r/techsupportgore • u/Substantial_Look9188 • 27d ago
A disgruntled employee shipped a laptop back like this..
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u/driellma 27d ago
Thats more effort than I would have put in.
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u/Cutoffjeanshortz37 27d ago
yeah, that's padding. If the company didn't provide materials and a box to return it in, I'd put it in whatever amazon box I had and call it good enough.
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u/daniel22457 27d ago
Honestly if it was cause of a layoff or firing I'd put the label straight on the laptop
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u/skotman01 27d ago
I gave my former employer that option after they made up some BS and fired me with no severance on my only work from home day.
They finally sent a box with packing material, minimal packing material but not my problem.
The box sat packed on my floor for 2 weeks, they finally emailed threatening to disable my account if I didnāt send it backā¦let that sink in for a secondā¦
After another few weeks, they reached out again asking if I had dropped it off. I asked them to prepay for my time and mileage, they declined. So it sat there for a few more weeks.
They finally arranged for it to be picked up.
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u/AdreKiseque 26d ago
Disable your account... for the job you were just fired from?
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u/skotman01 26d ago
Yup...now one could either take that as they didn't disable the account (they did), or they are too stupid to think through the threat...Seeing as they disabled the account basically during the meeting I'm going to go with the later.
These guys were real scum...waited until I was not in the office so they didn't have to face me in person.
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u/FrivolousMe 26d ago
Was the device managed by an MDM? Maybe they meant disabling the device (which of course you could easily reimage it)
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u/skotman01 26d ago
It was, it was a mac managed by intune. I made a half attempt to get around it. They disabled the device right after the call.
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27d ago
[deleted]
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u/Puzzleheaded_Hatter 27d ago
HR can getfucked - the 200 dollar laptop that was used when I got it, then used for 6 years arrived broken? - no shit thats why I asked for another one - you spent more money on shipping than it's worth, and more money on TP for the exec bathroom then on all my tech combined - FAHK OFFFFFFF
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u/FrivolousMe 26d ago
God the amount of bullshit I have to deal with in IT because companies cheap out on the tech they ship their employees. Great, you saved $250 on the computer. But you're spending $500 in support cases regarding this shitty computer.
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u/grivooga 22d ago
My company issued me a perfectly decent spec new laptop (at least on paper). This thing is the slowest piece of crap I've ever had and I've had some real clunkers over the years. Figured out a few weeks ago that the on-chip GPU was taking 11 of the 16 gb of memory. I bumped that to the lowest setting irt would let me, 4gb. It's still not a great laptop but the number of times a day where it slows to a complete crawl has reduced to only a handful of times a day instead of constantly.
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u/FrivolousMe 22d ago
Even then 16gb of ram is barely enough to run windows 11. Multiple browser tabs and electron based apps and you'll immediately start noticing lag
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27d ago edited 13d ago
[deleted]
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u/Savings_Art5944 If it works, send it! 27d ago
My wife got a work-from-home gig for insurance. Two monitors and a desktop in boxes in another HUUGE box. It was comically funny how big it was, and expecting to keep it intact to ship it all back...
Joked about how they sent an office in a box, but the office was the box.
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u/xethred 27d ago
Do people not know how to fold boxes?
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27d ago
[deleted]
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u/Low_scratchy 27d ago
I normally ask for a shipping return label right away and ship the box back to the office. The last two times they didn't want anything except the laptop back when they found out they had "lost" the boxes and not me.
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u/the_federation 27d ago
We just ship empty boxes to users with a return label to ship devices back.
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27d ago edited 27d ago
[deleted]
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u/Puzzleheaded_Hatter 27d ago
I mean, you sound like you've lost your objectivitity.
you think it's smart to spend shipping costs for a broken/spent laptop that was 300 dollars in 2019 - to be sent back to your shop, for you to be paid 30/hr working on it.
none of that is smart
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27d ago edited 27d ago
[deleted]
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u/SirCosmoBluebeard 27d ago
Such a company can afford to send some packing material. I'm not wasting valuable space in my house.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Hatter 27d ago
"Expensive hardware" - lol, yeah, I'm sure they just tossed the fully upgraded 16" MacBook Pro in a box.
