Shopping in the 21st Century

(... or, how NOT to shop for a laptop.)

I've been living on borrowed time with my Dell laptop for a while now, so last week I decided it was time.

The thought of having a new laptop just fills me with glee. The thought of shopping for one, however, fills me with hives. I imagined myself wandering aimlessly around the big electronics chain, eyes glazed over and brain so foggy from option overload that I would have to come home and nap before I could go do the same thing at the competing chain(s).

That's why I was so pleased last Wednesday night when -- after just a few hours of comparison shopping online -- I zeroed in on the HP Pavilion dv4269us on sale at Circuit City for $999 ... after three rebates, of course. And -- BINGO -- thanks to the magic of technology, I could also see that my local store had it in stock. I decided I would just go get it the next morning. 'Oh, the Internet is such a beautiful thing,' I sighed as I drifted off contentedly to sleep.

Thursday morning, John suggested I go ahead and order it online for pick-up at the local store ... just to make sure they would have it set aside for me, he said. Cool.

After placing the order and waiting to receive my e-mail confirmation ... and waiting some more ... and showering and getting dressed ... and waiting some more ... and having a bagel ... I went back on the site, figured out how to call up my receipt, and printed it out so I could take it to the store as required ... precisely ten seconds before the store's email arrived.

John had some errands to run that morning also, so we headed out together in the pouring rain. First stop: Circuit City.

After waiting in line with all the gift-exchangers, I got up to the counter, gave the clerk my receipt, picture ID and credit card, and picked up my new HP laptop. Wow, that was easy, thought I.

John picked up the box, and -- since my hands were empty -- I somehow felt compelled to pick up the weekly sales circular on the way out. Then, to make matters worse, when John pulled over for gas on the way to Home Depot, I opened the circular ... and there it was. A better deal. A Toshiba Satellite M45-S269, also $999 ... with the same exact specs ... only this one had an extra 20GB of disk space (100 vs. 80) ... was four ounces lighter (hey don't laugh, that's a quarter pound) ... and required only two rebates.

"Nah ... it's not worth it,' I said to John, watching the rain pour down on the windshield.

"Well, we have to go right past there on the way home, we're not in a big rush, and we still have the box in the car," he replied. "We might as well go in and check it out."

After Home Depot, we circled back to Circuit City -- box in hand -- and headed straight to the laptops to take a quick peek at the Toshiba. Hmmm, I even like the way it looks better, too. So I decide I'm going to exchange the HP for the Toshiba.

Just then, a sales associate asks if we need any help. I ask if they have the Toshiba in stock. He goes off, comes back in a few minutes -- during which time I've already done some heavy bonding with my new machine -- and tells us we're in luck. There's one in stock.

We go back up to the front, stand in line again, and end up getting the same nice clerk who rang up the HP. I explain, give him the model number for the Toshiba, and he disappears into the back.

You know how your body just knows the precise instant when -- if a clerk hasn't already emerged from the back -- you're in for bad news? That's exactly the feeling I got just before he came out of the back room and said, "I have some bad news." They didn't have it. Apparently their systems were wrong on this one, and he had even called the warehouse from the back room to confirm that they're out of it. "But," he says cheerfully, "I can special-order it for you and you'll have it in a few days!"

Now that I've got my heart set on going home with a new laptop, I'm loathe to wait. I want it now! I ask if they have it at the location that's 40 minutes away. He checks. No. He checks every location in New Jersey. No. The system tells him there are more 'in transit,' though, and that means it won't be too much longer at all, he says.

Even though the two-year-old in me wants to throw a tantrum, the adult in me agrees to wait. After all, Daniel Goleman said being able to delay gratification is a sign of emotional intelligence. And, it is coming up on New Year's weekend, and I certainly have plenty of other things to do -- like building up inventory for the corporate sales that start Jan. 11. Besides, if the Dell's lasted almost six years already (hobbled though it is), it will certainly last another few days.

I return home empty-handed ... but dreaming of the moment when I will be reunited with my beloved.

That was last Thursday.

New Year's Eve came and went. No call. I don't sweat it. I'm sure it will be in early this week. In fact, I could swear I heard the guy say it would only be a day or two ...

Monday night, I post about how happy I am that the new Toshiba is on its way. My sense of anticipation is only elevated by Marilyn's comment about how fabulous this laptop is (her brother just bought one for her sister-in-law).

Tuesday, I got up, got dressed, and went into my office to turn on the Dell so it could boot up while I took Cloud out and got a cup of coffee. John had to go into NYC to meet with a recruiter and I had offered to drop him off at the train station that morning. Before heading out, I went to check my email, only to discover an ominous-looking message: 'The system has detected errors in your operating system and has restored the system to an earlier configuration (I'm paraphrasing). Press ENTER to restart.'

