~~~~ Brag & Moan ~~~~

[SSibalNom]

Originally posted by: FunkierThanU
Okay this is just wrong.

I decided I didn't want to wait for the freebie downloads for Mandrake Linux 10.0 for AMD64. I also thought "what the hell, I'll help support an outfit making a nice product". So I got on their direct store, and order me a copy on disk. $120.32 seemed a little step for a distro, but again, I figured it's for a good cause and I'd like a hard copy without the hassle.

Imagine my surprise when my Debit Card gets dinged to the tune of $12032.00!!!

Now, I'm a patient individual for the most part, and I understand that someone just screwed up and didn't hit the decimal point when entering numbers. Fine, my bank's cool and they immediately see what happened and can correct in 5 business days. Granted it sucks cause it's 7 days of no cash, since my bank account is a little overdrawn.

Well, today I received my TWELVE THOUSAND DOLLAR operating system... and it's the wrong frickin' version! They sent me a stale copy of 9.2 for 64bit instead of the 10.0 that it says on the receipt the disks came with.

Man. I hope they write code better than they enter numbers or pack stuff.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEdiots!!!!!!!!!!


Ya know, I was a little disappointed that I couldn't talk to an actual human at Mandrake. No numbers listed anywhere. I did FINALLY get a "yeah, we know there's a problem with the credit card charges, sorry..." -type e-mail. Maybe it's just me but if you overcharged someone ELEVEN GRAND wouldn't you try and make just a little effort to show you give a s***?
The wrong product showing up is just classic, after the first screwup. Am I stuck in "The Keystone Kops make an OS" this week.

Jeez.

that is just terrible, for a lot of people, including me, the bank would go nuts and we'd be doing crap forever just to get it off our credit.. 12k is more than my account has ever had @@!

 

[FunkierThanU]

Originally posted by: SSibalNom

Originally posted by: FunkierThanU
Okay this is just wrong.

I decided I didn't want to wait for the freebie downloads for Mandrake Linux 10.0 for AMD64. I also thought "what the hell, I'll help support an outfit making a nice product". So I got on their direct store, and order me a copy on disk. $120.32 seemed a little step for a distro, but again, I figured it's for a good cause and I'd like a hard copy without the hassle.

Imagine my surprise when my Debit Card gets dinged to the tune of $12032.00!!!

Now, I'm a patient individual for the most part, and I understand that someone just screwed up and didn't hit the decimal point when entering numbers. Fine, my bank's cool and they immediately see what happened and can correct in 5 business days. Granted it sucks cause it's 7 days of no cash, since my bank account is a little overdrawn.

Well, today I received my TWELVE THOUSAND DOLLAR operating system... and it's the wrong frickin' version! They sent me a stale copy of 9.2 for 64bit instead of the 10.0 that it says on the receipt the disks came with.

Man. I hope they write code better than they enter numbers or pack stuff.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEdiots!!!!!!!!!!


Ya know, I was a little disappointed that I couldn't talk to an actual human at Mandrake. No numbers listed anywhere. I did FINALLY get a "yeah, we know there's a problem with the credit card charges, sorry..." -type e-mail. Maybe it's just me but if you overcharged someone ELEVEN GRAND wouldn't you try and make just a little effort to show you give a s***?
The wrong product showing up is just classic, after the first screwup. Am I stuck in "The Keystone Kops make an OS" this week.

Jeez.

that is just terrible, for a lot of people, including me, the bank would go nuts and we'd be doing crap forever just to get it off our credit.. 12k is more than my account has ever had @@!

The idiocy continues:

My bank corrected the issue. And this morning, Mandrake credited my account $11800, after I told them my bank was handling it. My bank, Washington Mutual is pretty good on most things.

 

[marvdmartian]

Another POWMAX power supply bites the dust!!

Even though they're supposedly AMD approved, I've found that Powmax power supplies aren't worth the effort to install in a computer case. TWICE in the past year, I've had to help friends out when their P'max power supply just up and died on them, both times within the first year of the system being built. Neither time did it seem to me (at least) that they had an excessive amount of items being run off the hard drive, which would have contributed to an early demise.

