DeepFreeze
[H]ard|Gawd
- Joined
- Nov 18, 2001
- Messages
- 1,699
Z(+)DIAC said:
I used to work for CompUSA.
I would not go back at all. the practices are loathing, they dont really care about customers.
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Another Reason I Hate CompUsa
- Thread starter Z(+)DIAC
- Start date
I used to work for CompUSA.
I would not go back at all. the practices are loathing, they dont really care about customers.
chrisf6969
[H]F Junkie
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2003
- Messages
- 9,011
GregP24 said:
I bought one of those too. B/c I had just bought a 6800GT with Doom for $399, and I only had a 300W PSU on my rig at home.
Desperate for immediate gratification with my new videocard. I bought that same Mad Dog 550W which was a rip off at $120+ (price I think) The one I got was a $56 Thermaltake 480w PSU in disguise. - (see the PSU fan control it came with) (it looks like they're selling something else now)
I could have gotten an Antec True Control 550W for $123 at newegg.
wrong, most of the time they are just money makers for BB and CompUSA etc. They have virtually NO value to the customer, since they often only cover a timeframe during which the product is covered by the manufacturer anyways.Jonsey said:
that is a little closer to the truth. he needs to sell the service plans -which are litterally 100% profits for CompUSA etc.- so that the company makes money, and so that he can keep his job.
drizzt81 said:
My buddy bought a GF4 TI 4400 a few years back. It burned out last year. Because he had TAP, CompUSA credited him the full purchase price of his card toward a new card... in his case a 9600 pro. For him at least, it was a great deal. A new directx 9 card when his old one burned out, and it cost him nothing.
DusterAZ
Gawd
- Joined
- Nov 23, 2001
- Messages
- 681
drizzt81 said:
Well, I worked at BB many years ago (97-2000) in the computer and video departments and the service plans can have value if people actually use them. BB's service plans were usually either 3 or 4 years which is well beyond most manufacturer's (1 year). They just count on people forgetting that they purchased the plan. But I remember many times people bringing in a PC that was over 2 years old and leaving with a brand new PC because they hit the lemon limit. On some things it is worth it (laptop, camcorder and other portable electronics due to wear and tear) and on others (dvd player, vcr, etc) it's a complete waste. At BB there is no commission so I didn't break a sweat trying to sell them but I think the stores push much harder on the employees now. I remember seeing some reports when I worked there and the service plans at BB were bringing about 50% profit which is very good. Considering there is pretty much no money made on a PC, all the profit is in selling the warranty and very overpriced accessories.
Anyways, when I go to any store I never talk to anyone except to check if something is in stock. Also, when I worked in the computer department I usually played dumb to some of the customers and just gave them basic info because I didn't want to spend 30 minutes explaining things. You have to understand that 90% of the customers you run into don't have any clue and if you start shooting out all kinds of lingo they will just keep asking questions and basically want you to fully educate them. I simply did not get paid enough (under $6/hr if I remember right) to bust my balls
The truth about the warranties is this. Comp USA loses more money on them than they make. Since they are partnered with a company called Pre-owned electronics who rapes them every chance they get. Comp USA pays rediculous prices for parts to do warranty repair work and that's about it. They lose more than they make trust me. Especially when once a week we've got to replace a customers unit under TAP plus we've lost all the money from previous repairs to thier computer. That's sometimes a loss of $2000 including repairs previously made on a unit that cost $1100 to start with that a customer paid $1000 for.
You see cost on a whole computer is only about $50 to $100 less than what it's sold for at the most. Sometime units are sold at a loss in the hopes that money will be made up on accessories and on service plans. So when a unit replacement is done on such a unit with an extended warranty on it, we lose our ass.
Comp USA doesn't make money. They've been cutting jobs and trying every scheme available to stay afloat. That's the bottom line. Comp USA also loses money to asshole customers who bitch and whine and rip them off.
Best Buy on the other hand makes money hand over fist. They break even on computer sales and warranty work, but more than make that up on accessories and the higher margin stuff like home theatre equipement. Also they don't underwrite their own warranties. An insurance company does that for them.
Comp USA's problem is it's inept management. Bad hiring practices and stupid buyers who buy stuff at retail cost from web sites like PC Connect and then expect to mark those same products up another 35% and sell to the public. They later have to sell that stuff at a loss or sell it to a liquidator because they couldn't get it sold in the first place.
Comp USA is not a money making company.
You see cost on a whole computer is only about $50 to $100 less than what it's sold for at the most. Sometime units are sold at a loss in the hopes that money will be made up on accessories and on service plans. So when a unit replacement is done on such a unit with an extended warranty on it, we lose our ass.
Comp USA doesn't make money. They've been cutting jobs and trying every scheme available to stay afloat. That's the bottom line. Comp USA also loses money to asshole customers who bitch and whine and rip them off.
Best Buy on the other hand makes money hand over fist. They break even on computer sales and warranty work, but more than make that up on accessories and the higher margin stuff like home theatre equipement. Also they don't underwrite their own warranties. An insurance company does that for them.
Comp USA's problem is it's inept management. Bad hiring practices and stupid buyers who buy stuff at retail cost from web sites like PC Connect and then expect to mark those same products up another 35% and sell to the public. They later have to sell that stuff at a loss or sell it to a liquidator because they couldn't get it sold in the first place.
