Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ncar!tank!gargoyle!ddsw1!karl
From: karl@ddsw1.MCS.COM (Karl Denninger)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.i386
Subject: Re: GATEWAY Warranty (:-(
Summary: Part is reasonable, part is not.
Message-ID: <1990Mar15.190846.954@ddsw1.MCS.COM>
Date: 15 Mar 90 19:08:46 GMT
References: <1990Mar9.161213.27973@arnor.uucp>
Reply-To: karl@mcs.MCS.COM (Karl Denninger)
Distribution: usa
Organization: Macro Computer Solutions, Inc. - Mundelein, IL
Lines: 50

In article <1990Mar9.161213.27973@arnor.uucp> uri@ibm.com writes:
>Hello everybody!
>
>	Just wanted to share with you my bad experience with
>	the GATEWAY warranty. The main problem - instead of
>	12 months they basically cover about 11. Not a big 
>	deal, you say - but when my serial/parallel card
>	went off one week before the full year, and they
>	politely explained that the only thing they can do
>	for me is to sell a new card - I felt rather upset. 

That is a rather nasty thing.  Most companies (ours included) warranty from
the date the system is invoiced, which is the date of shipment (or billing).
Only in the case where we bill late in the day do you lose a day -- but
that's >one< day.  Two weeks?!  That's a little bit extreme.

Gateway is obviously passing through their warranty from the manufacturer,
and in addition isn't stocking anything (thus they don't ever eat any
warranty repairs).  Nice business practice, but as you can see, it can lead
to the customer getting "hosed".

Other companies, ours included, take the risk of failure in that last week,
or we negotiate a "stocking warranty" with the distributors.

>	The same thing with an upgrade of video (well, that
>	happened a month ago). I asked them if they could
>	upgrade my monitor (Samsung MultiSync, 800x600) to
>	something 1024x768. They said: "The only thing we can
>	do is to sell NEC 3D monitor for $650 to you." Of
>	course I could do whatever I wish with my old one.

Now that I feel is unreasonable to request.  You did get what you asked for,
and it does work.  Now, 11 months later, you want them to "upgrade" you and
eat the original monitor, when it is fully functional?  That's a little out
of line.

>	So if you need a cheap and rather reliable machine -
>	probably you could go with GATEWAY. Their Tech Support
>	is not bad. But if you're looking for the good warranty,
>	you may think twice.

Only true in the first instance.  Serial boards are cheap, but still, they
should have replaced yours.  In the case of the monitor I do believe they
did the right thing in refusing your request.

--
Karl Denninger (karl@ddsw1.MCS.COM, <well-connected>!ddsw1!karl)
Public Access Data Line: [+1 708 566-8911], Voice: [+1 708 566-8910]
Macro Computer Solutions, Inc.   "Quality Solutions at a Fair Price"