Gripe Line reader Brian takes on Seagate, aka the Knights who say "ni!" There has been quite a lot of griping in the comments lately — OK, always — about well, just about everything. That’s to be expected when you name a column “The Gripe Line,” and it is certainly the nature of blogs. But underneath the bad temper, name calling, and complaining, I hear a plea. I will (politely) paraphrase it: “We want to write this blog.”So be it. Once a week I will post a gripe from you as it comes to me. I won’t do anything to it but clean up the grammar and cut out any rude comments or bad language. (Seriously! I’m doing that much.) I won’t ask a dozen experts to take on the questions you ask. You are on your own. [ Frustrated by your tech support? You’re not alone. Get answers from Christina Tynan-Wood in InfoWorld’s Gripe Line newsletter. ] But here is the challenge: Can you rise to the level set by this first offering from Brian? Tony? VonSkippy? Whattya got? Thanks Brian! Dear Gripe Line, I have a bad Seagate hard disk. It was a secondary disk on my computer. The computer suddenly was very slow and then unresponsive. I placed the drive in another computer and it is not recognized (or even noticed) by the BIOS or the OS. Same thing when I put it back in the original computer. So, I am returning it since it is under warranty. Seagate has a very easy-to-use procedure online. I did not even have to prove the drive was dead to anyone. So, I process the order — no problems. When I read the shipping and packing instructions, it turns out that since I do not have my original packaging, I need to use 2-inch foam rubber to pack my drive. No other packing materials can be used. I do not even think this drive came with foam rubber. We have plenty of bubble wrap in the plant, but they do not allow it. I have never dealt with a company that forced the use of foam rubber. So, since I cannot locate any foam rubber anywhere in the plant, I am now forced to use the following options: * Purchase packaging materials from a 3rd party of their choosing (www.wic-store.com), create an account, get spammed, and pay $15 plus tax and shipping, plus fill out an expense report for all of this. * Locate a supplier of foam rubber, pay probably just as much, if not more, and still be stuck with filling out an expense report. * Pay Seagate $20 to ship me a new drive first, but they do not accept American Express. I feel like I am dealing with the Knights who say “Ni!” and I have to give them a shrubbery before I can pass. I have been on hold for 40 minutes now with them. I want some explanation from them on why I have to jump through hoops to get this warranty fulfilled and why they require foam rubber and will not accept bubble wrap. BrianGot a gripe? Send it to christina_tynan-wood@infoworld.com. Technology Industry