May
25

Why won’t you work on my computer for free

A guy comes into the computer store and buys a used computer. We show him Windows on the computer before he makes his purchase. He asks for the computer without the operating system so we remove the operating system from the computer and lower the price. He then wants a better deal than that so we reduce the price by another $25 and told him that the system is used and that there is no warranty or returns on it. He is fine with that. We show him that Ubuntu Linux works on the system which is the OS that he will be using on the computer. We show him Linux by using an Ubuntu Live cd which doesn’t install on the hard drive it just runs from the cd. The customer takes the computer home and tries to install Linux on the hard drive. He can’t get it installed so he brings the computer back to us and wants us to install Linux for him. We tell him we usually charge $125 for that, but we would cut him a deal and do it for $50. He gets totally upset and grabs the computer and storms out of the store. Explain to me why we should do it for free? Maybe I am missing something. I know he purchased the system from us, but he wanted the original operating system removed from the system which was working so that he could save $75. We even showed him that Linux would work on the system for free. I wish I knew where he worked so that I could go there and ask him to work for me for free.

Dec
03

Why won’t you buy back my used computer

A lady buys a used computer. She comes in to the store and she is in a hurry. She picks out a used computer for $179 and we throw in a used monitor, keyboard and a mouse. She signs the paperwork and we explain that there are no returns on used computers. She signs the paperwork and leaves. The lady calls two weeks later and wants us to buy the computer back because her boyfriend bought her a laptop for $300 on black Friday. We tell her we have a lot of stock and we don’t need anymore used computers, so we are not willing to buy her computer. She then proceeds to lose her mind and she says we are dishonest because we knew she could buy a better computer for more money. I was confused because of course she can get a better computer for more money. Then she hangs up on us. It is interesting that people are so nice when they call until they don’t get their own way and they lose it. Has this ever happened to you?

Sep
25

Customer buys from store then goes shopping on the internet

A customer comes into the store and drops off his computer to be worked on because it is dead. We look at the computer and determine that the video card is toast and that the system has viruses/spyware on it. We call the customer and give him the diagnostic and he says go ahead and do the work and install a new video card. We get the work done and he picks it up and takes it home, but it doesn’t work on his dual monitor setup because it doesn’t have the right connections. The customer needs 2 DVI connections and the card in the system that we sold him only has one. He wonders what else we can get for him.

We call him back after researching video cards that will have the outputs that he needs. We call him back and tell him all about the video card and we quote him a price. He says that sounds good, go ahead and order it. We order the card.

The customer calls back within an hour and says that he found the card cheaper on the internet and wonders what we can do for him. The service manager comes and talks to me about it and I am a little bit ticked because we spent time and money on purchasing a new card for the customer. We tell the customer that we can pull the card and refund him the money. The customer then asks if he can get the install labor back and can we let him borrow the card until his new video card comes in. I lose my mind at this point, although I don’t let the customer know that. I tell him that we didn’t charge him labor to install the card, we only charged him labor to fix the viruses/spyware. We basically install the card for free because he is buying the card from us. We also tell him that he needs to bring the computer back today so that we can uninstall the video card. He isn’t happy with that, but agrees to bring in the computer. Within an hour or so he brings the computer back and we uninstall the video card and refund on the video card. We give him back his old video card that is dead. I would be willing to bet that he will try and get the old video card to work in his computer while he waits for his other video card to show up even though we told him it is dead. (which it is)

I can’t believe that people will tell you that they want you to special order something, then they go shopping for the same item. I wonder how I can take care of this in the future. I can have someone pay in advance for special orders. (This puts them out because they have to make a special trip to make the payment) Or, I can wait 24 hours knowing that they might change their minds. Or, I can tell them up front that special orders are final and they are no refunds. Any one of these options puts a burden on the customer. I can’t win mo matter what I do.

What do you think?

Jul
23

Customer walks into the store and they get on the phone

A customer walks into the store and they get on the phone while you are trying to help them. The hold up their index finger to indicate that they need a moment and that they are more important than you are. We try to provide good customer service, but when someone does this we walk away and let them come to us when they need further help. I don’t have time to stand around and wait for someone to have a conversation with someone else while I am trying to help them. It is just rude and my attitude towards them changes. If you walk in a store and ask for help and you and I are in the middle of a conversation and you take a call and proceed to have a lengthy conversation with the person on the phone you don’t deserve my help. The right thing to do would be to say to the person on the phone I will get back to you or put the call through to voice mail. Has this ever happened to you?

Jul
19

People don’t listen to their phone messages they just call back

The technician calls a customer and leaves a detailed message so that they understand what is going on with their equipment. The customer doesn’t listen to the message and calls right back and asks what our diagnosis is. I always listen to the message when someone calls because it gives me time to digest the information. After listening to the message I call back if I have questions or to make a judgment call on which way I would like to proceed on the work to be done. I know everyone is in a hurry in today’s society, but I took the time to leave a message so listen to it please before calling back so that you don’t waste me time. Has this ever happened to you?

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