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Portables Software Slashback Linux Hardware

PC Superstore Admits Linux Hinge Repair Mistake 193

Posted by Zonk from the there-are-some-happy-endings-after-all dept.
Erris writes "PC Superstore says their store manager was wrong to turn away a client with a broken hinge whose machine should have been repaired. 'El Reg put a call in to the DSGi-owned retail giant to get some clarification on PC World's Linux support policy. A spokesman told us that there had simply been a misunderstanding at the store and that, in fact, the normal procedure would be for the Tech Guys to provide a fix. [PC World] will provide a full repair once the firm has made contact with Tikka.'
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PC Superstore Admits Linux Hinge Repair Mistake More

PC Superstore Admits Linux Hinge Repair Mistake

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  • It appears... (Score:5, Informative)

    by msauve ( 701917 ) on Saturday September 15, 2007 @08:34PM (#20621009)
    that the manager didn't get the news. [dreamstate.eu]

    • Re:It appears... (Score:5, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 15, 2007 @08:44PM (#20621089)
      For those too lazy to read the link, PCWorld is still refusing to fix the laptop. They aren't blaming it totally on Linux, now it is a mix of Linux and saying that the warranty doesn't cover the hinge because that is basic wear and tear.

      And now, my own opinion about PCWorld. They are technological idiots. I've lived in the states and now in the UK, and compared to these idiots those guys at BestBuy are hackers. I honestly don't believe you have to be more qualified to work at PCWorld than at, say, Burger King. You can manage a register, sweep floors? Good enough. They couldn't help even if they wanted to, which they don't. Extrapolating the behaviour of their workers to their management and I'm not surprised at all that it's PCWorld which pulls some crap like this.

      • Re:It appears... (Score:5, Informative)

        by l33t_f33t ( 974521 ) on Sunday September 16, 2007 @03:22AM (#20623419) Homepage
        Your fears are correct, I have a friend who did work experience at PC world. None of the staff had any idea what they were talking about, including those who were supposed to be fixing computers. In fact, the PC fixing unit was one of the worst. If they cannot solve the problem by putting a CD in, or opening it up and checking all the parts are there then they send it back to head office. There is also a "Service" they offer called something like a PC health check. They charge £50 for it. This service involves putting a CD in the PC to check for viruses.

        This is why, despite needing a job I am not applying to PC world.

        • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

          by RockDoctor ( 15477 )

          I have a friend who did work experience at PC world. None of the staff had any idea what they were talking about, including those who were supposed to be fixing computers. In fact, the PC fixing unit was one of the worst. If they cannot solve the problem by putting a CD in, or opening it up and checking all the parts are there then they send it back to head office.

          Un-disputed that there are some real brain-dead numptys working behind the counter at PC World. On the other hand, I know at least one guy who wo

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by MooUK ( 905450 )
        I emailed them myself "expressing my concern", etc, and got a reply saying the situation had been resolved. Clearly it hasn't. I've contacted them again and we'll see what we get.

      • For those too lazy to read the link, PCWorld is still refusing to fix the laptop. They aren't blaming it totally on Linux, now it is a mix of Linux and saying that the warranty doesn't cover the hinge because that is basic wear and tear.

        Ugh, you know you cannot do this, but I would like to kick this guy in the balls, and if the police comes complaining, you'll say nothing's wrong, it's just "basic wear and tear". Hinges of laptops are notorious for breaking down. Well, tough luck for manufacturers, many of them seem to get it right nowadays. 3 years should be a minimum for a laptop. If we cannot enforce that, we'll be drifting in shitty products for the next 1000 years.

    • Wow. That's simply amazing.

      I wish that he would post the video that he took when he went back to talk to the manager a second time. The dickishness he describes sounds outrageous.
      • All I could think was the phrase:
        "I see someone has been drinking from the fountain of stupid again."