This fucking guy - field tech for the best company ever
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u/Vector-storm 26d ago
Those 20 packs of chips are like $18 by me. I would have wadded up some paper bags or an old sweater.
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u/PoultryTechGuy 27d ago
Why didn't you send the employee a secure box to send it back in?
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u/Exploding_Testicles 27d ago
When i proccess reclaims, we send out a large box for all monitors and accessories too. I throw in an empty laptop box with it as well. Whether they use it or not is up to them. I insure the return label for the box for about 2k.
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u/theteg 27d ago
Damn, I wish our ITAM department heads would allow this. (I've been told it's expensive)
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u/Exploding_Testicles 27d ago
All we really care about is the laptop return, monitors and accessories are a bonus. 3 days shipping on a 50lbs box with 2k insurance is usually between 50-75 dollars
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u/theteg 27d ago
Yep we're about the same too, our main goal is laptop/phone. If anything else is a win in our book. We normally decommission any of the monitors we get back anyways. They never ship well
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u/Exploding_Testicles 27d ago edited 26d ago
Yea, if they're the current version we have on the floor, they're used as spares so the dept doesn't need to charge another screen. If its older goes into a large box, that we send out to be refurbished and donated..
Edit: there their they're
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u/unicodemonkey 27d ago
A company I worked for also let people purchase the laptop for cheap if it wasn't a very new Macbook or something like that.
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u/ErebusBat 27d ago
Is that cheaper / easier than just having them taking it to a UPS store and having them box it up?
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u/fluffman86 27d ago
This is what we do. Send a QR code, drop it at FedEx, they box it for us.
We used to do it for laptops and monitors but FedEx wouldn't pack the monitors correctly and they'd break about 25% of the time so we just call the monitors disposable now and tell the user to keep it or trash it. Same for keyboards and mice and generally chargers, though we will reissue chargers if they do get sent back.
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u/SirHerald 27d ago
I hardly want to reuse keyboards that have been used for a while in the office. Definitely not one from someone's home.
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u/daniel22457 27d ago
For real I was literally bringing in my personal keyboard for work to avoid this scenario
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u/Exploding_Testicles 27d ago
Do you charge the user's department for re-issuing a returned charger? Just curious
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u/fluffman86 27d ago
We don't charge anything for the chargers. We'll just hand them out to anyone who walks in or ship one to them if they're remote.
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u/Substantial_Look9188 27d ago edited 27d ago
We did provide a box, label and packaging, she just decided to ship it like this instead lol.
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u/styckx 27d ago
Free snacks in this economy? What a dumbass
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u/66659hi It was like that when I got here 27d ago
I think those bags are empty
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u/nosyllaste 27d ago
You can see some cheetos floating around. One bag toward the top is opened and leaking cheetos
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u/eastcoastguy128 27d ago
Thatās the first time I read āleaking Cheetosā but makes sense. Cue that commercial with UV light looking for Cheetos on peopleās fingers lol
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u/Substantial_Look9188 27d ago
Most of them were full and unopened, some were opened but hey free funyuns for me so Iām not complaining
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u/who_you_are 27d ago
Considering I saw them 50% off like 2 weeks ago I wondering if they are discontinuing them or whatever.
With this post... I really think they may lol
Either that or the guy used expired one he got for free they were going to trash.
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u/RichJMoney 27d ago
When I had to ship back a laptop to a job they gave me a box to use with the shipping label already on it. This makes me think the employee might have been specifically angry he had to pay for shipping himself, since a prepaid label covers a specific size/weight package.
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u/freericky 27d ago
Company is supposed to provide the packaging, a lawyer would cause some pain on this
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u/Exploding_Testicles 27d ago
We know the big box was sent, but when I process reclaims, I make sure a laptop box is in with the big box. If they use it or not is up to them.
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u/RedSquirrelFtw 27d ago
That's in pristine condition compared to a school kid returning a chromebook lol.
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u/Xyrack 27d ago
Just started at a school district. Day 1 was power washing chrome books literally and figuratively. It should shock no one to know I have been home sick for two days now with the flu.
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u/PeegeReddits 26d ago
It a took a few months working until a kid sneezed in my face, but I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner.
Get better soon!
