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Why is trying to buy an Acer so difficult? |
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Wednesday, 26 January 2011 |
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This blog is turning into a place where I can rant about things I don't
like. Generally I try to avoid doing that but when I can be informative
about a technology/supplier or similar then I can get away with it. In
this case it is my dealings with a supplier and it continues on with the
7720 overheating saga.
My previous Acer Gemstone 7720g overheated as it had an NVidia 8400M GS
graphics card. Not a good advert for a machine but I went out and bought
another regardless. Why, because it is far better to have the same
system to swap the hard drive(s) into than to have to software build
another laptop from scratch.
So, I bought the laptop from a supplier on the top page of Google,
SimplyAcer.
I tried to purchase it on the web but it did not like my card for some
reason. Kept rejecting it even though there was bags of cash and all the
details checked out... Natwest secure code was OK, the card rejection
had something to do with the first line of my address. I can use the
card everywhere else so what's the problem? The problem for me is that
SimplyAcer don't take orders over the phone.
I needed the laptop for Monday (it was Friday morning) so some frantic
rejigging of money into various accounts meant I could use another card.
Unfortunately the 7720 was gone from their site having been bought and
it seemed it was the only one of that type in stock, not really
surprising given that the Acer 7720 is now at least a 2 year old design.
Trouble is the person at SimplyAcer was the worst customer-facing sales
representative that I have met in a long time. All her responses were
monosyllabic and were toned in the most truculent manner she could
muster. It was if Mr. Acer had left his annoying 15 year old 'teen'
daughter to man the sales desk. She almost lost the sale and it was only
because I was desperate that I tried again. The price was very good, a
grade A refurbished laptop, the keyboard was as good as new, a little
wear on the Windows sticker on the underside of the machine but that was
it. £388, a snip. Maybe not, as it is really a second hand laptop but
for all intents and purposes it is the machine I needed.
I eventually got this unhelpful female (I imagined her to be fat,
smoking a 'fag' sitting cross-legged and reading Hello magazine) to
place an order herself which she did grudgingly. I then paid over the
net, all they had to do was to arrange delivery for Saturday morning. I
stayed up to the small hours dismantling the old machine, salvaging the
usable bits, removing the hard drives and memory. I prepared a work
surface ready for testing the new machine and sat ready to receive it
with the telephone ready in case the courier could not find the house.
12 o'clock the next day arrived but the laptop didn't, no phone call,
nothing on the courier's site. Just after 12 it bluntly stated that the
courier could not find my address. He hadn't tried very hard, I was
sitting awaiting a call but nothing came. As far as I am concerned, the
bloke didn't even try.
The laptop was finally delivered late Monday morning. I took a day off
work to be there for the courier and cancelled the demonstration meeting
where I was supposed to be using the laptop. That cost me.
I opened the box and checked it out, of course it was the wrong spec. I
almost expected it. No argument was sufficient to allow SimplyAcer to
admit that it was meant to ship with a Nvidia 8600m GT. It was fitted
with a 9300M G which isn't a patch on the 8600 GT. I tried to convince
them that it was definitely listed with the 8600GT and that during the
manual ordering process the spec. had somehow changed. They were having
none of it. I am not even so sure of it myself now. I don't know what
happened. What I do know is that I had sat in front of a specification
for a machine with an 8600m gt for two days and I had tried and tried to
order that.
However, one consolation, the chap I spoke was a delight in comparison
to the previous old boot who clearly hated my guts. He tried to help!
That was a surprise. Nothing came of his good intentions. As I said, no
argument was sufficient to allow SimplyAcer to admit that it was meant
to ship with a Nvidia 8600m GT.
My wife tells me the motto of the story is that if you want service then
buy from Waitrose or M&S where the service is always first class and the
products are too. I told her I don't think they sell Acer 7720g laptops...
The company was SimplyAcer and the courier was DPD couriers. I wasn't
impressed with either and the combination of the two left me with a
nasty taste in my mouth and with an experience I won't want to try again
in a hurry. I asked for compensation for the failed Saturday delivery
and a sweetener to keep me happy for the future bearing in mind that the
grumpy sales woman really pissed me off and I lost a day at work. I
don't care what it is but it may have an impact on me ever buying from
SimplyAcer again.
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