My buddy stopped by tonight, and I helped him out replacing his dying Powmax power supply with an Allied unit I had lying around. He got lucky, and it started acting up before it just up and died (or shorted out entirely), so it didn't seem to damage anything in his case, except possibly his floppy disk drive (which I never could get to be recognized as being hooked up, but he didn't have the time for me to try a replacement unit on that).

My neighbor had his Powmax die late last year, and it killed his ~$90 video card when it went out. Lucky for him he has a system builder next door, and I just happened to have a spare video card handy, or he would've been SOL until he bought a new one.

The power supply I replace tonight was a 400watt unit, and it weighed about HALF what the replacement Allied unit did. My buddy was really surprised at how light it was, compared to a quality power supply, and now understands that cheap power supplies are cheap because they're lightweight units without quality parts.

Do yourself a favor, and spend the extra $$$ on a good quality power supply. It's the best investment you'll ever make!!

 

[ParatoOptimal]

BRAG
---------------------------------

For once they err on our side.

My brother and I sent in rebate for CD-Rs.

We both got rejections via email.
The email listed the wrong manufacturer, product (CD-RWs instead of CD-R) and the wrong rebate amount ($5 instead of $6).
We both called and were told that it would be corrected.

We both got rejections via postcards with the same errors as before.
We called and were told it would be corrected.

Low and behold, we both got three checks for $6, $5 and $5

--------------------------
MOAN
--------------------------
This barely makes up for ...
1.) Received only 1 $20 rebate of a two $20 rebate deal.
2.) Never received a $30 rebate.
3.) Never received a $20 rebate.
(I didn't send required registration. I called and was told to wait until I got a
rejection card listing what was missing with a phone # and address to supply
the missing info.) I NEVER GOT A REJECTION CARD WITH UPDATE
PROCEDURES.
4.) Too many others to list.
5.) I have a few rebate checks that I didn't cash before they expired (my fault).

 

[TFM]

Brag: This is posted also in the Topic regarding Sears Closeout on Receivers and Speakers, but i thought it was good enough to post here as well

I brought a $10 off $100 electronics coupon to a Sears where i purchased a set of Sony 5.1 speakers the other day in order to get a price adjustment since it was still within the time to do so. While i was waiting for someone to be available to help me out, i noticed this JBL SCS 136SI on clearance for $180...new in the box. Since i got the Panasonic SA-25XR 6.1 receiver last week, i really wanted 6.1 speakers, and JBL is much nicer than Sony anyway, so i figured i'd buy it.

Well, when i finally talked to the guy, he informed me that they had just got in a return of the same item that was also on clearance, open box, which would take another 10% off. It wasn't in the box and had no manual, but i figured it didn't matter much anyway for speakers. So i opted for that. I thought the subwoofer looked rather big when i saw it, but i figured anything would look big compared to the sony i had been using. Well, after %10 off and the $10 off $100 coupon, my total was $151 i believe.

Well, when i got home, noting how large the speakers were compared to the Sony set i had, i looked at the model numbers on the back of the speakers and come to find out, instead of receiving JBL SCS 136SI, i actually received, JBL SCS 160SI!!! I was blown away.

These things sell for $500 new at Best Buy and $550 from the manufacturer (though i'm sure there are plenty of places to find them cheaper) - but for $151, i don't think it can be beat. Add that to the $125 i paid for the receiver (which sells for $300 in most retail stores) and i came away with a great HT setup for under $300 (at least in my opinion)

 

[Muse]

My bank, Washington Mutual is pretty good on most things.

Speaking of that bank, I guess I have to add my own personal moan:

In Y2000, I bought my house. Applied with Washington Mutual for a loan and the bank manager and loan officer (same guy) told me it was a lock after the appraisal. I told him the house didn't have central heating, and he said that didn't matter, they'd approve. It rarely gets below freezing here, so I can live with occasional space heaters until I install central heating. I asked him before I signed if I'd get my deposit back ($250) if the loan wasn't approved. He said "yes."