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u/UMustBeNooHere 27d ago
Not the worst packaging Iāve seen someone send back equipment in.
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u/nameless_pattern 27d ago
Are you just going to tease or do we get some horror stories?
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u/unicodemonkey 27d ago
Not related to tech, but I've witnessed a dude in a post office trying to ship an acoustic guitar without any kind of hard case. They didn't have any suitable boxes so he just asked for a large plastic mail bag, put the guitar inside, and off it went to adventures unknown.
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u/UCFknight2016 27d ago
If I got fired I dont think I would care how I shipped it back. I had to beg a company to send me a box after they laid me off and only after I said I would consider it abandoned property did I get a box lol.
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u/kiwitathegreat 27d ago
I had a pretty epic battle of wills with the guy assigned to retrieve my equipment after a layoff. He wanted me, a small disabled female, to lug all my equipment (monitors, scanner, whole shebang) to a FedEx store to box and ship. I argued that they shipped directly to my house when I was hired so they could pay to have the carrier pick it up because I physically couldnāt take it to the store. We went back and forth for weeks with him telling me āit doesnāt weigh that muchā (didnāt realize he moonlit as a doctor but ya know) until I got a call from someone really high in the company asking why I hadnāt returned my equipment. That was fun to explain.
Seriously though, donāt make shit hard on the people who just lost their income. And definitely donāt argue once someone has explained that they NEED a carrier pickup.
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u/GandalfDanimator 27d ago
One time I got a large kitchen knife with a machine return...that was.....interesting.
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u/connly33 26d ago
As others said if the company didnāt provide proper shipping materials and packing, and provide pay for the time to pack and ship it, they can get screwed and this is better than they deserve. Tape the thing shut shove a label on it and drop it in the FedEx drop box as is as a bare laptop if not.
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u/Alarm-Particular 27d ago
Im just imaging this dude furiously eating 16 bags of flaming funyons and cheetoes thinking he's getting back at the company shipping it like this only to have to take a all-clothes-off in-tears lava shit the next day
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u/Jorpsica 27d ago
They sent back the laptop and charger and included snacks as a thank you. Stop being ungrateful.
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u/drdalek13 the humanity! 27d ago edited 27d ago
We had someone do this. The Attorneys that run the place took them to small claims court and were reimbursed for the laptop.
Risky play when they know ALL your personal information
Edit: Spelling, a word
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u/wiisucks_91 27d ago
Does it turn on? Is it damaged?
Otherwise it just needs some Lysol wipes and air can.
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u/northrupthebandgeek 1 2 3 4 5... systems working overtime! 27d ago
Disgruntled? That employee must think y'all are the bees knees to be willing to ship a laptop back with a bunch of free snacks.
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u/Competitive_Cancel33 27d ago
I find it interesting I scrolled this far without seeing a comment about the grease.
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u/404invalid-user 26d ago
I know I'm genuinely thinking whoever sent it though the packets won't pop
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u/BreadGallon 26d ago
wtf did they think their shitty boss or coworker would be the one dealing with this? š¤£
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u/merlinddg51 25d ago
lol I had an employee ones send a home office printer back full of spaghetti š¤£š
I guess they liked it so much they wanted to copy the recipeā¦
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u/ekristoffe 25d ago
Well my company would sue the former employee for destruction of company property ā¦ but we donāt ask them to send the property, we send a courier to get the property directly from where the employee is.
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u/jonslegos 27d ago
This is why I buy laptop boxes with padding, I (literally) donāt leave any room for tomfoolery. Sorry you ran into this OP, the people who are disgruntled offboards at my org usually just donāt send the laptops backā¦
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u/Conundrum88 26d ago
Send it back completely mummified in a comical sized box (Freepost of course!), making sure to run the battery down and take pictures of it booting and the asset tag so they can't claim it was switched out for an eBay junker due to the original laptop being damaged. For added fun, a printed out picture of the BIOS screen so they can't claim it was maliciously password locked. I've heard of slimy employers 'claiming' liquid damage before just so they can withhold back wages and suchlike.
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u/numberThirtyOne 25d ago
Man when I was a disgruntled former employee I shipped back my laptop in pristine condition with a tracking number and years later they were emailing me saying their records indicated I never returned it.