Comp USA is not a money making company.
So, you're saying CompUSA sucks because you didn't do your research on power supplies?GregP24 said:
Who knows who makes Mad Dog power supplies? I sure don't. Which means I won't buy one. Also, "it wouldn't let me overclock above xxx"? Somehow, I don't think CompUSA caters to overclockers, and if you're overclocking, as discussed many times in the PSU forum, you should do a lot of research to find the power supply you want.
I don't care for CompUSA much, because I can find what I want online for less. But if you don't do your research, you're not going to get the best solution for your money for what you want to do no matter where you buy your stuff from. As for product location in the store (to the original poster) use the six-digit item code off the flyer...they can look that up in the store to find its location, and you won't have to describe a thing.
He's required to ask you about the warranty. If he doesn't get a certain number a month, he might not be working there long. It has nothing to do with whether he wants to or not.Z(+)DIAC said:
Have you ever worked in retail? Where you're constantly told to push certain items by managers above you, where they hold "competitions", which offer the person who gets the most warranty sales in a month a prize, but is more often than not really used to single out the people who sold the least, to tell them to shape up or ship out? Don't blame the employees...blame the company that gives them little choice if they want to keep their job in an uncertain economy.
Man. This reminds me of the threads of people blaming a store for selling them a product that turned out to be defective, as if the store was out to get them and actually planned to sell them a product that was bad.
The warranties there aren't that bad. if you buy a $300 card and get the $10 or so warranty to go with it you don' thave to worry about contacting BFG and getting an RMA, then sending it out and waiting X days for your card to get there, for them to check it out and then send it back or a replacement. With their warranty you can just go to the store and swap it for a new on on the stop. Easier I'd say.
I bought a 200 gb Maxtor Diamondmax hard drive from them on sale in August of 2004. It crapped out two months later and I lost my receipt, I called up and happened to get a manager on the phone and he was very nice and told me to take it in for a replacement. I took it in and he left the replacement at the front customer service desk there so it was taken care of in a matter of minutes and the new one has worked flawlessly. I wasn't asking for my money back, just a replacement for the product that was defective and I had no problems and I was pleased with their service on that regard.
I was back there a few days ago looking at their selection of 19" Crt's only to notice they seemed to have an abundance of LCD's and a various assortment of TV's. Their video game section (the real reason I go there) is always in shambles as they seem to be always rearranging it or pulling up the floor and replacing the carpet so nothing was priced but I've come to expect that from the place. Other than that I've bought the odd can of compressed air and an 80mm Antec case fan along with a few video games. I've also noticed they seem to be the only place in town that actually has an ATI X800 Pro in stock for $400.
Offhand, I've had terrible customer service from Best Buy and I rarely go there unless I absolutely need to buy something on sale. Between the two, I'll give my money to CompUsa.
(By the way, I found my beloved CRT online at Newegg )
I was back there a few days ago looking at their selection of 19" Crt's only to notice they seemed to have an abundance of LCD's and a various assortment of TV's. Their video game section (the real reason I go there) is always in shambles as they seem to be always rearranging it or pulling up the floor and replacing the carpet so nothing was priced but I've come to expect that from the place. Other than that I've bought the odd can of compressed air and an 80mm Antec case fan along with a few video games. I've also noticed they seem to be the only place in town that actually has an ATI X800 Pro in stock for $400.
Offhand, I've had terrible customer service from Best Buy and I rarely go there unless I absolutely need to buy something on sale. Between the two, I'll give my money to CompUsa.
(By the way, I found my beloved CRT online at Newegg
)Funny to hear all the bitching about how CompUSA, BB etc. are filled with stupid people. Genius of the online companies to do away with salespeople altogether and let the customer do 100% of the research. Then you can sell stuff at lower cost and still make good money.
No one to blame but yourself when you shop online--unless you don't read the fine print about MIRs. Blame it on CompUSA then. Geez. What did you expect?
Anyone here willing to work CompUSA for $8/hour plus commish? The requirement is that only those with full knowledge of all mobos/video cards/RAM/PSUs/etc. may apply. Willing to work for $16k a year, base salary? Didn't think so. That's what you get in a B&M, they're good for the herd and the 'gotta have it now' crowd. And some fantastic sales occasionally.
As far a long waits go it's not just CompUSA to blame. One of the ONLY stores I've seen with good checkout times was Frye's Electronics. Even Barnes & Noble makes you wait.
No one to blame but yourself when you shop online--unless you don't read the fine print about MIRs. Blame it on CompUSA then. Geez. What did you expect?
Anyone here willing to work CompUSA for $8/hour plus commish? The requirement is that only those with full knowledge of all mobos/video cards/RAM/PSUs/etc. may apply. Willing to work for $16k a year, base salary? Didn't think so. That's what you get in a B&M, they're good for the herd and the 'gotta have it now' crowd. And some fantastic sales occasionally.
As far a long waits go it's not just CompUSA to blame. One of the ONLY stores I've seen with good checkout times was Frye's Electronics. Even Barnes & Noble makes you wait.
