FARK.com: (7099401) Electronics store holds woman's computer hostage until she removes the complaint she filed with the attorney general about their wonderful customer service

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		Electronics store holds woman's computer hostage until she removes the complaint she filed with the attorney general about their wonderful customer service (sacramento.cbslocal.com)		116
		More: Asinine, electronics, California Attorney General, attorney generals, first computer, complaints

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TheAlmightyOS		2012-05-10 10:00:27 PM

I generally try not to deal with Frys unless I have a gift card or something. They got major internal communications problems.

(CSB time!) I once got a gift card for Frys from my girlfriends mother. My old CRT was on its last legs and LCD screens were getting cheaper so I decided to get a nice Samsung. Went in, looked around, finally found one I wanted. Out of stock. Ok, no big deal, go with my second choice. Out of stock. After about three times going around and around with the salesman I just asked what WAS in stock we discovered one that was miraculously in stock. Great. Buy it, bring it home and open it up, huge farking cut right down the center of the screen. When I looked more closely at the box I noticed what I had originally believed to be product information was, in fact, an RMA sticker. This farker had already been returned once!

So I take it back thinking mistakes do happen. So once again I look at the wall of monitors trying to remember which ones where out of stock. Pick another that was way lower then what I had wanted in the beginning but would be a big step up from my old CRT. Sales guy brings it out right away and I immediately notice the RMA sticker on the side of the box.

Now I am pissed and ask to talk to the manager over at the monitor section. He comes over and calms me down, apologizes and works with me. He eventually cuts me a deal for a much better model once they receive it in. Ok, that's worth my time waiting. A month goes by and they finally get the monitor in stock. Only NO ONE IN THE STORE WILL HONOR THE DEAL EVEN THOUGH I GOT IT IN INK AND SIGNED BY THE UNIT MANAGER. Not even the Shift manager would help me, said to "come back" when the other manager is on shift. WTF?

Anyway, finally track the motherfarker down and says he has to approve it with the shift manager (He made the deal without approving it?! And wait, didn't the shift manager say she needed this guy's say so?) Only after saying I wanted my money back did they start dealing again. The whole affair has made me think twice before entering frys for anything. Try to give my business to local shops where everyone knows who the fark is in charge
[/csb]

Rincewind53		2012-05-10 10:04:50 PM

TheAlmightyOS: Long story about terrible customer service

And this is why you buy from NewEgg.

/brand new 23" HD monitor, $110 after rebates.

TheAlmightyOS		2012-05-10 10:09:46 PM

Rincewind53: TheAlmightyOS: Long story about terrible customer service

And this is why you buy from NewEgg.

/brand new 23" HD monitor, $110 after rebates.

Yeah, learned my lesson. But NewEgg can be just as bad. Had a nightmare trying to get them to take back a DOA mobo.

/did not stop me from buying most of the parts for my current rig from them though

cptjeff		2012-05-11 12:58:06 AM

TheAlmightyOS: (CSB time!)

This is where you file with small claims court, get the value of the contract plus a little, and buy a monitor somewhere else.

haemaker		2012-05-11 01:23:14 AM

YOUR BEST BUYS ARE ALWAYS AT FRY'S...GUARANTEED.

2xhelix		2012-05-11 02:02:22 AM

My simple rule of shopping at Fry's: Avoid contact with any employee except cashier. If a sales drone is being overly aggressive about me allowing them to write up my purchases, I'll grab a few big ticket items off a shelf, let them salivate over the commission while they write the ticket. Then I dispose of the items in other parts of the store before checking out.

kingoomieiii		2012-05-11 02:46:06 AM

Doesn't California have lemon laws to deal with this kind of BS?

Paris1127		2012-05-11 02:47:45 AM

I can just picture what'll happen when she sues Fry's and they beg for a settlement...
i.qkme.me

AverageAmericanGuy		2012-05-11 03:30:38 AM

This is why I only buy my PCs from Yodobashi Camera.

