Another day, another update in the on-going Battery Quest saga...
When last we left our intrepid hero, he had been eagerly waiting for an HP rep to contact him directly, never daring to believe that they would actually do so. But, lo and behold! One did! The nice fellow from Best Buy, J. called in the early evening (I was having supper, and so missed the call) and left a message that a technical person named M. at a nearby Staples would be able to order the elusive battery for me... however, the exact price was unknown, although it was expected to be on the expensive side.
I was understandably excited by this news, but I was also a little bit hesitant... I'd been a little bit singed by HP promises in the past, so it was understandable that I felt that playing things close to the vest - for now - would be the best course of action.
However, I decided to follow-up on the call as soon as possible. I had to run out for an errand anyway, and the nearby Staples wasn't far off the path, so I decided to see if this M. tech really existed and was working that night. As luck would have it, the location was right but the tech had already left for the day. Oh well... no big deal, right? I could always check tomorrow... so I browsed around a little and what do I find? The very same model of HP Mini that I had recently bought at Best Buy for exactly the same amount! $299!
Bah... the price matching in this town is enough to drive a person mad... you just start to feel cool and really good about scoring a sweet deal, when the unspoken equalization scheme that all the local tech stores are a part of, kicks in and says "Sorry, you dumb fucker... but had you waited a week, you could have gotten as good a deal - if not better - somewhere else."
The thing is, if you try to get around this scheme by waiting a week (which is what I had done in the very beginning), Fate and the Scheme will conspire to screw you over somehow: another store will price match and throw in a free widget... or you'll lose the deal because the store is all sold out and there are no rain cheques... or (and this really happened) another store offer a better unit at a comparable price, which will then be snapped up by someone who, no doubt, will have endless hours of mirth rubbing it in that you didn't score nearly as nice a deal (all in good humour, of course).
Anyway, I did go back the next day, and I did manage to track down this M. person, who did turn out to be quite helpful. First, M. did explain that although he could order the part (through HP Canada, no less), the price would be quite high - at least $150 at the retail level. I found that to be a little ridiculous - a 6-cell battery for literally half the price of the netbook? Outrageous! And it wasn't like it the battery was some nuclear cell which could also be used to run your furnace for a month in the depths of winter - no, it was just an ordinary battery which would possibly offer as much as 6 hours of life, a mere three hours more than the default battery! It was almost better to go to Costco, buy another netbook, rip out the extended battery in that unit, and sell the rest on eBay. And to make matters worse (or at least more insulting) the aforementioned good deal purchased by a friend who enjoys rubbing in the victory bought the damn unit and it came with a fucking 9-hour battery as standard equipment! No shit!
Still, things did work out. M. offered to order and sell me the battery at a reduced price, $130, a savings of $20. Not bad... better than the website (if I could have got one from the website) which wanted $120 plus taxes and shipping. I almost asked M. to order the part when I suggested that we confirm which unit it was first. We walked over to the laptop section and I pointed out the HP Mini 110-1030CA sitting on the shelf. M. blinked then became quite for a moment... he then said something magical:
"I think I have a battery out back".
What. The. Fuck. ?. !.
Seriously dude... don't fuck me around.
But he wasn't jerking my chain. Sure enough, he had a spare battery out back.
For an HP Mini. And it wasn't defective.
Holy fuck - wait here while I go buy a lottery ticket.
It turned out that the battery was only a standard 3-cell battery that had come off a defective unit. It wasn't a 6-cell, but it was better than nothing, and M. offered to sell it to me for a great price : only $60, which was a helluva lot better than the $130 + tax I had just about been ready to pay. I bought the battery post-haste, thanked M. profusely, and scurried off into the afternoon sun, feeling mostly pleased with myself.
I now had a spare battery. It wasn't perfect, but it would do the trick.
So where does this leave the tale? Is it all over? Well, not quite. I still plan to write a scathing letter to someone at HP over this whole mess... and I will probably CC the media on it as well, just to see if I can put a little extra pressure on the industry to get their act together. Ultimately, while there is no negligence or criminal incompetence involved, there are a lot of left hands out there that are completely unaware of what the right ones are doing. Perhaps I can change that a little so that the next netbook shopper that comes along and wants a spare battery doesn't have to go through the same shit I did.
Yeah, that's it... a noble gesture... that's what this whole experience is... one little contribution to the betterment of the world as a whole.
