Xref: utzoo comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc:1447 comp.misc:10027 Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!wuarchive!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sdd.hp.com!decwrl!ucbvax!iwarp.intel.com!news From: dwight@iwarpk0.intel.com (Dwight McDuffee) Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc,comp.misc Subject: Packard Bell doesn't really exist (long) Message-ID: <1990Sep6.154721.12322@iwarp.intel.com> Date: 6 Sep 90 15:47:21 GMT Sender: news@iwarp.intel.com Organization: Intel iWarp, Beaverton, Oregon, USA Lines: 144 This is posted for a friend. Please respond to the net or to Duane at dlundste@ncube.com. If you now own a Packard Bell computer or if you are considering purchasing one, read this first. This is an actual experience. Hopefully, you won't experience the same. About a year and a half ago, we purchased a Packard Bell PB-500 XT computer from Costco Wholesale (a membership wholesale buying club, for those who are unfamiliar with Costco). The computer was purchased to do small business accounting, and proved appropriate for the application. Costco has always been considered a reputable dealer, always standing behind the merchandise they sell, and always honoring returns, etc. Costco's price was the best around, so we didn't hesitate to purchase the computer there. Everything went along just fine for about one year (the length of the manufacturer's warranty), when the monitor up and blinked out. In a hurry to get the monitor repaired under warranty, we tried to contact Packard Bell. The service number published in the literature that came with the computer was no longer in service. The 800 number provided simply rang and rang, no one ever answered it. Finally, in desperation, we went back to Costco and related our story to them. They tried to reach Packard Bell using the telephone numbers published on the new equipment that they were still selling, and still couldn't get through. Costco ended up exchanging the monitor for a new, working one. I doubt they ever got their money out of that deal. ***Note that Costco deserves special recognition here for standing beside their customers after the sale. As you can see here, Costco upheld the warranty even though the manufacturer could not be reached. Costco has worked with us every step of the way throughout this ordeal. The management at Costco will be getting a letter describing this problem and recommending Packard Bell computers be dropped as a product. The fact that we couldn't reach Packard Bell concerned us, but, since the computer was now out of warranty, we didn't follow up as we probably should have. We should have written a letter to Costco and to Packard Bell, but we didn't. Again, everything was fine. . .until about a month ago. We started getting an error message during power-up (during the RAM self-test) that said that a portion of RAM was faulty. This was a serious problem because after printing the error message, the system thought there was only 129K of RAM; not nearly enough to run any real applications. Occasionally, we could power cycle the system and the error would clear up, but usually we were just plain stuck. We checked around to various repair shops and found that most could not turn the repair around fast enough for our needs (remember, this was a business system, one that was relied upon for basic business functions). We called the local "factory authorized service" place and they thought they could have it repaired in a day. Great! So we took it there for repair. After some hassles with trying to get the computer to fail at the dealer's shop, they finally determined that a RAM chip was bad, but they still thought they could have it repaired in time. Then came the bad news: the RAM chips are not socketed on this motherboard, and because of "specially manufactured, multi-etch, blah blah blah boards," the chip could not be replaced by the service shop, it had to be repaired at the factory. Still, the news didn't seem all that bad. Then they told us that the factory uses a board swap policy, and that if we paid $325, we would get a new motherboard. Imagine paying $325 for an XT motherboard!!!! We decided to do some checking around before jumping into this expensive repair. The obvious thing to do was to call Packard Bell service. We tried the originally provided number, and someone answered using some strange business name. I said, "Is this Packard Bell?" She said that they had a new number, and she gave it to me. The first number was toll-free, this number was a toll call. I called the toll number and a recording said "Thank you for calling Packard Bell. If you know the 4-digit extension of the party you are trying to reach, enter it now. If you don't know the party's extension, or if you are dialing from a rotary telphone, please hold the line and an operator will assist you." Oh, great! I held the line. "Thank you for calling Packard Bell. If you know the 4-digit extension of the party . . ." I hung up. When I tried the number an hour later (don't forget that these are toll calls!), I got the same recorded message, but this time someone answered. "Thank you for calling Packard Bell." I said, "Can I speak to someone in service please?" "One moment." Then, another recording: "Thank you for calling Packard Bell Customer Service. All available Customer Service representatives are busy right now, but if you'll hold the line, your call will be handled in the order in which it was received." I held. Soon an operator answered, "Customer Service message center." I said, "Does this mean I should leave a message?" "Yes." I said, "Would it be possible for me to speak with someone in Service?" (annoyed) "Sorry, everyone is busy right now." I said, "Can I assume that someone will return my call?" (more annoyed) She said, "Yes, someone will call withing the next 8 to 10 business hours." I gave up and left my name and number. Now, that's service. Well, I'm sure you're dying to know. Did they call? NO. After waiting the two days (I gave them two days. I thought that was fair.), I decided we'd better get the repair done so we could resume work back at the business. So, I called the dealer and authorized the repair. I called the toll number at Packard Bell again, and again got the Customer Service message center. I told the operator that I had already left a message and wanted to check in again to find out if anyone was really going to call. I told her to shuffle my original message to the top of the heap. She said she would do her best. (You can hardly get upset with the poor operator. She was doing all she could do!) A full 4 days later (Friday, August 31), I got a call. "Hello, this is so and so from Packard Bell." I was shocked. I said nothing. "Did anyone return your call?" Finally, I said, "No. I'm glad you called. . ." He interrupted me, "I'm not from Customer Service. I'm just calling to see if you have been helped yet." I said, "No, I haven't." (I can't even believe this!) He said, "Someone will call you before the end of the day. If not today, by Tuesday, for sure." By now, I don't even know what I'm going to say if they ever call back. COME ON, PACKARD BELL. Is this a business you're running, or what?!? The dealer says you're not unresponsive, you're just busy. Seem's funny to me that you can meet the demand in your manufacturing facility, but you can't meet the demand for service. This is one person who will NEVER buy another Packard Bell product. Well, news reader, if you're still with me, maybe you can tell me a couple of things: 1. Have you gotten any better response from Packard Bell than I have? Is this a one-time (or two-time, I guess) problem? Has anyone gotten good service from Packard Bell? 2. Is it true that you can't so much as replace a RAM chip on one of these boards? And if it's true, why would anyone design a board that way? 3. Anyone out there in netland from Packard Bell who wishes to comment on this situation? At this point, I'm hoping you've sold your last computer. If you care to comment, send email or call me at (503)629-5088, 8AM to 5PM, Pacific Time. Thanks for listening. Any discussion on this topic is appreciated. Please post to this newsgroup so that everyone can share the news. Duane S. Lundsten dlundste@ncube.com