Keep those stories coming!
Here are some other stories from irate (and a few non-irate) customers, former customers, and Fry's employees:
You do have to know what you want there, so it can be frustrating for beginner computer users. (I'm not calling you one) I have seen people try to shop lift there in broad daylight, just run out the front door with an item in their hand so I don't blame them for having tight security! And it is a fact that in retail sales that company's lose more in theft to employees than customers! So if I owned Fry's I'd be checking my trash dumpsters too! (Business in the 90's is hardball!)
I do wish they had an internet site, that's how I found your site by looking to see if they had one, and if it might have their add on it.
I hope you don't take this the wrong way, I just wanted to give a look from a different perspective!
Tom
I ENJOYED YOUR WEB SITE ON FRY'S. I MUST AGREE WHOLEHEARTEDLY. FRY'S SUCKS MAJOR ASS. I'VE WORKED THERE FOR 1.5 YEARS AND IT SEEMS TO GET WORSE. ONLY THE WEEKLY PAY KEEPS ME THERE. I DON'T RECOMMEND ANYONE GETTING A JOB AT THAT SHIT HOLE!!!!!!!
I bought a Maxell Scanner, I happily cut out the rebate and mailed it in. Big mistake, I THEN tried the scanner, it didn't work, well, it worked, but it prefered to convert the scanned images into blobs. I tried downloading software patches,e tc. Nothing, it just plain sucked. Too bad I cut out the UPC label, Oh well, I'll just seal the gaaping hole with tape. I go to Fry's and wait for 10 minutes while the customer service manager yelled on the phone for some lackey to show up. I guess the manager was to busy coralling up employees to do the exchange herself. She stood there and waited with me while some girl, who looked like she was having sex in the back room came running up. She was then immediately dumbfounded as I told her the scanner DID NOT WORK. She looked it over, ignored the gaping hole where the UPC label was then tagged it and put it away, I reminded her that it was defective. Sorry, guy, whoever ended up buying it, as I'm sure it was just put back on the shelf.
I then went to get a new scanner of a different brand. The price said 20 bucks off, so I picked one up. Then I go to the checkout and they stupidly don't know what I'm talking about, and I can't figure it out, because the price label on the display says "In Store Price" and "regular price". What the hell does that mean? If I buy it when it is OUTSIDE the STORE it's more expensive? Eventually the idiot gives me a rebate form for a totally different scanner and says, oh yeah it's the rebate that is the price reduction. IDIOT! I noticed this, but just bought it and left in disgust, well, rather I was stopped while the "security idiot" looked at my ONE box and tried to count it.
Ahh...I feel better.
Vince
I just wanted to let you guys know about another illegal procedure that Fry's does to it's customers. I used to work for them before I knew about the evil empire they really are. If you write a check for more than ,I think it is about 899$ or something close to that, they will of course ask for your ID and call the bank like they always do, sometimes if you hand them your ID when they go to call the bank, they will photocopy it for there records in case it bounces that way they have a photocopy of your ID to give to the cops. Now this sounds fine in some respects but this is completely illegal to photocopy some one else's drivers license without prior consent. If you ask them why they were at the copy machine they will of course deny that they just copied you ID because that is what they were trained to do. My tip to you is to never let go of your ID when writing a check at Fry's. Trust me, if you can just pay in cash, there are a lot less hassles that way.
David
well first of all, there was no kind of line in front of the "ask me" booth, all the was were people scattered around looking for someone to ask. it took two employee's to get my order, which only took one button to press, and about the security at the exit, there was a line for it get as long as checkout's, and the employee's there were either playing video games, talking to each other, or ignoring me. And last but not least, it took me 5 minutes to recognize the little signs the cashiers hold up, especially since they have about 100 checkout's.
The only reason I go there often is because I "hear" they have good prices, which turns out to be true, but sold out! Just last week I bought some rudder pedals for my flight simulator, and upon looking at the box, I found out that it had already been opened; but there was no sticker! I knew this because I was missing the original packaging for the included diskette and for the rudder pedals.
But there's one thing I have to tell you, "AIN'T NOTH'N WORSE THAN COMP USA!" They have the worst horror story of them all! November 21, 1998. I bought a 3-in-1 game package. As I left the parking lot, I found out that they 1 of the games didn't have an instruction booklet. I immediately came back and was told by the head manager that I should just go ahead and install it. He said I didn't need an instruction book. I installed it, and it I needed to install Direct X. OK. When I turned the computer on, files were missing or corrupted. I brought the package back and said what had happened, and the same manager asked me if I wanted another game. I was like OK. I said what about my computer, he said he can't do anything about it.
