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From: jik@athena.mit.edu (Jonathan I. Kamens)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.fortran,comp.lang.pascal,comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: In defense of Brooklyn (was: Pecan Software "steals" $100 from me)
Message-ID: <3214@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU>
Date: 25 Feb 88 18:12:00 GMT
References: <7432@ncoast.UUCP> <5680@bellcore.bellcore.com>
Sender: daemon@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU
Reply-To: jik@athena.mit.edu (Jonathan I. Kamens)
Distribution: comp
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Lines: 39

In article <5680@bellcore.bellcore.com> tr@wind.UUCP (tom reingold) writes:
>...
>Furthermore, how many software companies take a return because you
>don't like the product? ...

Quite a few, actually.  It has been my experience that if you buy a
business package (Note that I'm talking about business software and
not games -- games are a totally different story.) and discover after
your purchase that the program either does not do what you want it to
do or does not do what the company said it will, calling up and
explaining the situation to them, sometimes very politely and
sometimes with more, well, vigor, will usually get them to allow you
to return the software.

Of course, if they think you're trying to make up reasons to return
the software because you've finished copying the disk and the manual,
then they won't let you return it, but that doesn't sound like what
happened in this case.

An example: Several months ago, I purchased a Wordstar CP/M Edition
upgrade for $94 from MicroPro.  It didn't work on my hardware when I
finally got it.  So, I called up their technical service hotline, and
that was no help.  I then wrote a letter to their technical service
department asking for help.  After a month and a half waiting for a
response, I wrote another letter.  After another month of hearing
nothing from technical support, I wrote a third letter and sent a copy
to the president of the company and the director of customer support.
I got a check for the full purchase price of the program in the mail a
week and a half later.

Now, I'm not saying that MicroPro is an example of good customer
service, because I think their customer service is crap.  However,
they DID refund my money.  They also let me keep the software, so if I
ever manage to get it to work, I'm even better off.


 -=> Jonathan I. Kamens | "There is no expedient to which man will not go
     MIT '91            |  to avoid the real labor of thought."
     jik@ATHENA.MIT.EDU |                          -- Thomas Alva Edison