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u/Low_scratchy 27d ago
Disgruntled? He even doubly dutied the protective void fillers with snacks! You need to get this one rehired. Nothing but responsible care and bottomless kindness!
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u/EnzymeX 27d ago
"Laptop was unretreivable. We're holding 2k of your last salary to replace it."
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u/Connection-Terrible 27d ago
I was told multiple times that legally wages cannot be withheld. Also, most of the time terminations are paid out same day. (This is US based advice)
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u/Badger_Joe 27d ago
Sure it can as long as you sign the paperwork say the company can do it.
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u/spicedmeshi 27d ago
idk why you got downvoted. this is standard for most onboarding paperwork if you're an office worker. most people probably don't even read the forms though
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u/NanersLovesBiscoRico 27d ago
not if you sign a wage deduction authorization form or something similar. HR usually works those into your on-boarding paperwork at the start.
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u/DerpyNirvash 27d ago
not if you sign a wage deduction authorization form
You can't sign away the law
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u/alf666 27d ago edited 27d ago
Kind of.
If you sign a contract, terms of employment, etc., that says an employer can withhold wages from your final paycheck, then they can do that...
...as long as it doesn't take you below the minimum wage threshold for that pay period.
Basically, if you smash so much stuff on your way out the door that you would get a paycheck for $1 after damages are taken out despite having worked 40 hours that pay period, then you will still be guaranteed the legal minimum wage based on where you worked for those 40 hours, and the employer has to eat the cost for the rest.
So yes, they can take money out of your paycheck, but only up to a certain point.
The smart play might be to garnish wages from future paychecks to pay for the damage you caused in the event you aren't fired immediately for whatever it is you did (once again, dependent on laws in your jurisdiction and the terms of your employment), leaving you working for minimum wage until you quit on your own or the damages have been repaid, at which point you go back to your normal wage.
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u/Nickels_is_money_2 27d ago
lol i once asked a shit stain company I worked for once how much of my final pay got withheld if I didnāt return the MacBook they sent me. 25 bucks. Bypassed the mdm and got a 25 dollar MacBook.
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u/Nerfarean 27d ago
That would be an epic FAFO
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u/finding-meaning-01 27d ago
It was. The company fucked around with this guys employment and then asked for their stuff back. They found out.
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u/Squirrelking666 27d ago
That's quite the leap.
You have absolutely no idea what the back story is here.
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u/27thFrequency 24d ago
If the company is not going to send prepaid postage and shipping supplies, then they don't get to complain about how it's sent back.
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u/okokokoyeahright 27d ago
Perhaps the Hell Desk personnel had some input due to a customer/helldesk employee disagreement?
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u/ComplexToe 27d ago
Had a laptop shipped back because there cat pee on it. Had one shipped back because it had an ant infestation.
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u/Impossible_Most_4518 27d ago
Disgruntled huh? Would love to know the back story to this guys misery.
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u/maddogg42 27d ago
I know folks that worked at amazon and for a hard days work they handed out a single bag of chips. They must have saved all their hard work and shipped it back when fired for using the bathroom.
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u/chewedgummiebears 27d ago
The company I used to work for would take people like this to small claims court for the damages. They actually had a guy that would calculate the repair value and then file all of the paperwork to get a small claims court case filed in the jurisdiction that the former employee worked in. It was entertaining to hear him tell his stories.
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u/stove-jeebs- 21d ago
i sent mine back with used dog outfits as padding because they sent my return equipment hundreds of km away to a place i no longer lived and tried to charge me for ācorrect packagingā.
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u/Shadrixian If it ain't broke, trust me, it will be. 26d ago
Warranty voided. Probably has bug damage
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u/This-Is-Huge 26d ago
Thatās what I did with a refurbished kindle oasis that fell apart on me. RIP $150
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u/Bulky-Strategy-3723 26d ago
If you didnāt provide packaging then what did you expect them to do?
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u/No-Cucumber-9305 26d ago
Those are full bags of chips...they probably didn't have a box or packing material. Why is your company not shipping out boxes with packing material to get stuff back?
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u/collinsl02 27d ago
It's a thinkpad, it'll be fiiiiiiiiine