Turns out higher-ups in his organization nixed the loan because the house didn't have central heating and I had to scramble to close the deal (that's another story). I never got my $250 deposit back. I implored the manager/loan officer I dealt with, but it was useless. If I didn't basically like the guy, I guess I may have taken him to small claims court. Also, I've never been in small claims court and don't like the idea of doing it. I DO bank there now (they had the best features on a checking account when I shopped for one) - try not to hold a grudge, but that didn't sit well. When I see all the Washington Mutual mortgage ads on TV, I have to groan and moan and think they are basically a lot of BS.:disgust:

 

[BlueWeasel]

MOAN:

Has anyone else noticed a lack of hot deals on DVD media lately, or is it just me? I primarily buy my blank DVD media from my local Staples or OfficeMax, and the deals on brand name media like Memorex or TDK don't seem to be as much as compared to 5-6 months ago.

The online deals for the media still seem about the same, though.

 

[ZoNtO]

BRAG (if you will):

Well at my work if I sell enough in-store warranties on items in a given day, the managers give me a free DVD of my choice. So far I've gotten:

Braveheart
Kill Bill Vol. 1
Orange Country
SI Swimsuit "Making of" 2004
Rudy
Paycheck
Last Samurai
School of Rock

Not to mention I also get the spiff for the warranties as well!

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: ZoNtO
BRAG (if you will):

Well at my work if I sell enough in-store warranties on items in a given day, the managers give me a free DVD of my choice. So far I've gotten:

Braveheart
Kill Bill Vol. 1
Orange Country
SI Swimsuit "Making of" 2004
Rudy
Paycheck
Last Samurai
School of Rock

Not to mention I also get the spiff for the warranties as well!

Well, congrats! Uh, what's "spiff"?

My brag: Myself, I'm your nightmare customer because I would not buy an extended warranty from you or anybody. I know they aren't worth it. I saw a bit on TV that explained that the stores make half their profits by selling these to customers. Myself, I've bought a fair amount of stuff and I have never once had occasion to use an extended warranty had I bought it. I always tell the salesperson that I don't want one and that they are wasting their time if they are persistent in trying to sell one to me.

Actually, I'm not that bad a customer, but I like to be up front and honest, as much as reasonably convenient. I'm a damn good shopper, well, when I take the time.

From World Wide Words (from a British viewpoint):

SPIFF
[Question:] From an AOL subscriber: ?Spiff is a word that has been in use in the sales and marketing business for decades (at least). It is a small, immediate bonus for a sale, but I cannot find what the letters stand for or where it came from.?

[Answer:] You?ll be glad in a moment that you included that parenthetical note. There is a reference to a spiff in a slang dictionary of 1859: ?the percentage allowed by drapers to their young men when they effect sale of old fashioned or undesirable stock?. It seems to be connected with the use of the word in that period to mean a dandy or somebody smartly dressed (hence spiffy, and to spiff up?to improve the appearance of a place or a person), but nobody seems to have been able to disentangle the threads of which came first, or what influenced what, or where the word originally came from. It?s certainly not an acronym, as you hint it might be?words formed from the initial letters of other words are rare before the 1930s.

 

[Tsunami982]

BRAG:

i went to CC the other day to buy a force feedback steering wheel set. i had a gift certificate for 100 bucks and that wasnt enough to buy the momo. i didnt want to spend any cash (besides the card) so i got the microsoft one that was marked 89 + tax. i took it up to the register and it rang up 8.99 hahahaha. i was like "um... are you sure?" and the cashier scanned again as well as typing it in manually and a said it was right...

so microsoft force feedback wheel set sells for much less than 89 anywhere online but nothing close to 8.99 + tax.

MOAN: that deal almost made up for BB never giving me any of my rebates.

 

[Muse]

brag snipped...

MOAN: that deal almost made up for BB never giving me any of my rebates.