    • Re:It appears... (Score:5, Informative)

      by BlueParrot ( 965239 ) on Saturday September 15, 2007 @08:57PM (#20621155)
      I bet you this guy didn't quite expect that his name would be linked by one of the Internet's most busy web-pages, and not in a good way... I mean seriously, slashdot will accidentally DDoS news agencies due to the large number of visitors. Companies pay small fortunes for that kind of attention... They have now managed to get worldwide bad publicity TWICE due to this laptop. The words "the most expensive $94 Orbitz will ever make" springs to mind. For those of you who don't know what I mean, here's the link: http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=orbitz_blows [thebestpag...iverse.net]
      • I had a similar situation last year with Dell actually. I bought an E1505 and installed Ubuntu but kept Windows on it as well. Well the video card was malfunctioning and after sending it in once they were refusing to replace it, specifically mentioning my installation of Linux as a reason. Well I posted on my blog about it and less than a week later I had a new laptop in the mail. The surprising part is that I had no readers. The Dell rep found it on his own. They wanted to avoid this type of thing. I still

    • Someone, please, tell me that PC World is not that stupid. Tell me that web page belongs to someone other than the AC that submitted the original story and was latter identified only as "Tikka". It violates their own store policy [pcworld.co.uk]. Their PR people told The Register they would take care of it. Tell me the video was taken days ago. I'd really rather hear anything other than some self important moron is making life difficult for a Linux user, against store policy, common decency and half the internet's out

      • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

        by calebt3 ( 1098475 )
        He's (Tank) lucky that his email address wasn't included in the post. Give me a few minutes...
        • If he's a manager at PC World, I find it very unlikely that he would have an e-mail address, or know how to connect to it if it existed.

      • Someone, please, tell me that PC World is not that stupid. Tell me that web page belongs to someone other than the AC that submitted the original story and was latter identified only as "Tikka". It violates their own store policy. Their PR people told The Register they would take care of it. Tell me the video was taken days ago. I'd really rather hear anything other than some self important moron is making life difficult for a Linux user, against store policy, common decency and half the internet's outrage. No? Poor Mr. Tank.

        Nope. PC World are that bad. After years of experience with the various Dixons group stores, including working for one of the chains for a few years, I washed my hands of them.

    • I am so sorry I was right (EU Law notwithstanding)... these are the hassles with hinge issues.

      And, all you EU folks who jumped on me last time - when I said this would happen, don't jump on me again with how the law will help them now.

      I'm not disputing whether the law is on his side or not... we covered that extensively last time around. But honestly, perhaps there is a better method than getting back on your high-horse about what's legal; because obviously that doesnt matter - INSTEAD (THOSE OF YOU IN

      • Correlaries perhaps...

        Those in the EU debating this and that back and forth could hopefully instead spend some time finding legal correlaries (that actually apply) to help this person - for instance, in the US, they invalidated clauses in vehicle warranties that required you HAD to take it back to the manufacturer for such regular maintenace as oil changes...

        Are there similar correlaries in EU law? Someone over there has to know, so this person has something else to arm them with... something that fits

    • He should get a friend to loan him a laptop, load up the statement from PC World on it, and walk into the store with it displayed. Show that to the manager and see how resistant he is.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by deniable ( 76198 )
        Why use your own machine? Use their demo machines. Ask one of the helpful sales staff if he can sell you a machine that can play your presentation. And make sure the speakers are good and loud.
    • Someone needs to explain to PC world that their bad service is the 8th highest story on digg.

      How many people read digg?
    • When I heard about a store suddenly making and about-face and deciding to provide better service to a customer named "Tikka," I could only assume it was a corporate account [tikka.fi].

  • Make sure to tag this (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    as twitter [slashdot.org] , just like the other [slashdot.org] ones [slashdot.org]. Avoid people who game Slashdot with multiple sockpuppets [slashdot.org] and open proxies.

    • Really Cool! (Score:1, Offtopic)

      by Erris ( 531066 )

      A second post from an AC mentions the fabulous twitter and you have managed to create a tag that will point to more good stories in the future. Keep advertising my friend twitter [slashdot.org].

