A printer at work and our printer at home aren’t working--both at the same time. So, in both cases I called “service/support.” The run-around by any other name is still the run-around.

At home I called customer service and they took me through some steps and then passed me to another person who said it’s a lost cause, but they want to take care of loyal customers so they gave be a web address and password where I can shop and get a discount on a replacement. After I decided on a printer and placed my order I got an email saying my order had been canceled because of some problem with my credit card. I tried again with the same result. When I made a phone call to see what the problem was, I learned that they can’t handle the fact that my Visa card is also a debit card. When I pressed for options, the best I was given was to mail a check. When I did send a check, it came back several days later with a letter saying that the offer had expired and I would need to send a new check for $50 more. There are other companies that make good printers and they can handle a Bank of America credit card. I’m no longer a loyal customer.

At the office I tried phone, online chat, email, and back to phone in a frustrating cycle of referral and misdirection that spanned several days. When the service man came he was short one part that would be ordered, shipped, and a new service man would be in touch. The new man called yesterday to say the part was lost, but it would be reordered.

I’ve spent way too much time on printers the last couple of weeks and I don’t know why I’m spending even more time by writing about it.