Great customer service.

nytmare		2012-05-11 03:33:34 AM

I love attorneys general. Any halfway legit company who gets a query from the AG will fix that shiat immediately. Just how bad is this Fry's if they wouldn't?

bubo_sibiricus		2012-05-11 03:39:18 AM

nytmare: I love attorneys general. Any halfway legit company who gets a query from the AG will fix that shiat immediately. Just how bad is this Fry's if they wouldn't?

This. If they're that brain damaged, they are a company in trouble overall, from the board to the shop floor. They are the next CompUSA or Circuit City.

wildcardjack		2012-05-11 03:43:17 AM

AverageAmericanGuy: This is why I only buy my PCs from Yodobashi Camera.

Great customer service.

Huh? Reads wiki

The store in Akihabara, immediately next to JR Akihabara station, is eight stories tall (plus some basement levels). It has restaurants on the 8th floor, and a shipping center and camera classrooms in the basement levels.

Damn... Is this like the Ikea of electronics?

24.media.tumblr.com

I tried to link to a picture of an aisle of small cables. But the file was too large.

This would never work in America. You'd never find retail staff that would be capable of maintaining racks like that, and American shoppers are farking pigs that never put anything back where they found it.

/Bought a paper towel holder that was in the electronics department at Target.
//Impulse buy of a misplaced item.

9beers		2012-05-11 03:43:57 AM

So she agrees to take a bribe and then has the nerve to biatch about it? Fark you, lady.

SoCalChris		2012-05-11 03:44:00 AM

Doesn't surprise me this was at Fry's. They're generally great, as long as you know exactly what you need. The fact that they price match online prices now is great. As soon as you have to deal with any employees though, you're farked.

/It's great to go and see how reliable a product will be before buying it by looking at how many of that item have been returned and put back on the shelf with their little return sticker on it.

bubo_sibiricus		2012-05-11 03:48:13 AM

9beers: So she agrees to take a bribe and then has the nerve to biatch about it? Fark you, lady.

Reading comprehension is not one of your strong points, is it?

9beers		2012-05-11 03:51:11 AM

bubo_sibiricus: Reading comprehension is not one of your strong points, is it?

I understand what went on just fine, apparently you don't.

I sound fat		2012-05-11 03:51:48 AM

haemaker: YOUR BEST BUYS ARE ALWAYS AT FRY'S...GUARANTEED.

They got room for like 3 or 4 Best Buys in there.

/ I miss frys.

Pray 4 Mojo		2012-05-11 03:52:34 AM

Fry's is risky... but has some awesome deals.

Got me a sweet 60" Plasma the week after the Superbowl a couple years ago. Open box return... $899.

If you have high end tastes and want something specific... avoid Fry's like the plague.

libranoelrose		2012-05-11 03:53:25 AM

Isn't the internet great?

Without it this would just be like a person pissing into the wind.

nytmare		2012-05-11 03:59:41 AM

9beers: bubo_sibiricus: Reading comprehension is not one of your strong points, is it?

I understand what went on just fine, apparently you don't.

Apparently you need a new hobby.

Ed Finnerty		2012-05-11 04:05:13 AM

bubo_sibiricus: 9beers: So she agrees to take a bribe and then has the nerve to biatch about it? Fark you, lady.

Reading comprehension is not one of your strong points, is it?

Saying stupid shiat to get people to respond is his strong point.

Coelacanth		2012-05-11 04:09:48 AM

Pray 4 Mojo: Fry's is risky... but has some awesome deals.

Got me a sweet 60" Plasma the week after the Superbowl a couple years ago. Open box return... $899.

If you have high end tastes and want something specific... avoid Fry's like the plague.

I go to Fry's for DVDs...and not much else.

LordOfThePings		2012-05-11 04:14:18 AM

Oznog		2012-05-11 04:16:40 AM

TheAlmightyOS: Rincewind53: TheAlmightyOS: Long story about terrible customer service

And this is why you buy from NewEgg.

/brand new 23" HD monitor, $110 after rebates.

Yeah, learned my lesson. But NewEgg can be just as bad. Had a nightmare trying to get them to take back a DOA mobo.