I haven't purchased anything from compusa in years other than maybe a cable or something for work. Why? Mostly because of their crap return policy. Who wants to pay some restocking fee when you can buy similar hardware at circuit city/bestbuy (that is if you NEED a local retailer) with no restocking fee, otherwise newegg or zipzoom would probably be better.
paladin732
n00b
- Joined
- Apr 5, 2003
- Messages
- 60
lol, that crap restocking fee does not exist anymore, its now a 21-day return policy with no restocking fee.... but there was a reason for that restocking fee that i have since learnt from working in retailTechx said:
we actually do mail back ALL opened items. The restocking fee covers our mailing costs
If you're willing to do MIR's then compusa and BB is fine. Don't expect genious sales people and even if they knew thier stuff why would they expect you to?
I fix computers as a small side buisness while i attench shcool and often spend tons of time answering questions after using technical terms and it is pretty annoying even though i get paid more the longer they keep me (except when i build people computers).
I fix computers as a small side buisness while i attench shcool and often spend tons of time answering questions after using technical terms and it is pretty annoying even though i get paid more the longer they keep me (except when i build people computers).
My last CompUSA purchase was just fine. I was putting together a new rig, realized I needed a fan for the XP90. Drove over, bought a 92mm 56cfm "case" fan for $5 and drove home. Instant gratification, no hassle, and no more expensive than it would've been online after shipping.
I didn't need to get a sales person to help me, and being boxing day the lines were quite short. The only interaction I had with anyone was the cashier telling me my total, $5.33 and asking if I wanted a bag.
I didn't need to get a sales person to help me, and being boxing day the lines were quite short. The only interaction I had with anyone was the cashier telling me my total, $5.33 and asking if I wanted a bag.
[Retaliation]
Limp Gawd
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2004
- Messages
- 505
i dont mind shopping there..but i will agree with you...not one person in the store knows an F'N thing about computers..or better yet..the moron standing by the door asking me how much a pay for my isp..and if i would like to use yahoo dsl instead..um how about NO
[Retaliation] said:
That guy is required to do that. I am supposed to recommend that to everyone whos machine I service. I work at Comp USA as a part time service tech to suppliment my income and of course I do nothing of the sort. We've got a whopping 1 sales person who knows jack shit about computers and he's a Mac guy. No one else outside the tech shop does.
The only time you ever get intelligent help and questions answered correctly is when a tech comes out to go to the vending machine or the bathroom. That's about it.
[Retaliation]
Limp Gawd
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2004
- Messages
- 505
ok...but this dude wasnt working on my pc(it would be a cold day in hell) that anyone but myself (let alone anyone at compusa) works on my pc..but anyways...i dont think this dude was a compusa employee..he had a sbc yahoo dsl shirt on..and i didnt see a compusa name tag(but i guess that doesnt mean he didnt work there) he was walking around and randomly asking ppl..i saw the little bastid..and tried to hide,but he found me
I really don't care who knows what when I go shopping. Online can be cheaper, but I won't wait 5 days to save 5 bucks either. So everything is case-by-case.
Most hilarious story I can think of though, is that when my wife bought her laptop from BB a few years ago we had to do the checkout at the geeksquad area for whatever reason (cross-selling no doubt). The geek in charge was trying to convince me to buy their setup services (for a laptop?) and his ominous threat was "Well, do you know how to deal with *the* security hole in Windows XP?"
My response: "The security hole? Which one are you talking about? I know about all of them."
His response: "No, there's just one, and it was only announced to Best Buy employees under an NDA."
My response: "Are you done yet, 'cause we really need to go now?"
(I happen to be responsible for the security and patch management strategy for nearly 10,000 Windows based devices across North America - oh by the way - 13 new vulnerabilities to be announced February 8th. 9 for Windows alone. Oh Joy)
I do hate the cross-selling bullshit that we all have to endure from time to time. But on the other hand, I love the 30-day (flexible to 60 days in my experience) no-restocking return policy at BB.
Most hilarious story I can think of though, is that when my wife bought her laptop from BB a few years ago we had to do the checkout at the geeksquad area for whatever reason (cross-selling no doubt). The geek in charge was trying to convince me to buy their setup services (for a laptop?) and his ominous threat was "Well, do you know how to deal with *the* security hole in Windows XP?"
My response: "The security hole? Which one are you talking about? I know about all of them."
His response: "No, there's just one, and it was only announced to Best Buy employees under an NDA."
My response: "Are you done yet, 'cause we really need to go now?"
(I happen to be responsible for the security and patch management strategy for nearly 10,000 Windows based devices across North America - oh by the way - 13 new vulnerabilities to be announced February 8th. 9 for Windows alone. Oh Joy)
I do hate the cross-selling bullshit that we all have to endure from time to time. But on the other hand, I love the 30-day (flexible to 60 days in my experience) no-restocking return policy at BB.
Its all over the net now, lol .
