mdm@wdl30.wdl.loral.com (Mike D Marchionna) (06/17/91)
Like many people reading this group I managed to grab one of the BLand firesale cubes last November. So far I've been insanely pleased with my little black box. When the news of the new '040 upgrades came out I waited awhile before placing an order. I Waited until the end of March before placing an order for an '040 upgrade and the 2.0 software. I was trying to beat the deadline for the Improv offer. When I ordered I specifically asked if I would be billed immediatley, or when the order actually shipped. My sales rep assured me that I would not be billed until it was shipped. Well a month goes by, and the only thing I have received is a bill for my order. When I called my sales rep to complain, his response was basically, "Oopps, sorry!" Needless to say I was put a bit put off; however, I had already invested a month of waiting and was assured my order would be filled real soon. So I kept waiting, calling every now and then to remind them I hadn't forgotten they had taken my money without giving me anything in return. Finally the month of May goes by, and I finally get word that my '040 board is no where in sight, but my software is in. Fine I say, that only took 2 months. Maybe I'll get lucky and get 2.1 instead of 2.0. No dice, but by now I'm not complaining; I'm happy to get anything. On top of not getting 2.1 at this late date, I check the upgrade cards for Mathematica and Common Lisp in my 2.0 upgrade and find the offer dates have all expired. I filled the lousy cards out anyway, and sent them in just in case. I had no idea there was a time limit on how long NeXT would due the right thing and offer the software updates. Not that I would be able to do anything with the upgrades since I have no floppy drive. Further there is no way for me to get the 2.1 upgrade. Meanwhile I'm reading posts from other people that placed there order after I did, and receiving both the 2.1 software and '040 boards in a 2-4 week time frame. Next thing I read in the newspaper ther is a big article about how BLand is about to go Chapter 11 any second. By now I figure my money is about as good as lost. I call BusinessLand again, and suprise there are still people answering the phones. Their answer was basically, "Still don't have your board, be patient and pray some company buys us out." I grit my teeth, and start getting use to the idea my money is gone with the wind. I wait until mid June before I can't stand it any longer and decide to call and check up on my order. This time the answer is, "Sorry your board isn't in, and further more we no longer carry the NeXT computer line. If we have any money left we might give you a refund. Then again, maybe not. Thank you for shopping at BLand! Have a nice day!" Eeewwwwhhhhh! Do I want to hurt somebody! So far I haven't seen any sign of a refund. The only reason I even placed the order with BLand was, because the NeXT sales rep I first tried to place the order with, suggested I would be better off ordering through BLand. Let's see I get 2.0 with the upgrade offers expired, the deadline for a free copy of Improv has come and gone, no '040 board, and no money. The only way I can be happy now is if BLand folds, and I can dance on their grave. Some advice for the NeXT community at large, I suggest that you stay very far away from BLand, since they are surely concentrated evil. DO NOT TOUCH! M MDM M -- _________________________________________________________________________ ( _______________________________ Brain, and brain! What is brain! ) \________________________________) --Star Trek (Spock's Brain) / El_Rayo_X_______________________________________________________________/
eps@toaster.SFSU.EDU (Eric P. Scott) (06/17/91)
In article <1991Jun17.035016.18892@wdl1.wdl.loral.com> mdm@wdl30.wdl.loral.com (Mike D Marchionna) writes: > On top of not getting 2.1 at this late date, I check the upgrade cards for >Mathematica and Common Lisp in my 2.0 upgrade and find the offer dates have >all expired. Don't panic. There's ANOTHER upgrade card in the '040 upgrade kit, and it doesn't expire until December. > Not that I would be able to do >anything with the upgrades since I have no floppy drive. Further there is no >way for me to get the 2.1 upgrade. NeXT *will* provide 2.1 on optical. We're supposed to get some next week. (We'll see.) > The only way I can be happy now is if BLand folds, and I >can dance on their grave. Bad news: they've been rescued by a company that runs computer stores on the [U.S.] east coast. -=EPS=-