Assurant Solutions, the company that’s supposed to be honoring any outstanding TAP agreements with former CompUSA customers, likes to refuse service for arbitrary reasons. Luckily for TAP-holders, CompUSA has said it will honor any TAP agreements if Assurant doesn’t. The guy with the broken laptop wrote back to let us know that CompUSA indeed came through for him after every attempt he made with Assurant ended in rejection.
computers
Personal Finance Roundup
By 8.7.08
The Promotion That Got Away: 5 Ways to Bounce Back [Yahoo HotJobs] “Nearly everyone has been passed over for a job they ‘deserved.’ If and when that happens there are five important steps to take.”
Complete Norton Symantec Executive Contact List
By 7.31.08 — Updated: 12.23.13
If you have an unresolved Norton/Symantec complaint and regular customer service doesn’t help you out, you might want to try giving one of the top-ranking company executives inside a call or an email. Don’t forget to be nice, polite, and professional, and remember the guidelines for contacting executive customer service. If you need help writing a solid complaint letter, here’s a template to follow. And if you want a real anti-virus program that won’t hose up your computer, try NOD32. Now here’s the complete executive contact list…
Apple Doesn't Know How To Handle The MobileMe Crisis
By 7.24.08
It’s amazing that Apple doesn’t recognize this situation. This is an airplane that’s stuck on the runway for hours with no food or working bathroom. And the pilot doesn’t come on the P.A. system to tell the customers what the problem is, what’s being done to fix it, how much longer they might be stuck, and how he empathizes with their plight. Instead, he comes on once every three hours to repeat the same thing: “We apologize for the inconvenience.”
By 7.24.08
../../../..//2008/07/24/want-to-get-rid-of/
Want to get rid of all that crapware junking up your new PC? Try PC Decrapifier or Revo Uninstaller. Both are free. [New York Times]
By 7.21.08
../../../..//2008/07/21/email-surfaced-in-a-class/
Email surfaced in a class action lawsuit against NVIDIA and ATI suggesting that the graphics card makers have engaged in illegal price-fixing for the past half-decade. [techPowerUp!]
10 Secrets To Getting Better Tech Support From Asus
By 7.16.08 — Updated: 3.18.13
An Asus technician has stepped forward out the shadows to give us the 10 insider tips for getting through and getting better and faster tech support from the computer and computer parts maker. Some things just can’t be fixed though, but it’s at least to know the soul-crushing math they’re using to destroy the customer experience. Considering how bad their tech support is, you’re definitely going to need these tips…
Texas Law Probably Does Not Require PI License To Fix Spyware-Infested Computers
By 7.9.08
Dries Janssens, a computer repair shop owner in Allen, Texas, is worried that a 2007 law passed by the state legislature requires computer repair technicians to have private investigator licenses to perform “simple computer repairs such as malware removal.” We’re not sure if the law was just badly written or written on purpose at the urging of the state’s private investigator lobby (which Janssens suggests), but it certainly seems like a bad idea. Update: according to this article sent by our weekend editor Carey, it’s just badly written (“It needs some tightening up,” says one lawmaker) and should only apply to the private security industry.
Curves Leaves Working Computer Full Of Personal Information In An Office Dumpster
By 7.4.08
UPDATE: Adam has been in contact with the owners and has posted an update on his site.
A Tale Of Two Apple Stores
By 6.25.08
Even at Apple where consistency practiced and preached, not all Apple Stores are created equal, just ask reader Adam. The Bluetooth capability on his Macbook Pro was malfunctioning and because he relies on his Macbook for work, he couldn’t simply drop it off for a week to be repaired. Fortunately, Adam had a 1-week vacation ahead, so he left the Macbook at the Millenia Apple Store in Orlando, FL. who promised him that the repairs would be made before the end of his break. Adam returned to pick up the Macbook and discovered that not only had it not been fixed, nobody had even attempted to diagnose the problem. Adam could not afford to miss any work, so on a whim, he brought it to a different Apple Store which produced a dramatically different result. Adam’s letter, inside…
This Repaired Acer Laptop Needs More Screen Smudge
By 6.21.08
Joelle expected Acer to repair her chronically overheating laptop, not coat the inside of its screen with “a sort of brown dripping.” Acer insists that their shipping company caused the internal screen damage, and won’t repair the laptop unless Joelle pays up.
This HP Customer Service Rep Thinks He's A Genteel Salesman
By 6.17.08
A Consumerist reader called HP to ask whether they could help him with a broken computer. They couldn’t, of course, but that didn’t stop the CSR from trying to ever-so-politely upsell a brand new HP computer at a low, low price. Thanks for calling HP Total Care for Desktops! What can we do to put you in a new computer today?
The $499 Ethernet Cable
By 6.13.08
It’s not a Friday the 13th prank, this really is a $499 ethernet cable. Yes, the stupid little cord you plug into the back of your computer to get online. These, however, are for audiophiles, a demanding client vector requiring the suspension of all faculties of reason. It contains “high purity copper.” Ahem. After Cat5 or Cat6, copper is just copper. The extra insulation does make it better than a regular ethernet cable, but not by hundreds of dollars.
Wal-Mart Planning Its Own "Geek Squad"?
By 6.6.08
MarketWatch says that Wal-Mart is “very interested in expanding into installation and repair services in its fast-growing electronics segment.”
Possible Class Action Against HP Over Cruddy Pavilion Notebooks
By 6.4.08
If you own an HP Pavilion Notebook and you’ve had problems with it—specifically overheating, problems with the power supply, and an inability to update the BIOS—then you might want to contact this law firm and tell them your story. We know class actions rarely help the individual consumer, but they do succeed in punishing the offending company occasionally, and we can’t think of a computer company more in need of a good class action smackdown than HP.
Dell Reduces Instant Discount By $200 Somewhere Between Shopping Cart And Order Confirmation
By 5.30.08
Before we get to the typical bad-company shenanigans—in this case, Dell’s $599 discount mysteriously shrank to $400 between when he placed it in his shopping cart and when he reached the confirmation screen—we want to share this bit of ridiculousness. Dell’s CSR Vanessa gives us the scoop on Dell’s sophisticated order fulfillment system:
UPS Can't Find Your Lost Computer, So They'll Honor Their Insurance Policy
By 5.25.08
Remember Nick? UPS smashed up his insured computer and then refused to provide any compensation, even after mysteriously shipping it to a stranger. UPS’ public relations folks reached out to us after we posted his story and recently sent us an update: “…after a search of all UPS’s facilities we were not able to recover his computer.” Bummer, but all is not lost.
