Playing Dumb Is Not Always Easy
A few days ago I was reading a post in which @nitsuga12 was telling us about his new keyboard. Reading his post made me remember the time when I toasted mine. It's a funny story, even though back then I was not laughing at all, on the contrary.
The whole thing happened when selling refurbished computers was a very profitable business in my country. You could see shops open every day on every corner, offering a warranty period of five years. This worked like a magnet, people let themselves fooled by the offer and buy whatever they were offered. Then after the stocks were sold, shops closed and the business disappeared forever. People were left with the 5 year warranty paper in their hands and had to pay for the repair if something happened as there was no one to repair their PC.
I bought a DELL from a well known shop and paid more than these newly opened shops would ask. That shop was known as the most expensive in the city, but the oldest as well. I was called a fool for paying that much and when I told them to wait till the story unfolds, they looked at me like I was an alien. Later when the sh*t hit the fan some admitted that I was right, others could not swallow their pride and went on pretending they made the right decision.
My PC worked perfectly, I was satisfied with it, then one nice day I went to buy a TV. It was a hot summer day, can't remember what month it was, but I know I was wearing a t-shirt, jeans and sandals. I bought the TV, brought it home and after 30 minutes, plugged it in. That was when the boom 💥 happened 😂 No, don't get me wrong, the TV was fine, fully functional. However, apart from the boom 💥, there was smell too, which is never good. One thing I've learnt from specialists is to pay attention to burning like small.
What Happened?
Imagine the following scenario. I had a PC, a keyboard, a mouse and a modem, all plugged in the same place as the TV. The PC was turned off. I plugged the TV and the boom happened. The TV was on, functioning perfectly fine.
After investigating where the boom 💥 came from, I found out what happened. My PC was not working, I could not turn it on. It was a very bad sign and I knew the problem was big, but because of the warranty period, the only thing I could do is take it back to the shop. The modem was also not working, which was an even bigger problem as it was a custodial item in my care. The keyboard and the mouse were not tied to warranty or any custodial contract, so we could have a look at those and had to realize that both were toasted.
After seeing the damage, I needed a plan, a good story to feed the shop with and the internet provider too, in order to get the damage repaired for free, or the damaged devices replaced. I couldn't tell them the truth, so I needed a plausible story to make them believe it wasn't my fault. Basically it wasn't my fault, but it wasn't theirs either.
So the next day I went to the shop and handed them over my PC. The first thing they did was to check the seal on the back and when they saw it was untouched, then they asked me what was the problem. I told them that I turned it off in the evening and the next day couldn't turn it on. They were not stupid, so I was addressed a series of questions like, if there was a power outage during the period and stuff like that. I said no, nothing notable happened. They said they are going to phone me once they check it out and we'll see.
The next day I got a call from them, notifying me that the motherboard was toast. Lol, what a surprise 😂 Obviously I had to sound surprised and even asked them how come. They gave me some general answer, like something went wrong and it happens. It was good enough for me as they replaced my motherboard and handed my PC over in 2 days. This was all done for free. So one problem was solved.
In the meantime I went to the internet provider to take back the modem. You can guess that the same scenario happened there too. Questions about what happened and how. My face was burning like hell, firstly because I don't like to look dumb, if I don't know something, I'd rather look into it and learn and secondly, because I don't like to lie. Bottom line, the guy saw the modem was toast, so he gave me a new one and made me sign a new custodial contract. So the second problem was solved as well, for free.
The keyboard and the mouse was not a free ride, I had to buy new ones, but that was the least of the problems and the cheapest.
How?
After this incident, which ended in a good way as I got the expensive parts replaced for free and the downtime was 2 - 3 days, I wanted to know how on earth is possible to toast a modem, a motherboard, a keyboard and a mouse, when the PC wasn't even turned on. I asked several tech guys, it was like a riddle or test, but no one could give me an answer till now.
Conclusion
Cheap doesn't always mean good as well. I would never risk buying from an unknown seller, even if it's cheaper. Go for quality and security as it's cheaper at the end.
Secondly, lieing is never good, but has its advantages and benefits 😂 Playing dumb is not easy, but with hard work, it can be done.
If you read my post and have a clue what might have happened, let me know, I'm listening.
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Cheap doesn't really mean good always same as expensive does not suggest quality. However, buying should be based on certain reasons which we considered before buying. There are some things which are cheap but durable and some expensive but full with regrets afterwards.
@RantComplainTalk
Well I’m just wowed right now as to how you were able to get pass all that questions that were asked, I can imagine the kind of questions they usually ask. For someone like me, they would definitely find out that I’m lying because I wouldn’t be able to keep myself composed. 😅
I think you really got lucky there, getting all that fixed up for free. But one thing I’ve heard I that, those kind of ‘boom’ usually happens when there is high current flowing or sometimes when the socket is loaded with too many appliances.
I was also amazed that I could get everything fixed for free, without any additional scandal. Well, almost everything.
Yeah, that is true but we don't have that problem here. I live in Europe, so electricity is not like in Africa or other parts of the world. There are no power cuts, shocks or any other problems.
What could be the problem then 🤔
We are are going to need some experts to come look at your situation, hopefully you can get a proper explanation of what happened.
Most people just want to get things the easy way and at cheaper prices without thinking of what will happen next.
I will always choose quality over quantity.
