Between You, Me and the Lamp Post
Day 2: Choosing a laptop
Yesterday I mentioned that I
had purchased a new laptop. Today I would like to tell you how that purchase
came about.
My old laptop was getting
really slow. Whether it was starting up, shutting down or opening programs, it
took forever. After a few weeks, I got so fed up that it became clear that my
laptop’s days were numbered.
While I was downtown Toronto
I dropped by Best Buy and had a look at their laptop section. Oh my goodness
and what a joy, there were so many models I flitted from one laptop to another like
a butterfly flutters from flower to flower.
It soon became clear though
that not all laptops were suitable. Some were too small, others too expensive, while
with others still, I didn’t like the keyboard.
The keyboard of a laptop is
very important to me. I insist on soft touch. So when I saw a computer I
liked I pretended to type something, to feel the softness of the keys. People
who watched me must have wondered what on earth I was up to.
When my son joined me in the
store and learned which laptop I liked the best he said not to buy at Best Buy,
he had seen that very same laptop at Costco for $100 less.
At Costco the choice in
laptops was limited, but since I already had a preference the purchase was made
within minutes. Or so I thought. As it turned out, Costco didn’t have that
particular model in stock but they did have another model, for $50 more. Fine I
would pay the extra $50.
Pleased with my purchase I
returned home. My new found joy didn’t last long though. Once the laptop had gone
through its formatting and I started typing, the cursor jumped all over the page
due to constant contact with the touchpad. I tried to fix it, I tried to
disable the touchpad, I even chatted with someone from the Hewlett Packard support
team, but the touchpad wouldn’t be beaten. To cut a long story short, I returned
the laptop and got a refund.
Back at square one, I went
online in search of a computer. After a lot of browsing, I ended up at the Best
Buy website where an Acer laptop was on special with a $150 discount. Wow,
what a stroke of luck. My current laptop was an Acer and I had been very happy
with his service. So why not go again with an Acer?
I placed the order and three
days later the laptop arrived, neatly wrapped in protective paper and a firm
cardboard box. While the cats checked out the box, the computer was duly
formatted for use.
It took a long, long time for the machine to be ready and
when it finally was … what a disappointment. Not only was the new laptop slow,
slower than my old machine, but the keyboard was horrible. Horrible with a
capital H. It was like typing on an old fashioned typewriter. Not tik, tik,
tik, but tok, tok, tok.
I wondered what to do and
always came to the same conclusion … the laptop would have to go. If this was
something I would use for a day, a week or even a month it wouldn’t have
bothered me, but a laptop is good for a few years, and considering the amount
of money I spend, I felt that I deserved satisfaction. So, off I went again to
return a laptop.
This time I went to a different
Best Buy though, one in Scarborough. When I entered the store I thought I had
died and gone to computer heaven … so many computers, this store had even more laptops
than the one downtown.
Before we could make an
exchange though we had to visit the Geek Squad who had to check the laptop. They
gave it their seal of approval and now we could go to the customer service
counter.
And would you believe it, we encountered a self-important little bitch
(pardon my French). She told us that if we bought another Acer laptop she would
agree to an exchange, but if we went for another make of laptop she would not.
I tried to reason with her, but the 5 feet something 20 something-year-old
would not budge.
Well, we would see about
that. She might be a little bitch but I can be a big bitch and this slip of a
girl had nothing on me.
At the laptop section of
Best Buy I once again flitted around from one model to another. “Too slow,” my
son said when I indicated a machine a liked. “Not enough memory,” son dear said
when I selected another.
Eventually, a very nice Indian chap joined us who was
of great assistance. So that’s how I eventually selected my dear Fred, a 15” Lenovo
with enough memory, suitable speed and a keyboard so soft it feels like typing
on marshmallows.
Dieter also liked the
machine and decided to get one for himself. So now the nice Indian chap had not
made one sale but two. Off he went to find two Lenovo laptops from the storage
facility and we waited on one of the couches.
As I sat there and looked
around, I wondered why there are only black and silver laptops? Why not blue,
or lilac, or even a cheerful yellow. “Because guys won’t buy a colorful
computer,” Dieter said. Well, what kind of reasoning was that? Women buy
computers too and I’m sure they would prefer a nice color versus a boring
black.
Yes, I know, Apple has
beautiful white laptops, but an Apple was not in my budget. I looked at one and
was on the verge of falling in love when I noticed the price tag … good Lord, did
this machine come with a matching printer and desk!
When our nice Indian man returned
he had a smile on his face and two boxes in his hands … our Lenovo laptops. Once
again off we went to the customer service desk to trade in the Acer laptops and
pay for the Lenovo laptops. I wondered what would happen … would the bitchy
girl accept the exchange?
Fortunately, the girl was
nowhere to be seen and a young man had taken her place. Ah, things were looking up. The man didn’t even blink. He accepted the Acer laptops, prepared payment for the
Lenovo laptops and …
Just as the sale was about
to be finalized, the bitchy girl made an appearance. She slithered over like a
snake and hissed something in the young man’s ear. There was a brief discussion
during which I held my breath. If she was about to make trouble, I was prepared
to go into battle. She may be head of the customer service, but I was a customer
and as we all know, the customer is king (and I felt like a queen). Mentally I put on my boxing gloves ... bring it on
little girl.
As things turned out, I didn’t
have to say or do anything. The nice young man send her off with a flea in her
ear, she made a quick retreat and we walked out with our laptops.
Ah, sometimes life is good.
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