Even if it's just about buying a fucking extended life battery, it's the little things that make the world an interesting place.
Stay tuned folks... more to come!
Friday, September 4, 2009
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Buying a Netbook - Part III - The Search for Service
So, the story continues. I just got off the phone with three different HP reps. And no, I've still not managed to purchase a battery.
I called the HP Shopping Canada 877-231-4351 number. I eventually made it through to a nice lady who was very kind and patient. I explained the situation briefly, but I think she didn't believe me... she seemed a little bit puzzled by my inability to make a purchase of the much-sought-after battery. However, she started to check on a few things for herself and quickly found out that I was not some nut case or incompetent idiot. The battery was listed, but just not available. She eventually went on to state that they didn't have the part (well, duh...), and that she didn't know when they would get it... or IF they would get it.
If they would get it. Uh-huh. She said the "if" word.
That was a bit annoying and although I said so, I stayed calm and polite and even had a laugh about it when I suggested HP's shopping service should be "Dave Carroll'd". She didn't get the reference at first, but once a few key words were bounced around ("united" "breaks" "guitars" "devalued stock") she seemed to understand and chuckled (in a few years, being "Dave Carroll'd" will be a common consumer tactic when attacking a corporation). After she took my name and number and said she'd call back if she could get some more information, she transferred me to Corporate Complaints.
Now, I'm usually pretty good with foreign accents. I can mimic quite a few and after a decade of talking with lots of different folk on the phone, I can wade through a thick accent like a guide with a machete goes through jungle underbrush. But the lady on the other end of the line... well, she was very nice and polite and her use of English was fine, but her accent (no idea on this one... it sounded like a mix of some Eastern European language and Spanish) made it very difficult to decipher what she was saying... I wasn't even sure I had reached the right place. However, after a few minutes of explaining the situation (yet again... I'm going to transfer this tale to my blog and just tell reps to go there...) we managed to establish some rudimentary communication (I can see why she'd be good as a corporate complaints' doorkeeper). After listening to my tale, she suggested that I contact another battery site, one HP recommends, battery-plaza.ca, for the part I wanted. I checked - they didn't have one either... surprise, surprise. She then politely explained that even though my shopping experience so far, was less than positive, I should next try "tech support" as they might have the parts available to their department. She gave me their number and sent me on my way.
Fine. **SIGH**
I called the number (800-474-6836) and was eventually steered to a very nice French lady... who promptly informed me that I had been redirected to the French tech support line instead of the English (perhaps their own automated voice menu system is in need of a battery that can't be bought). However, instead of putting me back into the hold cycle, she attempted to assist me. Again, I went through the tale. And again, an HP rep sounded dubious as to my claims. But, after more checking, she did confirm my story, and unfortunately, told me that did they did not have the part either. She finally gave me a great suggestion:
Contact the CEO of HP directly. Apparently, he has an e-mail link somewhere on the HP website for just this sort of thing... if it can be found! Anyway, it's something I plan to do if if the HP reps I met at Best Buy haven't gotten back to me by next week.
And the tale goes on and on and on....
Stay tuned for more exciting adventures in the next episode of "Battery Quest!"
I called the HP Shopping Canada 877-231-4351 number. I eventually made it through to a nice lady who was very kind and patient. I explained the situation briefly, but I think she didn't believe me... she seemed a little bit puzzled by my inability to make a purchase of the much-sought-after battery. However, she started to check on a few things for herself and quickly found out that I was not some nut case or incompetent idiot. The battery was listed, but just not available. She eventually went on to state that they didn't have the part (well, duh...), and that she didn't know when they would get it... or IF they would get it.
If they would get it. Uh-huh. She said the "if" word.
That was a bit annoying and although I said so, I stayed calm and polite and even had a laugh about it when I suggested HP's shopping service should be "Dave Carroll'd". She didn't get the reference at first, but once a few key words were bounced around ("united" "breaks" "guitars" "devalued stock") she seemed to understand and chuckled (in a few years, being "Dave Carroll'd" will be a common consumer tactic when attacking a corporation). After she took my name and number and said she'd call back if she could get some more information, she transferred me to Corporate Complaints.
