I recently purchased a portable fridge for my dorm room on Amazon. When I received the package, everything worked fine, but there was a very visible dent on the side of the door. Being the picky person I am and wanting my full $200 worth, I asked Amazon for a replacement unit. Amazon kindly agreed to replace the damaged unit and since I was in a rush, they even threw in “One-Day Shipping” through UPS. I placed the original unit at the door for UPS to pickup, and when I got home the original package was taken and the replacement was at the doorstep.

The “new” box looked pretty badly beaten up, smashed, and torn. When I opened the box I was horrified to see the fridge’s front door had a HUGE “bullet-hole” looking crater. The rest of the unit was scratched up, smashed inwards, and bulging out. And to top that, the unit was soaked in some weird liquid. I decided to open the fridge door, to make things even worse, it fell right off its hinges.

I once again called Amazon’s Customer Service, to see if I could get a “working” replacement. Amazon didn’t agree to replace it this time, but offered a full refund and free pickup of the trashed unit. I ended up purchasing the unit at Fry’s Electronics, a bay area computer store, which actually ended up being about $25 cheaper since it was on sale. I constantly order items from Amazon and I have literally never received a damaged product. My guess is that this had something to do with UPS’s deliver guy. There have been videos online of delivery personnel throwing packages across driveways to the door step.

As for Amazon’s Customer Support, it was just AMAZING. With a click of a button on their website, they call you, you don’t have to dial a 1-800 number and go through the standard “press one for blah” options. Their representative already has your order number and just requires verifying some personal information for security. The wait times were just 3-4 minutes each time I contacted them, which is quicker than any other experience I’ve had. In addition their reps actually knew what they were doing, they were knowledgeable, polite, and well trained. Without any screaming or yelling they were able to quickly drive me through the return process. In addition the second time I called to return the replacement, they themselves suggested a full refund. I even began to feel a bit guilty for returning that original fridge since it was only slightly damaged, but then realized this is the way Customer Service should be!

Has anyone else actually had a GOOD experience with any big company’s customer service?

Links: Amazon.com

Ever forget you password? Well luckily, we have a quick and easy solution for iPod owners. After completing the following, your iPod will become a password recovery disk, which will allow recovering your system password in case you get locked out. Note: This tutorial is only works for WinXP.

Required Items:

• Windows XP Home/Pro
• iPod Nano or iPod Video
• USB-iPod Connection Cable

Set Up Procedure:
1) Connect your iPod to your machine and verify that it appears as a standard drive in “My Computer”. (ex: “Joe’s iPod (G:)”)
Note: If it doesn’t appear and you have iTunes Installed, make sure “disk use” is enabled.
2) Go To Control Panel -> User Accounts -> Select Your Account -> Related Tasks – > “Prevent a forgotten password”. A Wizard should appear.
3) Select Your iPod’s Drive Name -> Enter Current Password -> Finish

Once complete your iPod should be setup as a password recovery disk. Do not delete the “userkey” file, which you may see when browsing your iPod’s contents. To test your recovery disk do a quick Log Off and try logging in with an incorrect password. Select “use password reset disk”. Then proceed and select your iPod’s drive name. If all goes well it should you will be allowed to create a new password.

Note: Non-iPod users can use the same procedure to save the “userkey” file to a Thumbdrives, CDs, floppy, Memory Sticks, etc.

Links: Microsoft Support – Password Reset Disk
Related: Apple iPod | Windows XP Royale Theme

The 6 Editions of Vista:

1. Vista Business – includes tools for large and small companies to organize and manage all computers more efficently
2. Vista Enterprise – all features of basic plus additional encryption for security and bitblocker to protect confidental data
3. Vista Home Basic – only for those that want: internet, email, word processing, search tools, and basic security
4. Vista Home Premium – all features of basic edition with new the aero theme and media center which links to xbox 360
5. Vista Ultimate – all the features of business and home in one package
6. Vista Starter – a low-cost edtion, which is cut down of most features and is target towards developing nations

Links: Microsoft Windows Vista
Related: Microsoft Windows XP