Plan B. And Plan C. And...

[billroper]

I noticed that Google claimed that the CompUSA in Naperville had one of the LGA 1155 motherboards that I was looking for, so I suggested to daisy_knotwise that we drive down there after her harmonica class and see if it was true. (The comments about the store suggested that phoning was likely to be worse than useless.) Gretchen said, "Sure!"

And then she got to the first session of her two session harmonica class and the instructor never showed. So instead of being there for two hours, she left after half-an-hour of chatting with the other students. Since she was home so early, I figured that it would make more sense for me to go down and back rather than condemning Katie and Julie to a few hours in the car. Gretchen agreed, so I set out.

The motherboard was listed as "1 in stock" on the computer, but it wasn't on the shelf, wasn't on display, and the fellow who I asked about it wouldn't look in back, because "It wouldn't be there. The computer must be wrong." They did have three other LGA 1155 motherboards on display, all of the same type, all of which had been recalled. This wasn't encouraging in any case. Given the distance and the traffic, I doubt I'll go back there again.

I stopped by Fry's on the way home on the off chance that they'd gotten any of the revised motherboards, but they hadn't. I took advantage of the opportunity to pick up a camera case for the DSLR and the new camcorder. I also grabbed a couple of Wii games for the girls and a very inexpensive but functional pair of Vivitar binoculars for each of them.

And Godiva chocolate for Gretchen who had not only been deprived of her harmonica class, but who had been left with both girls during the back end of the afternoon.

It seemed only fair.

Comments

[poltr1]

I thought all the CompUSA stores closed when the chain Chapter-11'ed a couple of years ago. Just as well -- their selection was OK and their staff wasn't as knowledgeable as I had hoped.

[jrittenhouse.livejournal.com]

This is basically Tiger Direct doing business as CompUSA. They are terrible.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

As above, I didn't realize any of the stores were still open at all. The one we used to have in Ann Arbor was great... for a few years. And then all the knowledgeable sales staff went away, and the inventory shifted in not-good ways, and their prices weren't anywhere near as good as they'd been previously, and soon that was that.

I'm fond of the Micro Center out in Madison Heights. It's a hike, but they have a lot of good stuff at good prices, and part of their gimmick is calling ahead, verifying a part's existence, and having it waiting for you in 18 minutes, which makes me very happy for the reduced guesswork.

[dave-ifversen.livejournal.com]

Tiger Direct is the warehouse and mail-order/online shop. Comp USA is what they call the storefront (they bought out what was left of Comp USA after that company went bankrupt). They have a lot of stuff, but if it isn't out on the shelves, it is a royal pain to get it - the hired help is surly and generally useless if you want something 'from the warehouse'. We learned early on that going there at lunch and trying to buy something that wasn't on the shelves was a complete waste of time - it would never come out of the warehouse before we had to leave to get back to work.

[janmagic.livejournal.com]

aside to visiting my neighborhood for your electronic needs, do you realize that dupage childrens museum is a must go while your kids are at the perfect age for it. it is just south of ogden on washington naperville.

http://www.dupagechildrensmuseum.org/

[johnridley.livejournal.com]

Is there some reason calling them to see if the stock level was correct wasn't an option? They don't answer the phone or something? (I know this is not uncommon)

[billroper]

The online reviews suggested that calling them and asking a question of that nature would result in a perma-hold. Notice that I couldn't get the guy to go look for it in back even when I was physically present.

[billroper]

I didn't, but we may try it some weekend. Thanks!