mf2e+@andrew.cmu.edu (Michael Douglas Fischer) (03/18/88)
Hey there-
OK, here's my story:
I've got my 512K CoCo 3 with the multi-pak, two drives, and just about
anything else you can thing of. One day, it stops loading from the disk drives,
but other cartridges work. So I figure my disk controller died (it's an old
one. So we check that out and it works fine. OK, the multi-pak is bad. Check it
out, and it's fine. The disk drives? Nope. The computer???? YES! My CoCo 3
died. OK, I can handle that. So I'm thinking, should I try to fix it myself, or
drop it off at Radio Shack. Well, I figure, I'm lazy, so I'll let RS fix it IF
THE PRICE IS REASONABLE. So I drop it off, asking for an estimate. They say OK.
I get a call today from them saying $20 for parts and $35 for labor, plus tax.
$58!! I said no way, I'll fix it myself. I know enough about it. They say, OK,
come and pick it up, but there's a $25 charge for the estimate.
I say, WHAT? I was never told that I would be charged for the estimate! So
I get a choice: $25 for my still broken computer, or $58 for a fixed one. So, I
give in and let them fix it. Now I'm wondering, was what they did really legal?
I wasn't informed that I'd be charged ($25!) for the estimate. I understand
that work was done to figure out what was wrong, but didn't think of that when
I dropped it off. Also, they REFUSE to tell me what was wrong if I take it
back, OR if I get it fixed. When I get it back, I have to re-install my 512K
board, and there goes my 90 day warranty. I feel like I got really ripped off
by Radio Shack. What do you think?
--Mikemarkv@uoregon.UUCP (Mark VandeWettering) (03/19/88)
In article <kWE-h7y00WAI04YUN7@andrew.cmu.edu> mf2e+@andrew.cmu.edu (Michael Douglas Fischer) writes: >Hey there- > OK, here's my story: > > I've got my 512K CoCo 3 with the multi-pak, two drives, and just about >anything else you can thing of. One day, it stops loading from the disk drives, >but other cartridges work. So I figure my disk controller died (it's an old >one. So we check that out and it works fine. OK, the multi-pak is bad. Check it >out, and it's fine. The disk drives? Nope. The computer???? YES! My CoCo 3 >died. OK, I can handle that. So I'm thinking, should I try to fix it myself, or >drop it off at Radio Shack. Well, I figure, I'm lazy, so I'll let RS fix it IF >THE PRICE IS REASONABLE. So I drop it off, asking for an estimate. They say OK. >I get a call today from them saying $20 for parts and $35 for labor, plus tax. >$58!! I said no way, I'll fix it myself. I know enough about it. They say, OK, >come and pick it up, but there's a $25 charge for the estimate. First of all, Radio Shack isn't in the business of diagnosing your computer ills. They are a company. They have to make money. They make money through support and through repairs. When you take a computer in to be fixed, they assume that you want it fixed. By the way, assuming that the computer is not trivially broken, (a loose chip or something) I would think that 58 dollars is quite reasonable. If the computers works when I get it back, then that is worth it to me. If it didn't, then I would be justified in getting miffed, but I don't think that it is too unreasonable.... > I say, WHAT? I was never told that I would be charged for the estimate! So >I get a choice: $25 for my still broken computer, or $58 for a fixed one. So, I >give in and let them fix it. Now I'm wondering, was what they did really legal? They should have informed you of a minimum charge for looking at your computer. I don't know if this is illegal, but it certainly doesn't bode too well... >I wasn't informed that I'd be charged ($25!) for the estimate. I understand >that work was done to figure out what was wrong, but didn't think of that when >I dropped it off. Also, they REFUSE to tell me what was wrong if I take it >back, OR if I get it fixed. When I get it back, I have to re-install my 512K >board, and there goes my 90 day warranty. I feel like I got really ripped off >by Radio Shack. What do you think? I think you should have done your homework a little better. Remember, ask questions, get estimates, take time to manage things like this better. Not telling you what was wrong was pretty petty on their parts, but as a business man I can understand (not approve, but understand). Above all, don't expect people to do things like that for free. Maintenence of computers isn't cheap. > --Mike
nujohnso@ndsuvax.UUCP (chris e. johnson) (03/22/88)
In article <kWE-h7y00WAI04YUN7@andrew.cmu.edu> mf2e+@andrew.cmu.edu (Michael Douglas Fischer) writes: >Hey there- > OK, here's my story: > [...] >drop it off at Radio Shack. Well, I figure, I'm lazy, so I'll let RS fix it IF >THE PRICE IS REASONABLE. So I drop it off, asking for an estimate. They say OK. >I get a call today from them saying $20 for parts and $35 for labor, plus tax. >$58!! I said no way, I'll fix it myself. I know enough about it. They say, OK, >come and pick it up, but there's a $25 charge for the estimate. > I say, WHAT? I was never told that I would be charged for the estimate! So > [...] > --Mike The same thing happened to me, except my faulty part was an RS disk drive. I gave it to them for an estimate, and it was something like $170, the head was messed up. I said HA, I can buy a brand new one for that price (it was a full hieght drive), and said I wanted it back. After a while, it came back with a similar "estimate price" -- and I was never told it would cost any money if I decided not to have them fix it. I got slightly irate, saying they can't charge me if they didn't fix it, especially if I just wanted an estimate in the first place. Well, it worked, the guy said "no problem" and gave me my drive back (it's still sitting in my basement getting dusty). BTW this also worked for returning the Thexder game after I opened it and found out it was a stinking ROM-pak! Maybe the RS "employees" here are just extraordinarily wimpy, I don't know. Chris -- +-------------------------------+ | BITNET : NU108642@NDSUVM1 | "of all the things i've lost, | UUCP : uunet!ndsuvax!nujohnso | the one thing i miss the most is my mind." +-------------------------------+ - some bumper sticker