**Now that was the bad management part-Here's the bad customer service part**
Now I get my friend who I bought the computer from. Mike. He talks to 'em, and ends up calling the state manager (or district manager) of CompUSA. She tells them to fix my computer at no charge. Of course they tell me a few days, and it ends up being a month and 4 visits. When I turn it on the hard drive is even more corrupted and the wrong drivers are installed. Mike takes it back and ends up having to open an account (meaning he'll have to pay). January 1999. I get my computer back, but they gave me the wrong boot disk for Windows 98. Mike takes it back again. February, March, April. Over this period of time, Mike checks on it, and they go through 4 different managers, each one telling him they'll get it done. May 31, 1999. Since Mike feels so bad, he buys me a better computer, and I start going to Fry's for my needs. But the worst thing of all, to this day, July 12, 1999, 11:01pm, IT'S STILL THERE!!!!!!!!!
I am happy with the computer I have now.
So if you go to Fry's, watch out for the security, and if you go to CompUSA, watch for out-of-stock items and CUSTOMER SERVICE.
P.S.: And it's all true!
My own experience: I shopped at frys from the time they had a single small store in Sunnyvale, 10 years ago. I have seen several other stores that got big, got arrogant, then died.
I am well aware that frys does not have the best price. My standard methodolgy was to look though Micro times for a particular item, and get $10-$30 off the item.
Of late, however, most of my purchases go to frys. The reason is the return policy. Of course I agree with you that returns are way to high. However, I return items frequently and most commonly for "no reason", that is to say not because the product is defective. Let me explain. Hardware and software compatibility is bad, very bad. Typically I must return %30-%50 of accessories I buy because of compatibility issues. This is aggravated by the fact I run several alternative operating systems, including Linux.
This is what I have found to work at frys.
1. Never talk to salesmen (women). Typically they have been hired on for less than a week or so. Turnover their is stunning. Knowledge of salesman is low, very low. I am a very technical user, and often hear salemen telling people (others) complete technical misinformation. Also see (2).
2. Beware the "white slip". I was carrying a large purchase to the checkout, when I was stopped by a salesman who said "let me get you a slip for that". I assumed he might be checking the price or something. After waiting for 15 minutes for the "white slip", and given no explaination for it, I asked up front about it. The white slip gives the salesman credit for the sale, and a commision. This, excluse the term A**shole made me wait 15 minutes and did none of the work for the purchase. The rule is that for items that can be picked up off the shelf (some cannot--exp CPUs and components), the white slip can just be discarded before reaching the counter with no effect.
3. The "small print". Shelf prices often are "after rebate" prices, and you may be shocked to find the price is actually higher (sometimes a lot). The actual price and terms are under the large type price in small type. Rebates involve filling out a questionare and getting junk mail.
4. Avoid the "frys garantee" sticker. Having a shrink wrapped product DOES NOT MEAN that it has not been opened. Frys salesmen know how to shrink wrap, and are good at it. I have seen a couple of them up front shrink wrapping returned items. For reasons that are unclear to me, they apparently are required to insert a white "frys garantees this product" sticker on the package, meaning it has been opened. Actually, I agree with Frys on this point. Most products returned have nothing wrong with them. The user did not know how to install it, or did what I do -- return it for compatibility issues. That is not why I am against buying opened products. See the next item.
5. Frys does not respond to product defects. A story: I bought an ISDN modem, 3COM, only to find the power supply cord did not fit the back of the modem. I called 3COM. They said they had a bad shipment, a whole load of these things that went out with the wrong power supplies. I just wanted it correct, so I visited 4 stores looking for a correct one. I found it, but I also found *tons* of mismatched ones. I told frys about it, told them to call 3COM. 1 month later I noted they still had the wrong ones on the shelf, most with "white labels". For this reason I look back in the shelf of something I am going to buy, to see how many "white labels" there are. Lots of white labels may mean there is a product defect that is not being corrected.
6. Fry's "clears out" products. When the 14k modem cards came out, (a big breakthough in technology from the old 1200 baud modems), frys was still selling the 1200 modems at full price. I got into an argument with the frys guy in that section of the store, because I beleived then, and still do, that they were deliberately hanging back on introducing the new modems (available anywhere else) until the old ones had been sold to customers who did not know better.
