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Can Clerks/Cashiers Make a Corporation Liable?
A friend had a mid-range price laptop by a major manufacturer and
needed a replacement A/C adapter. Friend went to major computer-theme national retailer (the store was in Virginia, where the retailer's headquarters is also located) and asked for help from a clerk. Friend asked for help because a visit to Radio Shack, to a knowledgeable middle aged salesman, turned up a warning that universal A/C adapters often do not work. (Radio Shack employee attempted to find a laptop "tip" that would fit the D/C jack; and even though a tip was found, it did not charge the unit.) At this other, larger, computer-intensive retailer, a clerk used an "open-box" universal charger to show that the charger would work with the laptop. Clerk demonstrated which tip to use, and the sale was finalized. A month and a half later, the laptop began to have freeze. Diagnostics all came up normal, but in under two months, the laptop was dead. The computer technician who did the diagnostics asked, first, if the universal A/C adapter was "set" to the right voltage. Technician said Hand's down, the problem is the universal adapter, the most common cause of laptop failure. My friend did not know the answer to his question, because the retail clerk never explained that the "brick" part of the adapter has a variety of voltages to set the charger to. In this case, however, the brick *was* set to the correct voltage: 14-17 Volts. This weekend, friend was starting to part-out the disassembled laptop to sell perfectly usable parts. When disassembling the universal adapter, the discovery was made that the little baggy the actual D/C tip should have come from--labeled "14--17 Volts" was vacuum-sealed. Another little baggy, containing other tips, labeled "17--21 Volts" was the one the clerk at the major retailer instructed friend to use. The fact that the baggy with the correct voltage tips is vacuum sealed led friend to ask whether corporation should be liable for the failure of the laptop ($1200. in 2004). Brunch with a lawyer friend who refuses to give legal advice elicited a terse nod. Hence, this post. The manager of the particular store where the adapter was bought offered the non-response: "We sell an awful lot of K_______________ brand of A/C adapters. They're used for Hewlett Packards, Toshibas, Lenovos, all kind of laptops. I can't be held responsible for the actions of a clerk who no longer works here. Call the manufacturer of the adapter." But the manufacturer didn't demonstrate the application of a wrong voltage tip. So who, if anyone, can be "implicated" in the failure of a laptop that had not been malfunctioning before the universal adapter was purchased? |
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Can Clerks/Cashiers Make a Corporation Liable?
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Can Clerks/Cashiers Make a Corporation Liable?
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Can Clerks/Cashiers Make a Corporation Liable?
On Feb 18, 10:51 am, kony wrote:
On Mon, 18 Feb 2008 02:50:58 -0800 (PST), wrote: A friend had a mid-range price laptop by a major manufacturer and needed a replacement A/C adapter. As for your titled question, yes a salesperson or clerk can make a corporation liable, that is not the variable but rather all the specifics are. If a clerk reads a package that claims it is suitable to do the job then it is the product manufacturer who is responsible if anyone, and perhaps your friend for not reading the instructions? If someone is unfamiliar with the particulars of electronics and power supplies then all the more reason to buy the exact OEM replacement or at least do more research and proceed with extra caution. I can't say the clerk or corporation bears no responsiblity for the failure, only that there is no indication of anything in particular that they did wrong Thanks for your opinion. |
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