Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!lll-winken!lll-lcc!ames!pasteur!ucbvax!hplabs!hp-pcd!uoregon!markv From: markv@uoregon.UUCP (Mark VandeWettering) Newsgroups: comp.sys.m6809 Subject: Re: Radio Shack Ripoff? Message-ID: <1710@uoregon.UUCP> Date: 19 Mar 88 06:03:37 GMT References: Reply-To: markv@drizzle.UUCP (Mark VandeWettering) Organization: University of Oregon, Computer Science, Eugene OR Lines: 50 In article mf2e+@andrew.cmu.edu (Michael Douglas Fischer) writes: >Hey there- > OK, here's my story: > > I've got my 512K CoCo 3 with the multi-pak, two drives, and just about >anything else you can thing of. One day, it stops loading from the disk drives, >but other cartridges work. So I figure my disk controller died (it's an old >one. So we check that out and it works fine. OK, the multi-pak is bad. Check it >out, and it's fine. The disk drives? Nope. The computer???? YES! My CoCo 3 >died. OK, I can handle that. So I'm thinking, should I try to fix it myself, or >drop it off at Radio Shack. Well, I figure, I'm lazy, so I'll let RS fix it IF >THE PRICE IS REASONABLE. So I drop it off, asking for an estimate. They say OK. >I get a call today from them saying $20 for parts and $35 for labor, plus tax. >$58!! I said no way, I'll fix it myself. I know enough about it. They say, OK, >come and pick it up, but there's a $25 charge for the estimate. First of all, Radio Shack isn't in the business of diagnosing your computer ills. They are a company. They have to make money. They make money through support and through repairs. When you take a computer in to be fixed, they assume that you want it fixed. By the way, assuming that the computer is not trivially broken, (a loose chip or something) I would think that 58 dollars is quite reasonable. If the computers works when I get it back, then that is worth it to me. If it didn't, then I would be justified in getting miffed, but I don't think that it is too unreasonable.... > I say, WHAT? I was never told that I would be charged for the estimate! So >I get a choice: $25 for my still broken computer, or $58 for a fixed one. So, I >give in and let them fix it. Now I'm wondering, was what they did really legal? They should have informed you of a minimum charge for looking at your computer. I don't know if this is illegal, but it certainly doesn't bode too well... >I wasn't informed that I'd be charged ($25!) for the estimate. I understand >that work was done to figure out what was wrong, but didn't think of that when >I dropped it off. Also, they REFUSE to tell me what was wrong if I take it >back, OR if I get it fixed. When I get it back, I have to re-install my 512K >board, and there goes my 90 day warranty. I feel like I got really ripped off >by Radio Shack. What do you think? I think you should have done your homework a little better. Remember, ask questions, get estimates, take time to manage things like this better. Not telling you what was wrong was pretty petty on their parts, but as a business man I can understand (not approve, but understand). Above all, don't expect people to do things like that for free. Maintenence of computers isn't cheap. > --Mike