      Everyone else should check out the Vista Failure Log [slashdot.org] these AC's hate so much. It and most of what twitter posts is more intersting than a story about some clueless and rude manager at a big box store.

      If you want to read some really intersting news, visit Stallman's Blog [stallman.org], which is updated every other day.

  • we're sooo sorry! (Score:5, Funny)

    by v1 ( 525388 ) on Saturday September 15, 2007 @08:34PM (#20621013) Homepage Journal
    We'd like to apologize for getting an unexpectedly large backlash due to our usual behavior of being dicks to the linux users. In the future we will strive to continue our inexcusable treatment of our linux based customers without attracting such public negative PR in the process. Thank you for your support in these difficult times!

  • Only a misunderstanding if you get caught. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by SeaFox ( 739806 ) on Saturday September 15, 2007 @08:34PM (#20621017)
    And the question on everyone's mind is "Would this have happened had the plight not been so well discussed on the internet?"

    Also, how many other people have already been turned away for hardware warranty repairs based on what software was on their machine?

    • Re:Only a misunderstanding if you get caught. (Score:4, Insightful)

      by VirusEqualsVeryYes ( 981719 ) on Sunday September 16, 2007 @01:08AM (#20622665)

      And the question on everyone's mind is "Would this have happened had the plight not been so well discussed on the internet?"
      Hardly. I think pretty much everyone here realizes that the reason for the change of heart was the publicity on the Internet. If you're an idealistic optimist, you might try to believe that the higher-ups heard about it through the Internet and righted the wrong simply from hearing about it, but the rest of us have enough experience with these Internet-spread stories of fuckups that it's the bad publicity that causes the higher-ups to take a correctional course of action.

      This isn't about Linux. It never was. Linux just happened to serve as an excuse for denial of service. This regularly happens to non-techie customers who don't install alternate OSs. To consumers of all sorts of electronic products. They STILL get denied service. They get convinced by customer "service" that the product is not eligible for free or low-cost repair.

      The thing is, American customer service is much like American insurance -- it's nothing but a financial black hole in the eyes of the bean counters. It's about saving a little money now. Every payment, every reimbursement, every repair denied is a few bucks saved. Who cares if the customer is unsatisfied? The corporations certainly don't ... until the customer's story makes it big on the intarwebs and thousands of people start talking about it. Oops, bad publicity causes loads of lost sales! So they better fix it so the plebians don't switch brands!

      It's all about the numbers. Denying service to customers saves a little bit each time. If the rate of lost sales because of individual angry customers is less than the money saved from denial of service, it's a win. It's only in their interest -- or rather, the interest of their bottom line -- to service the customer if the angry customer breeds anger among many more customers, say via the Internet, and causes many lost sales that far exceed the costs of the simple customer care they should have provided in the first place.

      This is capitalist shortsightedness at its worst. Bad word of mouth hurts more in the long run. Satisfaction leads to good word of mouth which leads to more sales. As a personal example, I always make a note to people about how phenomenal Nintendo customer service is. I tell them about a problem, they fix it immediately. I know for a fact that my advice has caused a few more sales of Wiis rather than (usually) PS2s. See, since Nintendo didn't penny-pinch with the cost of repairs for my system, they indirectly made more money through my satisfaction. This is foresight that I wish American companies had. I think we'd all be happier for it.

      • The thing is, American customer service is much like American insurance -- it's nothing but a financial black hole in the eyes of the bean counters.

        That depends a whole lot on where you shop. The kind of service you want is expensive; you can't get it at value stores because there isn't enough margin to support the cost. There are a lot of companies out there who know how important customer service is, and who provide it in order to keep customers like you.

        It's about saving a little money now.

