Tuesday, March 6, 2012

About that Extended Warranty


This printer is almost identical to mine. For all intents and purposes, let's just say it's the same. I bought it from a VERY helpful and knowledgeable OfficeMax employee named Dan. I'm very loyal to OfficeMax. I like being familiar with the layout and product line of a store. I can shop in unfamiliar stores, but for office supplies, it works just fine to stick with OfficeMax, and eschew Office Depot and Staples. Another thing I have typically eschewed is extended warranties. I've bought a few, but never used one. Today I decided to utilize the benefits of the e.w. I bought for this printer. So far, I have found out that I have a replacement plan, not a service plan; they reimburse me the original cost of the printer, but not until after I ship it back to them and then they issue a store credit for the cost, so guess who's without a printer for minimum two weeks; and if I want to *fix* the machine, I'm on my own. So, what to do.

The issue is the yellow ink. And while the black ink may be extremely cost-efficient, the company makes up for it in the price of the colored ink. I traded in a printer at the time of purchase, so I would already be getting back $50 less than the purchase price, and I have found out that OfficeMax no longer carries this product.

What do I want? I want this printer to work. Knowing that helps me decide exactly the course of action to take.

Voted today. Got the sticker. My favorite part of voting, honestly, is seeing a friend of mine who works my polling place. It's always nice to catch up with her, and today she was making a beautiful quilt for a baby. "You know how you get invited to baby showers at the last minute, and you don't have time to make something nice?" she asks. Oh, yes, I say. But the truth is, I don't know when I last went to a baby shower. Been kinda out of the loop for awhile.

Continuing to set up my new office. Wishing my girl Val was a squeakier wheel. She has been dealing with allergies, especially in her room, for quite some time. Today, I finally figured out that it's probably very dusty in here. Brought the air purifier down here and am enjoying being able to breathe. (I, too, am allergic to dust). Actually, Val was probably squeaky enough, and I just didn't give that squeaky wheel grease. Sometimes it takes me awhile to catch on.

And a weather update: Had spring on Sunday, winter on Monday, and we're back to spring on Tuesday. That's Ohio for you. This year, anyway.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

About the whole "squeaky wheel getting the grease" thing -- I think it's more about "walking a mile in someone's shoes." It is so hard to know what someone is experiencing until we experience it ourselves. And even then we only have a clue of what they might be experiencing. But it is enlightening to step into someone's shoes (or dusty room) and discover something new about them. Trust you're giving yourself grace on this particular point. Good luck with the printer!!
xo, mjm

Anonymous said...

*I trust you're giving yourself grace...

:-)

Unknown said...

Excellent point, Mindy. I did think of the "walk a mile" metaphor as well. That is really what showed me the air quality of the room. I am definitely giving myself grace. Just considering how sometimes the kids need something but i miss it. I'm not expecting perfection. I just want to be responsive.

Unknown said...

Yeah, I left baby showers behind a while ago too. Funny how that works, huh.

I'm amazed at how expensive the little parts of things like printers can be. It's kind of the same with computers in general. It's the programs and such that really suck the money out of you.

Anonymous said...

I feel for you on the printer issue. I've owned several over the years. I never buy the EW. I bought a paper shredder at Staples $20. The offered me the EW $5. I just laughed.

We had a office max but they closed. My neighbor is/was a store manager. She helped us with a deal on a PC years ago. I prefer Office Max, but Staples is all we have - close.

Of all the printers I've had, brother was the cheapest to use. Not very user friendly. Canon cost more but the easiest to use. Lexmark doesn't even rank as far as I'm concerned. They give the printer away for almost nothing and then you pay through the nose for ink.

I always buy the multi-function 5 in 1 printers. My Brother quit working so I bought a HP. It falls asleep and you can't wake it up. I have to unplug it then plug it back in to get to work. It will be the last HP I buy.

Three yrs is all these little headaches are supposed to last. John Meyer

Anonymous said...

I wish there was a like button for blog posts. I dont have anything enlightening to say except that i really enjoy reading your blog. Bono

Unknown said...

What more could I ask, Bono?

Unknown said...

John, thanks for your comment! The black ink for the Lexmark is actually very reasonable. That is why I print almost everything in black and white!

Unknown said...

Mom Chef,
The biggest cost to me in trying to fix the printer so far is the ream of paper I have used in printing out test pages!