Price & Service at The Compaq Factory (online) Outlet
Written: Oct 05 '01
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The Bottom Line
Great online experience supported by SUPERIOR human customer service. This is shopping at it's finest. Oh yeah great prices too!
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| Full Review |
History
Computer companies have been historically notorious for their customer service. I have had my run-ins with more than one representative who represented nothing but a bad attitude and a severe desire NOT to serve.
When I was looking for a PDA, I went directly to www.compaq.com to research their units. I noticed that their factory outlet had a site within the Compaq site so I checked it out.
This review will deal only with my experience with the parts of the site that I made use of. There are retail-new sections as well, but my shopping experience is limited to the factory outlet.
Navigation
The whole site is laid out well and once you are in the STORES section you will easily spot the OUTLET.
You will then need to choose what kind of equipment you are looking for. The most common searches (Desktops, Laptops, Servers, Alpha-Servers) have their own graphical links while all areas have a folder-list style collection of links across the left hand side of the screen.
Drawback: No SEARCH feature yet. There is a link, but it does not currently function. At least they know what people want and are working on it.
They also have a scrolling section of the screen with the "Special Of The Week"...which hasn't changed in the last month.
For you super deal hunters there is even an Auction's section for you to outbid the other frugal shop-surfers.
User Friendly
For an online computer store, this site just makes you *feel* welcome. This is in part due to the fact that they have (toll free) phone numbers everywhere, so you can call them at any point in the process. They list every conceivable way to contact them...email, a map so you can visit, form mail and phone/fax numbers. This attitude of wanting to interface with customers should catch on with more vendors.
When I couldn't find my unit listed, I decided to call and double check. BONUS! They had some, but didn't want to list them b/c there weren't enough to satisfy the projected demand if they advertised. Lucky me (and girlfriend) because I ordered a pair of iPAQ h3135s right away.
Shipping
* The good news was that FedEx ground shipping was free.
* The not-so-good news was that FedEx Ground was going to take 3 days from shipping to get to me.
* The bad news was that Compaq takes 5-7 business days to ship after the order is placed.
This is the major area where Compaq can improve, but like I said...FREE.
I was given a tracking number for FedEx and anxiously tracked the delivery of our new toys. This is an exciting feature, but can rack the nerves of the impatient...trust me I happen know one impatient person very well! :-)
Return Policy & Warranty
I love the fact that I can play for 10 days and return for a full return/exchange. (You'll see wee why that was important later...read Customer Service) Also, I was pleasantly surprised to find a refurbished item from an outlet with the standard 1 year warranty. That made me feel good about the quality of the refurbished units I was buying.
Customer Service
I don't know if it is because of the slumping PC market, but I must empasize that this was a display of customer service at its finest.
Of my two iPAQs, one developed an audio problem. I called up and was given a bevy of options. I could return for a full refund, I could send it in for repairs (no thanks) or I could exchange it for a new one.
I initially chose to exchange for a new one, but the process would take too long. First they would schedule a pickup and when they received the package from me, they would start a shipout of the new one...presumably the 5-7 business days later. This option would leave me without a PDA for several days to two weeks. As I had already handed down my Palm m100, this was not an acceptable option.
This is where I became amazed at both the sensitivity to my situation and creativity in the solution. The customer service representative thought and then suggested issuing me an RMA (Return Merchandise Authorization) Number dated today, well within my 10 day return limit. We would not schedule the pickup immediately though, but rather I am to call her at the end of next week and advise her on the status of my new order. After giving me the authorization number I was transferred to sales to order a new unit to start the shipping process. After the new unit is shipped, I schedule pickup of the new unit and my 'downtime' is limited to one or two days!
This kind of personalized service can not be done entirely online and I appreciated the opportunity to interact with the company online and to have my customer service requests with a live customer service representative. A representative who represents the best in customer service. Any past shortcoming of Compaq were negated by this most positive experience. Bravo Theresa
Recommended:
Yes
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About the Author
Member: Jeff Daly
Location: West Hollywood, CA, USA
Reviews written: 19
Trusted by: 15 members
About Me: After a month of inactivity, I'm back and catching up in my reading/rating/writing.
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