        It turns out

    • That depends. It's not the internet that fixed this, so much as having high quality leverage. If you know how, you can turn these things around in other ways. For example, I would simply go get a pad of paper and a pencil, then go back to the manager, get his full name, the precise title of his official position, the store number, and the name of his boss, in that specific order. If he refused to give any of that data, I'd simply say "sir, if I don't get your boss' name through you, I'll get it through

  • Don't shop at PC World (Score:4, Informative)

    by GreatDrok ( 684119 ) on Saturday September 15, 2007 @08:37PM (#20621027) Journal
    The moral of this story is to stay away from PC World. They over price all their components and the machines they sell are crap by and large. They exist to take money from the ignorant and their attitude when their product inevitably breaks is dreadful. The anti-linux attitude is old news as I experienced similar treatment at the PC World in Edinburgh when I had a keyboard fail on my laptop with Linux installed. Fortunately I had XP on it too and was able to prove that the fault wasn't due to Linux.

    Sadly, PC World has also put a lot of the good little computer stores out of business which is why they can behave so badly.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by MrNemesis ( 587188 )
      For the most part I'd agree with you - but IMHO the appalling treatment of customers starts the second you walk through the door.

      PC World employees are, by and large, not the sharpest tools in the box, and their managers are typically worse. They flat out LIE to cusomters about the products they're pushing, and use FUD to cajole people into buying things. Their components sales are horrifically overpriced. Last time I bought a network cable there it was £12 (~$25) for a 3m Cat5. I've heard someone tel

    • Fortunately I had XP on it too and was able to prove that the fault wasn't due to Linux.

      Wait -- your keyboard didn't work, and you had to prove it with an operating system?

      Have these fucktards never heard of a BIOS??

  • Not surprised... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by cyberjock1980 ( 1131059 ) on Saturday September 15, 2007 @08:37PM (#20621039)
    So PC World pissed off a geek. He told all his geek buddies. Word got around and now PC World has either changed their mind, or announced their mistake as loud as they can for fear of reprisal from tons of geeks. Why am I not surprised? I'm sure they want to stay in business, and even if that was their policy, i'm sure it changed VERY quickly because the community they target is the same community that's now talking bad about them. Change their policy or risk going out of business? Slashdot wins! PC World - 0 Slashdot - 1

    • Re:Not surprised... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by dfgchgfxrjtdhgh.jjhv ( 951946 ) on Saturday September 15, 2007 @08:52PM (#20621131) Homepage
      sorry, but pc world dont target geeks, they target people that don't know any geeks at all & have more money than sense.

      i'm amazed that a pc world customer had heard of linux, nevermind installed it.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by BiggyP ( 466507 )
        Even if they know a geek they'll still head into PC world because the cretinous staff on their shop floor and behind the support desk are far less threatening than someone who might once or twice tell them not to install random crap they see advertised on the web and explain that installing said crap is the reason they'll be taking the laptop back to PC world to have it wiped completely clean as windows will no longer boot, even into safe mode.

        Hateful people.
        • But the definition of 'geek' varies from person to person.

          To my mom a geek is: Someone that can fix my computer when it breaks.

          To me it means: Someone that has an understanding of what computer parts are needed to assemble one from scratch and has a THOROUGH understanding of computers.

          TO PC world it might mean:

          1. They want to be able to fix computers. Not today, and not tomorrow, but someday, maybe.
          2. They know how to turn it on and off and know when it doesn't boot up it's broken and needs fixed.
          3. The

      • i'm amazed that a pc world customer had heard of linux, nevermind installed it.


        Too right! It has to say something about how ready linux is for the ordinary person when someone who buys from PC World can install and run it.

        Unless it was Linspire, of course.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by Machtyn ( 759119 )
        The crazy thing about linux is that it can be as easy or as hard to install as you want it to be. Ubuntu is easier and faster the Windows XP. Gentoo is almost the most difficult to install (but you have many choices!)

        Also, don't be surprised that there are geeks out there who recognize a bargain pc/laptop at a big chain when they see one. Best Buy doesn't have a line around their stores on Black Friday for nothing.