7. Ignore frys labels, trust only the manufacturers labels. This one is very recent. I was trying a new motherboard/cpu combination. I went to buy a 400 mhz K6, but they had 450's, and motherboards that were labeled, by frys, as 450 capabile, even though the box said the limit was 400. They assured me it was alright. I tried it, another CPU, and three different motherboards, all various shades of toast. After calling Diamond tech support (one of the motherboard makers) I was told that niether their, nor in their knowledge any, motherboard was yet supporting 450, which required a BIOS change. I took the whole thing back to frys and told them to make it work if they could, otherwise I would go back to the 400 mhz speed. A very nice and knowledgable Frys salesman (yes, they exist !) tried every combination he could think of, new chips, motherboards, etc., for more than 1 hour. No luck. I went back to 400 mhz, no problems since.
I go to frys a lot, and a noted that over several succeeding days, they made no effort whatever to relabel their motherboard boxes or aknowledge they were selling a combination that did not work.
As you can see I have had a love-hate relationship with frys. I have not included some of the personality "fights", including one time when leaving Frys at closing time, finding a problem liternally steps outside the door, and then being told by the door guy I could not come back in, because they were closing, despite pleads that I had accidentaly bought a "pre damanged" item.
I think that frys approached with the right attitude is a pretty good store. The "right attitude" is to think of frys as a wherehouse of computer goods, which has several annoying insects wearing Frys sales badges buzzing up and down the isles. Swat them if they come near, and find boxes of goods they have not sucked the blood from, and you are all right.
The sound board worked intermittently, the PC could not take a network card, The PC on boot would lose the sound board's driver ,when a restart was called for "Fatal Errors" popped up each time, the 56k modem could not get a connection speed any faster than 26.6k and, Windows completely crashed to the point of having to be reloaded TWICE! Enough, thought I. I figured, "Oh well, this is a typical Fry's product. BROKEN!"
As anyone would do who works for a living, I took the computer back for an exchange or refund on June 2nd. As normal (believe me, after 2 previous trips to return Fry's non- working products, I knew where to go for a return.) I took the computer to the front service area to see what my options were for a return. I was instructed to carry the PC to the back of the store (and was NOT offered a cart or help in carrying it) so the computer could be tested. When I inquired as to when this procedure had been changed (Remember, this was my THIRD time to go bring non-working product back!) I was told by by Greg Reynolds "I have worked here 9 months and that's what we always do!" This was new to me but, I took it back to the other service area where Jason Gonzales spent 10 minutes hooking the PC to a monitor and mouse to see if the PC would power up and 2 minutes checking to see if the PC was in fact on. He did not know how to check to see if the sound board had working drivers and had me show him and he did not try to see if a "Fatal Error" would come up on restart. These were my 2 main problems with the PC. I was then instructed to go back to the front of the store for my paperwork for the refund.
After 10 minutes of standing around waiting for the 5 man service crew to stop talking to the 2 customers there, Adrian Rightsell started the paperwork to get my money back (By this time, I was wishing that I had never heard of Fry's Electronics) This PC was labeled "Place in stock for Resale" (!) by Adrian Rightsell and sent to the computer department. My paperwork was finished and handed to me. I was then instructed to use it as store credit or take it up front for a refund. (guess where I went?)
I then went to the cashier, Lilia Charters, who was VERY VERY nice and did her job quickly. I was impressed with this lady, Fry's needs more employees like her. Lilia then called for her supervisor to approve the refund. FIVE minutes later, the cashier Supervisor, Stephen Flores, ambled over to approve this refund.
The part of this whole experience that really was sad was when I told the person at service about all my troubles with their products in the past and that I WOULD NEVER SHOP AT FRY'S AGAIN!, he did nothing and, said nothing. I guess they do not want my money. Good thing too, I will never be back to any Frys at any time EVER!
Now to the funny part. I needed a new keyboard for my old PC. I went to Micro Center in Richardson. (you really did not think I would spend a dime at Fry's, now did you?) As I was in line to pay for my keyboard ( the same keyboard that I am using to type this, (purchased for $12.95 and came with a free mouse) I remarked to the cashier that I was glad to have a good experience at a computer store as I had just had a bad one. She said, "Oh, were you at Fry's?"
Bradd
Editor's Note: Bradd was so irritated with Fry's that he created his own page available here.