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After reading this letter, you will never again be able to trust CompUsa, and you will see with crystal clarity the way that a complete description of the problems with its tricks would occupy several volumes. I want to share this with you because it is more than a purely historical question to ask, "How did its reign of terror start?" or even the more urgent question, "How might it end?". No, we must ask, "How much longer can we tolerate its egocentric grievances before the whole country collectively throws up?" The only clear answer to emerge from the conflicting, contradictory stances that it and its vicegerents take is that we must hold not only it, but also its fans, accountable for their prudish, lawless modes of thought. The greatest quote I ever heard goes something like this: "CompUsa is opposed to radicalism, even though its own personal attacks are just as upside-down, inside-out, convoluted, inverted, and perverted." As will become apparent in a lustrum or two, CompUsa favors the idea of a country based on perquisites and privileges. I mean, think about it. I have a soft spot for oppressive, psychotic lumpenproletariats: a bog not too far from here. I, not being one of the many viperine fogeys of this world, must point out that CompUsa managed to convince a bunch of intrusive pipsqueaks to help it gag free speech. What was the quid pro quo there? This isn't such an easy question to answer, but let me take a stab at it: It possesses no significant intellectual skills whatsoever and has no interest in erudition. Heck, it can't even spell or define "erudition", much less achieve it. Be that as it may, the gin-swilling, abominable energumens who collaborate with CompUsa should be spat upon -- or worse -- for their lack of integrity. It's that simple. Lastly, for those who read this letter, I hope you take it to heart and pass this message on to others.
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After reading this letter, you will never again be able to trust CompUsa, and you will see with crystal clarity the way that a complete description of the problems with its tricks would occupy several volumes. I want to share this with you because it is more than a purely historical question to ask, "How did its reign of terror start?" or even the more urgent question, "How might it end?". No, we must ask, "How much longer can we tolerate its egocentric grievances before the whole country collectively throws up?" The only clear answer to emerge from the conflicting, contradictory stances that it and its vicegerents take is that we must hold not only it, but also its fans, accountable for their prudish, lawless modes of thought. The greatest quote I ever heard goes something like this: "CompUsa is opposed to radicalism, even though its own personal attacks are just as upside-down, inside-out, convoluted, inverted, and perverted." As will become apparent in a lustrum or two, CompUsa favors the idea of a country based on perquisites and privileges. I mean, think about it. I have a soft spot for oppressive, psychotic lumpenproletariats: a bog not too far from here. I, not being one of the many viperine fogeys of this world, must point out that CompUsa managed to convince a bunch of intrusive pipsqueaks to help it gag free speech. What was the quid pro quo there? This isn't such an easy question to answer, but let me take a stab at it: It possesses no significant intellectual skills whatsoever and has no interest in erudition. Heck, it can't even spell or define "erudition", much less achieve it. Be that as it may, the gin-swilling, abominable energumens who collaborate with CompUsa should be spat upon -- or worse -- for their lack of integrity. It's that simple. Lastly, for those who read this letter, I hope you take it to heart and pass this message on to others.
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darktiger said:
I have the same problem... I can't stand it when some dolt tries to sell you a P4-based PC because, "Games will run better on this PC."
(Sure they will. Intel eXtreme Graphics are excellent performers, right? Maybe it's Intel's kickbacks to employees that makes them recommend Intel machines?)
[BB] Rick James
[H]ard Dawg
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2004
- Messages
- 2,810
ComUSA isn't that bad. I bought my L2335 from them and I recieved nothing but excellent service. I actually ended up purchasing it from the store manager (he checked me out) and of course he asked me if I wanted the service plan. I told him no I did not. I put it on my CompUSA card which gave me 6 months no payments no interest (which I just recently paid off and I did it right before the interest would have hit ). Anyway the manager called me back 2 days later and explained that particular monitor I purchased was lowered in price by like $75.00. At first I was like what the fuck; how did you get my number. He explained that he remember speaking to me about PC's and monitors and when he found out the price had dropped he wanted to refund me. He then said that he remembered someone buying that model and looked it up.
So I've got nothing but good things to say about CompUSA. I will say this much. When I got into CompUSA I'll get maybe 1 person to come up and ask me if I want or need help with anything. When I go into Best Buy I feel like I'm being followed by fucking people who want to help me. It's annoying. But none the less I like both stores. neither have really screwed me over. These people at CompUSA and Best Buy are just doing their jobs. For some it's just something to get by. We all are geeks and know much more then the average person; well some of us at least. Lets cut these guys some slack.
). Anyway the manager called me back 2 days later and explained that particular monitor I purchased was lowered in price by like $75.00. At first I was like what the fuck; how did you get my number. He explained that he remember speaking to me about PC's and monitors and when he found out the price had dropped he wanted to refund me. He then said that he remembered someone buying that model and looked it up.So I've got nothing but good things to say about CompUSA. I will say this much. When I got into CompUSA I'll get maybe 1 person to come up and ask me if I want or need help with anything. When I go into Best Buy I feel like I'm being followed by fucking people who want to help me. It's annoying. But none the less I like both stores. neither have really screwed me over. These people at CompUSA and Best Buy are just doing their jobs. For some it's just something to get by. We all are geeks and know much more then the average person; well some of us at least.
Lets cut these guys some slack.lt_wentoncha
Limp Gawd
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2005
- Messages
- 285
Ever sent an anon email to corporate detailing your ideas?Sir-Fragalot said:
paladin732 what store do you work at?
