Follow Up On PriceSmart UPS Problem
Jul 13th, 2008 by Don Ray
Yesterday morning, I took the UPS back to PriceSmart that was failing for a week. I had monitored the device all week so that I could accurately explain what the problem was.
I took it to the customer desk and they promptly called the resident expert to check UPS. He took the UPS and plugged it in, the LCD display appeared and he said. It looks OK.
I explained that the problem was that throughout the day, the unit would beep and think that there was no power and switch to the battery and then in 15 minutes or so would switch back and start charging the battery. I don’t know if he was listening or thinking about what ever he want to think about, but then he pointed and showed that the charge was increasing and said. All was OK. At that time, I started to get disgusted. I told him you could not see the problem, if you watched the device for a couple of minutes,
I also told him that it didn’t matter if any thing was connected to the UPS or not, it still failed in the same way. I said I was not going to spend all day for him to see the problem. I was there for an exchange to a non-failing unit. With that he sent me back to the customer desk. The lady started to refund me my money, and I told her that I really needed a UPS and an exchange would be fine.
Then she told me that the technician (I use the term loosely), had said the unit was fine. I decided that an exchange would be a bad idea. I am afraid that the “technician” has probably removed any future products, such as that, from my PriceSmart purchase list.
I then went to Pars Computers across from Super99. I picked up the largest Forza UPS that Pars carried and it is now in place and running like a charm. Pars has been around a long time and I have purchased several items there.
If you happen to decide to buy the 8 hour UPS at PriceSmart, make sure the one you buy is in a new box and the unit is covered with protective plastic. If the box it tattered and the unit has no protective film on the sides, it may be the one I returned, which must be good because the technician said so.
Hi DR - interested to read of issues regarding UPS purchased at PriceSmart and talks with PS techie/salesperson. Oddly, of all of the electronic purchases made there in the past 12-18 months, the Newpoint UPS I bought there is the only thing still working - have had failures with TVs and small home appliances and discovered the loopholes in their warranty policies. Power tools - cordless and otherwise - are also a danger zone. We’ve come to regard any tool purchased there as disposible.
When making any purchase at PriceSmart that may fall under a warranty, make sure you speak to the manager to find out how long your warranty is and what it covers. Also, make sure if a warranty card is filled out, it is filled out completely AND accurately. Be aware that PriceSmart does not refer non-warranty repairs to the certified repair center for your product - only to whom they have under contract/agreement and that company may not have the tools/parts/knowledge to repair your item.
Of course, all if this doesn’t mean we don’t shop there - we do. We just think long & hard before we buy…
As always, thanks for putting all of this out there…. DSD
It’s sad that I knew the end of your story by the 3rd paragraph. I keep hoping for a different ending but far too often these end up the same. They always “know more”! BTW, both of my FORZA UPS units work great! Thanks to Alex from Infox…great support too!
If PARS carries the electronic device I need/want, I always buy it from them. I’ve never had a problem with anything I’ve bought there, and they seem to have a good understanding of ‘customer service’.
DSD, Scott and Fran. Thanks for dropping in and leaving comments.
I didn’t realize that Pars Computers had been around a while, and that it sold reliable goods with customer service. We need a new router; we’ll check them out next time we’re in the area.
I did buy the Belkin router at PriceSmart and it has worked great. I bought it because it also provided wireless. Pars has been here before I came in 2003.
We’re having such trouble with ours that we’ve temporarily disabled it. It’s not clear whether there’s a problem with the router or whether it’s some weird incompatibility with our Macs, which sometimes happens. Mary has a few more things she wants to try before we permanently give up on the router.
What brand is it? Most routers are pretty simple. I am surprised if it is incompatability.
[...] other day when I posted about buying the Forza UPS, I thought I had posted about Pars Computer in the past. When I did a search on the blog, I saw [...]