Don't be a customer!

Louis Rossmann just sold his soul to FUTO, a non-profit that aims to disrupt large tech companies, which may or may not be a good idea, you decide...

Anyways, this Rossmann guy used to run a macbook repair store and had excellent customer support... or customer handling procedures... and he told stories about his experiences with bad customers.

I always thought that customers have most of the rights, and it is like 99% true in my country, BUT Rossmann made me realize that kind of attitude causes more harm to you than to the business.

Financially I have always been in a weird place, let's just leave it at that, and I have done some questionable things to have retail stores replace my electronics under warranty, even though most of the time I broke the stuff, completely my fault.

That also means that mentally I was always in a bad place, that's why I let myself be so irresponsible and immoral with my actions.

There is this one second hand PC store (that I'm not going to name) that sells refurbished, used and very used computers and parts on-line, and also in their physical store... at ~90% retail prices, which is a major ripoff. So this is how I justified my actions, when I took advantage of an error on their website and ordered a Core 2 Duo processor for 10 bucks, even though I knew the price should have been 50 bucks... but they made an error.

So I placed the order, it got processed the next morning and I chose in-person pickup at the store, to avoid paying for shipping. I went there nice and early and the guy simply told me that it will be 50 bucks. I told him it says 10 bucks on the website, then he called his boss and the price was quickly corrected ... they also cancelled my order and said that I could leave. I was furious and on my way out I intended curse quietly, but it was got loud and everybody in the store heard "suck my dick!". This was my worst reaction in a public place EVER, the guy was coming towards me telling me that "this is not how we do things here", I quickly turned around, apologized and left ... BUT that wasn't the end of the story.

I wrote a nice long letter to the customer protection agency with screenshots and everything, explaining my position that I just wanted to order a product and they cancelled my order ... screenshots of the receipts ...etc... and I thought this was the end of it, my anger was completely gone after sending the letter.

Then one day (maybe 2 weeks later) I get a phone call from the consumer protection agency that they started an investigation, got in touch with the company and said they'll give me the processor BUT I have to apologize (again?). I didn't mind, because I was sorry for swearing at them, so I went to the store and ... yeah ... I apologized, then they made me wait ... then they said the item is not in stock, but they'll call me when they'll get some more. They played me, but I played along ... and visited the store 3 more times ... and got the same reaction, they even wrote down my phone number on a post-it ... yeah ... I knew they weren't gonna call me.

Back then (about 10 years ago) I though they were manipulative and evil, so I left a bad review on google maps and I thought it was the end of the story... and I behaved questionably a few more times at other stores, so they'd replace my stuff ... time went on, but one day I watched one of Louises' videos where he explained that these are standard procedures at stores to handle bad clients.

It struck me kinda' hard, so I decided that I'm not going to be a shitty customer anymore, EVER, because these acts caused me mental harm, even when I managed to achieve my goal... it's not worth it.

LONG STORY SHORT nowadays whenever I have a warranty problem I think twice about even sending back the product. If I really need it repaired or replaced, then I choose the least stressful method and patiently wait for my turn to get my product repaired/replaced. No more phone calls or emails asking when it's ready.

As a side note, this behaving nicely crap had some unintended consequences too. Once I ordered a very cheap Gigabit switch from a local store and didn't contact them for two months, just to be nice, because I knew they were professionals. As it turned out they forgot to (or couldn't) contact me AND many others who ordered the same product cancelled ... so when I visited 2 months later and asked about it, they had like 20 of these switches on the shelf and said that people weren't picking them up. They are good switches and I could have sold them all with a profit, no problem, if I actually called them in time and bought them all. SO in this case the store lost some shelf space and maybe a hundred bucks because of my patience and niceness ... go figure 🤷‍♂️ 

I'm going to try the Banggood affiliate program ... allegedly up to 25% commission 🤔

 Many youtubers that I watch from time to time have recommended specific products from Banggood and I extensively researched them, but I have never tried any of them.

 One of my favorite products available of Banggood is the LCD panel controller board, which you can buy for 10-30 bucks for almost any type of LCD panel (computer monitor, TV, laptop, tablet...etc.) and it will allow you to connect the panel to virtually anything.

Other products that I've seen for a good price are fitness bracelets and smartphones... but more to come in separate blog posts with sufficient analysis 😎👍

Hopefully a lot of you will like the products and my explanations... and maybe we'll save/make lots of money together 💰😎👍 You can find my affiliate link on this blog on the right side -> and inside blog posts, linking you to the appropriate product pages.

How to fix weak IKEA bed structure

Mot modern beds have at least one fatal flaw, which most of the time is some sort of structural weakness, caused by cost cutting or by choosing looks over sturdiness.

That's how you end up with weak headboards that move or break during adult activities, major frame flaws and weak ribs.

In this bed's case the ribs were designed for one (skinny) person and keep breaking under most people ... as most people aren't skinny... and most people don't use beds for only one person. Even kids jumping up and down on them will easily damage such structure.

My solution was to put an additional crossbeam across the length of the bed, securing it with two zip ties to each rib. One zip tie per rib should be sufficient, as these nylon things are very strong, but I wanted the least amount of pressure on the wooden ribs and crossbeam.

This bed was from IKEA and came with a foam mattress, so this crossbeam will make it more rigid. If you don't like that, then you can switch to a spring/coil + foam system mattress, which is recommended by doctors anyways, instead of all the foam stuff. Much better for the back.

