I begin this with an admission - Yes, I was stupid enough to believe the guy. There. I said it. Now on with the story.Our laptop crashed. System 32 error or whatever - all I know is that I just need an XP recovery cd and my problems "should" go away. But, our laptop didn't come with a recovery cd, so we were going to have to buy one. I knew that I would need a certificate of authenticity (or some product number) in order to use the recovery cd I was to purchase.
My goal of calling tech support was where to find this number.
Keep that in mind as I continue this story.
Tech Support (TS): Thanks for calling... blah blah.
Me: Hi, I have a question for you. *Repeat story above*. Is my COA found on the bottom of my laptop?
TS: Oh. You don't want to do that by yourself. You should speak to one of our technical specialists.
Me: No no, I know what to do, I just need to know where I get this COA number.
TS: Oh, but our technical specialists can remote access your computer and fix it for you - then you won't have to buy the cd.
Me: But how? I can't even get Windows to start.
TS: All they need is an internet connection.
....
Me: Ok, let's do this. What if they can't fix it? Will I be refunded?
TS: Oh, sure!
I think you know where this is going. That first conversation is an abridged version. The original took about 25 minutes.
After this, I was on hold for about 10 minutes. The technical specialist then came on. She was very friendly. I explained the the situation, and the conversation I had just had. I explained what TS had just offered me.
Me: So, can you fix it?
Technical Specialist (TSp): Uhh, no. You can't get to your desktop.
Me: I know, I told him that. He said that was alright.
TSp: Well, no. If you can't get to your desktop, we can't access your computer.
Me: That's what I thought. So, do I get my money back?
TSp: No.
Me: Why not? You didn't fix anything.
TSp: We told you what was wrong with your computer, and how to fix it.
Me: No you didn't. I knew that before I called you. All I wanted to know was where to find my CoA. So, the guy I spoke to earlier, does he know anything about computers?
TSp: *chuckles* It doesn't appear that way.
Wrapping this up: I spoke to the supervisor. My money was refunded, and I got a free XP Recovery cd that should have been in the mailbox yesterday (alas, it wasn't).
I think I know what the CoA number is. We'll see though. Read more...
