Cattywampus Garmin 2610 Replaced

[Mike]

A few weeks ago, in this thread, I reported problems with my screen shaking on my Garmin 2610. Here's the update:

 

I sent an e-mail to Garmin's tech support after trying various solutions on my own--updating the software, disabling the infrared remote, etc. They opened up a repair ticket and gave me an address in Kansas to send the unit in for evaluation. Within a week I received a new 2610 from Garmin, with the waypoints from my old unit transferred into the new one.

 

The notes on the repair ticket indicated that the malfunctioning unit tested "normal," which doesn't surprise me, given the fact that it was only an intermittent problem. However, the response of Garmin was, in my view, excellent--even though the 2610 was out of warranty (by about three months), they replaced it absolutely free.

 

While I am unable to report back with any information on what caused the problem in the first place, this does bode well for others who have been having similar problems.

[smiller]

I have been a Garmin customer for a long time and with the lone exception of it occasionally being a little difficult to get through due to busy phone lines I have found Garmin's customer support to be consistently excellent over the years. Why more companies can't seem to manage this I don't know but it is refreshing when you find it.

[Mike]

I have been a Garmin customer for a long time and with the lone exception of it occasionally being a little difficult to get through due to busy phone lines I have found Garmin's customer support to be consistently excellent over the years. Why more companies can't seem to manage this I don't know but it is refreshing when you find it.

 

I had the same experience with trying to get through by phone to Garmin, something that I find highly frustrating. After giving up on that, I sent an e-mail, using a form on their website. I got a response and the RMA number about two days later. I can't fault the end result (), but I'd prefer to be able to talk to a human being over the phone.

[Gregori]

Yeah, but when you DO get someone on the phone at Garmin, at least it's someone in Kansas instead of India!

 

G

[Albert]

Mike,

Sorry for this blatant hijack, but I've always had a soft spot in my heart for the word "cattywampus". My grandmother and my mother used the word frequently and I use it on occasion too. Since my family are from Sothern Misouri and Northern Arkansas I always assumed it was a southern colloquialism. I have found that in some parts of the country if you use the word, people assume you are speaking Klingon. How, if I may ask did you pick up its usage?

[Mike]

Al--

 

I can pretty much tell you the exact moment at which it entered my vocabulary.

 

I'm a Yank, but one of my uncles was from the South. He was also my grade school principal. One day, I think in fourth grade, he was sitting in for our teacher and got on the subject of the school's pi-an-oh, which he proclaimed was "plumb cattywampus."

 

The kids thought it was pretty hilarious, so, being an educator who recognized a teachable moment, he explained what "cattywampus" and a few other southern expressions meant. It's stuck with me ever since.