Crazy Buying Experience

Since my iPod burnt out on me last year, I finally broke down to buy an Android mini tablet to play my music. Turns out the one I got was defective and was the last one in stock.

So this got me thinking about some of my past bad luck when it comes to buying defective items.

However, the time that I purchased a Wii U a couple of years ago, has yet to meet its match when it comes to crazy buying experiences…

And so it was a beautiful warm day in the fall when I felt compelled to update my gaming experience with a next gen console. So I did what any good gamer would do and drove to my local Walmart. I purchased the black version that was bundled with some game that didn’t look to interesting called Nintendo Land. Feeling that something was lacking, I decided to include Super Mario Bros. Wii U with my purchase to make the experience more complete.

Needless to say, the wheels of my car could not take me home fast enough as I rushed home to try out my new toy. Despite the odd arrangement of chords and peripherals, I wasted no time hooking up my system to my surround sound flat screen TV. I could have sworn I heard a drum roll as I pushed the power button. But to my disappointment nothing appeared on the screen.

“Maybe it’s on the wrong channel” I thought, or perhaps I just haven’t set it up right. After all, the console setup was unique from anything I had ever seen before with the control pad and motion sensor. After messing with it for an hour and reading instructions online, I reluctantly came to the conclusion that I had purchased a defective console.

Because it was getting late and I had to show up early for work the next day, I concluded it would be best to wait until I get off the next day to return it. And so I did just that. In typical Walmart fashion they accepted the return without protest.
And so once again I sped home with my new console, excited to finally be able to experience next gen Nintendo. Unfortunately my Wii U troubles were far from over…

I was relieved to see the Wii U logo appear on the screen after I had set it up. I threw aside Nintendo Land in favor of the Mario Bros. game knowing it would turn out to be the better of the two. With no more worries I tore off the shrink-wrap and opened the box. But instead of a colorful disc with Mario and mushroom people on it, was Alan Jackson’s Greatest Hits. Speechless, I just stared at the box and blinked my eyes hoping that I was just seeing things. 

“What the heck just happened?” I thought. “My dad listens to Alan Jackson. Maybe I left the box open and for some reason he put it in the box without thinking?”

Thankfully my brother was there as a witness to assure me that I had indeed just opened a brand new video game box with an Alan Jackson CD in it.

However, this did little to comfort me as a million questions began to surge through my head.

“What do I do?” I wondered.

“Will anybody at Walmart really believe that I opened a Super Mario Bros. game and found Alan Jackson in its place?”

“No! I have come this far and will not settle for spending sixty bucks on Alan Jackson’s greatest hits. I don’t even like country!”

After staring at the phone for a minute, I finally mustered the courage to make the awkward phone call to Walmart. Fortunately the manager proved to be very reassuring. She told me that it has happened before where someone will remove the game and reseal it with a CD to give the appearance that it’s still in there and then return it for a refund.

Needless to say, I was very relieved. So once again after work the next day I brought the game with me and paid customer service another visit. Unfortunately the woman at the counter recognized me as the man that had just been there the other day to return a Wii U. Because of this, she viewed me in suspicion as I explained to her my ridiculous story. Thankfully, I was able to convince her to call her supervisor and confirm my story.

Finally recognizing that this was not all part of some elaborate Nintendo scam, she did what I hoped she would do and swapped Alan Jackson for a brightly colored Mario Bros. disc and sent me on my way.

“Surely nothing else will go wrong?” I thought.

To my relief, this turned out to be correct and spent the rest of my evening squashing turtles and shooting fireballs with my hands.

I feel better now that I’ve got that out of my system.


Does anybody else have any crazy fun stories they’d like to share?

I kid you not--I went through about five iPods.  They reminded me of Spinal Tap's ill-fated drummers.  

Seeing as how I needed a new phone, I settled on a Samsung S3, and eventually picked up a Nexus 10 for my tablet.  Apart from a malfunctioning Android update to my phone (which AT & T was only too happy to replace), I've had no problems, and the Google Cloud has worked without a hitch since.

