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paintref
Look, I see stars
join:2003-02-21
Houston, TX

paintref

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[Rant] Fry's Electronics

Went in to Fry's Electronics about two weeks ago to get a quote for a car stereo/steering wheel control adapter installed in my car.

Went to the car audio department to find an installer who could give me a quote.

Didn't find one, but a customer service rep came up and attempted to help, but couldn't. The customer service rep left for about ten minutes to look for the installer and when he came back, he told me he was at the service desk towards the front of the store.

To his credit though, he did find him and took me up to the service desk.

Red Flag: When I got to the service desk and I told the installer what I wanted to do, he tried to sell me a more expensive steering wheel control adapter by saying that the one that I had purchased may or may not work.

When I attempted to tell him the software on the more expensive adapter itself could be updated via a windows computer, the installer replied, once the steering wheel control are set, you don't have to set them, which is not what I was trying to tell him.

I had a gut feeling that if the installer wasn't knowledgeable, my install would have gone horribly wrong and my car stereo possibly would not have worked properly.

Ended up going to the store I have used in the past and had them do the install. The install came out great, really clean and the steering wheel controls worked with the adapter I purchased.

Not sure what possessed me to go to Fry's in the first place, but am I glad I went with my gut instinct.
PrntRhd
Premium Member
join:2004-11-03
Fairfield, CA

2 recommendations

PrntRhd

Premium Member

I might go to Fry's Electronics for hardware/software at a great price, but not for service. I always expect to provide any installation expertise, not them.

Boricua
Premium Member
join:2002-01-26
Sacramuerto

1 recommendation

Boricua to paintref

Premium Member

to paintref
NEVER EVER go in for service or even for customer service. They are pathetic. They are mainly out to sell you a credit card or some such crap. When I do go to Fry's (and loathe to go), I know what I need to get BEFORE I set foot in that store.

BTW, (a little off topic) did you know you don't have to give them your receipt at the door? I just walk past them and they don't say a word.
PrntRhd
Premium Member
join:2004-11-03
Fairfield, CA

PrntRhd

Premium Member

Boricua,
Fry's in Sacramento was an "Incredible Universe" store that Fry's took over. It was known to have more merchandise going out the back door than the front door (bad employees) at the time.

Tex
Dave's not here
Premium Member
join:2012-10-20

Tex to Boricua

Premium Member

to Boricua
Yeah, Fry's is the worst. I don't know how they keep the doors open.

sivran
Vive Vivaldi
Premium Member
join:2003-09-15
Irving, TX

sivran

Premium Member

Because they generally have the best prices and a large selection. I've never had a problem with them.

paintref
Look, I see stars
join:2003-02-21
Houston, TX

paintref to Boricua

Member

to Boricua
said by Boricua:

BTW, (a little off topic) did you know you don't have to give them your receipt at the door? I just walk past them and they don't say a word.

I do the same thing.

ilikeme
Premium Member
join:2002-08-27
Stafford, TX

ilikeme

Premium Member

Same here. No point in waiting in the line and letting them dig through my stuff. The only place I show my receipt is Costco.
Relic (banned)
join:2003-09-29

Relic (banned)

Member

said by ilikeme:

Same here. No point in waiting in the line and letting them dig through my stuff. The only place I show my receipt is Costco.

In the case of Costco, you signed a contract to do business with them, so if you don't show your receipt, they'll revoke your membership and 86 you.

For any non-membership, there's no reason to show receipt. Often times greeters think they're loss prevention when in fact they're customer service. Of course, most consumers don't understand their rights, or aren't bothered by double checking their merch to make sure they paid for everything. There are customers who do make mistakes and forget to pay for some things. I double and triple check my cart, in and around it, so I can confidently walk out even if setting off the stupid thing, and ignore any greeter who demands I stop because their wailing noise maker went off.

