As part of a promotional campaign between Staples and Microsoft, I was sent on a mission to buy a Windows 7 PC at Staples this week to see what the computer purchasing experience was like.
I have Windows 7 on a laptop already and I have to say – I love it. It’s true. I haven’t cursed Microsoft once in the 10 months I’ve owned my laptop. It’s fast, easy to use, and most importantly, I’ve had no blue screens of death and my computer has NEVER ONCE locked up on Windows 7. I have never used Ctrl-Alt-Delete. So I’m a fan.
With Staples gift cards and my old PC in hand, I went to the local Staples store on William Cannon Drive in south Austin, Texas. I was told that Staples should offer me a free transfer of all of my files from my old computer to my new one.
I moseyed on over to the PC department. The techie person was tied up helping another customer. Within moments, the assistant store manager came over and asked if I needed help. I said I needed to buy a PC and exchange my old one. He said the tech person would be with me just as soon as he finished up with the other customer. Meanwhile, he took my heavy PC tower from me and put it at the customer service desk and offered me a bottle of water. Nice!
A few minutes later, Darron, the Staples Easy Tech guy, came over and asked what he could help me with. I told him I needed a desktop PC.
Darron was AWESOME in all respects. He asked me a bunch of really great questions about how I’d be using the new computer. I told him how much I had to spend and he gave me the straight dope on each of the PC options they had available. I was a bit sad there wasn’t more of a selection to choose from, but it was okay.
Darron suggested that I try the HP Pavilion P6716F. It was a desktop + 20†monitor bundle for $579. Darron listed all of the features of this particular HP. The only feature he didn’t talk about, and I forgot to ask about, was whether a wireless adapter was built in. He stated he had the older model of this desktop himself and that he was very happy with it.
Darron also gave me some great recommendations for Microsoft and Norton software applications that were on sale with the purchase of a PC.
I decided to give the HP Pavilion a try. I really wanted to check out the HP TouchSmart, but they were out of stock.
Darron took all of my information down on what sorts of files needed to be transferred from the old PC to the new one. I got to pre-select my login information so that he would set all of that up for me for free (a $70 value)! He said it would take about 2 days for Staples to complete the transfer and that my computer would be ready for pickup on Friday.
Darron also mentioned to me that with my purchase, I get $230 in Microsoft Windows 7 and Office 2010 online training for free. Awesome! I just go to Staples’ website and login for specialized training. I do have a few lingering questions about some things with Windows 7, so I’ll definitely be taking advantage of this.
Everybody at our local Staples couldn’t have been nicer or more willing to help me and answer questions. I can’t wait to pick up my new computer on Friday and check out all of the fantastic features!
