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Newegg: No, We'll Totally Take Returns After You Install Linux

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Re: Newegg: No, We'll Totally Take Returns After You Install Linux

#41

Post by wtvanhest »

DanielStraight wrote: post #33
steve8918 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What they need is a post-mortem and a transparent analysis of the situation posted on their website, similar to what Heroku did with their outage. If they can show that the reason why this occurred was because of a break in a process, and this process was fixed, then I wouldn't have any problems with Newegg. If the refund was a one-off situation to quiet the public outcry, and they don't care about fixing their gener…

Why? Why is "we made a mistake, we're offering to fix it" not enough? What more could they say? Do you want the name of the rep who made the mistake? Do you want them fired? Neither one of these seems remotely reasonable, but I'm not sure what else you could want. It was a simple human error. Customer service agent was wrong about the policy. It happens.

What more could they say? Do you want the name of the rep who made the mistake? Do you want them fired? Neither one of these seems remotely reasonable, but I'm not sure what else you could want. It was a simple human error. Customer service agent was wrong about the policy. It happens.

You are making an assumption that it was human error. If it in fact was human error, they could state that and say that they also searched their database for the words Linux to make sure this hadn't happened with other reps.

[Added]: They could then make a public statement about the amount of times it had happened and the total refund they issued. If it happened to 100 users at $1,000/per user, then they could issue $100,000 in total refunds. Further they could state that installing another operating system does not ever void the warranty.

Re: Newegg: No, We'll Totally Take Returns After You Install Linux

#42

Post by papsosouid »

DanielStraight wrote: post #33
steve8918 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What they need is a post-mortem and a transparent analysis of the situation posted on their website, similar to what Heroku did with their outage. If they can show that the reason why this occurred was because of a break in a process, and this process was fixed, then I wouldn't have any problems with Newegg. If the refund was a one-off situation to quiet the public outcry, and they don't care about fixing their gener…

Why? Why is "we made a mistake, we're offering to fix it" not enough? What more could they say? Do you want the name of the rep who made the mistake? Do you want them fired? Neither one of these seems remotely reasonable, but I'm not sure what else you could want. It was a simple human error. Customer service agent was wrong about the policy. It happens.

>Why is "we made a mistake, we're offering to fix it" not enough?

Because I don't want to have to waste my time trying to drum up media attention when it happens to me.

>What more could they say?

Explain how this mistake happened in the first place, and what they are doing to prevent it from happening again. It doesn't help me that I may be able to publicly shame them into giving me an RMA. I want to know that I will, 100% for certain get an RMA without having to jump through hoops.

>It was a simple human error. Customer service agent was wrong about the policy

How do you know this? Who says it isn't policy to reject RMAs when another OS has been installed, and they only back down if someone creates a scene? Given those two possibilities, they need to demonstrate that it really was just a mistake, and that they are training their staff so it doesn't happen again. It isn't like this is an easy mistake to make.

Re: Newegg: No, We'll Totally Take Returns After You Install Linux

#43

Post by zitterbewegung »

steve8918 wrote: post #21
rfrey wrote: post #6

It's a remarkable (to me) number of comments to the OP saying they're glad Newegg refunded the money and apologized, but they would still never buy from them. Seems to me like Newegg acted quickly and unambiguously. The flip side of the "punish bad behaviour" coin is "reward correct behaviour". Maybe it was, as many commenters are suggesting, just the public shaming that got Newegg to act, but maybe not... in any eve…

What they need is a post-mortem and a transparent analysis of the situation posted on their website, similar to what Heroku did with their outage. If they can show that the reason why this occurred was because of a break in a process, and this process was fixed, then I wouldn't have any problems with Newegg. If the refund was a one-off situation to quiet the public outcry, and they don't care about fixing their gener…

Do you forget that Amazon basically deleted books from your Kindle (1984) ? It was ironic and it was in the news and they had pretty much the same response (we were sorry). For newegg its probably going to be the same way. People forget if its a one in a while.

Re: Newegg: No, We'll Totally Take Returns After You Install Linux

#45

Post by Udo »

incongruity wrote: post #39
Udo wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's an issue if you're sending in your stuff to RMA and you have to rely on your luck as to whether they exchange it or not. As a customer I would want to know what the policy actually is. This issue comes at a delicate time where a lot of people feel they are stripped of simple ownership rights for their digital devices, left completely at the mercy of huge companies who have a vested interest in being unhelpful.

But that's just it – why do you jump to the conclusion that one must rely on luck? One mistake doesn't necessarily indicate a pattern. I challenge you to name one retailer or other customer-facing that has never had a single problematic interaction with a customer. The good companies are the ones that don't make it a pattern and the good companies are the ones that fix problems directly.

That's not the point, I think you're misunderstanding my post. Either there is an official policy in place regarding custom OS installs (=certainty) or not (=randomness). It's not about whether a shop has problematic interactions and unfortunate screw-ups happening, because that's a given. The issue at hand is more specific than that.

