Hi
Judging from the mail on this issue so far, there are sound arguments for and against
'specialist' suppliers. High Street retailers seem not to be favoured by many.
When an Access Centre or Disability Officer makes a recommendation, that carries with it an
obligation (even though unspoken and not subject to contract) to troubleshoot in the event
of after-sales problems. I have been involved on one or two occasions where a student has
had difficulty running a piece of software and the PC Supplier and Software manufacturer
have cheerfully passed the buck back and forth whilst the student has grown frustrated and
ultimately stressed by the situation. The problem, of course, is time - having your
games-based home PC out of action for a month is bad enough, but hardly disastrous. Having
a PC go down at the busy stage of a dissertation write-up is a different issue altogether.
I feel it is generally easier to 'nudge' smaller specialist suppliers into appropriate
action.
As for students organising their own purchases, that's their privilege if the LEA will wear
it. I'm a little wary in situations where recommendations are greeted enthusiastically by
the student - only to be 'poo-pooed' by Dad or a 'knowledgeable' older brother who has a
friend who will build a machine that positively 'flies' at the same cost.
Where students do elect to do their own thing, I'm inclined to tell them that the risk is
theirs - as getting involved in an after-sales tussle with Curries or Dixons can be
incredibly time consuming (talking from bitter personal experience).
(BTW My spellchecker wanted to replace Dixons with Dioxins. An omen?)
Regards
Peter
--
Peter Hill
Disability Coordinator
University College Worcester
Henwick Grove
Worcester
WR2 6AJ
Tel 01905 855413
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