The one in parispanny and east hanover and totawa are some of the worse ones i've ever shopped in. I went into the one on Rt10 in East Hanover to buy a BFG 6600 GT, this was the day right after the snowstorm. Well there was 2 employees there only and I was the only customer with my cousin. I said politely I'd like a 6600 gt bfg please I just called in a few minutes ago. Well he comes out with a PNY 6600 and I said I wanted the BFG and he said to me well this is better get this and hands me and begins to walk away. I was damn near ready to kick it or throw it at his head. So after that I said to him I want the BFG I called and you have 4 in stock. He goes and gets it. I get to the desk and the manager says to me would you like to buy one of our warrantys I say no thanks. He says if anything goes wrong you can return it and it only costs $$$$. I said look on the freaking box it says Lifetime warrenty. After that he was like o but that doesnt cover it if you fry it and blah blah. So finally Im like listen I dont want the warrenty just let me buy my freakin card. Then the previous person who originally got the card came over and started talking to the guy and they kept making jokes. Well I have a temper and after receiving my card I walked out, but not before remarking with this is why you're going to be working for me someday and so will your kids.
I only went there because I looked online and the prices were the same so I figured Id save on shipping and the wait. Normally I won't go to compusa for anything unless I must. I don't hate the store I just hate most of the employees I've delt with. I work retail and I understand helping a customer sucks, but still to a point you have to help them. I have no problem going into a bestbuy or compusa if I know what I want and its easy obtainable without assistance of a douchebag employee. If I have to deal with employees thats when I get frustrated.
The one in parispanny and east hanover and totawa are some of the worse ones i've ever shopped in. I went into the one on Rt10 in East Hanover to buy a BFG 6600 GT, this was the day right after the snowstorm. Well there was 2 employees there only and I was the only customer with my cousin. I said politely I'd like a 6600 gt bfg please I just called in a few minutes ago. Well he comes out with a PNY 6600 and I said I wanted the BFG and he said to me well this is better get this and hands me and begins to walk away. I was damn near ready to kick it or throw it at his head. So after that I said to him I want the BFG I called and you have 4 in stock. He goes and gets it. I get to the desk and the manager says to me would you like to buy one of our warrantys I say no thanks. He says if anything goes wrong you can return it and it only costs $$$$. I said look on the freaking box it says Lifetime warrenty. After that he was like o but that doesnt cover it if you fry it and blah blah. So finally Im like listen I dont want the warrenty just let me buy my freakin card. Then the previous person who originally got the card came over and started talking to the guy and they kept making jokes. Well I have a temper and after receiving my card I walked out, but not before remarking with this is why you're going to be working for me someday and so will your kids.
I only went there because I looked online and the prices were the same so I figured Id save on shipping and the wait. Normally I won't go to compusa for anything unless I must. I don't hate the store I just hate most of the employees I've delt with. I work retail and I understand helping a customer sucks, but still to a point you have to help them. I have no problem going into a bestbuy or compusa if I know what I want and its easy obtainable without assistance of a douchebag employee. If I have to deal with employees thats when I get frustrated.
yea i work at compusa full time. yea i know a fair amount of computer knowledge but quite frankly i dont get paid enough to give a shit about telling my customers. yea i know what a 6600gt card is. i know who bfg is. i know that warrentys cusa warrentys are kick ass because i use them. and for all of you people bitching..... just shut the hell up for god sake. we have to put up with people who dont know shit about computers and want to use one. how do i start windows. how do i get on wifi. how do i turn on my computer. and the one thing i fucking love is that people think that were are goddamn tech support. im not there to hear how you fucked your computer up and that you downloaded porn dialers and got charged a butt load of money thats not my problem and when i offer you phone support or to take it to they tech shop you get mad at me for telling them. wtf is with these people. YES IM ON A RANT. i dont care. here lets put you into my shoes. lets have you make 7.75 to make ends meet. lets put retarted customers in you face that dont brush their tooth. lets put people who want to talk about linux commands all day and waste your time and lets put a manager on your ass cause you cant sell warrentys. people realize that not every compusa person is going to know how to setup a wireless network or how to fix your computer some of us dont. i try to help all i can but with people always saying "all compusa people are stupid morons and that they cant do anything good or they hand me the wrong product" get a fucking life you douchebag....... and for the person who said "I WENT INTO A SNOWSTORM TO GET A 6600GT BFG CARD AND THEY GAVE ME PNY" OHNOES be happy that they decided to make it to work and help your ass out. look all im asking is this Please have some respect with all retail employees. we have it hard its not easy explaining what a HDD does and how come people cant upgrade a p1 166mhz.
thank you for reading my rant
thank you for reading my rant
CompUSA... ahh... where do I start.
First, if there were a Fry's Electronics around here (Salt Lake City, Utah) I would NEVER goto CompUSA... I miss Arizona because of Fry's alone. Getting anything here retail that's computer related is one of the following:
1) Wal*Mart: Cheap CD/DVD media... that's it... at least they don't try to screw you, and will take anything back.
2) Local 'ma and pop' stores: Not worth visiting. They sell $45 cases (minus PSU, that's another $30) from newegg for $100 + sales tax, no thanks. I'M NOT BRAIN DEAD.
3) CostCo: Sometimes OK prices on things that I need replaced YESTERDAY a.k.a. a laptop that must be replaced immediately and can't be bothered waiting for overnight shipping, good prices on flash based memory (mem sticks, sd, cf, etc).
4) Best Buy: Good selection of well priced keyboards and mice. Anything else besides open box items and you're paying +20% over internet prices + sales tax.
