Computer Equipment.

[tec0]

As we all know there are some things that are essential to any office. The humble UPS “uninterrupted power supply� is arguably one of the more important items on your list. I can only assume that all of us had something to say when the power goes out and you didn’t save that important document!

Thankfully the UPS gives us that 10 minutes to save and shutdown the system properly. Well last week Friday my UPS popped and gave up the “smoke� meaning it is gone for good. So on Monday morning I walked over to a computer store and ordered a new UPS and was promised next day delivery.

Well it is the day after the “next day� and I had to do all the phoning around and trying to figure out if the damn thing is delivered or not. To my dismay, they haven’t delivered the damn thing but I was asked to pay in full! Or they wouldn’t order it for me. Now the price was really “not bad� for the size of UPS in question but again no delivery and sad stories.

Now I ask you; if I am to take action to get my money back am I the scoundrel here? The reason why I ask this is... Every time I do this “demand my money back� the shop owners get angry at me and then I am prohibited from entering the shop or some dumb sh!t like that...

And just as an afterthought, the excuse is “it was not delivered and they only get stock once a week� They “the shop� continued to rule out the fact that I already paid for the damn thing...

So in short what would you do? OR OR

[BusFact]

I tend to try and not get too worked up by these things, unless that item is critical and costing you money.

I would imagine that it would still get to you just as quickly as if you were to now try and source it elsewhere.

I would nag relentlessly until it arrived and would make my dissaproval evident when it finally did. I'd also take my business elsewhere next time and make them aware of that.

Only if the item had still not arrived after about 2 weeks would I start demanding my money back.

Thats just my slightly laid back way of doing things - I'm sure others will do it differently.

[tec0]

If this item was not important then yes I would also go about it in a relaxed way. However without the UPS protection I stand the risk of losing my equipment and the insurance might not payout because I didn’t have adequate protection.

Also the power in our aria is dodgy to the point where you cannot take chances. Right now I am working from my notebook and it is not the most powerful notebook known to humankind. So most of the programs I need to complete my tasks will not work on it...

The reason why I ordered it and paid in full was the promise of next day delivery. That was my only reason for taking the risk and paid the money out front. I found a store that has stock and it is only R200 more expensive “they got their stock in yesterday funny enough!� So if I can get my money back I can get the UPS “today� and go on with my life.

[BusFact]

In that case give them an ultimatum that either you get the UPS delivered tomorrow or your money must be refunded. No fighting, screaming, yelling. Just a firm demand.

[tec0]

That was exactly my plan. Tomorrow I am planning to have a conversation with the “manager / owner. I don’t care that they have a NO CASH BACK POLICY now, this policy was nicely printed on the INVOICE but there is no boards or any other kind of indication that this policy was emplace.

If I don’t get my money back or the product by tomorrow, I will go the consumer council, and I might even go ballistic and get my lawyer involved. I really hope it will not come to this but I am so sick of BS. They simply don’t care about you, and what you need to do. So why must we show restraint?

[Dave A]

I find getting angry doesn't help - except perhaps as an exclamation point near the end if the target isn't doing their best. My approach is keep calm, pick at the detail, look for solutions.

As in this case -
Delivery was promised two days ago - what went wrong?
They're in breach.
You're entitled to an explanation.
It's probably going to be embarrassing.

How do we fix this?
Well, I noticed on my way over that the store down the road has some stock in - how about organising a stock swop with them until your unit comes in and then you can give them that unit.
So what if you have to buy it - delivery was promised days ago and it's possible for me to get this unit within hours and I need it like now!
So can we please make this happen NOW or give me my money back so that I can buy the unit down the road, because I'm starting to get a bit pissed off...

Next person to speak loses.

If there's no solution other than to wait - there's no value in getting your blood pressure up about it.

[flaker]

TRY A POSTING ON HELLOPPETER

[tec0]

I don’t know... When I was in the computer industry all those years ago punctuality, quality and service was key. My customers never had to wait for anything, because the supply-chain was structured to the point where any equipment was accessible within hours. And yes you did pay extra if you wanted something the same-day, but DHL was very good at competitive prices. Also my customers never had the problem to fork out a few Rand more if the situation was critical.

But I also thought about it. I will phone them today and yes I want an explanation. Secondly I want a practical solution. If none is represented and my money is not returned to me, I will take steps.

The fact is a UPS is really important, because computer equipment is really susceptible to dirty-power. In the end you end up paying for the repairs...

[Dave S]

I'm With Tec0 on this one, and I'm agreeing with Dave. Doesn't help to get "aggro", but it doesn't help to sit back and relax either. The fact that we are all (not only in SA) becoming "sensitised" to lack service delivery doesn't make the problem go away, it just gets you Peed-off where you start to lose your cool.

When I shop for "criticals", if I can't take it with me, i don't buy at that shop, within reason, of course, not all items are available immediately...

Just My 5c worth

[BusFact]

I'm going to ask Dave A to write my posts from now on. He said exactly what I intended to say ... just so much better.