Now, I'm usually pretty good with foreign accents. I can mimic quite a few and after a decade of talking with lots of different folk on the phone, I can wade through a thick accent like a guide with a machete goes through jungle underbrush. But the lady on the other end of the line... well, she was very nice and polite and her use of English was fine, but her accent (no idea on this one... it sounded like a mix of some Eastern European language and Spanish) made it very difficult to decipher what she was saying... I wasn't even sure I had reached the right place. However, after a few minutes of explaining the situation (yet again... I'm going to transfer this tale to my blog and just tell reps to go there...) we managed to establish some rudimentary communication (I can see why she'd be good as a corporate complaints' doorkeeper). After listening to my tale, she suggested that I contact another battery site, one HP recommends, battery-plaza.ca, for the part I wanted. I checked - they didn't have one either... surprise, surprise. She then politely explained that even though my shopping experience so far, was less than positive, I should next try "tech support" as they might have the parts available to their department. She gave me their number and sent me on my way.
Fine. **SIGH**
I called the number (800-474-6836) and was eventually steered to a very nice French lady... who promptly informed me that I had been redirected to the French tech support line instead of the English (perhaps their own automated voice menu system is in need of a battery that can't be bought). However, instead of putting me back into the hold cycle, she attempted to assist me. Again, I went through the tale. And again, an HP rep sounded dubious as to my claims. But, after more checking, she did confirm my story, and unfortunately, told me that did they did not have the part either. She finally gave me a great suggestion:
Contact the CEO of HP directly. Apparently, he has an e-mail link somewhere on the HP website for just this sort of thing... if it can be found! Anyway, it's something I plan to do if if the HP reps I met at Best Buy haven't gotten back to me by next week.
And the tale goes on and on and on....
Stay tuned for more exciting adventures in the next episode of "Battery Quest!"
Buying a Netbook - Part II - The Quest for a Battery
Okay... the hunt for a spare battery for my Netbook continues.
After doing some research (as detailed in Part I), I figured ordering from HP.com and shipping to the US, then having it re-directed up here would be a pain (although at $59.99 US, before shipping, it is the lowest starting cost). Shipping from HP.ca was not going to happen, at least, not for a while.
So now what?
I went over to Best Buy last night to "discuss" the matter. I tracked down my sales rep, B., a nice fellow who, when I found him, was busily fiddling with an iPhone. He immediately recognized that my return visit so soon after a major purchase was probably not a good sign. He was right... the new Netbook was great BUT... there's always a "but" and he knew it.
I explained the situation to B., and he was a little incredulous that I was unable to order the part from www.HPshopping.ca (where I had been re-directed to for Canadian sales); it seems that when situations like this come up, and Best Buy cannot order a particular part from their usual suppliers, a rep will get the store credit card and simply order the part on-line and have it shipped to the store (where, one assumes, vast quantities of mark-up - to cover the vast cost of shipping and handling and such from HP - would be applied). He was also a little chagrined that HP would have the audacity to send customers to places like Best Buy, Staples and Future Shop to buy such items when none of them had such parts to begin with!
B. then decided to take this to a higher level and brought me over to meet not one, but two, HP reps who just happened to be in the store that evening. J. and S. were both very nice and explained quite a bit about the whole situation. Basically, the highlights are as such: the stores can only carry so much inventory; HP likes to sell accessories (mice, keyboards and such) but they make more money on the batteries (and have less competition too) - however, for whatever reason, they don't seem to push the stores to carry them (it might cut into mice sales, which they don't sell a lot of...); and it seems that certain aspects of marketing and sales are lost on both companies.
After all, when you order a burger from a fast food joint, what is the key phrase that Philosophy grad students have been rattling off for years...? Right. "Would you like fries with that?" So, why, when a laptop or netbook is purchased, can't Best Buy and others simply say "Would you like a spare battery?" It's not that hard a concept. They push extended warranties, neoprene sleeves, carrying cases, wireless mice, and lots of other gadgets when you buy one... why the fuck not batteries? It's a fucking consumable, people! If you do buy the extended warranty, what is almost always NOT covered? Right - the battery! It wears out. You charge it a few hundred times and eventually, it won't charge any more. So what do you do? Throw the laptop out? No (although some might if it's been a few years), you buy another battery! Wow. What a startlingly original concept. I should patent or trademark such, 'cause sure as shit the morons at Best Buy and Future Shop Corporate haven't thought of it...