Addressing some of the stupidity people think about Tesla and EVs

 Louis Rossmann, who's a barely competent MacBook repair technician, made a video about the expensive Tesla battery replacement for an old Model S, out of warranty.

He goes on and on about how expensive battery replacements are, but fails to realize that first gen Model S cars were bought by early adopter for more than 100K USD and weren't expected to last far beyond the 8 year warranty, as early battery cells had a life expectancy of about 500-900 cycles. Many early Model S cars had their batteries replaced at least once, because the technology was very new and nobody had significant experience with them. The early Nissan Leafs had similar issues, 30% capacity loss just after a few years of use.

Since then all companies learned a lot about battery packs and cell management ... and cell manufacturers also significantly improved quality and life of their products, from 500-900 cycles to 4000-6000 cycles.

This is why most arguments about old battery technologies are pointless. Tesla (and probably the other car makers too) will launch their new battery technology this year, based on so-called fat cells, the 4680s', which will last for 2 million miles and cost 2x less ... somewhere between 50-60USD/kWh. This means that an average 100kWh battery pack from Tesla will cost around 10K USD, which is a perfectly good price.

So let's look at the comments on Louises video:

Eman 08 - 2 minutes ago

The biggest draw back with Tesla's is they will turn into massive money pits due to how expensive they are to fix out of warranty. Buying a used one out of warranty is like owning a used Mercedes. Tesla having 100% monopoly how they want their vehicles service doesn't help either. They won't sell you parts, No one knows how to work on them, so no independent shops, no after market parts. All that's left is salvage parts which you take a big gamble on.

MY ANSWER: Out of warranty means after 8 years, which means that the car already changed owners twice, probably for a lot less money than Retail price.

Tesla doesn't have a monopoly on repair. You can buy parts from Tesla or from eBAY and pay a monthly fee to access service manuals and part pairing software tools on Tesla.com. 

There are plenty of independent shops, which work on Teslas.

Repairs at Tesla are expensive, because they are usually payed by insurance and can't do repairs with used parts. It's in the contract that the car has to be like new, when repaired.

sirfancypants Mcgee - 10 minutes ago

Then it's not worth buying a Tesla if replacing the battery is near a new car.

MY ANSWER: Such a poor person response. Battery replacement for Model 3/Y costs 15K USD and 22K USD for Model S/X. That is not the price of a new Tesla, not even half.

Jerome Cloutier - 31 minutes ago (edited)

Until a battery for a EV isn't worth >80% the cost of a brand new gas car, EV's are insane... Unless you have the $ to blow..  Last I checked no gas engine "In a car truck" cost 20+K to rebuild. Yeah we need to be greener and shit like that but our current battery/energy storage tech is way way shit. 50 years from now, probably some super battery that weighs nothing etc etc, then we can have nice things. We need to start somewhere yes, but more research needs to be done.

MY ANSWER: Another poor person response, who doesn't understand the economics of an electric car. "Doing more research" leads nowhere. You have to make a strong case for the technology, so you can sell it and continue developing it. Toyota is doing more research, instead of making EVs... and they are putting their new solid state batteries into Hybrids in 2025... so more gas cars and they'll make EVs by 2030.

2891 user - 1 hour ago

I think independent repair shop does not think from the manufacturer perspective, or does not understand manufacturer.

To provide schematics, support,.. to independent shop means spending extra money.. the manufacturer provide support to dealership so from they're perspective is Ok.

Changing couple of cells in old battery pack mean improvisation, why manufacturer should offer support for such a thing?

They are three types of manufacturers: manufacturer that block user to repair they're product, manufacturer that help user repair they're own product, and manufacturer that do not block and do not help, because just simple they have they're one dealership for this purpose (case of cars).

Making a product easy serviceable means increasing the cost of product, par example replacing welding with screws is more expensive, more logistic, more storage and working space,... And the consumer does not want to pay to much, this is why there is a big difference between consumer, industrial, military products.. you can't build consumer products thinking all consumers are engineers, and they will repair they're own products themselves...

MY ANSWER: Somebody finally gets it, at least partially. Tesla offers the service manual and pairing tools for a monthly fee on-line. So if you're really pissed off and want to repair your own Tesla, you can. BUT it's more economical if you're repairing multiple Teslas per month.

rezhul - 2 hours ago (edited)

Louis, you don't seem to understand that the world isn't ready for electric cars. 

The people who are pushing for electric vehicles are stupid or evil because a lot of people in the world don't have the money to buy and maintain electric cars. 

This is the elephant in the room that nobody seems to be addressing $20,000 is almost two years salary in the Netherlands, even it's the generous price of the replacement of the car batteries is at the end of the day your wallet decides.

MY ANSWER: This guy doesn't understand what he's talking about. If you buy a Model 3 or Y, a replacement battery costs 15K USD today, but will cost a lot less when the warranty will be over, in 8 years. First gen Model S battery pack was not 20K USD, it was more like 50K USD in 2012-2013.

If it is in fact two years salary in the Netherlands then you probably don't need a car, you're worthless.

PaulTheTexan - 5 hours ago

Electric cars run greener, sure, but the battery manufacturing process, and especially the battery recycling process, is not green at all. Sure, my ICE car belches out emissions, but so does the battery-making plant. And the rare-earth mining platforms, etc. You're just offsetting the emissions, not eliminating them. It may make you feel better as a person, but it is an illusory feeling.

MY ANSWER: It is well documented that in 2019 the production of an EV emitted 20% more CO2 than making a POS gas car. However a lot has changed since then, EV supply chains got A LOT greener and cannot be compared to what gas cars are made of and what they burn.