      • Re:Not surprised... (Score:4, Interesting)

        by turing_m ( 1030530 ) on Sunday September 16, 2007 @04:02AM (#20623585)
        I'm routinely amazed at people who run linux and people who have never heard of it. I've sent away a laptop to be repaired and told that the hard drive has died when I knew it had a perfectly good linux install on it and that it was not the source of the problem. You'd think most electronics repair geeks would have some experience, but not this guy, even though he advertised his business on the web.

        And then you get random blue collar workers running it because it can revive old hardware, it helps them get more from their tiny discretionary income, and it helps them do their job when they have management that will never give them approval to buy software.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Tim C ( 15259 )
        i'm amazed that a pc world customer had heard of linux, nevermind installed it

        I've bought two PCs from PC World over the course of the last 5 years or so. I don't use Linux now, but for a couple of years it was my primary OS. In my time I've upgraded my kernel and gcc from source, manually upgrade from libc5 to glibc, hand-hacked modeline entries in my XF86Config file when my monitor wasn't detected properly, etc.

        So, having established some geek credibility, why'd I buy from PC World? Simple - they had a sa

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by HiThere ( 15173 )
      Well...the reason that they'll *announce* changing their policy.

      Never forget that it's easier to announce that you're changing a policy than to actually do so.

  • Good (Score:4, Insightful)

    by betterunixthanunix ( 980855 ) on Saturday September 15, 2007 @08:40PM (#20621059)
    I have wondered for a while what sort of warranty issues surround installing Linux. In the Microsoft mindset, software is considered part of the computer, and therefore replacing it would be analogous to replacing a hardware piece which would naturally void the warranty. Personally, I have always viewed installing Linux as being on the same level as installing any other software; saying it voids the warranty is, in my opinion, like saying that replacing a factory installed MS Office trial with some other office suite would void the warranty.

    Also, this is evidence that Linux systems are gaining ground -- issues like this are "growing pains."

    • Re: (Score:1, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward

      it would be analogous to replacing a hardware piece which would naturally void the warranty.

      This is wrong. In the US, at least, it is illegal to deny warranty coverage for any hardware modification which is not directly linked to the malfunction. For example, if you replace your hard drive and it subsequently blows your ATA controller then they don't have to fix that, but it is illegal for them to refuse to fix your screen if it is also defective.

      Replacing the software will void the warranty on any compone

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by HiThere ( 15173 )
        That may be the law, IANAL, so I couldn't say. It's not the practice.

        One of the reasons that I didn't buy a Gateway when they had a local store was their warranty coverage policy. Fortunately, I checked before I bought.

        Although, thinking about it, you may be technically correct. I believe that their statement was to the effect that in order to get warranty coverage I had to either restore the machine to it's original condition or allow them to do so. Including wiping *ALL* files on the hard disk and ref
      • 1.) Someone mod this AC up!
        2.) Thanks for this clarification, I did not know that was the case. I always thought that is the way things SHOULD be, but it is somewhat rare in this country that the way things "should be" coincides with they way things "are."
      • to spout incorrect crap without citing any source.

        In the US, a warrantor can say the whole warranty is nullified if you hang fuzzy dice off the corner of your screen. The only thing they need to do is state so in plain terms. Read the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act [house.gov], if you want to know.

        Most of the "they can't do X" crap, like the AC's comment, stems from a misinterpretation of one specific part of the act"

        No warrantor of a consumer product may condition his written or implied warranty of such product on t

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by guruevi ( 827432 )
      That's right. In the MICROSOFT mindset. For everybody else of course, replacing software or even firmware shouldn't void your warranty. Most hardware is also user-replaceable. Somebody you wouldn't expect it off... Apple ... has the designation "user replaceable hardware" for hard drives, ram, wireless cards and batteries in most if not all of their computer products, even iBook's and other notebooks which are (out of experience) quite difficult to take apart and if within (extended) warranty or recalls wil

    • The Microsoft mindset does not determine law (Score:4, Informative)

      by cheros ( 223479 ) on Sunday September 16, 2007 @01:25AM (#20622773)
      This was a UK incident, and the customer in the UK is pretty well protected against this sort of nonsense (caveat: as demonstrated, they will still have to put effort in - retailers still don't seem to care enough not to piss off their customers). The shop effectively broke the law by refusing to repair the laptop (but why did the guy not contact the manufacturer directly instead?).