I press ENTER, not thinking much of it (and it's not like I have a choice anyway). I realize I'm in trouble, though, when the first thing I see after it boots is the old screen-saver that I replaced several months ago. Uh oh ... this can't be good, I thought, but I can see that all my files are there, even the ones I saved the previous day. Phew ... crisis averted! So what if it brought up my old screen-saver? It reminds me of summer, and that's good because it's sleeting, cold and windy outside. I drive John to the train.

I return home to find that, yes indeedy, all my files seem to be there. My internet and email, on the other hand, are not working. I reboot once or twice. No go. Well, at least John's out, so I use his laptop to check my email and catch up on blogs before launching into my long to-do list. While I'm at it, I reset the cable modem and our wireless router, too, just in case that's causing the hangup. Nope. I realize this is going to turn into a project, so I decide this is a good time to check on that Toshiba. It's been five days, after all.

I call Circuit City and, believe it or not, I get the very same clerk on the phone that helped me last week. He checks and says they're still 'in transit.'

"What does that mean, exactly?" I ask. "Does that mean it's literally on a truck making its way to the store as we speak?"

"No," he says. "It means the computers are on our way to our warehouse, and after they get there, they'll be shipped to the store."

"Oh! So it could actually be more than a day or two, right?"

That's when he tells me he can't really tell for sure, but that it will 'hopefully not be too much longer,' nonchalantly mentioning that although this model's being discontinued, they are still available and that it will come in. He just can't tell me when exactly.

I hop online and check BestBuy and CompUSA to see if they have the laptop for the same price. They don't. It's at least $200 more everywhere else. Or, better said, it's the same price everywhere else, but they don't have the rebates. That's when I decide that maybe I should have left well enough alone when I had the HP in my hot little hands, and go back to the Circuit City site to see if they still have it. They had it last Thursday, so I'm sure they must, right? Everybody's been too busy celebrating New Year's and taking down their Christmas trees, right?

Wrong. They don't have it at my local store anymore, but this week the HP is $50 cheaper after the rebates: $949 (and this week it only requires two rebates instead of three). Without even asking, the site tells me it's available at the store 40 minutes away. The weather's crappy, but now that the Dell has decided to take revenge and cut me off, I really need the new laptop!

By now, John is headed back from New York, so I pick him up at the train station and we head up to the store. They have it in stock, and as a bonus, there's a great music store right next door, which makes John's day. He's wanted to learn how to play the bass since he was in eighth grade and, since he's had a little break from work recently, he bought himself a bass online that arrived just before New Year's. He wants new strings for it, though, and they have just what he wants. Plus, they have a wall full of basses. I hold the laptop while he gawks. It's not turning out to be such a bad day after all.

We get home and I unpack the laptop, pop in the battery, and let it charge. I'm impatient to get started, but I'm a 'by-the-book' type of person when it comes to technology, so I distract myself by working on my new 'treasure map' (collage) for 2006.

When the light goes off on the laptop, I pop open the top, press the power button and get ready to celebrate. Woohoo!!

Not so fast, Missy. Nothing's happening. The lights all come on, but nobody's home. I'm staring at a black screen and I don't hear any signs of life.

Let me make this part quick. After two separate phone calls to HP -- during which my patience, hearing, and comprehension of foreign accents were tested to the max -- both techs determine that I have a hardware problem. They both also have the nerve to suggest that I ship it in for a replacement or repair, which will take 7-10 business days.

I marvel at my ability to remain calm at this point. I gently but firmly tell them that I will not be shipping it anywhere, but will instead be returning it to the store immediately, thank them and hang up.

'Oh, I'm going back tonight!' I say to John, adding a few expletives for effect.

I pack everything up, look up at the kitchen clock and discover that it's 8:16. Even if I drive like a bat out of hell, which is not even possible on the windy back roads, I'll arrive just as they're getting ready to close. No, I'll get a good night's sleep and go up there the next morning, one week after I started this little project.

Yesterday, box in hand, I drove up to Circuit City and -- smart person that you are -- you've already guessed that they didn't have any more in stock there. The clerk tells me to go back and see if there is something else I might want. Otherwise there will be a 'restocking charge,' she says. 'Yeah, I don't think so, Missy' I mutter under my breath ... but I head back to the PC section to see what they've got anyway.

After wandering around aimlessly, trying to decide just how married I am to the idea of having Intel Centrino, I get some help from a salesperson and end up deciding on the Gateway MX6625. It's got the same specs as the HP (including Centrino and the 15.4" screen), and although I don't know much about Gateways, the salesman says they have a good rep. Plus, it's the same price as the HP was, and now we're down to just one rebate. Then he utters those dreaded words: "I'll have to see if I have it in stock."

God takes pity on me. They have it.

I come home, open the box and get a good feeling when I see how user-friendly their materials are ... much better than HP's (... I'll get to you Mac people in a little bit. I know you've been jumping up and down, saying, 'You know, Maria, none of this would be happening if you'd just bought an iBook!'). I charge the battery, hit the power button and -- HEY, IT WORKS!

