Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!sundc!pitstop!sun!amdcad!ames!ll-xn!mit-eddie!bloom-beacon!gatech!hao!boulder!sunybcs!bingvaxu!leah!itsgw!imagine!pawl21.pawl.rpi.edu!jesup From: jesup@pawl21.pawl.rpi.edu (Randell E. Jesup) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Re: Commodore loses a customer! Message-ID: <203@imagine.PAWL.RPI.EDU> Date: 9 Jan 88 02:33:45 GMT References: <517@ra.rice.edu> Sender: news@imagine.PAWL.RPI.EDU Reply-To: beowulf!lunge!jesup@steinmetz.UUCP Organization: RPI Public Access Workstation Lab - Troy, NY Lines: 64 Keywords: stupidity In article <517@ra.rice.edu> phil@rice.edu (William LeFebvre) writes: >He purchased a 2000 with an extra 3.25" drive, a 5" drive, and a bridge >card thru the mail-order firm "Sprite Technology". The extra parts did >not come installed, but he had planned on that. When he went to install >the drives, the installation instructions sent with the drive said to >remove a connector from the motherboard. He did that, but one of the >middle pins on the board came off with the connector. "No problem," he >says, "it's only a day old and still on warranty." > >He did what the warranty said; he took his machine to a local dealer. >They looked at it and said "it's obviously defective, but you opened the >case and therefore violated the warranty. Tough luck." I told him "don't >listen to them, get the facts straight from Commodore." So he called >customer service and supposedly talked to the person in charge of customer >service (I don't have the person's name handy). This representative of >Commodore was very rude to my friend and basically said "you obviously >broke it yourself." I ask you, how can someone break off a MIDDLE pin by >simply removing the connector? In other words, the pin that broke was not >on the end of the connector, and none of the other pins were even bent. >You can't do that by merely pulling the connector off incorrectly. The >rep's attitude was basically "we don't care about you," but he did give >him the name of another local company that would do the repair (not under >warranty, of course). My friend contacted this firm, and they said "we >don't work on that particular machine." So much for Commodore's advice. I have an idea what might have happened with the dealer he took it to. The dealer probably thought "he didn't buy it from me, but from some stinkin' mail-order place, so I'll pull the wool over his eyes". Your 2000 IS covered regardless of whether it has been opened. So the dealer was full of SH*T. (I assume the dealer was in the list of authorized repair locations included with the 2000, if not, your friend boo-booed.) If what you report is what someone at C= customer service said, I'd like to find out the name of this person. It sounds as if this person didn't agree with the dealer about the warranty, but should have told the dealer to repair the unit (or at least look at it to see what caused the damage). What did your friend say to this person? Your friend also should have gotten in touch with the mail-order firm, who might well have been willing to replace it (if they are reputable: your comment that they couldn't be reached by phone worries me.) I bought my 2000 by mail, and had no problem (Software Hut in Philidelphia), and the local dealer has often just swapped units for people when they have a problem under warranty, so they could get back up as soon as possible. You also refered to the person from commodore as a 'rep', does this mean the regional rep? I have heard that some of them can be pretty poor, and that they are being phased out by C=. If I were your friend, I would also have gone back to the dealer and asked him where in the warranty does it say that opening the unit voids the warranty. That WAS the case with the 1000, and except for the 512K expansion, for the 500. Maybe this is a confused dealer, in any case he would have had trouble finding it. Only then would I have considered calling C= if the dealer refused saying 'I cant find it, but I know it' or some such. I do really pity your friend and what he went through, often going through mail order is cheaper, but it can cause endless hassles, especially if there is any problem with the unit or billing. // Randell Jesup Lunge Software Development // Dedicated Amiga Programmer 13 Frear Ave, Troy, NY 12180 \\// lunge!jesup@beowulf.UUCP (518) 272-2942 \/ (uunet!steinmetz!beowulf!lunge!jesup)