I work at Walmart.  This happens a lot.  At a walmart my friend worked at, I kid you not, someone returned a tablet and the guy behind the counter pulled out his knife to cut it open to verify the item, that's the policy at a lot of stores now, and she said "What are you doing?  It hasn't been opened."
"Well, we're about to find out."
She grabbed it and ran.

There was a box at walmart, for a large TV, that had been stuffed with carpeting liner and sealed up.  Someone left it in the middle of the store.

This is all too common, unfortunately.

Years ago when everyone still bought cassettes, I bought an album by local rocker Joanna Dean.  I popped the cassette in and the tape started to go.  Ten seconds later, the tape player in my buddy's car that was with me made the sound that it was flipping the heads to play the other side.  Weird, huh?  Ten seconds after that, it did it again.  We examined the cassette, and there was only that clear lead in tape.  The brown tape that the music was usually on was not in there!

I took it back a couple of days later and got one that wasn't defective.

Neal Morse Code wrote:I kid you not--I went through about five iPods.  They reminded me of Spinal Tap's ill-fated drummers.  

Seeing as how I needed a new phone, I settled on a Samsung S3, and eventually picked up a Nexus 10 for my tablet.  Apart from a malfunctioning Android update to my phone (which AT & T was only too happy to replace), I've had no problems, and the Google Cloud has worked without a hitch since.

lol!

same here.

This will be my sixth if you count my defective one. They just don't make things to last anymore.

I had a similar experience. I ran out and bought Randy Rose's "Crazy Little World". Popped it in the player, and was greeted with some Brit-pop inspired tunes, instead of some tastey stoner doom. I kept fast forwarding thru each song but the same Beatle inspired music kept coming out. Then I realized that Randy had been compromised by aliens from the past or something.

deathisgain wrote:I had a similar experience. I ran out and bought Randy Rose's "Crazy Little World". Popped it in the player, and was greeted with some Brit-pop inspired tunes, instead of some tastey stoner doom. I kept fast forwarding thru each song but the same Beatle inspired music kept coming out. Then I realized that Randy had been compromised by aliens from the past or something.

Unfortunately, I've experienced that same sensation at one time or another with some of my favorite bands....

deathisgain wrote:I had a similar experience. I ran out and bought Randy Rose's "Crazy Little World". Popped it in the player, and was greeted with some Brit-pop inspired tunes, instead of some tastey stoner doom. I kept fast forwarding thru each song but the same Beatle inspired music kept coming out. Then I realized that Randy had been compromised by aliens from the past or something.

You and me both, brother.  Must be some sort of strange mass psychosis we are suffering from.

deathisgain wrote:I had a similar experience. I ran out and bought Randy Rose's "Crazy Little World". Popped it in the player, and was greeted with some Brit-pop inspired tunes, instead of some tastey stoner doom. I kept fast forwarding thru each song but the same Beatle inspired music kept coming out. Then I realized that Randy had been compromised by aliens from the past or something.

I once bought the 77'S stick and stones on cassette. Side 2 was some choral music.

Over the weekend I bought a toilet at lowes. Got home from work and decided I'd install it Friday evening. Got the old one out, then installed wainscothing on the wall, then spacled, sanded, and painted. Then installed the new John and when I turned the water on it leaked all over at the bottom. Turns out it had a Crack in it. Took it out and cleaned up - got to bed around 2 am. Went to lowes at 7 am to exchange it, went home and installed it by 10 Saturday morning.

srguenther wrote:I once bought the 77'S stick and stones on cassette.  Side 2 was some choral music.

Over the weekend I bought a toilet at lowes.  Got home from work and decided I'd install it Friday evening.  Got the old one out, then installed wainscothing on the wall, then spacled, sanded, and painted.  Then installed the new John and when I turned the water on it leaked all over at the bottom.  Turns out it had a Crack in it.  Took it out and cleaned up - got to bed around 2 am.  Went to lowes at 7 am to exchange it, went home and installed it by 10 Saturday morning.  

Sounds like a fun weekend...