Nintendo Wii Fanboy

The Wii has been a hard console to find, which is why Wal-Mart has a "one console per customer" policy. This policy backfired on a couple of friends recently, at an Exton, PA store where they found 7 or 8 consoles sitting on the shelf, almost calling out to them in a Siren's song. When they went to each purchase a console, a Wal-Mart employee Wii-blocked them, stating that they were "together" and thus could only purchase one console "together."

Now, personally, this blogger must admit to purchasing a Wii at a Wal-Mart because, frankly, nowhere else was the console to be found. And, like the hero of the story here (also named Dave, that's how we know he's a hero), this blogger was in the store with a friend. We each purchased a console, some games and accessories no problem. The store employees or the manager in the back of the Electronics section had nothing to say about our purchase. So, this story really ticks us off, to be honest.

Besides, isn't it the goal of this particular business to sell things? What should the company, or the lowly employee that pulled off the block here, care about what happens to the console after it is sold. As far as we're concerned, that's where the retailer's responsibility ends. Maybe that's why we're not in the retail game ...

Update: Whoops, typo!

Having problems with your Wiimote? Have you already tried new batteries, re-syncing, and resetting? GeekDad recently had an issue with the family's new Wii, and got on the phone with Nintendo's helpful customer support. He told the woman on the line that his Wiimote was being non-cooperative, and recounts his conversation with her as follows:

Friendly Nintendo Help Desk Lady: "Okay - I want you to take the remote, button side down and smack it into the palm of your hand two or three times."
Russ: "You've got to be kidding"
Friendly Nintendo Help Desk Lady: "No sir, do it hard enough that I can hear it across the phone line but not hard enough to damage the remote"
Russ: "You're sure?"
Friendly Nintendo Help Desk Lady: "Yes, sir."

Sure enough, a good old slap on the behind got the Wiimote working again. We bet that giving the Wiimote a time out and making it think about what it's done would not have been nearly as effective.

[Via Kotaku]

We've asked you about problems, but now we want to know about service. When it comes to Nintendo, we tend to hear only good things about the company's customer service. We have to wonder, though, are these stories accurate representations? To get to the bottom of the matter, we thought we'd ask you all to share your experiences.

For those of you who have had to contact Nintendo about any problems, how did it go? Were you treated like a respected customer? And, was Nintendo helpful when it came to fixing or replacing things? Share your stories here, if you have them; we want all the dirt.