February 12th.
12 days ago = Willie’s birthday… 7 days ago = my mom’s birthday.. 1 day ago it was Brandy’s and in 2 days it will be Michael’s birthday.
Already? Really? I can’t believe it. In some ways time has slowly been passing by… yet in other ways it seems as if I look up and another month has eluded me.
Since my last post: I’ve ordered a custom computer from HP. This sucker was loaded. I mean loaded. The newest quad core processor from Intel (that was released only a few days before I placed my order), 1TB for space, 8GB, blu-ray, bluetooth, backlit keyboard and even a touchscreen display. It was pretty much the computer I would have wanted to get from anyone but HP. It didn’t matter to me. No other computer manufacturer could build to those specs. Plus I had this nifty $500 coupon I found online and verified it worked through HP’s website. Heck, why not? The thing would cost just about $1000 but that wasn’t bad considering everything that I had on the thing. It was loaded and I was happy. I wasn’t so sure about getting and HP after how much problems I have had with their products in the past.
I received the order on Jan 27th and started on my way. I was pretty impressed by the computer at first. It wasn’t made of plastic, but rather metal. That would be nice because no fingerprints would get on it. Then I tested out the touchscreen. Worked beautifully. Plus I had the backlit keys and the fingerprint reader so I was happy. When I first started using the laptop the fan was a little noisy but if that was the biggest issue I would live with it.
It wasn’t. After a few more days my keys started making this squeaking noise. It was really only the “A” key but I didn’t think that this laptop worth 1500 should be having even minor issues like this. I googled it, like most any sensible person would and found reviews of others that had the same problem to the point of having to send it in to get it fixed. The problem wasn’t with the key but some cheap hardware that was used underneath. Nevertheless, I figured that the worst case senario is that I’d live with that and the somewhat noisy fan. I feel when you pay that much for a computer you can be as picky as you want. The product shouldn’t be letting you down.
My only complaint that I would make about the laptop was the mouse pad. This isn’t something that HP would be able to fix and perhaps it would improve over time with use. My problem was that with the newer unibody mouse pad area, you had to press rather hard in order to click on items. Also if you moved your finger slightly on the area where you needed to click, the cursor would move and sometimes you would end up clicking on something you didn’t want. I know this would have changed over time, but this was my biggest complaint about the laptop.
I did a google search on my laptop just to see how others were liking this new HP product. Then I noticed that Intel had (no more than 2 days earlier) released a notice saying there were errors in the newest processors that they released. The article went on to explain how Toshiba and Dell were either offering extended warranties to consumers who had purchased the product, or how they would take the return with no questions asked for a refund.
I contacted HP (somewhat upset that they didn’t take the initiative to inform me ahead of time of the issue). The rep over chat explained that they had indeed been notified of a problem and that they were no longer making the laptop I had.
Yeah, kind of bad news when I found that my new laptop with a new processor wasn’t in production any longer. All I can think of is: Problems down the road & Obsolete. HP has a 2 week return on all products with no questions asked. I was only 3 or 4 days into owning it, so naturally I asked what I could do. They told me I had 2 options; return it or they could replace it.
I told them I would gladly let them right the wrong and replace my unit. The representative told me that there were some system issues and that I would need to contact customer service the next day to process the request. I contacted customer service the next day and they told me that they could replace the unit. They also began to explain the charges that I would be charged to a tune of 499 dollars.
?!?!?
What? That’s right. 500 smackaroo’s if I wanted to get a comparable laptop with an older processor than the one I currently had. Needless to say I was upset and told them if they wanted my business they would just exchange it out. It was a no-go. They said I would need to send my unit to be repaired if I wanted to go that route to fix the key and fan, otherwise they were not able to give a comparable unit for the same cost. Outrageous. I had problems sending my new unit that had less than 4 days of use to the repair shop. I also had problems with the Intel processor whose production was halted due to issues with the chips. My best play was my only real option. I let the rep know that I would be returning my product. I printed out a shipping label and sent it out the next day.
A week later I checked on the return status and FedEx confirmed that HP received the laptop. I contacted HP to confirm but they told me that there was no record at all of my return. After spending hours and talking to numerous reps over the next day or two I am finally able to speak to some supervisor who acknowledged that I had the tracking number that confirmed that they had possession of the laptop. The reps kept telling me that someone canceled my return and that instead I was going to be given a replacement. I told them I had no problem with that if they could; but again I was told there would be charges if I decided to go that route. Finally someone was able to manually call the return shop and verify that I was in fact telling the truth. I had in fact already returned the laptop.
Geeze. bad customer service. It really is a shame because I really had liked the options that were on the laptop I had. I wish that the quality would have been just a little better- but I was willing to give them another shot at redeeming themselves. Now I’ve been without a computer again for another few weeks and counting. I’m waiting it out to see what is the best thing. I’m not so sure what I’ll end up with after all.
On the job front I have started to look everywhere. In state and out of state. I’ll see what we can come up with. I can’t go much longer without having a main full time job. I need the income even if that means moving. It is entirely unfortunate because I never wanted to leave this city I love.
until next time
