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New job; old computer woes.
Jan. 18th, 2007 11:57 amI just turned in my 2-weeks' notice to my boss. It was a very nice, complimentary letter that thanks him for being supportive and confident in my work even as minions of evil tried to have me fired. He even sought (and won) a salary increase to match my new offer; but alas, he also informed me on Tuesday that the parent company of Andrew Undershaft Industries intends to move this entire office from Calverton, Maryland (basically Beltsville) to Dulles, Virginia. That commute, while not impossible, would add approximately 40 minutes to my commuting time in either direction (plus an additional bus connection that may be missed if the trains run late) and increase my Metro fares by nearly 50 percent, to about $190 monthly. The job I just accepted (signed and faxed the offer letter) is in Tyson's Corner, Virginia; by contrast that commute is maybe 15 minutes more than the current one in either direction but involves only one bus hop from Metro to near the office, and the fare is almost precisely the same. The new job also gives me 3 weeks vacation to start (here it's 2 weeks until you hit your 5th anniversary; I've just hit 5 months as staff). But the deciding factor is security. This place is still in upheaval pursuant to the acquisition almost a whole year ago, and nobody's absolutely sure their job's going to be around tomorrow when they come in. So: I'm off. Wish me the natural continuation of my dazzling competence and all its effects.
Now then: my laptop.
On Tuesday afternoon I called Best Buy's national customer care number to check again on my laptop, which had been in their care (for the fourth consecutive incident) for 19 days now. The C/S rep looked it up on the computer and told me it had been approved on Monday, 15 January, for replacement under the "no-lemon" policy. Ostensibly this approval was imparted somehow to the store in Tenleytown where I have been interfacing in meatspace with Best Buy, but as of yesterday morning nobody from that store had contacted me to tell me so. I went in and after the requisite standing around waiting for ANYBODY to come to the counter to help me, I argued with one geek for—I can't even guess how long—before he was able to find evidence on his computer system that my replacement had been approved. He does some excruciating paperwork and finally tells me that, of course, the model I bought 15 months ago is long superseded and I should browse the laptop section of the store to find a compatible replacement.
I was suspicious about this leeway; he assured me that if the one I picked was more than the "current value" of my machine (another suspicious term; the machine that just got approved for replacement I would value at about minus-$875) I would just pay the difference. Honestly, I don't care if I get a machine exactly as powerful as the dead one and its shelf price is half of what I paid. So I look around and am amazed that ALL laptop prices seem to have plummeted in 15 months. I paid $1,420 for mine in October 2005; the most expensive Toshiba in the store today, already screamingly faster than my old one, is $1,199.
Anyway, I settle on a $999 model and check with a floor salesman, who then—and only then—informs me that they really have no laptop stock in the store right now (he points to a bunch of empty lock-cages under and above display counters) because they're all currently in shop being upgraded to Windows Vista... but if I'd be good enough to come back in 2 or 3 weeks with my paperwork...
Evil. Pure evil. I might have found this information out on the phone Tuesday afternoon, except that when I called the store—the phone number printed on my last service order—it rang for a solid 10 minutes with no answer and then simply disconnected back to dial tone. I mentioned this today and the geek on duty couldn't have cared less. "Probably it was busy here." I pointed out the absurdity of a national purveyor of technological products not even having a voice mail or hold system set up. He shrugged this and every one of my complaints off—not his fault, not his problem. You can't talk to the people whose fault and/or problem it is. They simply don't let you. Anyhow, if I wait 3 weeks before returning to the Best Buy store, they will have effectively denied me my ability to use my Best Buy-purchased and -warrantied laptop for more than one third of a year.
Now then: my laptop.
On Tuesday afternoon I called Best Buy's national customer care number to check again on my laptop, which had been in their care (for the fourth consecutive incident) for 19 days now. The C/S rep looked it up on the computer and told me it had been approved on Monday, 15 January, for replacement under the "no-lemon" policy. Ostensibly this approval was imparted somehow to the store in Tenleytown where I have been interfacing in meatspace with Best Buy, but as of yesterday morning nobody from that store had contacted me to tell me so. I went in and after the requisite standing around waiting for ANYBODY to come to the counter to help me, I argued with one geek for—I can't even guess how long—before he was able to find evidence on his computer system that my replacement had been approved. He does some excruciating paperwork and finally tells me that, of course, the model I bought 15 months ago is long superseded and I should browse the laptop section of the store to find a compatible replacement.
I was suspicious about this leeway; he assured me that if the one I picked was more than the "current value" of my machine (another suspicious term; the machine that just got approved for replacement I would value at about minus-$875) I would just pay the difference. Honestly, I don't care if I get a machine exactly as powerful as the dead one and its shelf price is half of what I paid. So I look around and am amazed that ALL laptop prices seem to have plummeted in 15 months. I paid $1,420 for mine in October 2005; the most expensive Toshiba in the store today, already screamingly faster than my old one, is $1,199.
Anyway, I settle on a $999 model and check with a floor salesman, who then—and only then—informs me that they really have no laptop stock in the store right now (he points to a bunch of empty lock-cages under and above display counters) because they're all currently in shop being upgraded to Windows Vista... but if I'd be good enough to come back in 2 or 3 weeks with my paperwork...
Evil. Pure evil. I might have found this information out on the phone Tuesday afternoon, except that when I called the store—the phone number printed on my last service order—it rang for a solid 10 minutes with no answer and then simply disconnected back to dial tone. I mentioned this today and the geek on duty couldn't have cared less. "Probably it was busy here." I pointed out the absurdity of a national purveyor of technological products not even having a voice mail or hold system set up. He shrugged this and every one of my complaints off—not his fault, not his problem. You can't talk to the people whose fault and/or problem it is. They simply don't let you. Anyhow, if I wait 3 weeks before returning to the Best Buy store, they will have effectively denied me my ability to use my Best Buy-purchased and -warrantied laptop for more than one third of a year.
