…And I Will Call Him Max!
Written: Jan 24 '02
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January 16, 2002
Tonight, I made the leap and ordered my iBook from The Apple Store Online. I determined last Spring that my life would be incomplete without one of these lovely little machines when I sat at a convention amusing myself with paper and pencil while the people at the next table played games on their iBook and watched DVDs in their room at night while waiting for the parties to gear up. So I began saving and thinking.
The nearest Mac authorized dealer is right next to my place of employ. I knew that walking in there was akin to walking voluntarily into a black hole. When I bought my iMac, I knew exactly what I wanted from stem to stern and it took them two hours to extract my money and expel me from the store with nothing more than a promise to bring my baby "next week." And this was before the printer fiasco wherein I ended up fuming at an underling until I got a manager because they swore I had signed for delivery of my printer when I had the paperwork that said I hadn’t. No, CompUSA gets nothing but contempt from me. Therefore another avenue of purchase had to be found.
Fortunately, I now have access to the Internet.
I started shopping in earnest about a month ago when the amount in my iBook fund reached a logical sum. I went from site to site looking for a deal, but there were none to be had. I briefly considered lying and telling them I was a teacher for the pittance of a discount I could get that way (I decided it was entirely too unethical and that I didn’t want to involve my mother, who is a teacher, in the shenanigans.) I mooned over the idea of driving three hours to Columbus to go to The Apple Store there. I considered suckering a friend into making the purchase at the store there and bring it up to me next time he visits his Mom. I read epinions.
I decided to take the plunge and commit a huge amount of money to a secure Internet connection.
I found the site to be very easy to navigate. I went looking for a couple of other items that I determined would be easier purchased around town, but I had no trouble pulling them up using Search at the Apple Store so I would know how much cash to carry when I go to Best Buy. I also purchased a scanner tonight and I was presented with 39 options, only 2 of which were available through The Apple Store. Cringe at the lack of purchasable options if you will, but the one I wanted was there. The Epson Perfection 1250 Photo Scanner has been recommended in a couple of places. So they may not have much to choose from right there, but they have the cream of the crop and they have links to other sites if you want to be stubborn and order something else. They asked for a little more information than other retail sites I have ordered from, but this is a slightly more impressive item than the fire trucks, the wool shawl and the thumb piano I have ordered before. So if they want to make sure I am who I am, fine.
According to the information I have received, the scanner will ship in 3 days and the iBook in 5. I asked for 2 day FedEx shipping. Therefore I should get an email from the Apple Store on the 21st saying my scanner has shipped and another one on the 23rd saying my iBook has shipped. My scanner should arrive on the 23rd and my iBook on the 25th.
We shall see.
January 18, 2002
Two emails and a call from The Apple Store today. The call because I am having my order shipped to work (where someone is available to answer the door all day every day) instead of home (where it’s hit or miss and my husband would get to play with my toys first.) They were suspicious. Precaution is a good thing, though a determined thief could get around that pretty easily. The first email just confirmed receipt of my order. The second told me my scanner had shipped. So far we’re ahead of schedule by one business day. Unfortunately this means I have one less day to torment the FedEx guy at work. I will have to start asking "Where’s my iBook? Where’s my iBook?" 25% more to make up for the time. Not that I’m complaining. Sooner in this case is definitely better.
January 19, 2002
Guess who works on Saturday? I got an email from The Apple Store telling me that my iBook shipped today. This means one of 2 things: one, it was packed up and set by the door to go out first thing Monday morning; or two, it’s actually already in the hands of FedEx. In the first case I will have my iBook on Thursday, one day ahead of schedule. In the second case I will have my iBook on Wednesday, two days ahead of schedule. I’m not sure I can pester the FedEx guy 33% more to make up for lost time, but at this rate The Apple Store will be seeing more of my business so I will have many more opportunities to torture him. It also means that I will never have to darken the door of the CompUSA ever again which may well lengthen my life expectancy as stress is very hard on the heart.
Do you suppose Blue Meanie (my iMac, in case you didn’t read that epinion) will be jealous when Max arrives? I wonder if I should have a talk with him. Hmmm.
January 21, 2002
Martin Luther King Day. I wonder if this will effect my delivery schedule? I want my iBook!
January 22, 2002
I knew this was all going too smoothly. I knew something would go wrong.
I also knew CompUSA would be involved.
My husband called me at work to tell me that CompUSA had called and my scanner had been accidentally delivered there instead of right next door at Borders. This is not in any way the fault of The Apple Store. They are way ahead of schedule now. Part of the blame is mine. It did not occur to me that with an Apple certified dealer in the same plaza that I should specify what store my baby should be delivered to. And for some reason the CompUSA receiver didn’t check a list to make sure that he should be getting an Epson scanner for Christine Morris. This would only have been half as irritating if:
1) CompUSA had not called my home to ask me to pick up my item.
2) Ignored me for 5 minutes when I arrived to pick up my item.
3) Spent 5 more minutes searching for someone who knew where my item was.
4) Spent a further 5 minutes explaining why they could not give me my item due to auditing procedures and paperwork. He would have babbled longer but I held up my hand and said "so what you’re telling me is you can’t give it to me now and I have to wait for FedEx to pick it up tomorrow and deliver it next door."
I did make certain that the receiver knew that I was due to receive an iBook tomorrow and he should refuse it immediately. The scanner I’m not so excited about, but if the iBook isn’t on the truck tomorrow, Chris the FedEx guy and I are taking a walk to the dock next door.
I must also say in the defense of FedEx, we are in the midst of a driver flux. The normal driver quit last week and we now have two guys trading the route off between them. Under normal circumstances the driver would have been watching for my stuff and known better than to leave it with the bumbling fools at CompUSA.
January 23, 2002
Today, my iBook arrived. He was switched on at 10:13 ("I made this!" Sorry, double geek moment.) He came to me loaded with all the software except the iPhoto and most of my coworkers are very, very jealous. Oh, if you could have seen their faces as they asked me, one after another, "is it for here?" followed by the sound of crest fall when I answered, "no, it’s mine."
The Apple Store delivered more than I expected sooner than I expected it. What more can you ask for? I know I’ll be shopping there again. My husband is making noise about speakers and I’m itching for a reason.
Recommended:
Yes
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Darkmistress
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Location: Concepcion, Chile
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