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Posts Tagged ‘retail’

Less than a year ago I purchased a wireless Logitech keyboard and mouse combination from the Office Depot in Prince Frederick, MD. I did not have the product long when the wireless receiver stopped functioning. The receiver is flimsy. When it is bent, even a small amount, the internal USB connections fail. I went back to the store and asked if I could replace the receiver. They said no and suggested I buy a new keyboard. I did so.

The employee suggested that I purchase an extended warranty. That was my big mistake. It had been maybe seven months and the same thing happened to the receiver – again.  But wouldn’t you know it. I could not find the receipt that had my extended warranty information. I don’t recall anyone telling me at the time that I had to register my warranty or explaining how it worked. I made the foolish mistake of making an assumption that a company as large as Office Depot would have all of its customer service i’s dotted and t’s crossed. Not so.

When the second keyboard failed I drove back to  the Office Depot. The salesman remembered selling me the agreement and the keyboard! What luck. But then, he said since you don’t have your receipt I have no way of looking up your warranty. He called the manager. The manager said the same thing and told me to call the warranty people. He walked off. No offer to call the warranty people.  I was stuck. I needed a keyboard and mouse that night so I purchased a cheaper wireless set. No I didn’t buy an agreement.

The following day I looked up the customer service number for Office Depot and made the call. Guess what. Their “agents” are outsourced to an off shore company. I knew I was talking to someone without an invested interest in making me happy.  This rep was polite and gave me a telephone number for the warranty department.

By now I have 1.5 hours of my time involved in this fiasco. I call the warranty department only to find out that unless I registered my warranty and my receipt they had no way to look up the information. But wait, it gets better. I have one of those store rewards cards. They couldn’t use that to find my sale with the warranty attached. By now I’m getting suspicious. Was the system designed this way because they know a certain amount of people will fail to save a receipt or register their product?

But I digress. It turns out that after fourteen days you cannot return a product to the store. After two weeks you are covered by the manufacturer’s warranty. That means that even though I paid extra to replace this keyboard when it went bad I would have to wait one year from the date of purchase to get any satisfaction. I did try to ask Logitech by email if I could replace the receiver and never recived an answer. Logitech is not what it used to be apparently.

It never ceases to amaze me how some retailers just don’t get it.  Customer no-service is alive and well ant Office Depot. I clearly didn’t understand at the time the terms of this useless agreement I paid good money for. Office Depot made out like a bandit.

The truth is at the right retailer I strongly believe in extended warranty for the right product. Having worked as an Assistant Manager for a West Marine store I can say that West Marine gets it. Their no-hassle guarantee should be explored by Office Depot. Office Depot has lost my business over this. The only thing I have left is to vote with my feet and my wallet.

In order to pursue this I have to go back through months of credit card receipts to identify the date when I purchased the product so the unhelpful warranty folks can put me through to the receipt look up people. They can somehow find my extended warranty if I jump hoops. When I am able to get the date and I file the claim I still have to wait to receive either a check or a gift card. The store can’t help me. Why didn’t the first salesperson tell me to try Logitech? Why didn’t Logitech return my email the second time around? I’m also done with Logitech.

Any time you purchase a warranty:

1. Save your recipt

2. Understand the terms

3. Imagine what could happen under the terms.  When you do not like the scenario do not buy the warranty.

4. Follow through and register your warranty. Don’t rely on the retailer. They are probably going to cross their fingers and hop you forget and that you lose your receipt. They make more money that way.

(BoatingIndustry.com Friday March 20, 2009) – BoatingIndustry.com reports that Boater’s World Stores owned by troubled retailer, Ritz Cameras is shutting down. This means Calvert County will lose it’s major competitor to West Marine in Solomon’s Island, MD. A firm is being hired by Ritz to sell off Boater’s World assets.

Read about it here.