I've been very lucky with rebates. I've had probably 40-50 of them and I don't think I've ever been stiffed on one. Knock on wood!

Edit: Come to think of it there was one, but technically I guess I wasn't stiffed. Turbotax, with their 2002 package said in the fine print that the rebate for the federal package was only honored when you sent your request in within 30 days of purchase! I'm sure they knew fully well that most people would buy it and then put off doing their taxes and then find that they couldn't get their rebates, just like me. I pissed and moaned plenty about that one, sending them emails and expressing my indignation. I thought that was rather dishonest of them. They didn't do that this year (2003 taxes). They probably got a lot of flack on that one (I hope!).

 

[welst10]

MOAN: STAY AWAY from FUJIFILM rebates. They're the slowest and worst I've dealt with. Almost 3 months now, the $8 rebate (for purchase of DVd+R spindle) hasn't been mailed. Emails are unanswered. They simply ignore inquiries. I filed complains with BBB.

 

[SSibalNom]

moan: i lost $20 at the casino today

 

[Anonemous]

MOAN:

Buy.com randomly cancels people's orders for their 256mb kingston SD card which was on sale 47$ letting some people receive the item while others get a flat out lie about it being unavailable. It was so 'unavailable' that they had it in stock for 55.99$. The deal wasn't that hot or bank breaking but lying to me saying it's unavailable and then letting some people in on the deal reminds me of the rebate schemes in which some people get it while others don't. Seems like a bait and switch scheme and now they hold all the cards with my cc info and personal information which I can't delete.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: d3n
MOAN: Missed the deal $209 deal on the Officedepot A80 camera. I have a brand new one sitting on my desk right now. It is not from Office Depot.

A Canon A80 for $209? That IS (um, was) a good deal! Even for an A70. I made out OK, though: got a Samsung Digimax V3 3.2 MP for $186 after $50 rebate (Hot Deals Forum, thanks!). The rebate was slow to come but finally did a month ago or so. Pretty neat camera.

 

[M0NEYSH0T]

Reason to shop at Best Buy; great leadership.

BRAG:
http://www.startribune.com/stories/535/4781506.html

OR HERE
http://twincities.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/2004/05/17/daily12.html

 

[Gentle1969]

Originally posted by: M0NEYSH0T
Reason to shop at Best Buy; great leadership

I find these are reasons NOT to shop at Best Buy. In addition to studying the info on bestbuysux.org anyone of intelligence would find no valid reason to support the management of Best Buy.

Are there really ever ANY good reasons to shop at Best Buy?

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: Gentle1969

Originally posted by: M0NEYSH0T
Reason to shop at Best Buy; great leadership

I find these are reasons NOT to shop at Best Buy. In addition to studying the info on bestbuysux.org anyone of intelligence would find no valid reason to support the management of Best Buy.

Are there really ever ANY good reasons to shop at Best Buy?

OK, I'll bite. I've been in the store a number of times and you are forcing me to ask myself the question: Was I wasting my time? Worse: Was I corrupting my life?

I bought a video card on Black Friday there in 2002 - BFG Asylum 128 MB Ti4200 for $89 after rebates. Unbeatable deal. I've bought little else. Usually I leave the store empty handed, but it does give me an opportunity to see what's out there. In the case of plasma monitors, see them in action. Better venue for that than any other store where I live. Got an unbeatable deal on a NIC after rebate at BB.

As far as I'm concerned, there's no store that deserves your business all the time. You pick and chose or you lose. Unless you're well off. If you have enough money, you don't bother to shop around, eh?