A while ago I bought something with a check and it took the cashier about 1 hour to process the damn thing. When I wanted to return the broken item, Fry's insisted that I wait two weeks for a check to come in the mail. I told them that they had their merchandise back so I should have my money back. The manager agreed but refused to do anything more. When I wrote to Randy Fry, his secretary agreed and sent me a letter confirming this. When I brought that letter to Fry's the manager ignored it. From that point forward I have not been allowed to write a check at Fry's because their computer system thinks I bounced a check. Also, the different stores are not electronically connected, so one store thinks I bounced a check, one store thinks my name is my maiden name, and one store thinks I live at an old address. It is impossible to get anything changed in their system. Even when a manager assures me it has been changed, I will come back and my misinformation has been magically replaced.
The other day I bought something and while the cashier was ringing it up, I realized it was the wrong item. The cashiers are so stupid, they don't even know how to void a transaction on their registers. I was forced to go to the return line and then back to the register line to get my money back when I hadn't even left the store! Mind you, this process took 3 hours total. When I finally went to get the money back from the same dumb cashier, he didn't want to give it to me because I had made the purchase on a return and didn't have the "original yellow receipt." I didn't have one, because it didn't exist. Try explaining that to a foreign speaking supervisor that takes 35 minutes to even show up.
I think the policies at Fry's are meant to humiliate the customer and make the customer spend as much time as possible in the store. This way we will want to EAT. (negative feelings plus the fact it has been way too long since the last meal lead to overeating and more arguments than necessary at the checkout line.) Believe me, it is not in error that Fry's has candy and chips lining the way to the next register only one hour away. Also, who ever hear of a cafe at the back of an electronics store? This is not a department store, and this is not here for your convenience. It is there to get you to spend more money. The humiliation comes in when you enter. Why put the LONG return lines at the front of the store so everyone entering can hear your argument? This is to discourage returns. They should put the return line in a quiet corner somewhere. Also, it would be much easier to have the person from the "right" department come to you rather than the customer having to get out of line, search them down, only to be told they are in the wrong place and nobody there can help you. Not to mention, the whole time you have to walk around with that gigantic piece of paper (your return) the whole time you shop.
I have worked in retail before and I have never seen such poor customer service as at Fry's. Did you know they are willing to price match and they have different prices at each store? What a joke. All is done to discourage the customer and to try to get more money for nothing. There are usually about 40 registers at any Fry's, but only 15-20 are open at any time. Don't ever let them send you to a "training" register. It took me 30 minutes to buy a $2.00 item for cash at one of those.
Once I went to a store 1 1/2 hours from my house because it was supposed to be comparable to Fry's but better. When I got there, it had been turned into a Fry's! I didn't even go inside.
I have NEVER had a good experience at Fry's. The employees are stupid and the place is run by morons. I hate Fry's.
Fry's SUCKS!
Customer
Editor Note: The poor answers you received were likely due to the fact that Fry's does not believe in training their employees.
I used to be a loss prevention agent for several retailers and can tell you for a fact that the Frys policy for checking receipts at the exit is ILLEGAL, if you do not want to wait at the exit for your receipt to be checked just walk out, if anyone stops you, then that is illegal detainment also known as false arrest, because they are denying your your freedom of movement. I purchased several items at the Sunnyvale Frys and when I got to the exit there were about nine customers waiting to be checked so I just walked past them and left. As I exited the security employee came after me and said that I had to go back into the store to have my package checked and I told him that no I didn't. As I began to walk away the employee grabbed my arm and yelled for security. Having been trained in self defense and arrest procedures it was simple to put the employee in a wrist lock and push him away. At that moment security arrived and told me that I was under arrest for shoplifting and they tried to handcuff me but I managed to get the cuffs away from one of the AGENTS (who do they hire for security? rejects from the Keystone Kops???) when A manager arrived I agreed to return to the store and once inside I asked to see the video of my alleged shoplifting and they said that they were not allowed to show it to me. I then told them to call the police because I wanted to file a false arrest report. At that point I identified myself as a retail loss prevention agent and asked again to see their video of my alleged crime stating that I wanted to see for myself the 5 aspects needed for a shoplifting arrest ( to arrest a shoplifter you need to observe them approach the merchandise, select it from the display, conceal the merchandise, pass a register and fail to pay for the merchandise and finally exit the store with the concealed merchandise. If any of these five aspects are not observed then the subject can not be arrested.) At this point the Manager stated that perhaps a mistake had been made and that if I would just sign a statement saying that I would not hold the store responsible then I could leave, of course I refused and again asked for the police to be called. to make a long story short I walked out with a $150.00 credit for future purchases at Frys. However every time that I do venture into Frys at least one LP agent always follows me around, but nobody stops me anymore!!! Cesar A.
yes you may print my story and name with my permission.
