tech support - the company that did their support back in 1997, Stream, also did support for Compaq (they lost the contract, though), Dell, HP, MSN, etc. IF Stream is still contracted to provide tech support for Gateway, you will get to speak to a supervisor if you request to. I’m not sure how much the supervisor will be able to do for you, but Gateway support was always pretty lenient and I know that in the support groups I worked in if a customer complained enough and kept calling back on the same case number (KEEP TRACK OF CASE NUMBERS AND NAMES OF PEOPLE YOU TALK TO!!!) they will normally let things slide in cases like this.

8

[duck drops from ceiling]
Give that man a cigar, he said the secret word “Credit Card.”

Since you paid for that computer with a credit card, you have more options in the case of a dispute. I don’t know what sort of arrangements you made, did you set it up for Gateway to bill you each month, or did you put the full amount on your card? I don’t know what “putting a hold on your account” means, but if they try to bill you extra, you can always dispute the charges. If they try to invalidate your warranty or something, you could probably get the credit card company to take some action against them. Talk to MBNA. If you talk to Gateway again, let them know you talked to the credit card company. Depending on your card’s terms, you might even have extra warranty protection.

And next time try to buy something besides piece 'o crap hardware like Gateway. A monitor should NOT die within a year of purchase. I only buy Sony brand name monitors, and I’ve never had a problem. I have one ancient Sony monitor that has been in use for about 12 years and it’s still working perfectly.

9

I have researched this issue, and I believe that Gateway switched to Sykes in late 1997 or early 1998. Perhaps this accounts for the change, but I had problems with my Gateway PC in early 1998 and had immense troubles with their technical support people.

On one instance, I had to ask a guy “So you refuse to let me speak to a supervisor?” four or five times before he finally relented. And the supervisor was even less helpful and did in fact refuse to let me escalate the matter further. (And the request I had made was not unreasonable.)

Gateway technical support became so hostile it’s unbelievable. Other people I have communicated with confirm that Gateway suffered a huge drop in service a few years ago.

Honestly, I think that part of the reason that Gateway is having so many problems is that they let their service slip down to a level approaching that of “Packard-Bell.”

10

I would like nothing more than to partake in your cigar and um… your duck, but unfortunately I didn’t pay with a credit card. I just went through MBNA to get the money to pay for the computer. This whole thing with the monitor is with Gateway alone; the lady made this perfectly clear. It does not affect my monthly payments or my credit (if I end up not paying) at all.

Actually the computer is pretty good; I like their product, just not their customer service. I have moved a lot in the past 18 months and that might have been some of the cause of the monitor breaking. Who knows…

In any event, thanks to all who have been researching this for me. I’ll probably wait until my wife gets back from Europe and have her call them. She’s from New York, you know… :wink:

11

Oh darn. The credit card companies can give you some great leverage, it was your best shot, but I guess you got it through some other means. What did you do, get a cash advance on the card?
I’m not sure what they’re really threatening you with, if it doesn’t affect your payments or credits. What are they going to do, prevent you from buying more Gateway products in the future, or getting repairs when it eventually breaks?

Anyway, if you move a lot maybe you should spend a few extra bucks and buy an LCD screen. They’re much more durable, and easier to move. From what I hear, you can recoup the extra costs of the LCD with the lowered electricity bills within a year, or even 6 months if you’re paying California electric rates.

12

The important question is, what is your wife studying?

13

Well, at least your post made me laugh. :slight_smile: She’s studying educational theatre. She is a very talented director/actor, and I am a composer. She’ll probably direct my musical, when I’m through with it.