I purchased a Toshiba Satellite P205D-S7454 from Office Depot in December of 2007. Luckily, I also purchased the extended, two-year Performance Protection Plan.
After having to send it in three times within a four month period for the same problem, and having the hard drive replaced each time, I was fed up. I have earned bit of a reputation for handling customer service resolution issues fairly well. I don't stop until I receive a reasonable resolution, and that is what this post is all about. I will explain how I handled Office Depot's attempt to squirm out of their lemon replacement policy, and how you can use the same tactics to get what you want from any corporation that has wronged you, or is attempting to wrong you.
Office Depot's Performance Protection Plan states that if you send in a PC for the same repair three times, that the upon the fourth occurrence, they consider it a lemon, and will issue a replacement gift card in the amount at which you originally purchased the lemon. When I called to report the fourth occurrence, the warranty department attempted to tell me that only two repairs had been made, and the third one "didn't count" because it was put through a different claim system than the other two.
After arguing for a while that the claims system, which is out of my control, is irrelevant to me, and that I fully expect them to replace my laptop, I realized I had exhausted this avenue of problem resolution and hung up with them. You always want to exhaust the standard customer service resources before moving to more aggressive tactics. I spoke with various agents and supervisors before reaching this point. Most importantly, in any stage of the game, never, ever begin swearing or making threats. It will almost always get you nowhere.
My next step was to go to the top. Not the next level up, but to the top. I went to Office Depot's website and located the names of CEO's, Presidents, Vice Presidents, and their Executive Customer Service department. You will most often find this kind of information on a Press Release or Media area of the site. Also, by locating the email address of an employee in a press release, I learned that their standard email format was firstname.lastname@officedepot.com. When I sent my mass email to the executives, I knew to use this format to ensure the appropriate people received it.
I then constructed a professionally-written email. This part is important, as you want to accomplish three main goals:
- Explain the history and problem in detail, including dates, product numbers, invoice numbers, etc. In my case, I listed the dates my laptop was sent in, claim numbers, and what repairs took place. Try to keep it as unemotional as possible.
- Describe what you feel is a fair resolution. This is where you can let a little emotion fly. I told them I was infuriated, disappointed, etc. Let them know how you feel! Then explain what it is you want, and be sure it is a reasonable request. In my case, I only asked them to live up to what their contract promised - a gift card for the original purchase amount of my laptop so I can purchase a new one of my choice.
- Finish with what you plan to do if your resolution is not met. Give them a deadline. I told them if I did not hear back from them within one week, I would seek further help from consumer protection agencies, the Better Business Bureau, etc.
It is also beneficial to prove or explain to them that it will end up costing them less money in the long run to resolve your issue. In my case, they had paid to ship my computer six times, replaced three hard drives and the screen frame, and were looking at another hard drive replacement and two more shipping fees. Corporations are out to make money. If you can show them it is more cost effective to resolve your problem and get rid of you, then you will most always get your way.
Within less than 3 hours of sending my email to the entire executive staff of Office Depot, I received a response from the Senior Customer Relations Manager of the Executive Customer Relations department. What was most impressive was that I sent it at 5:40 p.m. on a Friday night, and received a response at 8:20 p.m. the same evening. She informed me she received my email and that someone would contact me by Monday. It was a courtesy email that indicated I was about to receive the customer service I should have gotten since day one.
By Sunday, the issue had been resolved. I was promised a replacement gift card, and I received the box to ship back the faulty computer within a few days. Sometimes, all it takes is to get to the right person. Large corporations, however, tend to make this very difficult. With this more aggressive tactic, you should find success in most of your customer resolution battles.
If you would like to view my email to Office Depot, click here.
It seems like nearly every kid I know these days has ADD/ADHD (Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), or, as I like to call it, Attention Deficit in High Def. As per the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-IV, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR), 3% - 7% of kids suffer from ADHD. Some studies estimated higher rates in community samples. It seems like it would be a higher rate... I did not expect to learn that it was only 3%-7%. It is also approximately 3 times more common in boys than in girls. (Source).