To Whom It May Concern:
This is regarding our visit to your store this evening at 7pm. We were trying to exchange this 233 MHz Pentium processor w/MMX technology and PCI motherboard that we had purchased on Sunday, May 23rd. This processor & motherboard was advertised in the SD Union Tribune, for the Fry's Anniversary Sale-A-Bration week, for the sale price of $99. We were returning the box consisting of the motherboard, Pentium processor, the manual, and the two disks. The lady customer service rep (her name not known), was asking us for the two IDE cables. My husband stated that there were no cables in the box when he opened it. Then she referred us to Randy Otto, who explained to us that this motherboard is supposed to come with 2 IDE cables, and for us to double check our house to see if it might have fallen out of the box. He said that he was not able to issue a full exchange since the cables were missing. Again, my husband stated that he was very sure that there were no cables included in the box. Randy said that if we would just go home and double check for the cables, then when we came back, he could issue us a full refund if the cables were definitely not there. He explained to us that from his past experience with other customers returning incomplete packages, they found out that the missing items just fell out of the box. The only problem was that we live down south in Chula Vista, which was too far to drive. I gave a hint to Randy that my husband works with computers, but not telling him that my husband is a Network Administrator, who definitely would know what IDE cables are. My husband told Randy that he would not need any IDE cables, because he has his own IDE cables hooked to our computers at home. But even at that point, Randy, stated that he needed to charge for the 2 IDE cables at $7.98. While we were waiting for the credit slip to be processed, another customer was returning the same exact processor & motherboard. When he opened his box, there were no cables included also. The same lady customer service rep told him that there should've been 2 IDE cables in the box. The other customer stated that there were no cables included with the motherboard and processor. But he said that there was another small box that came separately. He went out to his car, brought back the smaller box and it had the cables in it. We examined the small box, and the other customer was right, there was no way that this smaller box could have fit into that bigger box, especially with that huge motherboard. I explained to the lady customer service rep that me and my husband did not have this small box included with our motherboard & processor. She took the IDE cables out of the small box, and placed the cables in the bigger box along with the motherboard & processor, and said that this is how it should've been packed. I looked at the other customer, who kept insisting that the cables were actually in the smaller box, and just explained to them that we were being charged for something that wasn't our fault. Well at this point, Charles, who had been working on our credit, stepped in and said that possibly the cables could've been taken out for use during a demo, and accidentally put in this small box. I confronted him about what he had said. I said, "it came out of your mouth that possibly the cables were not in the box." He didn't say anything, and just continued to process our credit. By the time, I had signed the credit slip, a 3rd customer came up next to me, and was returning the same motherboard and processor. When he opened his box, there was nothing in there but the motherboard. There was no manual, no disks, and definitely no IDE cables. But surprisingly, she gave that customer a full refund, because she stated that this was a "re-pack". Well, in the beginning, my husband had alerted Randy that our purchase could've been a "re-pack", because the sticker seal was broken on the motherboard wrapping, and that another sticker was put on top. You could definitely see that there was another sticker seal overlapping the old one to make it look like brand new. But, since thirty minutes had passed, and we were getting nowhere, we decided to go ahead and accept the charge for the 2 IDE cables. I went to the register, and obtained a refund.
As we were about to leave the store, we saw another customer return the same 233MHz Pentium Processor with MMX technology and PCI motherboard. But by this time, we did not care anymore. But we did glance over, and see that the customer service reps started to open new boxes of these motherboard & processor units. I guess they were still looking for the IDE cables.
At this point in time, the very minimal $7.98 is not the issue, but rather the principle of the matter. I wrote this letter to prove that not every customer returning an incomplete package is lying. My husband and I are telling you the honest truth. We went home, went directly to his computer desk, and there was no sign of the IDE cables.
Most likely the problem with the motherboard & processor packaging stems directly from the manufacturing company, but I also feel that Fry's has a certain responsibility to their customers. Fry's has the ultimate responsibility to double check all computer equipment to make sure that they are completely packaged with all appropriate parts included.
I was a devoted Fry's customer, and even did my Christmas shopping there last year. But it was only recently that I needed to return a few items that did not work with my personal computer. The $7.98 will not make me rich or poor, and so what if we lose one customer, but word of mouth scatters fast. I am sad to say that because of the unfair treatment I received at Fry's today, I just can't bring myself to go shopping there again.