/did not stop me from buying most of the parts for my current rig from them though

Just accept it: there's only a 50/50 chance any vendor will come through on the warranty. So don't take the warranty too seriously.

Once you go that way, the eBay dealers and Amazon suppliers look sweeter. Some people are like "sure I'll save $20, but what if something goes wrong? I won't be able to drive over to the store and get it replaced." Look, driving over to the store's already a chunk of your day. You may very well get jerked around for weeks and never get satisfaction. The stress of this isn't even worth the $110 the monitor cost to begin with! Hell, I gotta have a monitor, so if you're gonna "send it off", that's worth nothing to me.

Had that happen with a laptop, DVD player went bad. They're like "sure it's under warranty, but we need to send the entire laptop in for testing, it'll be several weeks." Come on, lemme just hand you the drive and you can send THAT in. Nope. Well, I'm not gonna send the whole laptop in, that's just silly. I'll buy another drive on eBay before doing that.

My perspective? I save like 20% or more online. Maybe 10% chance it'll be broken, never arrive, or break in the first week. In which case I'll try to send it back, maybe they'll fix it. Maybe they won't, I'll leave 'em bad feedback but I'll move on. In fact I've probably already bought a replacement and if they come back with a fixed one I'm just gonna eBay it anyways, because I don't need two.

powhound		2012-05-11 04:18:29 AM

No problems with Tiger Direct or Newegg....never ordered from Fry's.

We used to have a really great local company, but they went out of business. They would purchase their products via trolling net spider programs to find the cheapest stuff. Never had a problem with any of their hardware, but alas...gone.

Oznog		2012-05-11 04:19:53 AM

Ed Finnerty: bubo_sibiricus: 9beers: So she agrees to take a bribe and then has the nerve to biatch about it? Fark you, lady.

Reading comprehension is not one of your strong points, is it?

Saying stupid shiat to get people to respond is his strong point.

Well, look, if you biatch to the AG and they give you a brand-new replacement computer, you DO tell the AG it's resolved. You don't keep telling the AG to "go after 'em". If the world worked that way, they've no motivation to replace your computer if you're gonna pursue the complaint to the ends of the earth even if they DO.

Oznog		2012-05-11 04:21:03 AM

Watch Fry's come back and reveal "actually her computer was fine, but the keyboard's USB cable was jammed into the RJ45 ethernet jack, breaking both."

Neums		2012-05-11 05:00:15 AM

Oznog: Watch Fry's come back and reveal "actually her computer was fine, but the keyboard's USB cable was jammed into the RJ45 ethernet jack, breaking both."

I don't think that'd be the case. They showed her using her roommate's rig for gaming, so presumably she knows enough about them to know not to do something that dumb.

Buffet		2012-05-11 05:04:43 AM

I've never heard of this Fry cat, but it sounds like he needs an ass whuppin'!

profplump		2012-05-11 05:04:56 AM

powhound: No problems with Tiger Direct

Tiger Direct isn't necessarily bad, but you have to know exactly what you're buying independently as their ads/product pages are often misleading. Assuming you understand the deal, their prices are fine, but if you're not 100% which model number you want, or that specific model number is not displayed in your cart, I wouldn't trust Tiger Direct to send you anything like what you wanted.

lisarenee3505		2012-05-11 05:09:44 AM

Do people actually still shop at Fry's? They have one of the worst customer service track records in the retail biz. I learned my lesson with them a long time ago. Best Buy is only marginally better, but at either place the safest thing to do is know exactly what you want before you go, and tell all the idiot flunkie "sales reps" to fark off when they approach you. Back in the day i was shopping for some computer components at the Fry's in Dallas and one of their sales idiots kept insisting on "helping" me. I got tired of it and started throwing every IT tech term I could think of at the guy, which had him utterly confused. I finally got up real close and said "you don't really know a damn thing about the products you are trying to sell, so please leave me alone before I take my money somewhere else", which I ended up doing anyway. Screw Fry's, they are a pox on the retail world.

powhound		2012-05-11 05:18:19 AM

profplump: powhound: No problems with Tiger Direct

Tiger Direct isn't necessarily bad, but you have to know exactly what you're buying independently as their ads/product pages are often misleading. Assuming you understand the deal, their prices are fine, but if you're not 100% which model number you want, or that specific model number is not displayed in your cart, I wouldn't trust Tiger Direct to send you anything like what you wanted.