      I specifically state 'UK' here because that's the only country I know this for sure of. It's pretty reasonable to assume this sort of protection is available elsewhere as well. What you suggest would amount to an override of local law which is impossible. You can't even get rid of such a law in small print in the contract as it will be found invalid in court - not that everyone + dog in business doesn't try..

      I had Dolphin Kitchens try to pull a fast one on me that way, all the way to a 'regional manager' telling me that I signed and it was thus valid. I spoke to Trading Standards and approximately 15 minutes after they had a little chat with the company I got a phone call claiming a 'trainee manager' error. The moment I hear that excuse the company's off my list. If they can't even be upfront and tell me they screwed up I can't invest any trust in them.

      The incident response of "it was a mistake" is total and utter BS. I'm pretty sure that the customer will have asked for a manager to discuss this, and said manager will have told him the same which suggest it's company policy (not store, COMPANY policy) rather than "a mistake".

      I think the only mistake they feel they will have made is not even the public relations hit because it's mainly on geek sites and sufficiently 'geeky' customers avoid that shop anyway unless it's something simple. No, the mistake they feel they have made is attracting Trading Standards and Consumer Direct's attention to the store - no store likes to be picked over by a Government department proving they're needed, especially if the validity of the complaint is well above doubt.

      So, if you want to do anything I would suggest telling you NON-geek friends. See if your local newspaper wants to carry the story..
      • The reason he didn't go to the manufacturer is presumably that by law, it is the retailer who is responsible, and the manufacturer doesn't have to do anything. Sometimes they do, in the interests of good customer relations, but they don't have to.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by namgge ( 777284 )

        The shop effectively broke the law by refusing to repair the laptop (but why did the guy not contact the manufacturer directly instead?).

        Probably because in the UK the relevant consumer rights only apply to the contract between you and the retailer you bought the product from. The origninal manufacturers may offer an additional warranty but as you have no contract with them you have no remedy against them if they refuse to honour it. (You'd have to sue the retailer and claim that the manufacturer's warranty was an essential part of the reason for the purchase.)

        IME (in the UK) in consumer disputes any action that is not focused on working

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by jimicus ( 737525 )
          If you did use credit as part of the purchase you are in clover. Credit card companies won't let themselves end up in court because some dodgy retailer. They settle with the consumer as soon as they know you're serious and then recover the money from the retailer. I find this provision in consumer law particularly great. The PC World manager may be trying to screw you, but you know that his destiny is to end up bent over with a bull elephant called Visa about to go to work on him. Priceless!

          You are quite co
        • The protection by the Consumer Credit Act is one of the reasons I explicitly try to buy things on credit (with a non-charge period, obviously). I don't need (nor want) the credit, but the extra protection is rather helpful if things fail in the first 30 days and -admittedly unfair to the reseller- you can even just change your mind and they'll have to roll it back. No "restocking charges", no "you can buy something of the same value" - none of that. Money. Back.

          Having said that, the few times I had to us

  • Riiiiight (Score:3, Informative)

    by Romancer ( 19668 ) <`moc.roodshtaed' `ta' `recnamor'> on Saturday September 15, 2007 @08:40PM (#20621067) Journal
    A mistake, that's it.

    And I'm sure that there was some policy that they can quote to back up that "misunderstanding" and it was a totally isolated event.

    Pretty cut and dry denial of warranty of hardware based on software. If the manager denies service it's not a misunderstanding it's policy. Unless they can show the documents that the manager specifically didn't follow, it's a case of consumer backlash changing a companies operating practices.

    I'll believe the "misunderstanding" cop out for the responsibility when they can show policy documents that state that the OS doesn't matter in cases of obvious hardware defect. If they've got that on file, if it was a misunderstanding and every higher level employee involved in that case goes back through basic training for service repair qualification, I'll believe it.