From then on, they lost another customer for life. Not to mention the other stuff that I encountered with this store before this one.
Fry's SUCKS!
Well first of all, they were'nt cheaper.
Then we encountered the checkout. I purchased a buy one get one free game. The clerk did not know how to ring it up, and had to ask a "higher" authority. While he was over there with the other guy, he came back and had to know my full name. Now why would he have to know my name in order to figure out how to ring this up?
Then I broke out the cursed checkbook. The clerk immediately exclaimed "dont you have another form of payment?" "this will take up to an hour".
I felt like a criminal. Like I was a loser since I did not have a credit card to use. Well, it only took about 15 minutes. Why dont they use a better check authorization system? I had not commited to banning frys, but after viewing your web site, I am certainly a boycotter of FRYS.
THANKS
LORI
Here's another story from an employee point of view. You can publish it on your website, but please use only my first name. Thanks a bunch and keep up the good work:
I used to work at the Frys in Campbell, California, and only after 3 weeks I quit with disgust because the internal and customer policies implemented by upper management. These policies, which evolved from paranoia and fear of employee theft border on idiocy and inefficiency.
First off, no matter how experienced you are, you have to start off at the cash register. On top of that, they don't train you too well. They just let you watch a few veteran (the term 'veteran' refers to anyone working there for more than 4 weeks) cashiers and you try to mimic them the best you can. This attributes to even longer wait times at the counter when customers throw a curve ball at some of the new employees.
To delay the buying process even more, nothing could get done without approval from a supervisor or manager. Why this policy is in place I don't know, because the manager could give a rat's ass about what you're doing. Most of the time they just run around punching in their password without even looking at the screen or paying attention at why you need a password in the first place.
It only produces delays and more delays for all the customers as employees are helpless to do anything. I hated the stare of frustration and disgust from the customers who have waited for eternity in front of me as I anxiously awaited someone, anyone, with a damn password so I could get the purchase done with. Luckily there were some merciful souls out there that could sympathize at how helpless I was to finish a simple transaction. At other stores, a single employee is allowed to handle a transaction whether it's check, credit card, or large purchases. At Frys, it takes 2-3 people as each have to approve the other. I remember one transaction which required 4 separate supervisor passwords! Imagine the time wasted in tracking down even 1 supervisor and multiply that by 4! I'm surprised no one has come in with assault weapons and hosed down the place out of frustration.
And the return procedure? It's a joke. It's merely a marketing tactic to discourage people from wanting to return products. I mean, if you had to go through such a hassle that would make even the most patient Buddhist monk go freaking nuts, you too would be reluctant to return anything. Oh, it's also meant to stop employee theft at the price of driving away the customer for good.
This is all too ironic because during the new employee orientation, the Frys family focuses on keeping existing customers. They tell you that it costs millions in ads to attract a new customer, but costs little to keep an existing customer. So the most valuable customer is the one they already have. Yet, all store policies point at driving away any shred of dignity and patience a customer came in with.
Luckily I'm technically endowed, so I don't require the assistance of any of the employees I come across. So the only time I will ever go to Frys is if I already know what I want, know Frys has a good price, and never ever want to return that item ever again. Otherwise go somewhere else for better, more efficient service and lower prices.
Jim
Ferd of Fremont, CA. writes:
I went to buy a camera at fry's. The salesman opened the box to make sure all the parts are in it. I got home and didn't touch the camera or the box for 2 days.Then i saw an ad in the newspaper from another store with the same camera for lower price. So i rushed back to fry's and show them the ad. Then they told what they can do is give me some extra roll of films and a cleaning kit in exchange for the price difference. I told them i don't want it and instead give me the money. They keep on insisting this until i told them that i'm returning the camera instead. Then they told me that i have to pay a restocking fee of 15% because it's an opened box. First of all, their own employee was the one that opened the box to make sure that everything was there. Out of frustrations, i ended up accepting their offer of free rolls of film and a cleaning kit.
