Trying to be calm about Alltech

["Steven M. Fish" <iigs_nospam@bytebucket.com>]

I hope I'm just running into a streak of bad luck.  If everything works
out, the major problems I'm dealing with should be resolved by the end
of next week.  If this is the case, I will post a more positive review
here.  Hopefully someone can give me reassurance that dealing with
Alltech Electronics (aka Computer Circulation Center, Inc.) is not
always this problematic.

A little over a week ago I placed an order via the online order form at
Alltech Electronic's web site for a 320M Focus Hard Drive for my Apple
IIgs.  The price listed was $99.  A little steep, I thought, but worth
it to speed up booting into GS/OS.  I received a confirmation letter
from the company that I assumed meant the order would be shipped the
next business day.

A few days later, I decided to call and find out whether the drive card
was shipped.  After having trouble locating my order, the lady I spoke
with informed me the drive had not been sent out.  This is completely
understandable since many small businesses are overworked and
understaffed.  She also told me that the 320M drives weren't available
anymore and that they were now offering a 60M drive.  Since my storage
needs were fairly limited, and since she reassured me this would be
plenty of room for my IIgs, I figured this was fine and ordered the 60M
drive for $79.  Still a steep price, I thought, especially considering
the amount of storage was sliced to about 1/5 its original size, but the
price was only reduced by 1/5.  Oh the price we pay to keep our toys in
working order.  :)

Much to my surprise a few days later, Alltech's web site was updated to
indicate the new reduced hard drive size, but the price wasn't the $79 I
was charged, but $69.  Although this is a small difference, I was a
little disappointed that I had been overcharged.  Anticipating being
able to boot my IIgs quickly and see GS/OS on my monitor for the first
time, I didn't get too upset.  I appreciated (and still do) the fact
that this company was still willing to produce these drives over a
decade after the last IIgs was sold by Apple.

The drive showed up last night!  I read what was legible in the owner's
manual (some pages were badly copied so almost every left page was
missing the first line of text.  The main ideas were pretty clearly
communicated, however, and I figured it was better than nothing.  After
taking precautions to ground myself thoroughly this morning, I installed
the drive in slot 7.  A smile crossed my face as I watched GS/OS start
to load immediately after powering up the computer.

That smile soon turned to a grimace as I got an error that stopped the
boot process in its tracks:  "Sorry, system error $0027 occurred while
loading the FST files."  Actually, this error message has changed from
the first time I encountered it, but this is the one currently showing
up on my screen.  Previously it was more specific about it having
trouble with the file "Char.fst" and before that it seemed to get a
little further in the process, but I unfortunately didn't write down
this error message.

Now, I understand the reality that magnetic media can show up DOA.
Especially taking into consideration the idea that this drive is
probably used and old, I can cut Alltech quite a lot of slack.  I turned
to the owner's manual to read about this kind of trouble and it said I
should replace files on the hard drive using the floppy they enclosed.
I tried to boot from the floppy and it's not bootable.  In fact, I
received an "Unable to load ProDOS" error. *Sigh*  I'll admit I don't
really know what this means, but I have to wonder aloud if the disk is
any good at all.

After everything that had happened so far, I expected to not have to
incur any more cost for getting this drive working or get a
replacement.  Upon calling Alltech, my expectations were not met with a
positive experience.  I called the toll free number listed on their web
site and tried to explain all the trouble I was having (including being
overcharged $10 for the drive).  The sales person (same woman as before)
became quite defensive and accused me of potentially damaging files on
the drive by using the floppy.  I'm not sure why she jumped to this
conclusion since I was very clear that I couldn't even get into the
floppy to move files.  An office mate of mine, who has done support and
sales of various kinds, and who sat in my office as I made the call said
my tone was one of frustration, but not of being unreasonable.  I really
do believe I was not mean or unreasonable with her.  I apologize in this
public forum to her and the company if I am mistaken.

Anyway, I was told in no uncertain terms that I was now going to have to
call a long distance number to get tech support (another charge for
which  I believe I should be compensated) and get a diagnosis for the
drive and an RMA#.  After finishing my discussion with the saleswoman, I
called Tony in tech support.  A very knowledgeable man, he diagnosed
that the drive was not working and needed to be replaced.  The first
step in this process was to get an RMA# which meant being sent right
back to the same saleswoman - all on my long distance bill.

She hauled up my order number and gave me an RMA# so I could return the
card.  She then informed me I was going to have to pay for the shipping
to get this defective merchandise back to them. At this point I am
planning to ship the drive back to Alltech and wait for them to ship me
a replacement drive, but I must admit I'm a bit disillusioned.

I'm writing this message in search of (hopefully) some positive feedback
from this group about Alltech to renew my faith in this company.  I want
to believe they are a good company and that my experience is a fluke.
I'm more than willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and hope
that with a little patience everything will be fixed soon.  With no less
than $100 in costs to me up to this point (IMO about $20-$40 more than
this process should have cost)  in long distance, shipping, and product
costs, I am looking for some positive resolution and feedback soon.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and responding with honesty.

Steven M. Fish