Fat.Tag@SU-SIERRA.ARPA (11/05/83)
From: Tim Gonsalves <Fat.Tag@SU-SIERRA.ARPA> I am going through a rather unpleasant experience dealing with a discount/mail-order software retailer, Software-To-Go (aka Programmers International) of Palo Alto, CA. This message has two purposes: to warn others who are considering dealing with this firm what they may be subjected to, and to learn from others if there are honest, reputable, well-run discount/mail-order retailers in the PC field. On to the details. On Aug. 20, I ordered a version of The Final Word (a wordprocessor) from Software-To-Go. They told me that they did not have it in stock but would be able to get it in 2 weeks, and they wanted full payment in advance. Sounded good, so I paid the $225 + tax (list $300, advertised prices in Byte range from $200 - $300). After the 2 weeks had passed and I had heard nothing from them, I called and was told that it was expected in in a few days. A few days later, I called again and it was due the next day. This went on for the next 7-8 weeks. Everytime I called I was assured that it would be in "tomorrow", or "soon", or "early next week" and so on. At one point the manager gave me a specific date on which it had been shipped from "a distributor in the East" via UPS. A few days later, when it became obvious that nothing had been shipped, they dropped that story. About 10 weeks after I had placed the order, my patience was wearing thin. I asked them for a specific deadline by which they would be able to deliver the goods without further resort to their usual dilatory tactics. After some time they came back with the answer - "in 2 weeks"! I cancelled my order and was assured that my refund would be mailed to me. It normally takes the USPS 1-2 days to deliver a letter from Palo Alto to Stanford, a distance of 2-3 miles. Nine days later, yesterday, the refund had not yet appeared. Wearily, I picked up the phone and dialed the familiar number... This time I was told that not only could they not tell me why I had not got a refund or when I would get it, but that it could be several days before they even deigned to look into the matter. Several things about this outfit irritate me. Firstly, they make commitments that they cannot honour. If it does take 2 months or more to deliver a product at a discount, fine - if they tell me, so that I can decide whether the wait is worth the money to me. I also have a strong aversion to dealing with people to whom truth is apparently a complete stranger. There is a limit to the lies I can stomach before I get indigestion. Next, whilst I do not normally expect much in the way of service from a discount retailer, I do expect some when they are nearly two months behind their schedule. Besides the glib talk outlined above, on at least half a dozen occasions they promised to call me later in the day or the next day. (A local call; they volunteered, I did not ask them to call me, I was quite ready to call them). Only once, the time I cancelled the order, did they have the courtesy to actually call me. Well, I could go on at much greater length, but do not want to intrude on disk quotas or tie up 300 baud modems. Comments are invited, especially recommendations for good, cheap retailers (not, I hope, a contradiction in terms). Tim Gonsalves Gonsalves@SU-Sierra.Arpa
rmc@cca.UUCP (Mark Chilenskas) (11/11/83)
Oh great lord of NetNews, accept this sacrificial line and do not cease
my message!
I think you might want to look into The Programmer's Shop in Dedham,
Ma. I have worked with them looking for software for the NEC APC, a
machine most companies have not even heard of. Worse, i was looking for
things like Prolog, Modula II, Lisp, ... (and also Final Word). They
have been VERY courteous, found dealers and compainies for me that i had
never heard of, initiated an order before receiving my check (but
indicated that they don't like doing so). Their stated policy is that
any piece of software they can find will be sold at a discount, even if
you are the only person ever to order it from them. And their on-hand
stock seems rather large, especially in C complers. Unfortunately they
mostly don't handle hardware (a few of the most popular IBM extension
cards and that's about it). For current prices, call them up and/or
look in any recent copy of Info World.
Within Massachusetts, their number is (800) 442-8070. Out of state
try (800) 421-8006. I don't have the address on me right now.
R Mark Chilenskas
Chilenskas@CCA-VMS
decvax!cca!rmc