Anyhow, a long time ago in the Bay Area I went to Fry's for Car Audio, the guys there were pretty much fellating Polk and didn't seem to know anything about the type of speakers I wanted. Unfortunately gotta do your own research.
nonymous (banned)
join:2003-09-08
Glendale, AZ

1 edit

nonymous (banned)

Member

Technically also a double check on caahiers. Both the cashier and door greeted would need to be in on it if a friend walked through without paying.
Fry's never really bothered me. Walmart is the one with attitude. They started to say we stole something when we went through the checkout. Had to compare every UPC as item description did not match the item. Almost felt as if they would call the cops on small item. Finally found it by upc code not a description .out of town and only a 24/7 walmart open. Got snacks a few other things and one play thing for our son which gave us the grief. Emergency trip and didn't need the extra grief.
Relic (banned)
join:2003-09-29

Relic (banned)

Member

said by nonymous:

Technically also a double check on caahiers. Both the cashier and door greeted would need to be in on it if a friend walked through without paying.
Fry's never really bothered me. Walmart is the one with attitude. They started to say we stole something when we went through the checkout. Had to compare every UPC as item description did not match the item. Almost felt as if they would call the cops on small item. Finally found it by upc code not a description .out of town and only a 24/7 walmart open. Got snacks a few other things and one play thing for our son which gave us the grief. Emergency trip and didn't need the extra grief.

About the stealing accusation, it's pretty simple: You keep walking. If they want to up the ante and forcefully detain you, it's on their heads for false arrest and/or imprisonment. I've literally had greeters walking out to the lot with me practically yelling at me to let them check my bags -- even when I never set anything off. I told them to bugger off. Some people need to get the message, and it's often that people in retail haven't the slightest clue about laws, including regarding special classes of service animals (not just for the blind, but for those who've suffered PTSD and the pet is for severe anxiety attacks), as another example.
billydunwood
join:2008-04-23
united state

billydunwood to paintref

Member

to paintref
said by paintref:

Went in to Fry's Electronics about two weeks ago to get a quote for a car stereo/steering wheel control adapter installed in my car.

Went to the car audio department to find an installer who could give me a quote.

Didn't find one, but a customer service rep came up and attempted to help, but couldn't. The customer service rep left for about ten minutes to look for the installer and when he came back, he told me he was at the service desk towards the front of the store.

To his credit though, he did find him and took me up to the service desk.

Red Flag: When I got to the service desk and I told the installer what I wanted to do, he tried to sell me a more expensive steering wheel control adapter by saying that the one that I had purchased may or may not work.

When I attempted to tell him the software on the more expensive adapter itself could be updated via a windows computer, the installer replied, once the steering wheel control are set, you don't have to set them, which is not what I was trying to tell him.

I had a gut feeling that if the installer wasn't knowledgeable, my install would have gone horribly wrong and my car stereo possibly would not have worked properly.

Ended up going to the store I have used in the past and had them do the install. The install came out great, really clean and the steering wheel controls worked with the adapter I purchased.

Not sure what possessed me to go to Fry's in the first place, but am I glad I went with my gut instinct.

I love Fry's because of their products and prices, but I absolutely agree with you on the customer service. Every time I go in there, its like each employee only knows what is in their "small" department. The computer employees have no idea about any products besides in their 2 aisles and same with the radio guys. Dont get me started on their commissioned computer/tv salesman. One tried to tell me that I should spend $40 more on a computer because it had windows 8.1 vs windows 8.
BeefJerky9
join:2005-05-28
Spring, TX

BeefJerky9 to Relic

Member

to Relic
said by Relic:

Anyhow, a long time ago in the Bay Area I went to Fry's for Car Audio, the guys there were pretty much fellating Polk and didn't seem to know anything about the type of speakers I wanted. Unfortunately gotta do your own research.

If they were touting Polk's SR series car speakers, they were right in doing so. The rest of their car speakers are just okay, but the SR series are still considered to be some of the best sets of car speakers ever made. It's too bad they're discontinued, but I do have a set of them in my car, and you can pry them out of my cold dead hands.