Soon, I'm on the internet and have my email up and running. Woohoo!! Now I just have to load a boatload of software and transfer six years worth of files, email addresses and bookmarks.

So, after just one week, four laptops (the HP, the Toshiba, back to the HP, then the Gateway), 78 miles, and 689 gray hairs, I finally have a new laptop -- and I love it.

Now my car, on the other hand, is really getting up there in years. I think I'm living on borrowed time.

******

The reason I didn't go with an iBook -- even though I still fondly remember my first computer, a Macintosh IIsi -- is threefold. One, I have a very expensive bead habit to support now, and the comparable iBook was more than I wanted to spend this time around. More important, though, the program that I use to create my websites (NetObjects Fusion) is only made for the PC, and with all I'm already taking on to start the year, I can't bear the thought of having to learn a new program and recreate my three sites too. And finally, if I'd bought an iBook, I wouldn't have had any material for this post, now would I?

Comments

[kat]

oh dear. what an adventure! i guess it wouldn't help to tell you that i got my rockin' new ibook for 900 after one rebate? no? ok, then. ;-)

glad that you're re-connected maria!! i think you've made enough trips to circuit city for all of '06!

xoxox

[The Bold Soul]

If being able to delay gratification is a sign of emotional intelligence, I must be in the emotional dunce seat. I'm 44-going-on-45 and still struggle with it every single time I am tempted by my addiction to sugar and every time I want to go shopping.

[Jana]

I had the same level of craziness when I got my cell phone. Everything that COULD go wrong, DID go wrong. I was ready to dismember the entire group of conceited immature male clerks. Now, two or maybe three phones later... life is good again :) Except now I can't get in to pay my stupid bill because they didn't hire enough help, so the line is always several miles long. Sometimes I think I just don't have the patience that shopping for & maintaining electronics requires. *sigh*

[melba]

Wow. What an ordeal, happy that it is over! I received a Wacom Tablet Mouse and Pen for Christmas; my husband downloaded the software and has been playing around with it the last two nights. I haven't used it yet because I know it will require focus and uninterrupted time to learn and I only have about 5-10 minutes doing something before someone needs me. I will just have to stay up one night when the house is asleep and get the hang of it. Glad you are back in action!

[Dida]

I would have been in the car at 8:16, driving at breakneck speed.

I have a Gateway and have been quite pleased with it. I'm glad you didn't go with the HP - your experience with their customer service is about as good as it gets. I think it is the opposite of "good service" when they tell you to mail it in when you bought it an hour ago.

[melissa]

hmmm....maybe I should rethink the new digital camera purchase....

[KatieScarlett]

Wow. I have never had the experience of purchasing any kind of computer. I have been blessed. My first computer was a gateway astro that I lvoed and was a gift from my aunt. I have no idea what my new computer is, but it's a PC, it's bigger and faster and stores more stuff than my Astro and it was a gift from a friend who got himself a new computer!!

Oh and the customer service is great at Gateway. I had to call them twice and both times they were very nice and helpful and the second time the lady asked me to call her back after I bought the new internal battery for the drive and let her know that her advice was correct and the problem solved. She gave me her line so that I could do that!

[Marilyn]

Jeez-louise! What an ordeal! I had completely forgotten, until I read this, that when we bought our laptop (exactly 3 years ago), we drove home from Office Max all giddy...(keep in mind we were in the islands, if you're wondering why Office Max...we learned when shopping around online that retailers would SELL products in the V.I. but not SERVICE them...at least that's what we were told). But almost as soon as we started using it, something appeared off. I don't remember now what the 'symptoms' were...but I do remember that we bought the display model (only one in stock...but it was the model I really, really wanted...HP, I think) which the sales guy assured us was fine and if it wasn't, we'd get a full refund, of course. Well, it wasn't...and I was crushed...so much anticipation! We took it back the next day and drove to Radio Shack (don't laugh, you'd be suprised how happy we were to have Radio Shack!) :) We bought a low-end Presario...and it's been a workhorse ever since. (And Radio Shack WOULD service it. Thankfully, it hasn't needed it.) Glad you finally got one you like! :)

[Swirly]

Haha! Just as I was beginning to think, "...she wouldn't be dealing with ANY of this if she had only bought a Mac!" you wrote it. I am one of the biggest Mac snobs in the world, I must admit, but I'm happy to hear you got things worked out and you love your new computer. :)

[Will]

Well Ms Maria, I'm late to the party, but this was an amazing story. I'm sorry for all the hastle, but it's very good in the retelling. Filled with all the elements of drama.

And yes, I'm sure that the story have been much less interesting with an iBook. One of those "I opened it, it worked, I love it" tales. I had to laugh when I got to the comment about quieting all the Mac people reading the post. Am I not the only Mac-spastic fan of your site?

Glad things are going well. But check out iWeb that Apple just announced on Tues when you can. From what I hear it takes ease of use web publishing and takes it to the next level. You could make that 2012 laptop purchase a Mac you know. ;-)