Subjectively, I feel there is no coincidence that video games, regular television watching, and computer usage became the norm right around the same time ADD skyrocketed and became an "epidemic." I have never read or researched anything regarding or supporting this. It's only an observation.
Beginning at a very young age nowadays, many children are permitted to spend the majority of their precious hours in front of the television/computer. Some parents unconvincingly try to write it off as "educational", but we all know it's nothing more than a built-in babysitter for a lazy parent. It's not a "special treat" for the whole family, like it was 50 years ago. Get a load of some of these stats (Source):
- Number of hours the average child spends watching television per week: 28
- Percentage of 4-6 year-olds who, when asked to choose between watching TV and spending time with their fathers, preferred television: 54
- Hours per year the average American youth spends in school: 900 hours
- Hours per year the average American youth watches television: 1500
So, during the course of childhood, the child's mind is being entertained for them. Good ol' playing in the dirt is long gone. The use of imagination has become the vast minority. Instead, they're parked in front of the tube for hours on end, every single day, staring into this box like a zombie. And I mean that quite literally...
When measured by an EEG (electroencenograph), the brain appears to slow to a halt, registering low alpha wave readings on the EEG. This is caused by the radiant light produced by cathode ray technology within the television set. Once again, regardless of the content being presented, television essentially turns off your nervous system. (Source).
Then, all of a sudden one day (typically around 6 or 7 years old), the kid is thrown into a new environment where they are expected to act the polar opposite of how they've been permitted to behave for the past 4-5 years. You don't get to plaster your face to a television screen all day anymore. Translation: your brain is no longer being entertained for you. Deal with it, or you're in big trouble.
They're expected to sit still, not talk out of turn, and, the hardest part of all, pay attention. Problem is, they can't change the channel (teacher, subject, etc.) whenever they get bored. They're not accustomed to this, and they certainly haven't been prepared for it. It's like their brain short-circuits when instant gratification is no longer available.
I liken it to a horribly addictive drug, with school being the withdrawal. The brain and body become used to certain levels of activity and effort (all very minimal), and then WHAM! it's all taken away from them, and they are expected to deal. And everyone wonders why they can't. "Why is our child misbehaving so badly? We should be stricter. We should punish him more effectively. We should take her to a psychiatrist. He's acting out. Something's obviously terribly wrong, and we just can't imagine for the life of us what it could be!"
I just cannot imagine there being a coincidence that the rise in constant television watching, video games and computer usage came about around the same time as the ADD/ADHD "epidemic." I would bet money that an extremely high majority of kids who were raised with very little to no television, video games, etc. would not be diagnosed with ADD. Big money. And the same goes for the flip side. I'd bet that the kids who watch the most TV & spend the most time playing video games are far more susceptible to an ADD/ADHD diagnosis.
And then we have the doctor/mainstream-drug-profit aspect of it all. Now, I'm not slamming doctors here. Not all doctors are money grubbing troglodytes who prescribe pills like candy just to get their kickback. But plenty of them are. And, just like so many diagnoses, they cover up the problem or the symptoms with pills and drugs, rather than working to get to the root of the problem. "Here, take a pill and be happy" is way easier than "Let's work together to discover the root causes and see what lifestyle changes can be made to remedy it." And it's not only the doctors... patients prefer the easy way out, too. Whether they've been conditioned to feel that way, or whether we really have been this lazy since the beginning of time is beyond me. Either way, in many cases, as soon as an adult hears, "You have to change the way you live/eat/think," they're out the door and onto the next pill pusher.
So, we start our kids off at 8 years old teaching them that a pill fixes everything. Got a problem? Take a drug. Don't have a problem, but might in 30 years? Take a pill. Kids are being conditioned at such young ages to believe that it should be totally and completely normal to be on 12 different daily medications by the time they're 45 years old. Don't even get me started on that end of things, though... we'll touch on that one later. I've got plenty to say about that.
