My laptop celebrated its 5th birthday in June. It's lasted longer than my last relationship and roughly as many as the positive years of the relationship before that. And of course, this is the part where I mention that the screen has been struggling for a while and has gone beyond what I can reasonably tolerate. I could try to replace it for $50, but the knowledge that the average laptop's lifespan is three years, and an awareness that the power supply will be next, followed by the internal components, it is probably more cost effective to simply replace the entire machine right now while I have available funds than to throw good money after bad for the next year. And it's also reasonably likely that taking the screen apart to replace it would require a soldering iron and possibly the screen bezel would never go back together properly. The reality is, I need a functioning computer more than I need furniture or decent lighting in my apartment or a second good-on-paper-but-not-in-practice project that I manage to fail like the debacle of the thrift store shelves.
Five years ago, I paid $680 for a 2-in-1 touchscreen with a mid-range processor, mid-range RAM, more hard drive than I strictly needed, and in a brand that no longer makes consumer model laptops, which is disappointing because this is the longest lasting of the bunch. But, OK, I looked online, compared prices, scratched my head a lot, decided on a store and thought, "Maybe they have more models in store?" I do not know when I will get it into my head that a physical store has become a useless box with a bunch of shit I don't want, and absolutely nothing I might actually need and compromise will be absolutely necessary. But, into the store I went, assuming that, hey, it's been five years, maybe I can find something that's nearly what I had for half the price.
Wrong.
I was confused by what I was seeing, and decided I wanted to speak to someone. There were two couples in there, both slightly older than me, both blonde wives with their dudebros. They were swooped down upon. I stood there looking confused for five minutes before I was finally approached. I'm aware that I am usually ignored by sales people, and I typically appreciate it, but it always backfires when I *actually* want one. I dunno if I look poor or like I know what I'm doing even when I'm standing there trying to look like I have my thumb up my butt or if it's because I wasn't a dude, or what. But I've got him now, so I asked the saleskid, "Why, when the lifespan of a laptop is 3 years, am I seeing the exact same specs for almost the same prices I saw 5 years ago when I bought the last one?" And the kid goes, "Well, the technology is slowing."
"And the price remains the same because?"
"...Planned obsolescence. I can't do anything about that-"
"No, but you admitted to it, which I appreciate." And I did. Unfortunately, this is about the last thing this kid gets right.
"But I *can* offer you a support plan, in case anything happens. This one is good for four years-"
"My current laptop is 5 years old. If history repeats itself, that's a useless thing I've spent money on, isn't it?"
"Yeah, but, if it doesn't-"
"If it doesn't, would I avoid the risk by purchasing a nine hundred dollar machine?" He's a salesperson, he's listening for dollar amounts. I can back him into a corner if I'm pretending I am willing to spend more.
"Maybe. This model- " And sure enough, he points to the most expensive model on the floor, where I already know the only difference is that it has the highest end processor and twice the RAM, anything else is cosmetic except it hasn't really *got* any fancy cosmetics. It's not a touchscreen, it's not a 2-in-1, it hasn't got a fancy sound system or video card.
"That's more than I can afford to spend. But my point is, if I could afford that kind of money, why would I buy this machine plus the package, if I could, instead, get a higher quality piece of equipment?" I know, he has to do his sales bit but I was in no mood for it. I watch him deflate. "Listen, I don't have any money because it's a pandemic, and none of this was supposed to happen. I just wanted to be able to weigh my options." I point to the model I think I'm standing in front of, the one that I'd pretty much decided was what I'd probably buy, except that here in the store, it's advertised as being $80 less, and I can tell it isn't exactly the same laptop, but I can't confirm the processor in the system details and they're showing *two* separate advertised deals next to it. "Can you confirm that this model *is* the same as this one on your website?"
"Y-es."
"Then why is it $80 more online?"
"...Sometimes it happens that way? Of course if their price was lower, we would honour it, and if you wanted to purchase online, you could call the customer service line and request our price."
Frankly, all I wanted to do was go in, molest the three models of computers I'd already checked out online and then walk out of the store with one of them. I HATE buying things online, and am especially unimpressed now the mail has become ineffable. If I have any reservations about what I'm purchasing, I want to be able to see it and touch it first. So, no, I don't really want to do any of that.
"OK, so, here's my question. If this is the model, why does this one online have a ten key and this one right here doesn't?" I know he doesn't know, I know he just works there, but he's deep into his sales pitch, so, fine, I'm gonna treat him like a salesman and it's time for him to sell me on something.
"...I don't know. It has a ten key?"
"Yes. It's in the picture and listed in the specs."
I can also see that the model I'm staring at is also not the same size as the one online. It's a 14", not a 15". I like a 15". Usually it means it has a ten key, which I like, but I also prefer the slightly larger footprint. I am suspicious that there is something else going on here, because there is no logical reason for the exact same model, with free shipping, to cost LESS online. But I'm not going to say that. I need him to tell me.
"Oh. Well. Wait. This is *this* model." He points to the ad pricing for a cheaper model with lower specs. I am uninterested in lower specs because the processor speed on my existing laptop was low enough. I don't need more hard drive, I just want something that can work as fast as I can think.
"So it's not this model that's online, but you do have that model, and this price is good, and that price is for sure for the one that has a ten key?"
"I've never seen one, but that makes sense."
