Wow. Well I wasn't prepared for the story to hit the front page of Digg and I certainly wasn't prepared for the comments from childish fifth-graders who just learned to tpye on there l33t new compruters.
In any event it didn't do any good for me personally. OfficeMax is still not going to do anything and stands by it's policy of not filling orders if it cuts into their bottom line. The laptop does look like it's being discontinued. Is that my fault? No. Is it Office Max's fault? No. Should they make a better faith gesture than a $50 gift card? I think so. Saving money on their bottom line doesn't do them any good if you can't sell ANY of their products. Companies should learn that if they aren't willing to keep their customers happy then they won't have any customers at all.
This is, of course, hampered by people who think that a company has no obligation to you as a customer at all. I can never really understand why individuals would opt to take the side or perspective of a large business. I more readily identify with the role of consumer because, well, I am one. Granted, there needs to be a fair balance struck between the two but I don't feel that OfficeMax has done so.
To all of those leaving comments to the effect "you should have been in line at 4 am if you really wanted it" I would direct you to one of the comments in my original post
I was the second person in line at 4AM. I waited in the cold for an hour, only to be told that they did not have the Averatec 2370 in stock. "How could that be possible, I said, you just opened, and I am the second person in line!" Turns out the store, like many others, NEVER GOT THE LAPTOP IN STOCK. I was told, "Don't worry, just fill out this Ordermax, and you'll get in two days." It is now 10 days later; no laptop, no end in sight. As a matter of fact, I was told by "customer service" (and do I ever use the term loosley) that the laptop is indefinetely backordered, and might come as late as January!
This comment is echoed in several different forums. While this is a different situation, obviously OfficeMax was not prepared on either front, brick and mortar or online, to deal with ANY demand for this laptop.
I would also echo the sentiments of the same commenter:
What really burns me up, though, is that there were FIVE other retailers within a two mile radius advertising great deals on laptops, but, seeing as though they all opened at the same time, I made a choice. And I got screwed.
I'm still trying to find a laptop that is comparable and a reasonable price. Obviously there are no $600 dual core 12" laptops with a gig of ram anywhere else.
The most I can hope from this debacle is that people won't patronize OfficeMax.
To all the flamers posting comments: I find it somewhat ironic that there's so many comments about moving on and getting a life yet these people seem to have the time to expel their poorly spelled and grammatically incorrect "thoughts" on a story they haven't read and really don't understand. Maybe I'm not the only one who should move on...