6) Staples: Hard drive deals... that's about it.
5) CompUSA: I avoid this place like the plague. Crummy employees - lying, cheating bastards.
Warning: LONG STORY. Buying a video card. It was around the time that 9600SE boxes were being found to contain 9600XT video cards... I needed one, and $140 was a good deal on a 9600XT.
So I found the box that I needed (after much searching) and went to go purchase the video card. "Helpful" attitude girl asks me if I would like to get a $20 instant rebate since it's a "large" purchase (ummm no... $500+ is a large purchase sweetie).
So I ask what the catch is.
"You have to sign up for an AOL dialup account... but you can cancel it tomarrow," she says.
I respond with, "You don't say... well if I can truly cancel the account I create tonight, tomarrow, and I wont be charged anything by signing up or cancelling, I'll do it."
"Yep, nothing billed to your credit card."
"Ok."
So she goes through the motions of creating an AOL screen name, which mind you, I hadn't done since 1997... it's been 8 years since I've been an AOL customer, and I'm not really wanting to go back. I chose the funny (to me) screen name of "IWILLCANCELTOMORR" ... damn character limitations.
She prints up the confirmation screen and then mysteriously the AOL page changes to a 404 error... I wasn't watching her so I don't know what she did... but now I know for sure that it was probably a hotkey'd favorite or something similar.
She crumples up the printout of the confirmation screen and says, "It didn't go through, we'll have to do it again."
I ask, "Can I have the printout? Since it has my personal information on it."
She responds with, "Oh I'll just throw it away." and she tosses it into the garbage.
I immediately know something is up... 1. she doesn't want me to have the printout. 2. She says I need to setup another account... alarm bells are ringing loudly.
I've work for an ISP, and I know how people get sold in stores for creating duplicate accounts, or term commitments ($200 instant rebate for $2yr account) and I really don't want to find out that's me months down the road.
I create another screen name, and grudgingly go home with only one print out, although I know that two screen names have been created, and likely both are active.
So I call AOL cancellations right as soon as I get home.
It took three phone calls and two transfers to finally find SOMEONE who would cancel my account, even when I am being completely honest about what I am doing.
Me: "I want to cancel my account." Stated firmly, yet politely.
CS Rep: "Well, there's alot of new thin..."
Me again: "I WANT TO CANCEL MY ACCOUNT." Same tonality, just a bit louder.
CS Rep: "I'll need to transfer you, please hold."
Cancelling AOL is not difficult, but annoying. If you ever need to do this, plan on it taking 30 minutes... 15 minutes talking to people who even though they are in the "Cancellations department" they can't fucking cancel an account? PLEASE!
Apparently CompUSA Girl also knew that AOL goes primarily by phone number to pull up accounts, because she flubbed the phone number on the account that was supposed to fly right under my nose by one digit... I had to give my credit card number over the phone to one of these folks for them to finally discover that yes, I had two accounts created for me at CompUSA.
She asks, "What do you normally do while you're on the internet: Surf the web, read or send email, shopping, or something else?"
I reply, "I download lots and lots of lesbian pornography."
She says, "Well, there's no checkbox for that, so I'll put a check in 'other'."
Surprisingly she lives about 30 miles from my place. She gave me her AOL IM name and said we could go for beers sometime... which I never took her up on, but ah well.
Anyways, this is a reminder that whenever you are offered something that is just TOO GOOD to be true (IE here's $20 off your purchase, no strings attached) it absolutely is... in my case, had I not been paying close attention to CompUSA girl, I would have had one account cancelled (the one printout she gave me) and the other account active for likely months costing $22.95 a month. I don't have any automatic withdrawls setup, so I don't check for those sorts of things.
So yeah... this is not atypical behavior for retail stores like BestBuy and CompUSA. BestBuy is reformed after class-action lawsuits. CompUSA still is doing this crap.
Moral of the story: STAY AWAY from CompUSA.
First, if there were a Fry's Electronics around here (Salt Lake City, Utah) I would NEVER goto CompUSA... I miss Arizona because of Fry's alone. Getting anything here retail that's computer related is one of the following:
1) Wal*Mart: Cheap CD/DVD media... that's it... at least they don't try to screw you, and will take anything back.
2) Local 'ma and pop' stores: Not worth visiting. They sell $45 cases (minus PSU, that's another $30) from newegg for $100 + sales tax, no thanks. I'M NOT BRAIN DEAD.
3) CostCo: Sometimes OK prices on things that I need replaced YESTERDAY a.k.a. a laptop that must be replaced immediately and can't be bothered waiting for overnight shipping, good prices on flash based memory (mem sticks, sd, cf, etc).
4) Best Buy: Good selection of well priced keyboards and mice. Anything else besides open box items and you're paying +20% over internet prices + sales tax.
6) Staples: Hard drive deals... that's about it.
5) CompUSA: I avoid this place like the plague. Crummy employees - lying, cheating bastards.
Warning: LONG STORY. Buying a video card. It was around the time that 9600SE boxes were being found to contain 9600XT video cards... I needed one, and $140 was a good deal on a 9600XT.
So I found the box that I needed (after much searching) and went to go purchase the video card. "Helpful" attitude girl asks me if I would like to get a $20 instant rebate since it's a "large" purchase (ummm no... $500+ is a large purchase sweetie).
