Why you should consider Best Buy

Ok, on with the laptop saga. After having Fry's Electronics tell me that our business wasn't wanted or needed, we had to figure out where to take our business. Up here in the Natomas area, we have a few choices. There is a Staples, an Office Max, a Sam's Club, a Best Buy, a Fry's - nope never again, and if you go a little further there is a Circuit City, an Office Depot, etc. To be truthful, none of these thrilled me. Having built my own computers and running my businesses on them since 1979, I've forgotten more than most of the employees at any of these places know. In fact the only reason that I ever went to Fry's was because they are within 3 miles from our house, their prices were good and the selection was even better. Fry's employees must be all on commission, as they will only wait on you if you have already picked out what you want and all they need to do is write the ticket and get credit for the sale. Otherwise they seem to ignore you. The only store that had knowledgeable employees was Comp USA and they've quit the entire Northern California area. So what to do....
My lovely bride said that someone had told her that they really liked Best Buy. They said that the employees there are much more helpful than Fry's. (which can hardly be a brag) The last few times that I walked through Best Buy, I found their employees to be ignorant if you could find one. I haven't been in a Best Buy for many years though, because of my impression of their staff. However my friend Chuck, who is kind of a techie, is always telling me that he buys everything at Best Buy. I had seen an ad about a Toshiba laptop on sale at Best Buy. I figured that if I wasn't going to get any service from the store staff, I might as well give Best Buy a shot at pricing. So I grit my teeth and we went to the Best Buy in Natomas. We walked back to the computer section and started looking for the 2 laptops that I had seen on sale. And, of course, we couldn't find either of the sale items. Then we were approached by an employee who introduced himself as Nathan. I told him what I was looking for and he walked us right to them. There was a $50,00 difference between the Toshiba and a HP. I asked Nathan what he thought about both machines and their companies in general. He was very articulate and his reasons pro and con for each machine showed thought and knowledge. When I told him what the machine would be used for, he recommended the cheaper Toshiba. I then asked him if another machine would be better, even at a higher price. He showed us other machines, but he still thought that the Toshiba was the best machine for us. (obviously not a commission driven salesman). When he went to get us the Toshiba, he found out that they had just sold the last one and it must have still been in the store (not rung up yet). He then got into their database, found out that Roseville had 23, called them and had one put aside for us. We drove up to the Roseville store and they had it set aside and marked with our name, waiting for pickup. And the "Geek Squad" guys at both stores were really helpful under my barrage of questions. Eloise has some vendor supplied software that is hard to shoe-horn into any computer. I can't remember when I have had such good service in a large (big box) electronics store. If you go into Natomas Best Buy looking for computer equipment, look up Nathan. You'll be glad that you did.
As an aside, I had heard that when Best Buy brought in the "Geek Squad" to their service department, that they were changing how their business was going to be run. Do to really poor service at the Arden Mall store in 2000 and previous poor service in the Santa Rosa Store prior to 2000, I had never given them a try. And I had been sorry to hear that the Sacramento Comp USA had closed. But now I think that I know why. Best Buy is their equal in service and beats their prices.

Why you should never buy from Fry's Electronics

OK.  It is a title that leaves little to the imagination.  However, as a loyal buyer at the Fry's Electronics in Sacramento for 6 or 7 years, it tells allot about how they treat their loyal customers.  And I'll give a little background on my purchasing first to show the credibility of my complaint.  Since 2001, I have purchased 6 laptops from them (3 were for family members).  I have purchased 5 desktop computers,  4 flat screen monitors, 5 or 6 printers and 6 cordless phones.  The shop and store have 8 security cameras, a tape recorder and a hard drive hooked to them from Fry's  I bought a 27" TV and a VHS/DVD player for the office.  These are just the items that they keep track of by my phone number (and can look up).   The amount of accessories would be relative to the major purchases.   I figure that my traceable purchases run well over $2000 a year and the miscellaneous ink, cords, mice, battery backup (4 in the last 2 years), etc would at least double that amount.  Substantial enough to at least warrant some customer satisfaction.  Nope.  Here's the story....

