Vox

Timing Is Everything

As I mentioned, most of my family have gone on a cruise (Alaska) which leaves no one in the office but me. I generally love to work this way, grateful for the total control of my environment.

The computers started acting up on Monday, just completely dragging but no clue as to why. I did the usual checks for SpyWare, AdWare and Viruses and found nothing. We managed to get through the day and I didn't think much more about it.

Tuesday they were toast - well, not the computers, the network. Here I am in the middle of a payroll with almost 200 employees waiting for checks and I can't get anything done on the payroll. It turns out the router has lost the will to route. Bummer! All the people I would normally call for help with hardware issues are on the cruise. Bummer! I call the manufacturer, DLink, and they are willing (and actually quite eager) to replace it - but it won't get here in time.

So I start my wild goose chase for a router that can handle 4 computers and a printer through the one unit.

Best Buy doesn't have what I need - and the clerks are confused about what it is I am looking for. When I say I need to replace my router they take me to the cable modems. When I finally get to the right area, they tell me that there is no such thing as what I am describing. Yeah, I am making it up - and the model number is fictitious. Their suggestion is that I get the wireless router, which I can use with cables and will be ready when I decide to go wireless. Add a print server and I am good to go. About $100. uh---no.

Circuit City, nearly the same situation, but at least the girl knew the difference between a router and a cable modem. She didn't, however, get that I didn't want to go wireless. I didn't want to reconfigure anything. I wanted a product that would meet my specifications and get me up and running NOW. She also doesn't believe a router that handles a printer even exists. Same suggestion from her, buy the wireless product because eventually we "will want to go wireless" and either add a print server or share it through one of the computers. Not efficient and not economical. $80 - $100.

Fry's Electronics - hallelujah. Not only did they have the exact product, they had several in stock. He didn't try to upgrade me. He didn't suggest I was not getting the right product for my needs. I was in and out quickly, back to the office and working in a flash (well, if you don't count the wasted stops and the driving time....) $50.

Payroll processed, checks printed with time to spare last night.

Thank you to DLink and Fry's for their great customer service. Thank you to Fry's for the depth of their product selection.

Posted by Vox at June 15, 2005 04:00 PM | work