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I really don't want to complain about Walmart. I mean, they did have a good quality router in stock, and the price was pretty good. And, on it's worst day, traffic at a small town Walmart is better than traffic at a large city, well, anything.
So, I got up to the register with my new router, and the cashier was prompted to ask me about an extended warranty. I was a little surprised. I picked up the box again, looked at it to make sure, and told her, "It comes with a lifetime warranty."
"This is extra," she offered.
"No, thanks," I replied. "Lifetime will be long enough."
I hope I don't end up regretting my decision.
Sucker.
ReplyDeleteWho's lifetime?
ReplyDeleteThe router's lifetime would be up to the time when it dies. Which could be tomorrow.
That it refers to the lifetime of the purchaser is an assumption. It pays to read the fine print.
What if they try to kill you so they won't have to pay for repairs?
ReplyDeleteI bet the one that died had a "lifetime warranty" too. It was printed on the box you threw away at the start of it's lifetime.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly enough, after Dell had provide no meaningful support for the Dell notebook that had died ten days earlier (and, they agreed, was covered under warranty), I went to the local WalMart and bought a (non-Dell) laptop. I also paid for two years of warranty from WalMart in addition to the one that came automatically, because I now trust WalMart for support more than I trust any computer manufacturer.
ReplyDeleteDell did finally get a new motherboard out and installed, 285 hours (three hours less than twelve days) from the time that I first called them. Time to buy puts on Dell's stock, I think.
Iowa Jim: I didn't own a laptop until 2004 and had no idea that the hard drives in them weren't expected to last more than about 3500 hours (according to my nerdy, CS-degreed, #1 son). So, in 2010, sure enough, the hard drive died - in several stages. I was just able to get important stuff off of it in time. Before it went, I managed to run a diagnostic on it (can't remember which one, now) and, sure enough, it had accumulated 3600 hours (I always let them go to sleep quickly).
ReplyDeleteSo, I bought a new drive (with better spec's, twice the buffered speed and density) and added more RAM and, voila!! Laptop better than new! I still have it today, 11 years later, (running XP) as my quick and dirty - and expendable - field computer.
So, I keep reminding myself: it's ALL expendable - including me!
BTW, Basil, I hope you didn't get one with one of those snoopy, Chinese back doors.
ReplyDeleteChinese? Don't be silly. It's Vietnamese.
ReplyDeleteVietnamese. Snoopy. They've eaten your lunch.
ReplyDeleteDid they also try to sell you batteries for your UPS, instead of just batteries for your laptop?
ReplyDeleteSo, what Wal-mart is telling me is that there's no wifi in the afterlife. Which apparently means we're all going to hell.
ReplyDeleteNew marketing idea...lifetime+10 years warranty. The original purchaser just needs to send it back and they get a brand new one with upgrades.
ReplyDeleteMy dad recently went to a store to buy a land line telephone. He couldn't find them and had to ask an employee for help. It occurred to me that we are approaching a day when the only place to buy a land line is going to be the internet. The future is weird.
ReplyDelete