A mass produced computer, customer service, and a rant.

Here are a few thoughts on Customer Service and a mass produced product. A while ago we purchased a new lap top from a certain well known company. It arrived in expeditious time and seemed to be in good working order. A bright wide screen and all the add-ons that we wanted. We were quite happy.

Then, after about a year, something went wrong. We called the customer service line. The person was obviously foreign and at times it was difficult to understand the directions being given. Besides these small difficulties, this person was extremely helpful and took the time to make sure all of my areas of concern were addressed. Good. After a short time, it was determined that there was nothing we could do at home and I was told they would send me a box to send my laptop back to the company for repair. The box came, I shipped it away, eagerly awaiting a repaired unit. It was only gone about a week. It was delivered back to the house and I opened it up, looking forward to the refurbished unit and all its glory (here is where you should prepare for the big let down).

Expecting the choirs of heaven to start a reverberating chorus of "Hallelujah" I in stead was greeted with a meme from the customer service department. It read something like this:

"Dear customer,

We have decided your computer is not working right. We have found it to be hard drive failure. This is an item you can replace yourself. We did not fix your laptop. You can fix it yourself. we will send you the parts you need. Thanks for being a customer.

Sincerely, Customer Service Rep."

They sent me a box, and diagnosed my problem, and sent it back broken telling me to fix it myself? I am not sure what is going on here, but even after I fixed this problem as best I could and I still have some issues with the dang thing. I felt let down by a system set in place to lift me up and solve my problems.

I bring this up now, because I am typing this on the same mass produced computer. As I look at the screen, there are 6 vertical lines in the display that are a sign of worse things to come.

My only consolation here... Well, I don't think there is one. I am stuck with a display that is failing, a hard drive that still has issues since I "Fixed" it, and a customer service department who doesn't care because I am beyond the warranty (although it seems for all the face value they put on their customer service, they might not have ever really cared).

This is a bit of a rant. I know that. I planned this to be one when I started writing it. Its just the way life goes sometimes.