Inspiron E1505/6400 Thoughts and More Bad Luck with Customer Support (Buy.com's Turn!)

Some quick-hitters:

- While standing in line at the Post Office, a creepy woman sat (yeah, sat) next to me in line. As the line moved on, she would slide herself forward, each time nearly kicking my legs with her feet.

- We dropped by Costco today, and somehow, we walked out with a $35 bill!!! All we had in our cart were some bread, some bananas, a box of croissants, a bag of potato chips, and some juice. I expect a call from Costco tomorrow, asking me what's going on.

- Man, I love this new laptop. Dual-core goodness, 2GB of RAM running in Dual Channel mode, 15.4" WXGA+ screen (1440x900 resolution), and this thing runs a heck of a lot cooler than my old Inspiron XPS M140. A more thorough review will come in the near future.

(By the way, I noticed my XPS, and now my 6400, has a MediaDirect button. I never did touch the button, until last night, when I learned what the button actually does. With the laptop powered off, hitting the MediaDirect button fires up a Media Center-like application that gives you access to your multimedia files. It also gives you access to an Outlook-type program, as well as a Powerpoint-type program. Neat idea, I must say, but probably not something I'd ever use again.)

- Another day, another fiasco with a company's customer service. This time, it's Buy.com. About a week ago, I purchased an item with two rebates advertised. I found out that I could not claim both rebates that same day, so I attempted to cancel my order. The cancellation didn't go through, and I was forced to accept delivery of the package (I couldn't refuse it, because USPS left it at my doorstep).

I called Buy.com today, asking them for a refund on my order. They rep I spoke to gave me an RMA number (the RMA number wasn't correct, as an email I got from Buy.com had a different RMA# from the one given to me), but refused to give me a prepaid shipping label for the return. I demanded one, citing that I only placed the order because of the two advertised rebates. The CSR wouldn't budge.

The CSR said that she would give me a credit for one of the rebates if I could procure a receipt showing both rebates, which was impossible, as one rebate was pulled at around the same time I completed the order. I asked if a screenshot of the item page would suffice, and the CSR said she would accept it. I found the screenshot, and then asked the CSR where to send the picture. The CSR then backed up, saying that she could only accept the receipt.

She then told me that I had to pack the item up and write the RMA# on the outside of the envelope. She made no mention of what else I needed to do to process the RMA: include the original packing slip, and ship using a trackable shipping service. I only found out about what I needed to do when I got an email from buy.com, confirming my RMA request (that's also when I found out that the RMA# the CSR gave me was incorrect).

I sent an email to buy.com support, explaining every way the CSR screwed up. I also mentioned that I shouldn't have had to pay for return shipping on an order for a misadvertised product. Buy.com's response was classic: they never acknowledged the errors the CSR made, and reiterated that I would not be getting a return shipping label. I angrily fired back, asking the next CSR to please acknowledge the screwup of the phone rep. This was their reply:

We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused to you. We work hard to ensure satisfaction. We look forward to helping you with all your shopping needs in the future. We are sorry you had this experience and want you to know we share your concern. Consumer satisfaction is most important to us, and we sincerely regret your recent experience with Buy.com product or promotion.

Gee, thanks!

(Argh...I just realized...I never wrote the RMA# on the package!!!)

I had lots more to say today, but I'm tired. Happy blogging!