After calling 3 times and having them say that the phone's are busy at the TV Dept. can I have someone call you back. I have waited 10 minutes to get someone on the phone. I am currntley on the phone with a moron that I've had to mention 5 times (and I'm still not sure if he's understood me) that I am looking for a 32" TV that is top-of-the-line that is not the Sony WEGA WBR cause that one won't fit in my console. He suggested a Fisher Price or some other cheapo brand for $399.00!? He put me on hold for another 5 min. The other guy came back (or was it the same guy) and said that another Sony would be better. They never mentioned the Panasonic with the best filter on the market that is some $600.00 less than the WEGA! You just lost a customer Mr. Fry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> A few years ago I was building a computer, (not too hard just fit the pieces together, right?) After going to the Palo Alto store to get a nice motherboard on sale, I found one of two boxes left of the model I wanted, they weren't shrink wrapped and I asked if both contained everything I needed. The horse fucking cock master assured me it was. After purchasing it and bringing it home, I opened the box to discover there was no fucking jumper manual (my fault for not looking)! No problem, I brought it back and after 45 minutes of standing in line, I got to the jerk off who asked why I would return a product untested. After 30 minutes of explaining that I had no freaking way to configure the board to not Fry (pun intended here) my new hard earned K6 chip. I was told that they no longer carried the model but would give me a higher priced (big mistake) model with Ultra DMA and a huge cache. I thought great, I already have a new UDMA drive and a large cache would be great! I was being given a nice break. Well I brought the new board home and guess what, It didn't work! Blank screen and no beeps. Hmmm, I took my machine to my friend Mike who worked on the guidance system of the Trident missile system (rocket scientist, really) he whipped out some volt meters and other meters and notified me that the board was, well, Fry-ed. I went back and did the exchange thing again and this time got the same model. Results: Fry-ed again. The last time I went back, I asked for a different brand. No problem since they no longer carried the other board anymore. In selecting the board, that finally did work, I specifically wanted non Intel chips since the last boards all had that crap on them. This rim-holeing sales person walks over and tells me to get this other board- that would cost 30 bucks extra- saying, and I quote: "See, Intel, Intel is better!" I went with a nice socket 7 board with PCI and ISA slots, UDMA, Award flash bios, VIA Apollo chipset and a 512 Mb cache. I have run bunch of UNIX variants and currently SUSE Linux on the machine and never looked back ....... I have however, gone back to Fry's for God knows what reason! (I think it's the ridiculous blow out prices!)
Please feel free to print my story! Matthew Y:)
hehehe.. you are so right.. i work at fry's in wilsonville oregon... and it sucks! f@$% fry's!
I have had a few experiences with FRY's too, but not as bad as you claim to have had. The worst I have heard of is their one month return policy (15 days on some items). One man purchased a hard-drive and had a family emergency. He couldn't get to installing it for two months. Of course this had exceeded the return policy time limit. Unfortunately, the drive didn't work. He tried to at least get a replacement from FRY's but they said he would have to write to the manufacturer. He did this but was not successful because of a 90 day warranty. (probably his fault).
All of this could have been avoided if he had purchased a two year warranty. The cost of the warranty is a good percentage of the item per year.
I did have some good luck with the warranty though. I purchased the cheapest CD player for my son and purchased a two year 'performance guarantee.' In 1 1/2 years I have replaced it 5 times. My son uses it at school because of a medical condition. Since he carries it in his backpack you can imagine the conditions the CD players are kept in. I feel good that I have been able to make use of this.
Overall, Frys is inconvenient but I am a little wiser now. Your information has helped me somewhat in my next encounter with them. It is good for people to read this website but you are not telling us stuff we don't already know. Everyone I talk to knows this store has problems. We have just learned to accept them and roll with the punches.
On the other hand, where can you go to get your computer power supply replaced on emergency basis on a Sunday morning. There ARE a few good things there. Just not a lot.
To all you folks complaining about how Fry's sucks, I feel for you and understand your grief. So for all you folks who want a good experience here are some guidelines to follow.
RULE NUMBER 1 (and this is a biggie):
Never ask for help or advice. Always know what you want before you
go and if you have technical questions get them answered before you buy,
from someone you trust (maybe the IS guy at your company). The only thing
you should ask a Fry's employee is "where is this item?" as you point to the
ad in the newspaper you brought. Fry's employee's are not paid for there
knowledge so don't assume they have any.
Rule Number 2
NEVER write a check. As most of us know this will result in a
nightmare at the register 9 out of 10 times. use cash or credit card. Also,
if you use a check the return policy is far uglier.
Rule Number 3
Frys re-shrink wraps alot of there stuff and puts it right back on
the shelf. when making a purchase always look for the Fry's QA sticker. It's
white with blue print about 1inch tall by 2 inches wide. Always look for the
product without this sticker as it is more likely to be brand new and not
returned.
Rule number 4
Fry's has the best return policy of anybody out there (Hands Down).
Always keep you receipt and all packaging material for the 30 day period.
You never know if you may need it. Most places offer 10 day return times.
