Pass the parcel
I decided it was time to get a new laptop.
The current one is fine but it has a few niggling irritations. The main concern is that it may be on the verge of packing up altogether. I wasn’t going to invest but Herself suggested she give me the new machine for my birthday. She’s a very generous lass…..
So I went searching for a suitable machine. I found a nice one with all the desired features in the shop where I have bought stuff before. I’ll call it “Shop A” as I’m not into advertising.
Just out of interest I did a quick scan of the Web and found Shop B which was selling an identical machine only €200 cheaper. I placed an order with Shop B.
Soon the mails started arriving telling me that my order had been received and then another to say it had been dispatched. Wooppee! They gave me a tracking number and it was to be delivered within two working days.
The days passed, and then the weeks. I phoned Shop B. “It’s actually due for delivery today” says the bloke on the phone. Now I have played this game before so I know that’s just an opening gambit in the hopes I will be happy and put the phone down. I did put the phone down anyway as I couldn’t understand most of what he was saying. He was either Indian or Pakistani and had fucking woeful English.
A couple of days later I phoned again. I ignored the usual “It’s actually due for delivery today” bit and persisted in asking for some information. He spent a good deal of time searching around his computer [I think I detected a South African twang in his excellent English]. Eventually he came back to me, full of apologies – he admitted they had lost my order. He told me to reorder and that one way or another I would get a refund.
So I went back into Shop B’s site but they were now out of stock. Fuck!
I went back to Shop A but they were now out of stock too. Double fuck!
I did another search and discovered that the manufacturer had a shop [Shop C?] but they didn’t make the one I wanted any more. I made some rather drastic compromises on my requirements and ordered a machine off them. No problem. And it’s actually cheaper than my previous choice. They’ll send it to me but not straight away – I have to wait until the middle of March! Triple fuck!
I got an email this morning.
It’s from Shop B telling me my delivery is on its way and they gave me a new tracking number. I went into the courier’s site and there it is awaiting delivery. I haven’t a fucking clue what it is. The old order is definitely cancelled and my rebate lodged to my account, and I haven’t ordered anything off them since. Has my lost laptop resurfaced and is continuing on its merry way despite being cancelled?
I’m looking forward to the delivery!
Hi!
I have resolved to buy only Dell from now on. 3 reasons.
I like their after-sales service. I needed a copy of the invoice for my 6-year-old PC after a lightning strike and they produced it for me, and I also found all original software I could download from their site (including the OS) when I had to re-initialise it.
Second, they are easy to take apart to upgrade memory or disk.
Third, they seem reliable enough.
Hah! "Shop C" is indeed Dell. According to their site my device is being assembled at the moment [images of little elves running around the factory laden with components] and should arrive here no later than March 11th. Seven weeks to make one laptop? I'm impressed with their dedication to perfection.
I bought a Dell XPSM1330 on Dells business lease deal in 2006 or 2007 and that one took 6 weeks to build and deliver. Great screen, great little machine which ran better on Linux than the alternative. I hope you gave herself the full value if the refund.
I haven't used a Dell before, nor have I had a machine with a SSD. It should be an interesting experience. Naturally I will use Linux.
The refund returned from whence it originally came!
Number two son has a Medion Erazer equipped with an SSD and I myself have a pair of EEPC 701's similarly equipped. He says its very fast, I don't notice speed per se unless there isn't any when there should be.
The XPS is still her but in bits sadly. It all works save for the internals of the power jack which have all snapped, they are tiny springy yokes so no wonder really. I have a replacement power jack but soldering is only something I'm good at when in the mood for it, bit like 'making babies'. Probably why there are only two sons and the power jack is still sat in its box instead of being fixed to its motherboard!
GD, does Ireland have the Unsolicited Goods Act? Under that, if your order was cancelled and the laptop still arrives, its yours to keep.
There's no noticeable difference between a SSD and a conventional one, apart from perhaps a slightly quicker bootup and silence. If you can, instead of having all the memory in one slot, fit a module in each slot. This gives you dual channel memory and a bit more speed.
When myself and Herself ordered new desktop PCs back before the so-called pandemic (2019) we ordered two identical Acers which actually arrived within the delivery window–one was the wrong one. Fine, it gave me time to back up my wife's old PC and wrestle the new one into submission (re-partition the 2TB HDD and install a 500GB SSD). The replacement came in, the correct one this time, and found it was the next the higher end configuration of the model I originally ordered–it had bad USB-2 connection (can't shove it in). But since there were 4 more on the backside plus some USB-3 types and one 3.1 it was no matter…
…then my laptop died. Still debating on getting a new one.
Have fun with your new laptop.