Eloise had her Fry's laptop stolen and we went back to Fry's to replace it.  I believe that this was in Nov of 2006.  She purchased a HP laptop that was a little over $1000 and she also purchased a 3 year Fry's extended warranty with it.  Eloise had trouble with the display  twice and we took it to Fry's for repair both times.  One time they had it for 2 months !!!  Then 2 weeks ago, the screen went out completely,  Just a white screen.  This time I knew that it was the video card, as the video port on the side wouldn't light up a remote monitor.  Now here is the problem.  The video card in ON the motherboard.  So the motherboard would have to be replaced.  And this is now on the Fry's extended warranty, not the HP warranty.  Eloise took it in and they told her that there was a screw missing from the bottom, there was a screw that was stripped and there was a small dent on the corner of the case. Without opening the case, they declared that it had been abused and the warranty was void.  I went with Elly to the store to help.  I stated that Fry's were the only place that the laptop had been taken, so that if there were screws missing or stripped, they were responsible.  The small dent didn't even come close to damaging any components as it obviously was an old dent.  They looked it up and verified that they had the laptop in twice before for repair.  Their service manager wouldn't budge.  He said that the motherboard must have had something spilled on it.  This was decided without opening it up!!!  In fact I knew that the motherboard would have cost Fry's less than we paid for the extended warranty.  After pleading my case for 20 min, I asked to talk to the store manager.  They claimed that all of the managers were busy with store business (?) and the guy that spoke to me in their stead wouldn't override the service manager.   He said that it was company policy.  (their Company Policy must be whatever is most profitable and/or the least bother for Fry's)  Since it is my personal policy to stop all purchasing with greedy, unreasonable companies, I asked him to look up my purchases to see of he was willing to toss all of my business.  He looked my phone number and agreed that there were substantial purchases, but he still wouldn't overturn the service managers verdict.  So we left.  We purchased a Toshiba laptop for Eloise at Best Buy.  More on Best Buy later.  Since that occurrence, I have purchased 2 laptops and am looking for a new 42" wide screen TV.  And you can bet that NONE will be purchased from Fry's.  So far, I have cost them a wide screen TV purchase from my neighbor and about $600.00 worth of computer components from a friend at church.  I announced the story to the entire Men's group during our breakfast meeting last Saturday and cost them at least another computer sale.  I have posted the story in my store and will post it on both my business and personal blogs.  And I will repost it every few months to keep it visible.

Now as to the extended warranty.  At Airless Spray Center, we deal with extended warranties all of the time.  And we honor them to the customers.  The warranty companies make so money on them that they WANT us to go WAY out our way to make their customers happy.  They are looking for repeat business, unlike Fry's.  We deal with a extended warranty company that treats their customers really well.  The name of this company is NEW.  Buy their warranties with confidence; as long as you don't take anything into Fry's for the warranty service.  I think that they may be denying their customers their claims and getting credit from the underwriter.  Why else would they deny a legitimate claim?

Super Bowl Sunday

OK.  It's Sunday, tomorrow is a holiday, and I'm already figuring that it will be the Patriots and the Packers.  The Patriots have beaten the Chargers, The Giants are behind at the half and I don't like Eli Manning and am sure that Bret will whop him.  So.  In 2 weeks you all should be at a Super Bowl party.  After Church, of course.  And yes, I'm told that it is OK to pray for your favorite team.  Not that it will change the final score.....  I'm told that all of Texas (and other traitors in other states) prayed for the Cowboys.......

Tomorrow is a holiday and I get to spend it figuring out what to do with a laptop used by j'Eloise as the POS (point of sale and inventory) which had a mother board failure.  If it wasn't a laptop, it wouldn't be as much trouble.  I will have to remove the hard drive and use another computer to retrieve the inventory and last years books.  Fun Fun....

So I will reopen the Airless Spray Center store on Tuesday at 7am.  Happy Monday !!