Rule Number 5
Always check to see if it really is the best price. Most of the time
the items that are in the sales add are great prices, however, if it is not
in the add it can be way off. I use www.pricewatch.com to compare prices.
Always be sure its a good price before you assume it is. I recently
purchased a Video capture card from Fry's that was marked at 229.95. Before
going to Fry's I located the same item at CompUSA for 149.99. upon arriving
at fry's I showed the appropriate people the Compusa add via internet access
(don't forget they have internet access available if you need it) and they
marked the price down accordingly.
I think if you follow these guidelines your experiences at Fry's will be
greatly improved.
Enjoy all
Dave Doty
Yes indeed, your Fry's site is right on the mark. I moved away
from California 4 years ago but my wife and I *still* remember what a
bunch of f*cking assh*les they were.
My stories:
(1)---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In 1994 I saw their ad for a CVR, only $99. That was too hard to turn down,
so I went buy one.
Three weeks later it died, and I went to exchange it. No big deal I thought,
sometimes these things happen.
"Oh No", they said, "We can't help you, this is refurbished. Which means AS IS.
If you want us to fix it we'll do so, but it'll cost you about $125"
I pointed out that nowhere in their ad or store did it state that the VCR was
refurbished
or what that meant, and they said "Oh yes, it's right on your bill"
And indeed, printed on the bill that I received *after* I paid for the VCR, it said
"REF" somewhere on the right side, but it. Apparently it was supposed
to say "Refurbushed" but got cut off.
I thought it was pretty cheesy of them to program their cash registers that way,
got pissed off, and left.
I should have learned my lesson then. But their ads are sooo tempting...
(2)---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I bought a motherboard there back in 1995, it was dead. When I got home
I noticed it had a little red dot sticker on it. At the time I had no
idea what that meant, except that I'd seen it before on some memory
that came from Fry's.
Anyway they wouldn't take it back at the San Jose Frys, they said that I
could have wrecked the board myself. I tried the Sunnyvale store,
same story, no luck. I finally had to drive up the East Bay where I finally
got it returned.
Anyway, the red dot means that a part has been declared defective,
either by the manufacturer (they then sell that stuff really cheaply) or
tech support department.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
.
So this week (May 2000) I was in the Bay Area this week and
picked up a paper with the Fry's ad: A Complete 333Mhz system, only $49.
I passed, but it made me think to look for their web site.
{You see, the trick with Fry's is to take their ad somewhere else (where they're
not *ssholes about exchanging stuff, or intentionally sell defective equipment)
and negotiate a similar price.]
Anyway, I came across your site, and the memories all came back.
I'm angry now. Urr. There aren't enough profanities to describe
Fry's.
Anyway, nice site.
-Tick
"Friends Don't Let Friends Shop at Frys"
I am an employee at Fry's, and though I don't see eye to eye with their way of doing things, one thing is for certain, We are not a bucnch of STUPID, BRAINLESS,LAZY SLACKERS that your "intelligent" article claims us to be. As a matter of fact, if you were as smart as you think you are, why do you shop Fry's in the first place, and REPEATEDLY at that?
Is it that you aren't smart enough to find other places in the Yellow pages that gives you a full 30 DAY money back guarantee? Our competition gives you 15 days, and product must return un-opened. Check other places (Comp Usa; Best Buys; Staples; Circuit City), if you so much as return an item open, they charge you up to 20% restocking fee. The reason our lines are longer? More product out the door. Bought by people who don't know the difference between ISA,PCI, or AGP bus. You talk as if ALL our products are defective. Who boughht the box with the clearly visible return sticker on it? Hey, lighten up on us, we have to encounter over 150 people a day with a return or exchange of some kind. Most problem people come through the door with an attitude already, luckily this is only 8% of returns. If you have never encountered a defective article from another retailer, tell me where and I'll shop there.
I know not all employees know their products, but there are a lot who do. The company, regardless of your claim, does stress customer service to it's employees. It is just that some are too immature to carry it out. At least at the store I work at, customer service is #1 priority. Like I said, unfortunately, some don't choose to practice it. It is their professional loss.They eventually lose customers, then leave.
I hope I didn't come on too bitter, but we have a good store, but because of some incompitant people, we get saddled as an uncaring retailer. Thanks for your time
.
Please specify if it is OK to publish your story and if you want your name witheld or not.
I will not publish your email address and usually limit the name to just the
first name. Also, it is useful if you indicate what Fry's store your experience
was at.