Forget politics for this post....
No matter what you do, no matter what the deal you may have found, no matter what the little voice in your ear says: NEVER BUY A COMPUTER FROM GATEWAY.!
I have a real job, but I also do adjunct teaching at the college level in criminal justice. Since school has started, there is already competition for the two computers we have in the house. A couple months ago my wife bought a laptop for work mostly, but there still isn't enough room for everyone who needs it.
So three weeks ago, August 6th to be exact, I opened my Sunday Best Buy sales paper to see what deals might be offered. The added bonus was that it was tax free weekend for school stuff, so I got about $200 off a Gateway notebook plus saving about 7% in taxes. A conservative's dream, right?
5 days later, and after having only used the laptop for 3 days, something is corrupted and programs keep terminating. So, figuring I did something wrong, and since I had little one it, I attempted the system restore function with the restore CD that was included with my notebook. It as corrupt, and now Windows won't load.
I call tech support, which provided none, and decided I would swap it at Best Buy for another one. Well, Best Buy - and follow this logic - wouldn't take it back. They won't take it because the operating system was corrupt. I said, "I know, because it is the one you sold me." He said, "I can't take it back without an operating system." I said, "If it had an OS, I wouldn't need to bring it back." He said, "Get it fixed and we will accept it." I said, "Moron, if I could fix it I wouldn't be bringing it back." So, They sold me something that was broken, but wouldn't take it back because it was broken.
Now, I called Gateway to get a new restore disk set. They said it would be here in 2-3 business days. Four days pass, no CDs. So I get tech support again, and the guy said that there was a goof, and he would ship it immediately, and I would get it in 1-2 business days. That was Saturday. I was thinking it would get shipped overnight because of the problem. NOPE. Today is the 2nd business day, and when I got tech support they told me that it had not been shipped yet. A supervisor had to waive the replacement fee because it was under warranty.
So, after spending $800, using my computer for 3 days, I have been waiting 11 days for a disk set that shouldn't have been necessary in the first place and now have to wait another 5 days.
Anything but Gateway, people. I was warned about their poor customer service and poor tech support, but I didn't listen. The economic conservative in me said that it was a good deal, it was a good warranty, and it was a reputable company. GUESS AGAIN. Go with Toshiba, or HP. My wife got a Toshiba, and it is a beautiful notebook and hums along like nothing I have ever seen. TRUST ME, avoid Gateway like the plaque.
You Are Among The Elite!
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
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5 Posts From Readers:
wow! that really stinks. my husband has a dell laptop- and we haven't had any problems with it- knock on wood. we haven't had any issues with the battery- so i am not sending it back. i use the cord anyway.
Welcome Betmo...Please drop in often, and if you can, post in the heroes topic below. I am really interested in this one.
Dell...another reputable firm. I have a laptop from work that is a Dell, and I like it, I have had no problems, but thought I had a great deal here. So much for that....I wish I could run my house like the government runs teh treasury. I would just but a new one, and maybe a spare one jsut in case.
I'm sorry to hear of your misfortune. I have a Dell Desktop, new last christmas. The "DVD that does it all" has failed twice. I have a 24 hour onsite service contract. The first failure (after I called India for three hours), it took four days to see a service person. The second time (again after I called India), it took nearly ten days to see a service person. When I raged and ranted, nobody could tell me "why." The computer does run great - when it runs!:) And......I'm still fighting to get a restore disk which never shipped with my machine. The latest from India now is "Since this a a request for a replacement, you will be required to pay $65 plus shipping." So, that's in the hands of a shark. Bottom line? Dell is no better. The school my wife teaches at is all Gateway; they swear by them!
About the only fix I've been able to figure out is spend a couple hundred more, and have it built by the geek store down the street. At least you'll have somebody to stangle.:) As with all "service" in this country, I don't ever see it getting better.....
It seems to me that BestBuy, not Gateway, is the real problem here.
Yes, I am going to do the credit card thing....I ususally never use cards. I hate them, and hate paying interest, and hate being in debt. So normally if we dont have cash, we dont buy it.
This time I got too impatient...I have a paycheck coming in about 2 weeks for a class I taught, so I went ahead and charged it knowing I could pay for it before it hit the credit card. Now, I am glad I did because I have some recourse.
Gateway customer service is my main problem, but Best Buy isnt escaping either. I have already talked to them, but they seem like they don't care anyway.
We might be a service economy, but it sure isn't good service.
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