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Technology Stocks : Compaq -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: rupert1 who wrote (58174)	4/16/1999 12:20:00 PM
From: Achoo	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 97611

I picked up some CPQ earlier this week. The price drop seemed like a classic overreaction. But now I'm wondering if I didn't catch a falling knife. The following is from Barron's Online: April 15, 1999 Compaq: The Horrror! The Horror! By Rivka Tadjer On March 15th, a good buddy of mine came over to buy a notebook PC over the Internet. His goal: to get a decent laptop for $2,000 or less as quickly as possible. We surfed the Web. We compared prices. Compaq Computer had the best deal, at the Compaq Store (www.compaq.com) -- it's an old Presario 1600 series model for $1,999 and had a guaranteed delivery date of eight to 10 days. The site was easy to navigate, with clear product categories and lots of options. It also offers what seemed to be an easy purchasing process. But it wasn't. We tried to fill out the order form online, but it just didn't work. So I called. That was our first mistake. The clerk couldn't say why the Web purchase didn't work, but agreed to take the order over the phone. Then she told my friend David the $1,999 model was discontinued; we should buy one for $2,600 instead. "Discontinued?" I replied, grabbing the phone. "You're advertising it on your Web store!" "Oh, I guess the Web site needs updating," the clerk said. "It has been discontinued in the six days since this page was updated?," I shot back incredulously. "It says right here that they're built to order. I consider it false advertising if you cannot sell my friend that $1,999 Presario." "Hold on, please," she said. Long pause. Then she got back on the phone. "I found the computer for you," she informed us. Surprise, surprise. The laptop would arrive in 10 days, because it takes eight days in manufacturing, she said. (A Compaq spokesperson confirms that seven to 10 days in manufacturing is a standard guarantee -- and that the company is responsible for what it advertises as available at its Web store.) When it didn't show up by March 29 -- two weeks later -- my friend called and learned the delivery was rescheduled to arrive on April 2nd. No one had called to notify him, of course. April 2nd: No laptop. David called Compaq again. A representative told him the computer hadn't been "verified" because of his address. (They took down the wrong telephone number.) And of course, they were "terribly sorry." David had to call a different number to get the "verification people," who called him back -- three hours later -- with a verification number. They also told him to call an 800 number on April 9th for a delivery date. April 9th: David called and was put on hold "for one solid hour with no resolution," he said. Eventually he was told that the laptop should arrive around the 27th. That's April 27th. David tried canceling the order. That was yet another ordeal: He must receive the product first, then call again to get a return number and wait around for a Compaq delivery service to pick up the laptop. (The Compaq spokesperson says this is indeed the policy. Outrageous!) The laptop finally arrived on April 12th. That's almost one full month after we ordered it -- and who knows what toll in aggravation and higher blood pressure later. Life is just too short to go through all this. A postscript: David has decided to return the laptop. "I can't afford to have this computer," he says, "because if something goes wrong I don't have time to spend hours on the phone with Compaq." Compaq spokesperson Simon Eastwick called the whole experience "awful" and said "it never should have happened." We agree, and rate the site only . The moral: Whether online, at a retail store or over the phone, a company builds or destroys its reputation with every single sale. You'd expect this kind of shoddy service and borderline-shady selling practices from a scuzzy retailer -- not the world's largest computer manufacturer. Michael Dell can sleep easily. RATING The Compaq Store URL www.compaq.com DESIGN & EASE OF USE 2 DEPTH OF SELECTION & AVAILABILITY 1 PRODUCT INFORMATION 4 SPEED & INTERACTIVITY 1 PRICE & SHIPPING COSTS 4 DELIVERY TIME 0 TOTAL 12 RATING Return to top of page \| Format for printing Copyright © 1999 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.