Time out. I keep saying kid, but this dude actually wasn't all *that* much younger than me. He was definitely in his late 20s. He is standing in the store trying to sell me a product that he hasn't seen, which, OK, sure, they're all in boxes someplace and stock is someone else's problem, that's not that unusual. But we are standing in the store and I am expressing doubt at what a product is and he's standing there going, "Yeah, I mean, I guess that's correct, but I'm not going to walk away and check. I'm not going to pull something up on some piece of technology and confirm this for you. I'm just gonna say that, sure, that seems right." And at that moment, he starts describing their return policy. All I wanted, dude, was for you to sell me on a thing. All you had to do was prove to me that I can save $80 dollars in the store, right now, today, and I would have walked out the door with the thing. And you didn't do it. You would rather I walk out the store with something I would have to bring back the second I got it home. Why?
OK. Well. Now I'm skeptical about the cost effective model that I had kind of decided was the one I should buy. However, in store, I also discovered that I preferred the design of my third choice. Like the most expensive model in the store, it's a brand that I don't really trust because while their business models are impressive, the home consumer one I had lasted two years. Unlike the laptop that lasted three years, it didn't need to be sent in several times under warranty and then slowly became a brick, it just fell apart. But, it wasn't that much more expensive and it had slightly higher specs than the mid-range model. (My "budget" option was dismissed for being the same brand as the mid-range, but with lower specs, and the laptop itself wasn't that great. If it was going to look that cheap, it had better have decent hardware in it.) However, if the one that looked like it was higher quality was on some kind of sale, I could very likely simply switch to that brand and walk out the door hoping it made it 2 or 3 years, because it would be more computer than one I bought five years ago and for a slightly lower price. If it was on sale. There's no price listed next to the model, and the only way I had been able to determine that it very likely *was* the model I was looking at online had been to check out the system specs before the saleskid finally noticed me.
"So, tell me this. Is this more expensive model the same as the price listed online? There's no tag."
"Very likely, yes."
At this point, all I can assume is that the kid is done with me, because AGAIN, all he had to do was say, "Let me go confirm that," and I still might have weighed the two and decided, "What the hell." And I would have exited the store with a laptop that was the highest processor, same amount of RAM, a solid state drive, and since it cost less than the model I'd purchased five years prior, and I would be trusting that the rest of it held up. But he didn't do that.
I work in customer service. I understand and am frequently exhausted that the entire function of the role is to solve problems for customers. Yes, you have to solve the problems within the framework of the demands of the company, but I wasn't trying to haggle this kid. I wasn't asking him to do anything impossible, all I was doing were expressing the doubts that separated me from buying a five to six hundred dollar piece of technology off him and walking out the door with it. His goal should have been to answer my dang questions, and the best he could do was go, "Yeah, sure, maybe?"
And he was clearly a computer sales kid. That was clearly his job. He was there wearing a dress shirt and tie while the lowly retail staff were wearing polos. I wasn't being much of a jerk. My agenda was different from his, because I wanted to walk out the door with a laptop I was convinced would at least survive two years, twice that if I got lucky, and within the price range I was looking at. In his, I walked out of the store as a sap who had been talked into buying a bunch of junk I didn't need and spending $1200, and all I can figure is that he checked out when it became clear that wasn't happening. If there'd been a lot of people in the store, maybe that would have made sense, but that wasn't the case. They had three computer customers (me and the two couples) and I was the one in the market to spend the most. The other two couples were buying cheaper models. Even if they were talked into the security package and the warranty and Office, they'd come out nearly the same amount I was proposing to spend on just the computer. And, as I said, I wasn't interested in a slower processor speed.
Maybe it's a situation where they actually give no fucks which computer you buy, and add-ons are the deal. If that's where they're making their money and that's where they need to tick boxes, I guess I see his point. I clearly wasn't interested in any of that and would have fought him, politely, until he dropped it. But it didn't feel like that, it felt like, "I've tried nothing and I'm all out of ideas!"
After leaving the office supply store, I went to the pharmacy. I needed to pick up my birth control. The only reason I'm taking it, at the moment, is so I don't have periods. Due to it being covered by insurance, I'm not allowed to call too soon. I tried refilling it 5 days in advance once and that was too soon, so now I just call it in the Saturday before I'm out and pick it up on Sunday. I tried the auto refill one month and they missed the refill date and I had to call them and make them process it manually, so I took two pills one day. When it's just to stave off the period, this doesn't bother me that much, but if I was actively having sex, I'd be pissed about this. I should not be more responsible than the dang pharmacy about a medication that requires you pretty much keep to the schedule if you don't wanna get pregananant.
So, anyway, trying to pick up a prescription. It's not there. Apparently, they need my doctor to order the refill. He did that. In May. It should have been for a year. And I didn't hear about it until Sunday at 4pm when I tried to collect the prescription. I still have no idea how I was supposed to know this. "Why does this need a second refill confirmation?" I ask. Pharmacy Tech asks Pharmacist what to do, and Pharmacist says, "Oh, well, we contacted them yesterday, but we didn't hear back. Um, you can call them right now and have them do it and maybe you'll have it Monday?" "It's Sunday, this is birth control." I stand there for bit while two dudes stare back at me.
Things they could have offered: "Would you like to pay out of pocket?" ($34.99, I'm not gonna suggest it myself, but if presented with the option probably would have caved and gone for it.) Or, my preference, "Would you like us to figure out what went wrong and make this right?" Or hell, I dunno, maybe there were other secret options I didn't know about because I'm not in the business of successfully distributing prescriptions. And I'm extra cranky because it's BIRTH CONTROL. It's not METH. I'm not selling it on the black market. I just don't want to feel like cranky, warmed over death for three or four days for funsies. Especially not when that's kind of how I feel any given day right now anyway.
Again, I assume they don't actually know why, but their system or my insurance created a barrier that means I could wear myself out to fix it for them, or I could just bleed this month. I made a decision.
No comments:
Post a Comment