Pointe of Screw - the Final Chapter
Aug. 30th, 2004 04:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jamesqI'm under non-disclosure, so my righteous battle with the cock sucking assholes of Pointe of Screw cannot be outlined in any sort of detail. I can say this:
1) I'm right and they're wrong - BOO-YA!
2) I didn't get what I was hoping for, but I got enough that I didn't *lose* anything. Hell, if I hadn't engaged the services of a lawyer, I doubt they would have paid me one thin dime.
3) I made the Chief Financial Officer of Pointe of Screw listen to my side of the story, and I did it for two and a half hours. Between his time and his lawyer's time it probably came pretty close to the amount I was asking for, even if I didn't actually see it.
In short I took the CFO over my knee and spanked him (metaphorically). His ass was pretty tough so I'm not sure he noticed, and I think I hurt my hand a little, but it was still a spanking.
Will this change how Pointe of Screw conducts their business? I doubt it. The simple fact of the matter is that guys like me (who have the wherewithal to fight back) make up a tiny minority of their customers. If making a positive change to their corporate culture costs more than paying off the occasional hard case, then there's no incentive to change.
So what have we all learned from this exercise? First, If you buy anything from Pointe of Screw, don't be surprised if you have problems like I've had for the last two years. Second, lawyers are a good thing. Have a lawyer check out any contract before you sign it. An hour of their time will be a fee well spent if it exposes a contract that is stupidly one-sided. Make sure you don't share a lawyer - if there's problems they won't be able to help you. Thirdly, get absolutely everything in writing, no matter how small or nit-picky the detail may be.
In short, be paranoid and callous. It doesn't mean you have to be like that in your personal life and it doesn't mean you have to be obnoxious or insulting. I've already applied these lessons to recent transactions: I got IKEA to deliver a piece of missing furniture I ordered on the same day it went missing - I just had to stick to my guns. I got Sleep Country to return a bed I didn't like that cost me $1500 and I just had to get in-their-face about it.
There may just be a sushi-celebration in my immediate future.
1) I'm right and they're wrong - BOO-YA!
2) I didn't get what I was hoping for, but I got enough that I didn't *lose* anything. Hell, if I hadn't engaged the services of a lawyer, I doubt they would have paid me one thin dime.
3) I made the Chief Financial Officer of Pointe of Screw listen to my side of the story, and I did it for two and a half hours. Between his time and his lawyer's time it probably came pretty close to the amount I was asking for, even if I didn't actually see it.
In short I took the CFO over my knee and spanked him (metaphorically). His ass was pretty tough so I'm not sure he noticed, and I think I hurt my hand a little, but it was still a spanking.
Will this change how Pointe of Screw conducts their business? I doubt it. The simple fact of the matter is that guys like me (who have the wherewithal to fight back) make up a tiny minority of their customers. If making a positive change to their corporate culture costs more than paying off the occasional hard case, then there's no incentive to change.
So what have we all learned from this exercise? First, If you buy anything from Pointe of Screw, don't be surprised if you have problems like I've had for the last two years. Second, lawyers are a good thing. Have a lawyer check out any contract before you sign it. An hour of their time will be a fee well spent if it exposes a contract that is stupidly one-sided. Make sure you don't share a lawyer - if there's problems they won't be able to help you. Thirdly, get absolutely everything in writing, no matter how small or nit-picky the detail may be.
In short, be paranoid and callous. It doesn't mean you have to be like that in your personal life and it doesn't mean you have to be obnoxious or insulting. I've already applied these lessons to recent transactions: I got IKEA to deliver a piece of missing furniture I ordered on the same day it went missing - I just had to stick to my guns. I got Sleep Country to return a bed I didn't like that cost me $1500 and I just had to get in-their-face about it.
There may just be a sushi-celebration in my immediate future.