Airless Spray Center: Robin Subaru moving in on Honda

Airless Spray Center: Robin Subaru moving in on Honda

Robin Subaru moving in on Honda

Robin Subaru is moving in on what has been Honda territory for the past 20 years.  This doesn't surprise us here for many reasons.  The first and foremost reason is that Honda is still marketing a 25 years old design.  The OHV (overhead valve) engine was a great step up from traditional small engines then, but now their design is tired, worn and outdated.  And Honda, in their arrogance, doesn't care.  Their engines normally work well and they have trained their customers well.

However, Subaru is marketing an OHC (overhead cam).  This engine is more efficient and powerful for it's size.  It is also lubricated better.  Honda still depends on a "splash" system, which is really primitive.  These Robins engines are actually CHEAPER than the same hp Honda.

What Is an Overhead Cam?

(OHC) A Camshaft Mounted above the Head to Activate the Valves is driven by a timing (cam) chain. Direct valve activation by a cam eliminates the need of pushrods and rocker arms, and their accompanying lash and inertia. Valves respond quicker, valve adjustment can be more accurate, and engine speed can be higher.

OHC Engines Offer Mechanical Advantages over Comparable Size Pushrod Engines:
• More power
• Higher engine speed
• Fewer moving valve train parts
• Greater precision
• Easier maintenance

Robin Subaru is One of the Four largest engine manufacturers in the World—
Subaru Robin currently produces over 1,200,000 engines annually. A line of engine models, ranging from 4 to 25 hp, is marketed direct to OEM accounts, plus a variety of other distributor, dealer, and retail outlets. Power equipment applications range through construction, industrial, agricultural, recreational, and rental markets.

 

All Robins engines are backed by Worldwide Fuji Network—
All products are backed by parent, Fuji Heavy Industries, Ltd. Group, Saitama, Japan. Subaru Robin offers a more comprehensive engine package than any other engine manufacturer. A two-year manufacturer’s warranty plus over 4,000 Robin parts & service dealers in the U.S. and Canada further strengthen appeal to the OEM.    And Robin Subaru will actually honor the warranty, unlike Honda who has denied 99% of all warranties that we have submitted to them.

WagnerSprayTech has gone to the Robins engine exclusively.  Graco and Airlessco are offering now offering other engines as options (instead of only Honda's).  Most pressure washer companies offer other engines.  We at Airless Spray Center think that this is a movement that is long overdue.

Happy New Year

OK.  2007 is past and we're ready for 2008 to get our industry back on track.  Most of our customers were slower in 2007 due to the post mortem new housing slump.  Most of the forecasts that we have seen on the construction industry suggest a stable floor and the start of a really slow upward swing.  Sound good to us.

There isn't allot of news regarding the airless equipment market.  There are a few changes to the market, but nothing that will revolutionize the industry.  The small electrics are just stabilizing in their spec's.  Very few changes.  The gas market has seen the introduction of the Airlessco gas/hydraulic which will give the Speeflo PowerTwins and the Graco GH pumps a run for the money.  I will post the spec's on this pump on a later post.

But, for Now......

Have a really GREAT holiday season.  Rest up.  This spring will be the start of a really busy season.

Winterize

Now is the time to think about winter-izing the machines that you won't be using through the winter. There are different ways to accomplish this, but we recommend the following.
REALLY clean the pump by flushing with the appropriate solvent (of the last product used). Then run about a gallon of lacquer thinner through the pump. Last, fill the pump with 1/2 kerosene, 1/2 non detergent oil (compressor oil). Leave this in the pump. Leave the prime valve open to ensure that there is no pressure in the system. The pump is now protected from rust, corrosion and freezing.
Remember to flush the oil/kerosene mixture out of the machine with lacquer thinner before using again.

ALSO. Remember to drain all gas out of machine tanks unless you have added storage treatment to the fuel. Otherwise you will varnish up the fuel system and will accellerate maintenance and repairs.