Re: Newegg: No, We'll Totally Take Returns After You Install Linux

#46

Post by eeperson »

kamechan wrote: post #38
eeperson wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can already get pretty close to this with a Thinkpad. I have a Thinkpad T420 and it runs Debian Wheezy flawlessly. Of course you will have to make some tradeoffs in the weight/battery life department because Linux isn't as good about battery life. However, I am able to get about 5hrs with an extended battery and it still feels lighter than a 13in Macbook Pro. You can also replace the CD/DVD drive with an extra ba…

i have a t420 running arch, and am able to get 13 hours on idle and 10-12 doing work. posted something about how i did this here: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3564400

Thanks for the tip. I always wondered what kind of battery life I could get if I tweaked things.

Re: Newegg: No, We'll Totally Take Returns After You Install Linux

#47

Post by eropple »

papsosouid wrote: post #42
DanielStraight wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why? Why is "we made a mistake, we're offering to fix it" not enough? What more could they say? Do you want the name of the rep who made the mistake? Do you want them fired? Neither one of these seems remotely reasonable, but I'm not sure what else you could want. It was a simple human error. Customer service agent was wrong about the policy. It happens.

>Why is "we made a mistake, we're offering to fix it" not enough? Because I don't want to have to waste my time trying to drum up media attention when it happens to me. >What more could they say? Explain how this mistake happened in the first place, and what they are doing to prevent it from happening again. It doesn't help me that I may be able to publicly shame them into giving me an RMA. I want to know that I will…

>It was a simple human error. Customer service agent was wrong about the policy

How do you know this?

Personally, I know this because they've never given me a word of trouble on an RMA when I've done this, and Newegg's record is so staggeringly positive that I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

It feels like you're making a mountain out of a molehill here (it sort of reads like you have an axe to grind about them, but I'm not going to accuse you of it without proof), but as far as I'm concerned, Newegg has the credibility to leave it at "we screwed up, it's fixed" unless it reoccurs.

Re: Newegg: No, We'll Totally Take Returns After You Install Linux

#48

Post by trafficlight »

gamache wrote: post #35
rfrey wrote: post #6

It's a remarkable (to me) number of comments to the OP saying they're glad Newegg refunded the money and apologized, but they would still never buy from them. Seems to me like Newegg acted quickly and unambiguously. The flip side of the "punish bad behaviour" coin is "reward correct behaviour". Maybe it was, as many commenters are suggesting, just the public shaming that got Newegg to act, but maybe not... in any eve…

It's also remarkable to me that Newegg would become the target of an internet lynch mob. I know dozens of IT professionals and Newegg has done right by all of us for years. I can't think of another hardware retailer that's gotten better word of mouth. A company is allowed to make a mistake once in a while! This was resolved quickly and to the (internet loudmouth) customer's satisfaction. Let's give them credit.

Absolutely. I only order from Newegg if it at all possible. Their Returns Department is top notch.

Re: Newegg: No, We'll Totally Take Returns After You Install Linux

#49

Post by incongruity »

Udo wrote: post #45
incongruity wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But that's just it – why do you jump to the conclusion that one must rely on luck? One mistake doesn't necessarily indicate a pattern. I challenge you to name one retailer or other customer-facing that has never had a single problematic interaction with a customer. The good companies are the ones that don't make it a pattern and the good companies are the ones that fix problems directly.

That's not the point, I think you're misunderstanding my post. Either there is an official policy in place regarding custom OS installs (=certainty) or not (=randomness). It's not about whether a shop has problematic interactions and unfortunate screw-ups happening, because that's a given. The issue at hand is more specific than that.

Ah, yes, I was misunderstanding. Thanks for humoring me.

I see your point (now =) and maybe this is a central enough issue that they should specifically state it as a affirmative clause or whatever, but their policy was pretty specific about the causes for returns being rejected and thus anything outside of that would be accepted, one would presume.

Re: Newegg: No, We'll Totally Take Returns After You Install Linux

#50

Post by kamjam »

incongruity wrote: post #39
Udo wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's an issue if you're sending in your stuff to RMA and you have to rely on your luck as to whether they exchange it or not. As a customer I would want to know what the policy actually is. This issue comes at a delicate time where a lot of people feel they are stripped of simple ownership rights for their digital devices, left completely at the mercy of huge companies who have a vested interest in being unhelpful.

But that's just it – why do you jump to the conclusion that one must rely on luck? One mistake doesn't necessarily indicate a pattern. I challenge you to name one retailer or other customer-facing that has never had a single problematic interaction with a customer. The good companies are the ones that don't make it a pattern and the good companies are the ones that fix problems directly.

That's exactly what I was thinking. People appear to be making mountains out of mole hills! Looks like a one off, even I make the odd mistake every once in a while :D
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