The Orlando Sentinel, Fla., Greg Dawson Column
By Greg Dawson, The Orlando Sentinel, Fla.
Jun. 12–Dear Greg: I have a friend, Sung Kim, a Korean immigrant, who owns a convenience store in Apopka. He was taken advantage of by a company less than one mile from his business. Mr. Kim purchased new cooler doors from Capital Restaurant Equipment in September 2006, writing an $1,800 check the day he placed the order, including all monies for delivery and handling, and he still has not received the doors. He has made several attempts to find out why he has not received them. I have seen the canceled check written to Capital Restaurant Equipment where they deposited the funds into their account. Mr. Kim, who is very quiet and speaks broken English, is heartbroken. He looked at me and asked, "What is wrong with people here? How can they take my money and not give me anything? I can’t do anything about it, the police can’t help. This is America?" That hit home.
MICHAEL SHAW
ORLANDO Dear Michael: You can tell Mr. Kim that I get the same question all the time from non-immigrants. A sales manager messed up and sold Mr. Kim doors that are no longer available, said Capital owner Victor Stramondo. "But I own the company and I take personal responsibility." He offered to refund Mr. Kim’s money or order a comparable set of doors. "The decision is up to him," Stramondo said. "I’ll go to his store to work things out and take a Korean interpreter with me." This is America, too — land of second chances. Dear Greg: I took an IBM tower unit and a Dell laptop to Geek Squad at Best Buy to complete a data transfer. After discussing the job and receiving paperwork, we left the two computers on the intake counter. The next day, I received a call informing me they were unable to do the job there and needed my approval to send the computers out to have the job done at a much higher cost. I opted to pick up the computers instead. The Geek Squad staff produced only the IBM tower and said they had no record of the laptop. After much drama, it was found: The screen was shattered; case bent; DVD mashed; laptop corroded and split at the seams; and the floppy disk and charger were missing. The store manager appeared extremely reluctant to comment and refused to get within six feet of the laptop as it sat on the Geek Squad counter. At that point, I called the sheriff’s department and filed a complaint. I also contacted Best Buy corporate headquarters and they said since I contacted the authorities they were going to let them handle it. The responding officer did not bring criminal charges and suggested I pursue this in civil court.
BRIAN KOENIG ORLANDO Dear Brian: What fun! But that won’t be necessary. Best Buy was not able to find paperwork verifying the laptop was checked in, and the Geek at the counter only remembers a desktop computer. But the customer is always right — especially in a mess like this — so Best Buy has agreed to give you a replacement laptop. Ain’t that America?
Sticky pad reply
To George in Clermont: Good grief! Are you telling me that concrete man Tim Edmiston still has not shown up to fix your sloping, cracked patio as he promised in my column in December 2006? That would make Jim Metts blush.
Getting the runaround? E-mail Greg at gdawson@orlandosentinel.com; or call 407-420-5618; or write to Greg Dawson, Orlando Sentinel, 633 N. Orange Ave., MP-218, Orlando, FL 32801. Greg doesn’t mean to be rude, but due to volume he can’t respond to most calls and letters. See Greg on The Daily Buzz at 10:20 a.m. Mondays on WRDQ-Channel 27 and read his blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/consumerfile.
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