I would argue that goes for any online purchase. Which is why I do prefer buy local. Like I mentioned my favorite closed up shop. There is another decent place, but the prices are quite a bit higher. So then it's back to the Internet for my next build once I find a way to somehow cover the expenses so the wife doesn't notice the Visa charges...

Unobtanium		2012-05-11 05:24:42 AM

We have a Fry's locally, and it's near a Microcenter. So shopping for certain things is pretty cool, but in both places my rule is know exactly what I want, and interact with the staff only enough to purchase it. The Fry's is nice and huge (who carries resistors any more?). I'm pretty sure I wouldn't depend on their warranties or repair services any more than I would use Geek Squad for a warranty or repair.

wademh		2012-05-11 05:32:56 AM

Was the customer service rep named Paul Christoforo by chance?

MmmmBacon		2012-05-11 05:35:34 AM

Strangely enough, I have never had an issue with Fry's (other than long lines at the registers around Christmas time). I bought a laptop for my wife a couple of years ago from Best Buy (I know, I know...), and it was excellent (still is, in fact), so I bought the exact same model for myself.

Eight days later my new laptop wouldn't boot up anymore. Oh, it tried to, then insisted on doing a reinstall (the Windows partition had mysteriously disappeared), then locked up and wouldn't even finish the reinstall. To me, this sounded like a bad HD, but I boxed it up and took it back to the store.

First the CSR thought I must be insane, but when it again locked up trying to reinstall Windows as I described, he insisted we sit and wait... for 30 minutes... "just to be sure". Then when he finally agreed the laptop was borked, I asked for a replacement, and was told they didn't have any in stock... But they could order me one, if I wanted to wait a couple of weeks for delivery. I asked if they perhaps had a similar product on hand... Nope. How about the same model at another nearby store?

Well, at least here I hit paydirt. Yes, the CSR said they did have one new model of the laptop I had bought at a nearby store, only a 30 minute drive away. "No problem", I thought... But then he corrects himself. The laptop isn't 30 miles up the freeway, but instead 120 miles south. The CSR got the stores mixed up, I guess. He also couldn't be sure the laptop hadn't already been sold, since their inventory system was "a few days behind".

So, no... At this point I was not about to wait for them to order me a new laptop (I could have done that myself, had I wanted to), nor was I going to spend half the day driving on the off-chance that the replacement laptop might be there. I got a full refund (okay, a credit on my card was applied about a week later, but a refund just the same).

Quick drive up to Fry's, spent ten minutes picking out a better laptop than I had gotten from Best Buy, and I'm out the door. Haven't had a single issue with it since.

Never buying from Best Buy again.
I will buy from Fry's, though, especially if it is something I need right now.

/Call me crazy, but I like Fry's

Staffist		2012-05-11 05:39:26 AM

Oznog:

...Just accept it: there's only a 50/50 chance any vendor will come through on the warranty. So don't take the warranty too seriously....

That part alone made me think of "Tommy Boy", and for that, I thank you.

"I can get a good look at a T-bone by sticking my head up a bull's ass, but I'd rather take a butcher's word for it."

/farking insomnia.

AverageAmericanGuy		2012-05-11 05:43:40 AM

MmmmBacon: Call me crazy, but I like Fry's

You're not the only one. Fry's does a pretty bang up job with service and support.

Best Buy is well known for packing message boards with employees and paying them per post to attack the competition. I would wager most of the anti-Fry's people in here work for Best Buy.

They'll deny it of course.

libranoelrose		2012-05-11 05:46:18 AM

libranoelrose		2012-05-11 05:49:17 AM

hey

bubo_sibiricus		2012-05-11 05:55:49 AM

Oznog: Well, look, if you biatch to the AG and they give you a brand-new replacement computer, you DO tell the AG it's resolved. You don't keep telling the AG to "go after 'em".

