Tyler (Everything)

BestBuy.ca Ignores Their Own Policies

Two weeks ago I saw a great deal on the new Batman video game at BestBuy. I thought, oh well, what the hell I will give it a shot, I am a big Batman fan and it is supposed to be pretty cool. Regular price was $69.99 and the special pre-order price was $38.

So I ordered and waited patiently for it to ship. Well the release date came and went and there was no shipping notification. Strange. So I checked the status; Out Of Stock. That seemed strange. Isn't that a little counter productive for a pre-order? So in response I sent an email expressing my dismay to the BestBuy.ca customer support.

The response was this:

Dear Mr. Brown:

The manufacturer allots us a certain quantity of the product for pre-order based on their estimation of how many will sell.

With the popularity of this product their estimates fell far short of the demand. We are filling the orders in sequence, oldest orders first, while we wait on a new shipment of inventory from the manufacturer. We have not been given a definite ETA as to when we can expect this though.

We will be filling the orders as quickly as possible and appreciate your patience in this matter.

Sincerely,

Maggie
Agent ID 20985
Best Buy Canada

Again that seemed odd as it seems to defeat the purpose of the pre-order. So I dug a little deeper. Here is what I found on the BestBuy.ca pre-order portal:

BestBuy.ca Pre-Order Policy

That is exactly what the policy is:

Lining up for games is COOL. Not. When you pre-order online you're guaranteed a copy without the early morning drive. If you pre-order, you're getting your game; we don't oversell our pre-orders.

After I discovered this I called to inquire, after a lengthy conversation explaining to the customer service representative that they had violated their policy, I was told by the agent: "I don't know what to say". I suggested that perhaps I should speak to a manager. I explained myself again to the manager, who said that the problem was due to a computer glitch that allowed for extra copies to be sold. He said that I actually got lucky since it should have been shut down and I never should have received that price. As compensation for violating the policy they gave me 5% off the order and free shipping.

I am still not sure if that seems like reasonable compensation, as well I don't know if I will ever pre-order anything from BestBuy.ca again.

Sink Problem Update

Got the new drain assembly, looks like it should have flowed a lot worse than the standard grid drain. Worked like a charm. I was able to sleep last night!

That Sinking Feeling – Plumbing Nightmare?

I have been busting myself recently trying to get my basement reno finished. It is getting very much into the home stretch. Last night was not a good night for work. I am currently working on about 4 hours of sleep due to a very strange problem.

I was attempting to install a sink in the bathroom, one of the new vessel style sinks:

Vessel Link

Pretty straight forward. So everything got hooked up. One problem... It wouldn't drain?!?! I was terrified. The last thing I wanted to be doing was to start tearing apart walls looking for a clog. As a test I pulled the clean out on the P-Trap and it flowed no problem. Ugh Oh!

A few more tests. Filled up the sink a few more times. It would drain well for a bit, then it would slow to a stop part way down. Every few times that I tested it, there would be an air bubble then it would drain all the way down. Crap. Is there an high spot and an air lock in the wall? That would be bad. So I took the sink off and poured water directly into the P-Trap. Drained perfectly... So the problem was with the sink? I checked the drain to make sure there was no blocks. It was really easy to check. I have a grid style drain so I could look and blow straight through it.

Grid Style Drain:

Grid Style Drain

I was completely stumped. It seemed like the water was just dripping into the P-Trap. And I pretty much knew that the problem was between the sink and the trap.

I did a quick internet search. What did I find? All kinds of problem with grid style drains and vessel style sinks. The best explanation was this one:

The problem the OP is experiencing is due to the combination of a grid drain and a sink with no overflow. In order for the sink to drain properly, water must displace the air in the drain pipe going to the trap. In sinks with an overflow, the overflow acts as a vent allowing air to escape the drain pipe as water pours into the pipe through the drain.Without an overflow, the air in the pipe must escape through the same drain that the water is using. That is why you will see air bubbles coming up through the holes in the grid. Grid drains make the situation worse - probably due to the surface tension of the water interacting with the little holes in the grid to basically form little seals. Also grid drains tend to have less aperture area than umbrella valves. The more area the easier it is for the water and air to share the same drain.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/bath/msg1100324329325.html

Sure enough sticking my hand in the water and spinning it (creating a vortex) caused it to drain perfectly. Alanna bought a new drain as per the recommendation from this forum post: http://www.askmehelpdesk.com/plumbing/new-non-vented-sink-vanity-install-drains-slow-253882.html.

Umbrella Style Drain

Regardless I am exhausted, frustrated, and a little pissed that the drain that came with my sink doesn't work.

On a happier sink note: