Don't Buy Best Buy

BUY LOCAL WHENEVER POSSIBLE
I already knew this, but I had a senior moment.
Let me relate a story. It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing. (Shakespeare and me)
I must admit. I am a slow learner. I knew, under most circumstances, you were better off buying locally.
Let me back ground this chronicle for you. Senator Frank Eldridge and I owned the first computer to be used in the State Capital. Later after my unsuccessful venture of running for Lt. Governor against Zell Miller, I moved back to Colquitt County. I set about building another computer. I am accustomed to saying that I built the first M.S. Dos computer that I ever saw.
At the time, as far as I knew, the computer jointly owned by Colquitt County and the City of Moultrie was the only other computer running in the county. Certainly it was the first "home computer."
I had to purchase three cabinets to get one. This requires me to build two more. Over the years, I sold a few others. Then the home computer market got saturated and there was little demand for home made entries.
About ten years ago, I assembled my last one. It was old and ugly, slow and steady, pugnacious but dependable. Alas a few short weeks ago, it developed aged computer syndrom. My beloved companion of the past decade was giving up the ghost. Its spirit was broken. It was in dire circumstances.
Its mouse was giving trouble .this is only a minor distraction I speculated to myself. Its mouse board needs replacing. I opened up the cabinet and found that it did not have a separate mouse board. I would have to replace the complete mother board. This ain't good. I mused. As old as this unit is, I need to purchase another one. I then called a local computer expert. My own talents were outdated by massive changes in technology. He didn't call back.
In the mean time, I was in Valdosta and saw the big yellow sign, BEST BUY, I whipped in. This was a mistake. I ended up buying the most expensive Hewlett Packard that they offered. I would have been better off to have donated the money to the Salvation army.
As a rule once a computer is burned in, it gives no problems. This one came with a defective Hard Drive. After the third trip down there, they agreed with me. It had a bad hard drive.
At the point of purchase there were all kinds of promises of reliable store service. The abominable snow man would be easier to find than the promised local service. We'll send it back they said, it's still in warranty. It was purchased 11/27/07. It still ain't fixed. They installed a new hard drive, but I have to jump through the hoops at Hewlett Packard to get an operating system. You know the procedure where you are placed on hold and forced to listen to some caned music not knowing whether you will ever hear from "a people." Hewlett Packard and Best Buy has this thing going for them. Neither knows Franklin Sutton. It is my problem it seems. Best Buy is a large discount house. They have their employment an NBA who has stated in a printed piece that it is possibly to their financial advantage to lose a customer than it would be to satisfy a customer.
Best Buy would be just as likely to pick Adam's House Cat as Franklin Sutton from a line up.
All You Fools . . . As P.T. Barnum said "There is a sucker born every minute"
The new hard drive is $109.00 over the shelf. As I write this, I have been from Ellenton to Valdosta five times. If I were to count my labor, and the cost of gas, I would have been five times better off not trying to have Best Buy and Hewlett Packard fix their error. I should buy the hard drive and install it myself.
Do I expect that the loss of my business will hurt either? Certainly, not. I am foolish but not naive. My patronize does not effect them. The problem in my problem not theirs. There are many more suckers out there, willing to take the chance of getting a sound unit.
Few will show up and stand in line behind others with a personal computer under their arms in a vain and futile hope who believes that a large corporation cares about them or their business.
The only point that I am trying to make is to deal locally where you know the person, where you are familiar with their integrity and expect them to do as promised.
That was 11/27/07 this in now 3/09/08. I don't know how long this saga will continue. Fortunately, my old home built has not let me down. Praise god for haywire .
Latest to above. Hewlett Packard sent the computer back less the operating system which came preloaded. I tried to buy a recovery disk from HP but they indicated that it was N.A. Best buy says that there is nothing they can do. I suppose I must go out and purchase a Vista Program which I paid for when I bought the H.P. I have learned a lesson. Don't buy Best Buy. Franklin Sutton