If you look at nature, nearly all creatures spend time playing when they're babies. It's vital to their survival. It teaches them logic, tactics, hunting and survival skills, etc. Human offspring used to do the same thing. They'd have an entire day's-worth of fun playing in the dirt, or blasting off into outer space in their giant, empty refrigerator box. The imagination is one of the most vital parts of our being. Without it, we are empty shells, just going through the motions of life. Who wants that? And more importantly, who would want that for their kids?
Whether I'm right or wrong in my philosophies here, I'd hope we could all agree that it's downright healthier to shut off the damn TV, and go play outside instead. In fact, I think I'll do just that. I have a puppy who's in serious need of some play time, and the last thing I need is my dog on Adderall. ;)
Peace
P.S. Another point I forgot to mention, that I will edit in later, is the issue of childrens' diets and how it factors into the ADD formula. Keep an eye out for updates!
******************** UPDATE ************************
February 23, 2009
I stumbled across this very interesting article on Digg today that seems to fully support my thoughts on ADD/ADHD. The article can be found here.
To paraphrase, a top neuroscientist warns that repeated exposure to social networking sites, instant messaging, computer games, and fast-paced TV shows could effectively "rewire" the brain, thereby shortening attention spans, encouraging instant gratification, and making young people more self centered.
This is bittersweet for me. On one hand, I am glad to see this concept being researched, and being made publicly known. On the other hand, though, this is a saddening reinforcement of what I was already thinking. The minds of our youths are being compromised by something totally within our control.
It is not easy to find responsible parents these days. America, in particular, has become a very lazy (yet simultaneously over-worked, over-stressed) population. What I mean by that is, over-worked Americans who operate under the illusion of never having enough time in the day, end up choosing their priorities. Therefore, certain areas of their lives are handled with less attentiveness than necessary. Raising children "properly" ends up further down the list than it ever should, in many cases. It's so much easier to plop your kid down in front of the T.V. or computer and let it babysit them while you make dinner, write out bills, make phone calls, relax, etc.
Those who make raising their children an absolute top priority have enough challenges as it is, so just imagine what the results become when the child is moved toward the bottom of the priority list. Unfortunately, those modern-day heroes are few and far between, and the frighteningly large majority of parents are those who hardly or never limit their kids' time in front of the computer or T.V. screen.
On that note, here's a thought... how about NO television? Or (and I know this sounds wildly insane), not burying your kid under a pile of store-bought toys? How about allowing children to rediscover what an imagination is, and how to use it? Imagine having a kid that doesn't require 24/7 entertainment, and one who is capable of entertaining themselves without the use of shiny, bright objects. Imagine having a kid that is on his best behavior all week in order to earn the privilege of watching a movie on T.V. on Saturday night with the whole family? Envision not having to deal with a child becoming desensitized to violence, or learning about sex at far too young an age (a direct result of too much exposure to the wrong kind of television and video games).
I'm not sure many parents could even comprehend the value or importance of such things. They'd rather take the "easy" way now, resulting in long-term psychological damage that the kid has to deal with for the rest of his life. And here we sit, watching this erosion take place... Perhaps this is one good thing that might come from this economic crisis - the possibility of some parents being forced to shut off TV's and computers, stop buying toys and video games, and allow their kids' imaginations to run wild!
Welcome to re-think, re-live. I have a "question everything" philosophy, and this is my place to do just that. I respect those who try to find their own answers, and I try to do the same. Nowadays, I'm not one to say I know something for a fact unless I really do, which is rare. I'm opinionated, don't get me wrong. But I'm not sure there are many things we can ever say we know to be true. A great example is science. Massive amounts of research is done on a particular subject, and a conclusion is drawn based on it. But then, a few years later, a discovery is made that changes everything. I have a hard time adhering to strict beliefs or "truths" because I always feel that we could never really know. It's somewhat arrogant to me to profess such knowledge when history has proven time and again that we prove ourselves wrong every day with new discoveries. I'm transitioning at this point in my life, so research, reading and learning is a big part of it. I welcome those with open minds :)
