philip@nmtsun.nmt.edu (Philip Bernick) (03/28/90)
* I thought line-eaters were extinct ********************
This is a traumatic story, for me anyway, because I keep
doing all I can to maintain positive feelings toward CBM, my dealer
(whoever that might be), and my amiga computer, which I love!!!
Anyway, if you are tired of hearing about complaints, hit "n" now.
Back in January, when I first heard about Commodore offering an
educational discount on computers, I was terribly exited. As a
student it is difficult to afford the new bits which make computing
more exciting, efficient, and effective. The 2091-40 had just
started shipping and seemed to me to be exactly what I needed
for a massive improvement in productivity. But how was I to
afford it? At $899.00 it was out of my reach, but through
the discount, according to the price list I had seen, I could
justify the expenditure.
On the 16th or maybe it was the 17th of January I called my local
dealer in Albuquerque to find out what I needed to do in order to
qualify for the discount. He (my dealer) informed me that he
didn't even know about an educational discount but he said he
would check with Commodore and get back to me. A week later
I still hadn't heard from him and I made the second of what
was to become a very expensive series of phone calls (I live
a large toll call away from Albuquerque) to assorted dealers. My
dealer still hadn't heard from Commodore, and didn't even have
a copy of the price list which I had already (it even
had the Commodore logo and address on it). I wondered if this
list might just be a forgery. I called a number that I had
for Commodore information (ostensibly one called this number
in order to get information on amiga computers, and to locate
a dealer). I was told that the dealer closest to me was
indeed the dealer to whom I had been speaking, and was also
told that amiga information would be sent to me.
A week later my dealer did have some information for me, but
sadly it appeared that I could only qualify if I purchased a CPU.
I had swapped a 1000 for a 2000 when the trade in was first offered
so I really didn't want, or need, a new CPU, nor could I afford
one if I did. That same day I read an announcement that until
March 31, students could purchase peripherals through the discount
without buying a CPU. I was happy again. My dealer said again
that he didn't know anything about it but that he would check
and get back to me.
Over the next two weeks I made several calls to my dealer who
insisted that there was no information yet from Commodore, and
that he too was becoming a bit miffed. Finally, on the 15th
of February, although he still hadn't heard from Commodore, my
dealer said that he would order the device for me and billed me
for it, plus tax, plus $15.00. I also sent him the forms which
he had asked me to fill out. Ten days more and I would have
a hard drive, and, if I could scrape up the extra cash, more
memory. Interestingly, the information that Commodore said they
would send me still hadn't arrived.
On the 24th of February, I happened to be in Albuquerque and thought
I might stop by my friendly dealer to see about my drive and controller.
Mine, I thought, because I had paid for it. Of course I didn't expect
it to actually be in, it had only been nine days. My dealer still hadn't
heard from commodore, and hadn't ordered the 2091-40. At this point
I got a little pissed. I got my money back, and went in search of
another dealer. My former dealer said that he was considering
dropping the amiga because of what he claimed was poor support.
After communicating with friends who are also amiga users, I located
a dealer in another small New Mexico town who seemed to know all
about the Educational Discount, and would only be too pleased to
assist me. I sent in the completed forms and a cashiers check on
the second of March.
Today is the 27th of March. I still don't have a 2091-40, and the
discount, as it applies to me, expires on the 31st. Yesterday, I
did receive from Commodore a copy of a video "Creativity in the
Classroom" which is supposed to convince people to install
amigas in computer labs. This was two months after I requested it.
I would like to see this school get an amiga computer lab. We
have many Unix workstations, MS-DOS machines, and are awaiting
a new Mac lab. Unfortunately, many people that I suggest an amiga
to balk when they see the difficulty I have just getting parts.
Apple computer doesn't wait for people to forget that they ever
expressed an interest in their hardware before sending out a rep or
information. Sun has an established presence here on campus, and so
does HP. I tried on numerous occasions to communicate with the
student representative for Commodore about their program, and with
others who seemed to know about the Student Representative program, and
never heard another word. I am a member of the Society for Technical
Communication and am eagerly anticipating their national conference
in May. Commodore's presence there could be an effective way to
introduce many influential people to the presentation graphics
capabilities of the amiga, but who does one make the suggestion to?
Does Commodore even care?
I like my amiga. It runs the software I need to run, and does most
of the things I need it to do. I don't really care if it does it
faster than OS/2, or prettier than the Mac. I didn't cost me what
a Mac would have, nor could I put a PC together which would do the
things my amiga does. I do worry however about the amiga's continued
presence in the marketplace. I worry about things like support, which
seems to be rather sparse. I worry that the amiga will go the way of
the osborne (I have one next to my amiga on the desk) and I and other
users will have no-one but ourselves to turn to for support and
maintenance. I do like the open architecture of the amiga. I like the
concept of being able to upgrade the machine I own rather than buying
a new one when the newest chipset or enhancement is released. But more
than anything else what I really appreciate is support from manufacturers
and sellers. If Commodore is to continue to improve the standing of the
amiga in the marketplace they cannot afford to antagonize their dealers
and current user base. The risk is not so much that current users will
stop using their amigas, but that they'll stop recommending that others
buy them.
philipGORRIEDE@UREGINA1.BITNET (Dennis Robert Gorrie) (04/08/90)
The Educational discount was somewhat of a joke up here in Canada. Oh yes, Commodore Canada DID offer the discount, but failed to tell half of the 'Authorized Dealers' in Canada. You know, those places where people go to find out just what an Amiga can do, and some how end up purchasing a pc-clone instead. Some stores in Edmonton are still insisting the Educational Discount never existed in Canada. Only in U.S.A. you say? Pitty!