So I ask what the catch is.
"You have to sign up for an AOL dialup account... but you can cancel it tomarrow," she says.
I respond with, "You don't say... well if I can truly cancel the account I create tonight, tomarrow, and I wont be charged anything by signing up or cancelling, I'll do it."
"Yep, nothing billed to your credit card."
"Ok."
So she goes through the motions of creating an AOL screen name, which mind you, I hadn't done since 1997... it's been 8 years since I've been an AOL customer, and I'm not really wanting to go back. I chose the funny (to me) screen name of "IWILLCANCELTOMORR" ... damn character limitations.
She prints up the confirmation screen and then mysteriously the AOL page changes to a 404 error... I wasn't watching her so I don't know what she did... but now I know for sure that it was probably a hotkey'd favorite or something similar.
She crumples up the printout of the confirmation screen and says, "It didn't go through, we'll have to do it again."
I ask, "Can I have the printout? Since it has my personal information on it."
She responds with, "Oh I'll just throw it away." and she tosses it into the garbage.
I immediately know something is up... 1. she doesn't want me to have the printout. 2. She says I need to setup another account... alarm bells are ringing loudly.
I've work for an ISP, and I know how people get sold in stores for creating duplicate accounts, or term commitments ($200 instant rebate for $2yr account) and I really don't want to find out that's me months down the road.
I create another screen name, and grudgingly go home with only one print out, although I know that two screen names have been created, and likely both are active.
So I call AOL cancellations right as soon as I get home.
It took three phone calls and two transfers to finally find SOMEONE who would cancel my account, even when I am being completely honest about what I am doing.
Me: "I want to cancel my account." Stated firmly, yet politely.
CS Rep: "Well, there's alot of new thin..."
Me again: "I WANT TO CANCEL MY ACCOUNT." Same tonality, just a bit louder.
CS Rep: "I'll need to transfer you, please hold."
Cancelling AOL is not difficult, but annoying. If you ever need to do this, plan on it taking 30 minutes... 15 minutes talking to people who even though they are in the "Cancellations department" they can't fucking cancel an account? PLEASE!
Apparently CompUSA Girl also knew that AOL goes primarily by phone number to pull up accounts, because she flubbed the phone number on the account that was supposed to fly right under my nose by one digit... I had to give my credit card number over the phone to one of these folks for them to finally discover that yes, I had two accounts created for me at CompUSA.
She asks, "What do you normally do while you're on the internet: Surf the web, read or send email, shopping, or something else?"
I reply, "I download lots and lots of lesbian pornography."
She says, "Well, there's no checkbox for that, so I'll put a check in 'other'."
Surprisingly she lives about 30 miles from my place. She gave me her AOL IM name and said we could go for beers sometime... which I never took her up on, but ah well.
Anyways, this is a reminder that whenever you are offered something that is just TOO GOOD to be true (IE here's $20 off your purchase, no strings attached) it absolutely is... in my case, had I not been paying close attention to CompUSA girl, I would have had one account cancelled (the one printout she gave me) and the other account active for likely months costing $22.95 a month. I don't have any automatic withdrawls setup, so I don't check for those sorts of things.
So yeah... this is not atypical behavior for retail stores like BestBuy and CompUSA. BestBuy is reformed after class-action lawsuits. CompUSA still is doing this crap.
Moral of the story: STAY AWAY from CompUSA.
I work part time for Comp USA and although some of their business practices are somewhat sinister, they are nothing like that.
Also you have to remember that in any place you go, you are dealing with individuals and PEOPLE. Not the whole thing. One person doing shady things to improve their numbers so that they can win a contest or impress management isn't the companies fault. It's the choice of the individual.
If something sinister happend, blame it on the girl that helped you. Because dispite Comp USA's less than perfect track record in many areas, I've seen them fire plenty of people for cheating their numbers and pencil whipping the system and pulling BS with customers like that.
Also you have to remember that in any place you go, you are dealing with individuals and PEOPLE. Not the whole thing. One person doing shady things to improve their numbers so that they can win a contest or impress management isn't the companies fault. It's the choice of the individual.
If something sinister happend, blame it on the girl that helped you. Because dispite Comp USA's less than perfect track record in many areas, I've seen them fire plenty of people for cheating their numbers and pencil whipping the system and pulling BS with customers like that.
Xrave
Supreme [H]ardness
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2004
- Messages
- 7,816
anakin357 said:
That is awesome if it is true.
chrisf6969
[H]F Junkie
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2003
- Messages
- 9,011
Sir-Fragalot said:
LOL, so CompUSA is a non-profit (or charity) company.
Maybe you mean, they are not a very profitable company.
They do need to restructure, if they're going to stay around to compete with BestBuy, Fry's, and Dell, Newegg, etc. I've noticed their stores have been renovated to carry a lot of other electronics besides just computers like they basically did years ago.
chrisf6969 said:
That's what I mean. They don't make money. We lose money on most days vs. the same day last year. They call it the comp index. It's been falling for the last 5 years. They are in the early stages of a more massive restructuring. As far as personel goes they literally run the stores on a skeleton crew.
