Beware Micro Center & IBM EZ-Serve

["Derek V. Chan" <dchan@cybercom.net>]

I took my computer (TP750C) to Micro Center on 9/30/95 for repairs, along 
w/ my Dock II.
 
Here are the problems that I listed:
 
CPU:
 
-LCD exhibits ghosting
-floppy drive has CRC read errors
-keyboard's letters are coming off
-possible problem w/ IDE interface (dunno if it's the computer or the 
Dock II
 
Dock II:
 
-mouse doesn't wake up from suspend or when computer is turned on unless 
it is unplugged and replugged into the dock
-putting IDE drives into the dock ii and connecting them to the ide 
cable results in the computer either locking up when powered on or 
nonrecognition of the drive
 
Sooo....Micro Center, being an IBM repair center took one look at it and 
then EZ-served it to IBM.
 
Now here's the weird thing...

One week passes...
 
I call IBM and ask about the stauts of my computer undergoing EZ-serve, 
and they can't find it in the computer, even when I've given them the 
correct serial number.  This is this past Thursday (1.5 weeks after I 
originally dropped it off at Micro Center).

Now, I call Micro Center and they say "we don't have it from IBM"
 
Hmm....
 
Friday morning: I get this box from Technology Services Solutions in 
North Carolina.  It's my Dock II.  Soooo....where's my IBM CPU?
 
I look at the EZ server report, and it has a case number, along w/ the 
technician's name.
 
Friday afternoon...finally someone from Micro Center calls back and says 
that the Thinkpad is there.  Weird, isn't it?  I have my Dock II going 
home and my thinkpad going to micro center...
 
I go to micro center, and then get the computer.
 
I go home and open the comptuer, and read the EZ-serve report.  It 
appears the same technician who looked at the dock ii looked at the cpu.  
The technician replaced the floppy, the system board, the lcd, and THE 
HARD DRIVE!!!! (Remember, as I said earlier, on the list of problems, 
there was NEVER any mention that the hard drive was bad!  In fact, I'd 
been using it perfectly fine till I brought in my computer!)
 
There wasn't anything WRONG with the hard drive! I was running it fine!  
Furthermore, my 32 Mb of RAM is missing!!!!!
 
Called up micro center immediately..."It's an IBM problem," they say.  
Assholes.  They didn't even really want to deal w/ me.  "Did you buy it 
here?" No, of course not, dumbass...you guys are an IBM service center!
 
Called up IBM.. "We don't have any record of having your computer!!"
 
Huh!???
 
Furthermore, to complicate matters, my IBM notebook's EZ serve sheet has 
a case number of "BLIND" instead of a normal number like "45c143"
or something like that.
 
 
Anyways...
 
Someone SOMEWHERE dropped the ball.  And I NEED my hard drive back, as 
there was a lot of sensitive information on it that I cannot get back.  
Furthermore, since my dock ii was not acting corectly, I never made a 
backup of all 60 Mb of thee stuff.  I was furthermore told by the 
dumbasses at Micro Center that they'd call me if they had to do ANYTHING 
to the hard drive!

Now, when I boot my comptuer, i get the original factory preloaded 
software, and this nice "cute" thinkpad 755 demo  (yes a 755 demo on a 
tp750c...).
 
 
This is BS!
 
 
I can't even load stuff off of SCSI since the Dock II's SCSI seems to now 
be broken!  I can't boot off scsi drive anymore!  Normally, when I set a 
scsi drive to id 0, i could boot off of it, and the computer on bootup 
would say "Adaptec scsi bios.  SCSI ID0: Syquest s270 Drive D:"
 
Now it doesn't say drive D:...it just goes into dos by booting off C: 
even when i set the drive in the bios to boot!
 
 
Furthermore, the IDE is STILL not functioning!  I still can't use any ide 
drives in the dock ii!


ARRRGH

I'm A LOT worse off...

I can't even install OS/2, since I have 4 Mb of RAM now (instead of 36 Mb!)!

Fux this!

Any ideas on who to talk to, and what else to do?
 
Heck...anyone know about the possibility of getting a new computer from 
IBM to use in the interim since I NEED to use a comptuer asap!???  Anyone 
ever had such a horror story?
 
Man!  I think they should give me a new comptuer to use for now or 
something.  This is BS!
 
On top of having to wait two weeks, now they have screwed up somewhere, and 
I'm STILL having problems!  I'll be outta service for yet another month 
while this is ironed out!
 
The couldn't find me in the computer database either.  Something's not right 
here!!!!!

Using a 030 mac just doesn't cut it.

What can I do??  Who can I talk to???  Micro Center's been passing the 
buck, and I have to wait until Monday to call the people who "repaired" my 
machine!