Huge thumbs down to Compusa / tigerdirect

[Bladestar]

Compusa / Tigerdirect should be ashamed of themselves.

My sister, who doesn't have a tech bone in her body, goes in with her laptop's old AC adapter, and they sold her a universal one that is the correct one for her laptop, and they 'looked it up' for her.

She buys it, and plugs it in, and the result is black smoke.

She brings back her laptop & the universal adapter, and all they can do is give her her $$$ back for the adapter, and that is it ?

They could have at least offered to repair the 2 year old laptop or given her a discount on a new machine, but nadda, zilch.

If I wasn't 500 miles away, I would go there in person and demand they rectify the issue they caused.

I would recommend everyone stay away form Compusa / tigerdirect, they don't care about customers.

 

[sugosugita]

Every company has a few bad apples. I've had horrible experiences with some places, but a longer history of satisfying purchases will keep me going back.

 

[E4g1e]

Actually, SystemMax (the parent company of CompUSA and TigerDirect) has little to no control over this issue. Normally, this compatibility issue should have been taken up by the distributor of the aftermarket component. But if the distributor offers no such help, then the seller comes in next. Unfortunately, the sales people at the store offer little to no support because they are not trained in handling technical support requests.

But neither situation is applicable in this particular case: The owner of the laptop ordered the part from TigerDirect's online shop. And just because a universal AC adaptor fits does not mean that it will work properly or at all with a given laptop. If black smoke comes out, it is very likely that the universal AC adaptor is simply rated for less current (in Amps) than the original-equipment AC adaptor had been rated for (or more specifically, the universal AC adaptor simply cannot handle the current draw that's required by the laptop that the adaptor is connected to). An underspecced power adaptor will kill not only itself, but the major components of the laptop as well - something that the TigerDirect salesperson failed to mention. And because TigerDirect is only in the sales business, the company does not perform repairs on a laptop by itself but instead will recommend that the owner send it back to the manufacturer directly for repair. And because the damage is done due to the accessory salesperson's negligence, the laptop manufacturer will charge the owner repair costs (since the manufacturer will only cover the repair costs for factory defects).

To the OP:

How old is her laptop? If it is less than a few years old, heed my advice and NEVER buy an aftermarket universal power adaptor unless it has been CERTIFIED compatible with the laptop in question. Always try to order the original-equipment power adaptor directly from the laptop manufacturer. If on the other hand that laptop is four years old or more, the manufacturer likely no longer offers the replacement power adapter; thus, the owner is stuck buying an aftermarket adaptor with a chance that it might not work properly or at all with that laptop.

 

[BinarySynapse]

Actually, SystemMax (the parent company of CompUSA and TigerDirect) has little to no control over this issue. Normally, this compatibility issue should have been taken up by the distributor of the aftermarket component. But if the distributor offers no such help, then the seller comes in next. Unfortunately, the sales people at the store offer little to no support because they are not trained in handling technical support requests.

But neither situation is applicable in this particular case: The owner of the laptop ordered the part from TigerDirect's online shop. And just because a universal AC adaptor fits does not mean that it will work properly or at all with a given laptop. If black smoke comes out, it is very likely that the universal AC adaptor is simply rated for less current (in Amps) than the original-equipment AC adaptor had been rated for (or more specifically, the universal AC adaptor simply cannot handle the current draw that's required by the laptop that the adaptor is connected to). An underspecced power adaptor will kill not only itself, but the major components of the laptop as well - something that the TigerDirect salesperson failed to mention.

The OP says she went into a CompUSA store and the salesperson there told her which adapter to get after looking it up. Nothing about ordering online.

 

[E4g1e]

The OP says she went into a CompUSA store and the salesperson there told her which adapter to get after looking it up. Nothing about ordering online.

Oh, in that case, it is the store salesperson's incompetence. You see, in these tough economic times, the stores hire mostly people who know little to nothing about the products that they sell. What's more, the repair department in the CompUSA store in question does not have the capability to repair laptops at all - only routine upgrades. The blown power connector on the motherboard of the laptop cannot be fixed in house; the entire laptop had to be sent out for motherboard replacement. In this case, the best that the store's "repair department" can do is to offer to ship out the laptop for repair (although the owner is required to pay all repair costs).

 

[BinarySynapse]

Oh, in that case, it is the store salesperson's incompetence. You see, in these tough economic times, the stores hire mostly people who know little to nothing about the products that they sell. What's more, the repair department in the CompUSA store in question does not have the capability to repair laptops at all - only routine upgrades. The blown power connector on the motherboard of the laptop cannot be fixed in house; the entire laptop had to be sent out for motherboard replacement. In this case, the best that the store's "repair department" can do is to offer to ship out the laptop for repair (although the owner is required to pay all repair costs).

Hell, even in good times the floor staff is incompetent.

 

[E4g1e]

Hell, even in good times the floor staff is incompetent.

No wonder why the employee turnover is so $#*!ing high in a lot of those places.

 

[Bladestar]

Oh, in that case, it is the store salesperson's incompetence. You see, in these tough economic times, the stores hire mostly people who know little to nothing about the products that they sell. What's more, the repair department in the CompUSA store in question does not have the capability to repair laptops at all - only routine upgrades. The blown power connector on the motherboard of the laptop cannot be fixed in house; the entire laptop had to be sent out for motherboard replacement. In this case, the best that the store's "repair department" can do is to offer to ship out the laptop for repair (although the owner is required to pay all repair costs).

Right, I agree, it IS the sales person's fault.

They gave her the same line about she would have to pay for the laptop to fix it, and it was her fault for not double checking.

This is just a bad way to do business, and you would think, in these tough economic times, they would go the extra mile so they can get a repeat customer, instead of bitch slap the customer upside the head, and point them to the door.

 

[sugosugita]

kinda sucks that the salespeople (or the behind the counter in-store tech support people) have no accountability whatsoever.

 

[Bladestar]

Is there a way to recharge the batteries outside the laptop ?

It seems the laptop still works, but there is only a 30 min charge left.

 

[SoAndSo]

she may have to just run it off the mains with no battery in it.