They used to have 3 or 4 people each in two departments that have been totally dissolved. They had Software and Accessories. Both are gone. They've added home theatre and Digital Imaging, which they only typically have 1 dedicated person to and most of the time theres no one actually in those departments.
They've even gotten rid of the inventory control teams. Only the internet hubs actually still have an ICC department. They got rid of operations and HR at the store level and those responsibilities have been absorbed by other managers.
They dropped the higher salary floor staff and repalced them with commisioned base vultures whos base pay is laughable at best. Even then there aren't enough of those to go around.
The tech shops are the one and only profitable parts of the store. They've been relatively unchanged over the last 7 years.
They've cut out all these personal and customer complaints are at an all time high. So are prices. They are more outlandish than ever. The reason they sell TV's and other crap is because they know Best Buy makes a killing on that stuff. Of course they only do so because they actually market themselves as a seller of such things and know how to staff those areas with people that know something about TV's and stuff.
No one will generally come to Comp USA looking for a TV based on the name. So most of the TV's sit and become disconitnued then we sell it at a loss, and worst of all the prices are never reduced until they have to liquidate.
Comp USA has the potential to come back and become a good place to work and shop in, but they aren't doing what's needed to accomplish this. They keep making bad decision after bad decision. Running the stores into the ground.
So it will end up being a decade long death throw before they throw in the towel. Like Montgomery Ward's. It will just truck along and finally die a swift and unspectacular death.
It will be one of those chains remebered along with K-Mart and Montgomery Ward's, and others I don't care to remember.
[Retaliation]
Limp Gawd
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2004
- Messages
- 505
MUWHAHAHA...thats fuckin hysterical!!!!!!!!!!!!!...GOOD GOD!..,.i know your pain..i cancelled my sisters account with AOL..and they TRY LIKE A BITCH to sell you something...ANYTHING b4 you get off the phone...im not as polite as you though..i told this Indian speakin dillhole to stfu and cancell the f'n account... its that simple(this is after he spent 15 minutes) trying to get me to sign up for some bullshit
My above story is completely true. I have no reason to lie about it.
I also had a CompUSA employee tell me that he was not going to get commision for the sale of the laptop I was shopping for, because he was quitting the next day.
I recently went into buy an Logitech MX1000 mouse because it was on sale and had a rebate along with it, bringing it down to a respectable price... and I saw the same guy there, talking to the "helpful" CompUSA girl.
I almost felt like making a scene, but decided otherwise.
I recently did return the mouse, and they did not charge me the 15% restocking fee because the girl who processed the return could not tell that I had opened the package... she didn't ask me about it, just looked at it, and probably it was just put right back on the shelf with all my fingerprints all over it... whoever got that mouse would be upset I would think.
-Wayne
I also had a CompUSA employee tell me that he was not going to get commision for the sale of the laptop I was shopping for, because he was quitting the next day.
I recently went into buy an Logitech MX1000 mouse because it was on sale and had a rebate along with it, bringing it down to a respectable price... and I saw the same guy there, talking to the "helpful" CompUSA girl.
I almost felt like making a scene, but decided otherwise.
I recently did return the mouse, and they did not charge me the 15% restocking fee because the girl who processed the return could not tell that I had opened the package... she didn't ask me about it, just looked at it, and probably it was just put right back on the shelf with all my fingerprints all over it... whoever got that mouse would be upset I would think.
-Wayne
I've found that CompUSA is mainly useful for getting things like replacement IDE cables or cheap CD burners. Went there today to get a replacement HSF for a 2nd-hand Celeron Deschutes that is destined for a closet file-server, and found the PC100 RAM I needed to stop win2k from choking. Ended up getting the HSF elsewhere, but noone else in town has PC100. Yeah, their selection on new, hot hardware is horrid, but if you've got some legacy stuff that needs a little fixing up, they're a good one-stop shop.
The rebate crap-o-rama isn't unique to CompUSA at all, every electronics retail chain in the area pulls the same scam. General rule of thumb: don't buy a rebate-item unless you'd be happy with the pre-rebate price. And for god's sake, read the damn fine print before you buy!
The sales drones and techs in my local store (Orlando, FL) are a mixed bag. Some know enough about their specialty to answer basic questions, a few have more in-depth knowledge, and a few more are utter farking shit-for-brains losers. In addition, about half would probably fail a basic English-competency test, and their Spanish is just as sloppy.
Bottom-line: don't view CompUSA as an electronics store, but rather as a walk-in parts shop with carbon-based loading drones and a primitive item-search function. Taking that view has made my shopping experiences there much less aggravating.
The rebate crap-o-rama isn't unique to CompUSA at all, every electronics retail chain in the area pulls the same scam. General rule of thumb: don't buy a rebate-item unless you'd be happy with the pre-rebate price. And for god's sake, read the damn fine print before you buy!
The sales drones and techs in my local store (Orlando, FL) are a mixed bag. Some know enough about their specialty to answer basic questions, a few have more in-depth knowledge, and a few more are utter farking shit-for-brains losers. In addition, about half would probably fail a basic English-competency test, and their Spanish is just as sloppy.
Bottom-line: don't view CompUSA as an electronics store, but rather as a walk-in parts shop with carbon-based loading drones and a primitive item-search function. Taking that view has made my shopping experiences there much less aggravating.