Do I have a legitimate argument for a discount? - 10 Points?

Question

Recently I sent my computer for servicing at Staples Business Depot. It turned out that it had a fried video card or something of the sort, and would cost about $250 - $300 to replace (Plus the cost of the diagnostics, another 50 or so dollars)

I gave the go-ahead for the replacement on december 21st, but the told me that they would close for the holidays on the 22nd, so my computer wouldn't even be touched until they got back (Dec 28th) Fine. Understandable. "How long will it take?" "About five Business days.

7 Business days later I went to the Staples to see what was up, as I had received no call for pickup. It turns out they where still waiting for the video card. It is now the 19th of january, and only yesterday did I get a call saying they got the card, and I can expect to pick it up on Monday. It is now Tuesday and my computer isn't in.

Now, the thing is, they outsource their computer repairs, and I was chatting up a guy the last time I called in and he said they where waiting on a part, that was what was causing the delay.)

To make a long story short, do I have any grounds for a discount? I waited almost four times the estimated time. However, I was never told 'yes, it will be exactly five days' , nor did I get anything in writing (It was over the phone)

Bonus: how do I ask politely? I don't want to be rude. The people at that store are REALLY nice, and I know it's not their fault. (They outsource their computer repairs)

Alex ㅈㅈ!! · Accepted Answer

Haha, what a joke. Staples and most other non-local repair shops are so overpriced. $300 for that? Taking into consideration that's a repair service, that's still very overpriced. I would say, yes, it's fair to ask for a discount. How would you go about doing it? If they're "really" nice, just tell them. I'm sure they would understand.

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$300? The part probably only costs ~$50. So you're paying $200+ for service. Next time, save the money and do it yourself. You might want them to do the diagnostics, but don't have them replace it. I do freelance computer repair for my neighborhood and I charge NOTHING for that kind of work. It literally takes < 20 minutes (and majority of the time is spent installing drivers...). .

Cyber-Medic · Answer

Not really. You should have asked if they did the work on site. If they are shipping computers out then you have that holiday lag from the heavy shipping season to contend with. Besides if you are talking a PC you could have bought a new HP 4 GB Ram with 500 GB Hard drive and windows 7 for 398.00 for just the tower from Wal-mart.

sosguy · Answer

To put it mildly, you are getting a good scr**ing! You can get a top of the line video card for $300. It takes like 20 minutes to install one including installing the software. 
I would not be shy to ask for a substantial discount.

? · Answer

yea u should be able to get something.

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Do I have a legitimate argument for a discount? - 10 Points?

4 Answers