Fight for the Right to Purchase

Been trying to buy come computer hardware today. Only started trying at the end of last month. I'm buying from a company who you might have heard of, who probably have offices near a place called Dingley. I normally recommend this company to friends you want to buy computers because I like a quiet life. The stuff is well designed, well documented and well supported. And if you buy over the internet for your own use the service is swift and efficient. But if you try to buy as an institution, say as a university, things don't go quite so smoothly.

The first contact told me that the order we faxed over a fortnight ago would not work because they don't accept faxed orders. The second contact put me on to the third contact. The third contact told me to fax the order in and then assured me that the order had been processed and would be delivered next week. Then he went on holiday. The fourth contact told me that the order could not be found, but I should ring the next day when it would appear. The fifth contact told me that the order was not on the system because the order number could not be read. This contact then undertook to let me know when the order had been added to the system. And there the matter rests. Since I originally created the order all the prices have changed and so I'll probably have to go into battle to sort that out too.

And all I want is a couple of handhelds and a server. Ho hum.