Anyway, the chat with the HP reps went well and they were as helpful as they could be. I gave them my business card and they said they'd check into the situation and find out what was going on. Around this time, M., a friend from the Mighty Circle of Geekdom (like just about everyone else these days), showed up, approached the HP reps and began his own tale of woe in regards to the HP Canada website and how he had to use Google to find a page within the site (he was actually there to buy a copy of Snow Leopard for his Mac, but Best Buy - and everywhere else in the city it seems - was sold out... jeez, Best Buy not having a product that someone wants to buy - wow, that's a new one...). And so the miscellaneous chatting went on for some time...
One of the suggestions that came out of this discussion (and from others, such as C., who also made an appearance) was to check other places and websites for batteries. I found out, for example, that Costco had the exact same model for $379 (plus a $50 instant rebate bringing the total down to $329) and theirs were equipped with the mythic 6-cell extended life battery I'd been looking for! However, I would have had to renew my membership for $50 and I'm not going to do that - I don't need to start buying 5-gallon drums of pickles and 100-box crates of toothpaste again.
I did some more checking around and found that CDW did indeed have the much sought after battery... for $149! Cripes! That is literally half the cost of the fucking netbook! Fuck that. I might as well order from the US site and go through the routing hassle. There were a few other sites that had the battery listed, but they either wanted astronomical amounts, had nasty shipping costs or restrictions, or were a little bit iffy looking.
**SIGH** It's just a fucking battery, people...
So, now I am going to sit back and wait a day or two and see if the HP reps get back to me. I might order from the HP.com site and send it to friends in the US and get them to send it here... I just don't know yet.
One thing's for sure: next time I get something like this, I'm going to make the sale conditional on getting a spare battery for whatever I buy. No battery, no sale. And I encourage anyone who reads this to pass that idea along. Enough people do so and that'll send a message to the dumb fucks at head office.
Fucking battery tyrants.
Here Endeth the Rant.
After doing some research (as detailed in Part I), I figured ordering from HP.com and shipping to the US, then having it re-directed up here would be a pain (although at $59.99 US, before shipping, it is the lowest starting cost). Shipping from HP.ca was not going to happen, at least, not for a while.
So now what?
I went over to Best Buy last night to "discuss" the matter. I tracked down my sales rep, B., a nice fellow who, when I found him, was busily fiddling with an iPhone. He immediately recognized that my return visit so soon after a major purchase was probably not a good sign. He was right... the new Netbook was great BUT... there's always a "but" and he knew it.
I explained the situation to B., and he was a little incredulous that I was unable to order the part from www.HPshopping.ca (where I had been re-directed to for Canadian sales); it seems that when situations like this come up, and Best Buy cannot order a particular part from their usual suppliers, a rep will get the store credit card and simply order the part on-line and have it shipped to the store (where, one assumes, vast quantities of mark-up - to cover the vast cost of shipping and handling and such from HP - would be applied). He was also a little chagrined that HP would have the audacity to send customers to places like Best Buy, Staples and Future Shop to buy such items when none of them had such parts to begin with!
B. then decided to take this to a higher level and brought me over to meet not one, but two, HP reps who just happened to be in the store that evening. J. and S. were both very nice and explained quite a bit about the whole situation. Basically, the highlights are as such: the stores can only carry so much inventory; HP likes to sell accessories (mice, keyboards and such) but they make more money on the batteries (and have less competition too) - however, for whatever reason, they don't seem to push the stores to carry them (it might cut into mice sales, which they don't sell a lot of...); and it seems that certain aspects of marketing and sales are lost on both companies.
After all, when you order a burger from a fast food joint, what is the key phrase that Philosophy grad students have been rattling off for years...? Right. "Would you like fries with that?" So, why, when a laptop or netbook is purchased, can't Best Buy and others simply say "Would you like a spare battery?" It's not that hard a concept. They push extended warranties, neoprene sleeves, carrying cases, wireless mice, and lots of other gadgets when you buy one... why the fuck not batteries? It's a fucking consumable, people! If you do buy the extended warranty, what is almost always NOT covered? Right - the battery! It wears out. You charge it a few hundred times and eventually, it won't charge any more. So what do you do? Throw the laptop out? No (although some might if it's been a few years), you buy another battery! Wow. What a startlingly original concept. I should patent or trademark such, 'cause sure as shit the morons at Best Buy and Future Shop Corporate haven't thought of it...