  • As usual... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Speare ( 84249 ) on Saturday September 15, 2007 @08:41PM (#20621069) Homepage Journal

    A junior employee or contractor made an error that is against our policy.

    Translated:
    A local store manager is foolishly given broad discretion to run the local store and making ass-pulled risk estimates such as "this guy can't possibly escalate his complaint from porch-seat grumbling to global public-relations catastrophe."

  • Once more it pays to be well connected in the online community. Now if only this would work with the IRS and DMV.
    • Oh no, the DMV is running Mac OS and the IRS uses Google apps, so they will never feel the heat from Slashdot.

    • I've found what works on the DMV. It's called hiring a lawyer. And it costs $1000.

      But it does work. The DMV screwed me, I went to trial the other day and they couldn't come up with any evidence (they were in the wrong). That's 3 points that didn't get on my license.

      I'm doing something similar with the IRS. To get the best deal I can out of them involves hiring accountants and lawyers and costs thousands, but it will save me three times what it costs.

  • Yuck editors, trolls ahoy (Score:1, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    This is an interesting story, but must it come from "Erris"? He's the owner of the "twitter" account, and a known troll. The editors should be on the lookout for these things.
  • It was simply an excuse to turn away a customer so that one less laptop would have to be worked on .

    Laziness at work.
  • His name shouldn't be G. Tank.. it should be Tommy Tank

    (english rhyming slang for you yanks)

  • I'm sure this has been said already (Score:3, Funny)

    by Neuropol ( 665537 ) on Saturday September 15, 2007 @09:40PM (#20621445) Homepage
    but i'm certain linux caused this cracking of the hinge. if the user had continued to run windows, it would have actually gone the way of Christine, the Stephen King novel car character, and repaired itself magically.

  • How to fix all of this (Score:5, Funny)

    by SlappyBastard ( 961143 ) on Saturday September 15, 2007 @10:39PM (#20621803) Homepage

    Take a crowbar and a fish. Pry the broken hinge open so as to free the penguin, then toss the fish to give the penguin an incentive to get out of the laptop. You may need to clean out the accumulated penguin filth.

    Then take the laptop to a replacement window specialist to put windows back in the laptop. Once that is done, take the laptop to have the hinge serviced. Tada! all is well.

  • Dear PC Superstore Customer,

    Our bad.

    Sincerely,
    The Management
  • Since when the fook is a hinge anything but a hardware issue, not requiring powering the machine up (other than near the end to confirm all jacks got plugged before turning all screws)?

    There was one time a Radio Shack district manager gave me the "Oh, we don't support Apples" song and dance when the item I came in to purchase was a DB9-to-DB25 serial cable off the shelf for my external modem.

    And then there was the time I actually had to say to a salesperson, "Okay, let's forget I mentioned what kind of mach
  • if the owner of the Storm Botnet read /. and if we can convince him/her to launch a DDoS against PC World...
  • at this point.. simply repairing the laptop is not enough.
  • If you go to their web site and follow the 'For careers at PC World click here' link, it takes you to another company called DSGi plc [dsgiplc.com] :

    You might then also notice on the 'Job Opportunities' menu references to Currys and Dixons. They are other high street tech stores in the UK.

    I can't help but wonder if Curry's and Dixons' customer support is equally poor.
    • Aren't they all owned by the same company?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by jimicus ( 737525 )
      It is.

      A former colleague of mine had terrible trouble with a TV he purchased from Currys. It took about 3 or 4 months to sort out, with him having to take a day off every few weeks to sit at home waiting for them to deliver replacement/pick up broken TV.

      Worked out OK in the end - they sent him one worth 3 times what he originally paid. I think he must have got through to the one person in the customer service department who really did care. Even then, they were probably on their last day at work so there
  • Step 4. reinstall windows oem and bring it back to the store and say it was a theme you idiot.
  • Even if they 'made it right' later, being *this* incompetent up front is worrisome and ill be sure not to purchase from them, ever.

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