 

[WT]

I went to the Salvation Army today

For those that are not aware, this is a great place to pick up some parts for a PC or monitors. My local SA had a 15" monitor for $9 and a pair of 17" monitors for $20 each. One was a Nokia which my buddy picked up. He repairs monitors and could tell me exactly what was wrong (if anything) to some of the other monitors that were available. If you go looking, make sure they have a working PC set up on display and test the monitor on that to see if it has any discernible issues before buying it.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: WT

I went to the Salvation Army today

For those that are not aware, this is a great place to pick up some parts for a PC or monitors. My local SA had a 15" monitor for $9 and a pair of 17" monitors for $20 each. One was a Nokia which my buddy picked up. He repairs monitors and could tell me exactly what was wrong (if anything) to some of the other monitors that were available. If you go looking, make sure they have a working PC set up on display and test the monitor on that to see if it has any discernible issues before buying it.

YMMV when it comes to thrift stores. Location, location, location.

 

[FunkierThanU]

I did say _most_ things.

I did have one of their branches in Oakland not want to sell me a roll of quarters once when I had to do laundry! I couldn't believe it.

Originally posted by: Muse

My bank, Washington Mutual is pretty good on most things.

Speaking of that bank, I guess I have to add my own personal moan:

In Y2000, I bought my house. Applied with Washington Mutual for a loan and the bank manager and loan officer (same guy) told me it was a lock after the appraisal. I told him the house didn't have central heating, and he said that didn't matter, they'd approve. It rarely gets below freezing here, so I can live with occasional space heaters until I install central heating. I asked him before I signed if I'd get my deposit back ($250) if the loan wasn't approved. He said "yes."

Turns out higher-ups in his organization nixed the loan because the house didn't have central heating and I had to scramble to close the deal (that's another story). I never got my $250 deposit back. I implored the manager/loan officer I dealt with, but it was useless. If I didn't basically like the guy, I guess I may have taken him to small claims court. Also, I've never been in small claims court and don't like the idea of doing it. I DO bank there now (they had the best features on a checking account when I shopped for one) - try not to hold a grudge, but that didn't sit well. When I see all the Washington Mutual mortgage ads on TV, I have to groan and moan and think they are basically a lot of BS.:disgust:

 

[SSibalNom]

PARTY POKER customer service is CRAP!! ... AT shouldnt have endorsed them with that offer here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111

 

[M0NEYSH0T]

Originally posted by: Gentle1969

Originally posted by: M0NEYSH0T
Reason to shop at Best Buy; great leadership

I find these are reasons NOT to shop at Best Buy. In addition to studying the info on bestbuysux.org anyone of intelligence would find no valid reason to support the management of Best Buy.

Are there really ever ANY good reasons to shop at Best Buy?

Welcome Flamer (Gentle1969)!

Had a bad experience? Where do you work? Has your CEO just GIVEN 7 Million dollars of his money to your employees as a bonus? That's my point, employee moral, and treating employees right.

I have had NO problems with Best Buy, infact, I have had great success!

In Novemember 2002, I bought an Ti4400 video card, and a little over a year later, it starting going bad. I brought my receipt in, and they honored the manufactures LIFETIME warrant. I not only got a new video card, but got the money I paid for the Ti4400, applied to a new 9800 PRO.

That not reason enough, d0y?

 

[spaceghost21]

Brag

I made a bundle on BB when their stock went from $18 to $60. Have had nothing but succes shopping with them. Great company.

 

[NoahFrenzy]

I've been on the phone with Dell and Western Digital for about 6 hours in the past 24 hours. I just had a 1200JB drive fail on me that I bought from Dell two years ago during a sale. WD refuses to do anything because it is in their system as an OEM part sold to Dell. Dell won't do anything because they say it has no waranty. Damn drive is supposed to have a 3 year waranty.

The best one of the more helpful guys could figure, was that I was sold a system part that would normally go in one of their computers, or would be sold as a spare part to someone who already had a Dell. I remember the site saying there would be a three year waranty on the drive. Instead I'm screwed, and will have to pick up another from newegg or something.

In my adventures with Dell, I was transferred around 15 times, usually to departments that did not pertain to my problem. Sometimes to departments that were closed. I was hung up on two or three times, not sure if it was intentional or not, but it was annoying to say the least. I don't think I'll be buying another anything from Dell now, or probably ever.