Anyway, the chat with the HP reps went well and they were as helpful as they could be. I gave them my business card and they said they'd check into the situation and find out what was going on. Around this time, M., a friend from the Mighty Circle of Geekdom (like just about everyone else these days), showed up, approached the HP reps and began his own tale of woe in regards to the HP Canada website and how he had to use Google to find a page within the site (he was actually there to buy a copy of Snow Leopard for his Mac, but Best Buy - and everywhere else in the city it seems - was sold out... jeez, Best Buy not having a product that someone wants to buy - wow, that's a new one...). And so the miscellaneous chatting went on for some time...
One of the suggestions that came out of this discussion (and from others, such as C., who also made an appearance) was to check other places and websites for batteries. I found out, for example, that Costco had the exact same model for $379 (plus a $50 instant rebate bringing the total down to $329) and theirs were equipped with the mythic 6-cell extended life battery I'd been looking for! However, I would have had to renew my membership for $50 and I'm not going to do that - I don't need to start buying 5-gallon drums of pickles and 100-box crates of toothpaste again.
I did some more checking around and found that CDW did indeed have the much sought after battery... for $149! Cripes! That is literally half the cost of the fucking netbook! Fuck that. I might as well order from the US site and go through the routing hassle. There were a few other sites that had the battery listed, but they either wanted astronomical amounts, had nasty shipping costs or restrictions, or were a little bit iffy looking.
**SIGH** It's just a fucking battery, people...
So, now I am going to sit back and wait a day or two and see if the HP reps get back to me. I might order from the HP.com site and send it to friends in the US and get them to send it here... I just don't know yet.
One thing's for sure: next time I get something like this, I'm going to make the sale conditional on getting a spare battery for whatever I buy. No battery, no sale. And I encourage anyone who reads this to pass that idea along. Enough people do so and that'll send a message to the dumb fucks at head office.
Fucking battery tyrants.
Here Endeth the Rant.
Buying a Netbook - Part I - The Purchase and the Snag
Okay... breathe....
I recently bought an HP Netbook from Best Buy... nice little rig, perfect for basic surfing, writing, even watching videos or playing music... great little unit.
However....
I wanted to get a spare 6-cell battery for it. The helpful fellow at Best Buy (and an HP rep who happened to be there) recommended that, since BB didn't have them, I go on-line to HP and get it directly. Said it would be easier and cheaper.
Uh-huh...
I just checked both HP USA and HP Canada... HP USA had a great deal on the price (I even found a coupon code that knocked another $15 off the price) but unfortunately, HP USA won't ship to Canada. I then checked with HP Canada; it seems HP Canada doesn't sell that particular battery on-line... they have a list of recommended resellers, which includes - you guessed it - Best Buy.
So, my options are: buy from HP USA, have it shipped to someone in the US, who has to rediect the package to Canada; find an alternative reseller, who may or may not be entirely trustworthy; or go back to Best Buy, rip them a new one, and get them to order one in with a severe discount in my favour for all the hassle...
It's a fucking battery, people! Cripes! It's not that fucking difficult a concept! Portable devices use batteries... they are consumables! So, what should stores do for their consumers? Make sure they can easily buy such...! Fucking morons!
Here endeth today's rant...
I recently bought an HP Netbook from Best Buy... nice little rig, perfect for basic surfing, writing, even watching videos or playing music... great little unit.
However....
I wanted to get a spare 6-cell battery for it. The helpful fellow at Best Buy (and an HP rep who happened to be there) recommended that, since BB didn't have them, I go on-line to HP and get it directly. Said it would be easier and cheaper.
Uh-huh...
I just checked both HP USA and HP Canada... HP USA had a great deal on the price (I even found a coupon code that knocked another $15 off the price) but unfortunately, HP USA won't ship to Canada. I then checked with HP Canada; it seems HP Canada doesn't sell that particular battery on-line... they have a list of recommended resellers, which includes - you guessed it - Best Buy.
So, my options are: buy from HP USA, have it shipped to someone in the US, who has to rediect the package to Canada; find an alternative reseller, who may or may not be entirely trustworthy; or go back to Best Buy, rip them a new one, and get them to order one in with a severe discount in my favour for all the hassle...
It's a fucking battery, people! Cripes! It's not that fucking difficult a concept! Portable devices use batteries... they are consumables! So, what should stores do for their consumers? Make sure they can easily buy such...! Fucking morons!
Here endeth today's rant...
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
