Windows 9X Special Interest Group

by John S. Krill NOCCC

Bad Shopping Day

Instead of ‘Bad Hair Days’ I have bad computer shopping days. This is one experience with one company and my efforts to buy a computer from them.

The name of the company shall not remain nameless because they were shameful and it should be reported. The company: Micron PC, Inc.

Here’s What Happened - November 1, 1999

A customer ask me to select a computer for them. I knew what their criteria was from my experiences with them. The customer also asked me to call the company and make the purchase for them. No problem I thought.

I always choose a name brand company and this time Micron had what the customer needed and at a very good price. The system we selected was advertised in the Nov. 16, 1999 edition of PC Magazine. The ad is on page 97. If you have the magazine then open it up and take a look at the Micron Millennia C400 system for $889 dollars. All it needed was a modem and they can be had anywhere for very little money.

I call Micron PC and start hitting telephone buttons until I get a real voice. I then tell sales person what I want. The first thing they do is get all the personal information: name, address, etc. After this is done they ask me what system I wanted. I told them again. They couldn’t find what I wanted in their computer. They had no information about ANY ads in any magazines, let alone the one I was looking at in PC Magazine. They wouldn’t sell me a Millennia C400 for $889 as seen in PC Magazine.

Micron Tries to ‘Smart Ass’ a ‘Smart Ass’

I talked to four different people at Micron, three claimed to be supervisors, and none of them knew anything about any ads in any magazines for Micron computers. One of these supervisors told me that if I read the FINE print in the ad that I would know that prices can change, and blah, blah, blah. I asked him how he could be sure of this because he had previously said that he hadn’t seen the ad so how could he know what the ad said.

Every time I get transferred to a different supervisor they ask me to describe the system I am trying to buy. The forth time I refused. As calmly as I can I tell this person that I am going to buy a computer system today and it will not be from Micron. I will buy the computer from Dell. Good-day.

[Note] The problem with the ad verses what Micron would sell was with the software. The ad listed Microsoft Office 2000 SBE and Micron would only give us Microsoft Works at the price listed in PC Magazine. That’s like getting an abandoned Ford Pinto instead of a used 1958 Cadillac. I wanted the gas guzzler.

This Is Not The End Of The Story

After calling Dell Computers and buying a system from them I decided to call PC Magazine and find out if they were interested in what happened to me when trying to buy a computer from Micron. They were. Here’s the rest of the story.

We’ll See About That

I was told that PC Magazine’s Account Manager for the Micron account would put in a call to the advertising agency that supplied the ad to see what they had to say. I will not hold my breath (at my age that’s not long anyway.)

I never heard back from PC Magazine and I had planned to call them back the following Monday but I first read an article by Jonathan Gaw in the Los Angeles Times Cutting Edge section titled, "Numerous Sites Let Outraged Consumers Grouse With a Mouse." Basically he reviews several sites on the Web where consumers can register their complaints they have with products and companies.

I decided to try one site in particular: Ugripe.com. Quoting Mr Gaw: "Palo Alto-based Ugripe.com (http://www.ugripe.com) capitalizes on the barriers corporations erect that make it difficult for customers to file a grievance and the Internet's power to break down those barriers. Complain to Ugripe.com, and they will, for free, go to the corporation and try to resolve the situation for you."

Here’s What Happened - November 8, 1999

You first have to register (just to get a username and password.) At the end of filing my complaint I had to give them my personal information. The procedure for filing a complaint is quick. I listed my complaint on Monday, November 8, 1999. Let’s see what happens.

Nothing, Zero, Nada, Zip - November 16, 1999

Well Ugripe.com passed my gripe on to Micron the day I posted the complaint at Ugripe.com. Ugripe.com will just continue to send the complaint to Micron on a weekly bases. How many times it sends the complaint before they try to personally contact Micron is not clearly stated.

To Be Continued . . .