Yes you do, because if they're doing it to you, they're doing it to other people.

There was no reason for this lady to get the run-around. None.

shaymlss		2012-05-11 06:08:20 AM

She sounds fat.

LadyHawke		2012-05-11 06:37:48 AM

"Valerio didn't explain why the issue wasn't fixed before CBS13 got involved."

I think that line says it all.

THE GREAT NAME		2012-05-11 07:05:27 AM

lisarenee3505: Do people actually still shop at Fry's? They have one of the worst customer service track records in the retail biz. I learned my lesson with them a long time ago. Best Buy is only marginally better, but at either place the safest thing to do is know exactly what you want before you go, and tell all the idiot flunkie "sales reps" to fark off when they approach you. Back in the day i was shopping for some computer components at the Fry's in Dallas and one of their sales idiots kept insisting on "helping" me. I got tired of it and started throwing every IT tech term I could think of at the guy, which had him utterly confused. I finally got up real close and said "you don't really know a damn thing about the products you are trying to sell, so please leave me alone before I take my money somewhere else", which I ended up doing anyway. Screw Fry's, they are a pox on the retail world.

THE GREAT NAME was once irritated by the wailing of a baby. So THE GREAT NAME stole its candy.

the ha ha guy		2012-05-11 07:10:52 AM

Oznog: Well, look, if you biatch to the AG and they give you a brand-new replacement computer, you DO tell the AG it's resolved.

If someone steals your car, then brings it back a few weeks later with a full tank of gas, does the fact that the car is back negate the fact that a crime was committed?

MythDragon		2012-05-11 07:15:08 AM

Ironic?

MythDragon		2012-05-11 07:21:02 AM

9beers: So she agrees to take a bribe and then has the nerve to biatch about it? Fark you, lady.

They didn't come through on the bribe. That would piss me off too.
The whole purpose of the bribe is to do something you don't want to do in exchange for something you want. (Like women who have sex with me). If you do that thing, but don't get the thing you want, you might get a little miffed.

If Fry's had pulled that shiat with a U.S. Senator, they would have been found dead in the park with two bullet holes to the back of the head. And open and shut case of suicide.

If you bribe someone, you damn sure follow up with the payment.

MythDragon		2012-05-11 07:23:54 AM

THE GREAT NAME: THE GREAT NAME was once irritated by the wailing of a baby. So THE GREAT NAME stole its candy.

Was it as easy as I have been lead to believe?

jso2897		2012-05-11 07:36:18 AM

AverageAmericanGuy: MmmmBacon: Call me crazy, but I like Fry's

You're not the only one. Fry's does a pretty bang up job with service and support.

Best Buy is well known for packing message boards with employees and paying them per post to attack the competition. I would wager most of the anti-Fry's people in here work for Best Buy.

They'll deny it of course.

I like Fry's too - but I like it for parts and doodads nobody else has, or things like cables or canned air that are a million times cheaper there.
I wouldn't buy anything major like a computer of major appliance from them - they are just too flaky about quality control, and their customer service is erratic - sometimes great, sometimes terrible, and often nonexistent.

oh_please		2012-05-11 07:50:41 AM

OK, let me get this straight:

Fry's agrees to fix her computer, can't fix it.

Woman files a complaint with the AG.

Fry's agrees to give her a new computer, resolving the issue, as long as she tells the AG that the issue was resolved.

My god, that's bribery! THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!

bunner		2012-05-11 07:50:41 AM

Dear corporate monstrosities.

You ant to know why you're falling on your asses?

Because you have a staff of liars trained to bait and switch, sell junk, make sh*t up and generally gush with malarkey from behind a corporate stone wall.

E-bay has individual sellers from brick and mortar to people with a work table and a postage meter in their basement who are very concerned about their reputation on e-bay and try to give the customer the best item, price and shipping costs, and this merry band of weekend warrior merchants are going to eat your balls for breakfast if you don't pull your heads out of your asses and stop acting like a Turkish alleyway bazarr.

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