You must be that smart to be able to compose yourself well enough to get all of those fixed for you for free. I don’t think I’d have been able to do that in a situation like this because I would feel really nervous.😅
When it comes to electronics, I always choose a trusted brand and make no exceptions. So far I had no problem and anytime there was something wrong, I got it fixed by the company.
I was nervous too but had no other choice. The products were not tempered with, they saw the harm was not done manually and as there was no proof of anything, they had to repair it.
Some people will not know the benefits of doing that until they find themselves in a situation like this.
Well, I’m glad they repaired it for you. I can’t imagine how much you would have spent on repairs.
It's relieving to know that, you were able to enjoy the warranty on your gadgets. It's natural that, these people have to stress you with questions before granting you the warranty as they did and you was smart enough to overcome those questions.
To me, I think the problem was due to the fact that you plugged several appliances to one source. You know they all have different current consumption levels and all if them being at one place will add pressure to the energy source. My dumb opinion though☺.
I don't know what the problem was honestly and so far everyone is just guessing. Today we use laptops so things have changed in that regard and TV's are also not the same. However, I don't plug many gadgets in the same place anymore, since then.
Strange event... burned motherboard means you had an voltage overshot, which I can not explain how this could come from the TV. I would definitely replace that plug, this would be my first suspect. It is a risk of fire hazard...
I can't remember if the plug was replaced or not, but had no similar problems since then. I guess this is the mistery of my life, regarding electronics.
I'm so glad you were able to get everything for free because they would have put you under a huge financial burden. I'm sure the products you use are not the cheapest haha. I'm terrible at lying, when I tell a lie my face turns red and the truth comes out immediately so I never try it that way.
I have a guess as to what happened to your computer. When you insert any plug into the socket you will hear a small popping sound from the socket. This happens all the time in my country. Probably when you plugged it in, a high voltage went to your computer, modem and it messed it up. Always make sure that when you plug something in, the other side of the cable is not plugged into the product. For example, when I plug in my laptop charger, I always unplug the cable from my laptop. I plug it in first and then plug the cable into my computer. I suggest you do the same next time.
That's a smart suggestion and if it doesn't help, it can't hurt either. The truth is we have a bunch of electronics these days and our collection is growing day by day as we can't live without them, so being careful is my number one priority. Always has been. But, you know... sh*t happens.
Yes, it always happens.
Believe me it will help haha. It works for me 😂
It sounds like the wiring on the TV wasn’t done right, or on the outlet. It happens fairly often where they put a white wire where a black one is supposed to go. It could also have been improperly grounded. This doesn’t have consequences if it’s the only thing there but it sends voltage backwards I think, I’ll have to ask my dad he’s an electrician but he does say that people will screw it up and wire things wrong and cause issues like this. If you know any electricians ask them I think they can tell you quickly if they are decent enough.
Another thing I highly recommend with anything like this is always get a surge protector plug strip and plug in your computer to that. If there is any electrical issues outside your house and there’s a surge that gets fed in it will destroy the things plugged in. Getting a surge protector plug strip is a really cheap way to ensure this likely won’t happen and the strips are incredibly cheap these days. I plug all of my electronics into them, except the big ones like fridge, oven etc. All computers and televisions are plugged into a surge protected strip then into the wall to prevent these things from happening. If you had your computer plugged into it, I don’t think you would’ve had it happen.
I have asked several electricians since then, good ones, engineers as well and none of them was able to give me a clear answer.
I need to look into that option you are mentioning and talk to my electrician to see what can be done. Over the years I had installed separate circuits for different electronics with high level of energy consumption, which is needed these days but maybe I can do more to protect what I have.
Anyway, thanks for the tip. One can never be too careful.
No te lo puedo creer, fue una serie de sucesos horribles jajaja pero lo bueno es que ahora podes reirte de ese recuerdo y contarlo como una anecdota. Me alegro que hayas podido acudir a la garantia, tienes razón mentir n oesta bueno pero primero no fue tu culpa y segundo ellos no van a ir a la quiebra por ahcerce cargo de la garantia asi que no sientas cargo de conciencia. Una lastima por los perifericos pero bueno lo más caro lo pudiste rescatar, me sorprende que se haya quemado todo ¿No sera que habia muchos elementos conectados en el mismo adaptador? Que tengas un buen año y no quemes nada más
It was indeed a series of horrible events and real too :) I was happy to get the big and expensive pieces replaced and you are right, they are not going to go bankrupt as they are counting on cases like mine. Peripheral equipment is not so expensive, so it was ok.
I had all these connected to the same place. So lesson learnt since then, although I still don't know what was the cause.
That's has always been my point. Go for quality and not quantity.
I had a similar issue and when I inquired, the technician told me that if I didn't let water anywhere close to the PC then insects must have gone in there. He mentioned ants to be precised but who knows?
There are things where brand does not matter, but not when it comes to electronics.
I'm sorry about your bad experience though.
Oh it's no problem at all, as I learnt a lesson
Well yes I agree cheap doesn't necessarily mean good.
Come to think of it, it's better to spend a little more for something that maybe will last longer over time and will have a guarantee... in the end, you got away with it for free eh eh!
The poorest things maybe stop working on their own after a few days and we simply lost the money.
I prefer to do some economy, collect the money and then buy something of quality 💪
Cheap rarely means good, unfortunately.
Buying a cheap object in most of the cases means throwing your money out of the window and not saving.