|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Activities
Nor'easter News
Car Care
Membership
Other Cool Stuff
Sponsors & Advertisers
|
Porsche
Club of America
Out
In The Passing Lane
|
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
 A
couple of months ago I shared with you my experiences trying to get an
HP inkjet printer repaired and for this month as the saying goes “and now
the rest of the story”. Much to my surprise a few weeks ago I received
a call from Staples advising me that my printer had been repaired and that
I could pick it up anytime from my local store. When I’d sent the printer
in for repair I had dutifully packed it into the original box and included
the instruction manual, installation disk, and power cord (why I don’t
know). Of course when the printer returned from repair I noted that the
manual and disk were missing. Since I was sending the printer to my son
in Atlanta, I advised him to go online and download the necessary drivers.
So far that wasn’t a big problem. He called several days later to advise
that there was no power cord included. I was now a little annoyed, but
still wasn’t too upset as I happened to have a power cord that I thought
would work. In the course of our phone conversation, Chris advised that
the printer power cord wasn’t a standard three-prong version; he needed
a special mini two-prong version. He furthered advised that he had checked
the HP web site for the cord only to find out that the cord was unavailable.
Now I’m a bit concerned as I’ve paid $250 to repair this printer, and it
looks like I’ll have to go back to Staples and request they locate a power
cord for me. I wasn’t looking forward to that hassle.
We happened to be traveling to Atlanta about that time for a visit with our son, daughter in-law, and grandson, so while at their house I visited Google and found another HP parts web site that listed lots of power cords, nearly all out of stock, but wonder of wonders the cord we needed was indicated as available. We quickly ordered the part, and miraculously it arrived a few days later – postage cost $6 for a $4 part! The printer is now up and running and so far seems to be working satisfactorily. So what have I learned from this experience you might ask. Well it’s clear that we’re not supposed to want to have anything out of warranty repaired. Second if you’re intent on getting something repaired assume that if there is a chance for a screw up, you need to do anything you can to reduce your exposure (don’t send any unnecessary things along with your item to be repaired). Finally assume that the parts for whatever it is you want to have repaired will be nearly unobtainable. I’ve also decided to never again purchase an HP printer, Epson’s now my preferred vendor (until I have to deal with their repair procedure!). While I’m in the mood to vent lets discuss airline travel. The new Delta terminal at Logan is wonderful, spacious, bright, and comfortable, with easy access to the gates and a good selection of shops and places to eat. Then you get on the plane and find you’re wedged into the smallest possible space, with every seat and luggage bin filled. You’re provided with the barest of amenities, a beverage and a bag of chips no matter what time of day you’re flying. When you arrive you wait for what seems an eternity to get off the plane. If you’re traveling light you escape, if not you head to baggage claim and wait for at least a half-hour for your suitcase to show up. I’ve made a number of flights over the past few months, and with maybe one exception every flight has been sold out. Airline costs must be way out of whack for nearly every airline to be losing great sums of money. Is there a car customization industry in New England? Every Tuesday evening I enjoy watching Rides and Overhaulin on The Learning Channel. Each week it seems different car customization shops in southern California are used for the featured projects. All of them have large modern facilities, and have access to huge aftermarket parts wholesalers capable of supplying parts for any vintage car or make. If that industry exists in New England I’m oblivious to its existence. I know a lot of custom cars are in garages throughout Boston, and you do see some on the road occasionally. But I’m curious as to where these cars are created. I suspect we also have a “tuner” car industry in New England capable of producing all manner of outrageous vehicles. But again I have no knowledge of who’s doing that work. If I wanted to install a flat screen TV and killer sound system in my car (I don’t), I wouldn’t know where to go to get what I wanted. In California I think you just walk down the street a few blocks and you stumble onto a shop that will not only rework the interior, they’ll also tackle suspension and engine upgrades, modify exterior body panels, and repaint your car in some wild scheme. And of course they’ll be working with Chip Fosse, the well known expert on customization projects of all types. How he’s able to successfully manage his time over so many complicated and creative projects is amazing. He also seems to be having a lot of fun in the process – wouldn’t we all like to enjoy our jobs as much as he seems to be enjoying his work. Fosse is no longer a “personality” he’s now a brand name! As 2005 comes to a close I want to end this column with a big ‘thank you” to those of you who have contributed articles and photos for publication in the Nor’Easter this year. I especially want to thank the regular columnists: Tom Tate, Steve Boris, Steve Ross, Bill Chadwick, Bruce Hauben, Ron Mann, Susana Weber, and Rick Gilbert for their monthly contributions. I understand the challenge that authoring a monthly column can be. Coming up with an idea that you think others will be interested in reading about can be mentally taxing. Then fitting in the time to put your thoughts into a readable form, and adhering to a demanding editor’s timetable can be difficult to accomplish when you have other responsibilities. At this year’s Annual Dinner a new contributor for 2005, Bill Chadwick, will be awarded the Newsletter Contributor of the Year award. He volunteered to author a monthly column (without an arm twisting on my part) focused on local racers – particularly PCA Club Racers. The breadth of his writing went beyond that however and yielded very interesting articles all year. Great job Bill! Needless to say, without contributors like Bill and the others, the Nor’Easter would be a very dry read, so thanks again to all of you who make my job as editor much much easier. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright
1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004,2005 PCA/NER
Year 2000 Web Site Design by www.sitesofboston.com |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