As for Fry's in general, I have a love/hate relationship with them. Sometimes their prices can be quite good, and they also have a good selection of products. Their electronic component selection is very good for a retail store, and infinitely better than Radioshack in its current state. That said, I hate how useless their employees are and I also hate the receipt checker at the exit door. If you have to treat everyone like thieves, then you're doin' it wrong. When shopping at Fry's, remember that they will price match Amazon on products that are sold directly by them (not by 3rd party sellers).

As a side note, how in the heck is Radioshack still in business???
nonymous (banned)
join:2003-09-08
Glendale, AZ

nonymous (banned) to Relic

Member

to Relic
Later at night but still busy. Out of town and emergency. Just not a good time to up the ante.

thedragonmas
Premium Member
join:2007-12-28
Albany, GA
Netgear R6300 v2
ARRIS SB6180

thedragonmas to nonymous

Premium Member

to nonymous
said by nonymous:

Technically also a double check on caahiers. Both the cashier and door greeted would need to be in on it if a friend walked through without paying.
Fry's never really bothered me. Walmart is the one with attitude. They started to say we stole something when we went through the checkout. Had to compare every UPC as item description did not match the item. Almost felt as if they would call the cops on small item. Finally found it by upc code not a description .out of town and only a 24/7 walmart open. Got snacks a few other things and one play thing for our son which gave us the grief. Emergency trip and didn't need the extra grief.

"who watches the watchers?" that line all ways got me, how about this one for you. the security manager doing the stealing.

»www.wafb.com/story/27859 ··· side-job
said by Relic:

About the stealing accusation, it's pretty simple: You keep walking. If they want to up the ante and forcefully detain you, it's on their heads for false arrest and/or imprisonment. I've literally had greeters walking out to the lot with me practically yelling at me to let them check my bags -- even when I never set anything off. I told them to bugger off. Some people need to get the message, and it's often that people in retail haven't the slightest clue about laws, including regarding special classes of service animals (not just for the blind, but for those who've suffered PTSD and the pet is for severe anxiety attacks), as another example.

been there, i remember one year during christmas there was this nice long line at least 30 deep to get out the doors, i just walked right on out. ooo the looks i must have gotten i got "detained" once when they forgot to deactivate the RFID in an item i purchased from electronics, i had all ready went through the B.S. of getting the "spider" removed because they where yappin instead of doin their jobs, yes, i held up the line up front on that one, to bad. not my job to hunt them down or tell them to stop yapping and do their job. so i was all ready in a "bad" mood. so when she stopped me with that i told her you want it deactivated YOU go back and do it, other wise im taking my property that i purchased and have a receipt for and walking out of here with it. guess i could have just told her to bugger off and walked out, but meh.

sams is a different story (same as costco above, its in the membership agreement) and ive had a few times where the checker actually caught a double charge (i.e. 2 items sold as one but rung up twice)

as for that last part, i dont have a guide dog but i may get one in the future, nearly been ran over countless times by people ignoring that cane. but, it seems stores dont train employees in things that can get them sued. such as the only thing they can ask is "is this a service animal needed for a disability?" thats pretty much it, they cant demand proof, they cant demand credentials, etc. thing is some people abuse that and so they (falsely) assume every one does.

ive had cashiers refuse to provide assistance for the POS machine (credit card scanner), fact is, i dont use cash any more because ive had to many cashiers take advantage of my eye sight (giving me back a $5 instead of a $50 for example) sp o only use plastic at stores now. yet, they dont make those POS machines easy to see, there usually some gawd awful shade of i assume dark blue on a light color back ground (im color blind as well, like colors on like colors = invisible to me, i.e. blue on white). if they move fully to chip and pin but continue to use touch screen with no assisted access, ill have to keep having to explain to cashiers that yes, they are required to provide assistance, no, they cant refuse the sale because i need them to read the screen. etc

menus at restaurants are another one (please, please please for the love of gawd put your menu online so i can print what i want before i show up, itl save BOTH of us time and frustration!)
said by BeefJerky9:

As a side note, how in the heck is Radioshack still in business???

i saw this on the news the other night they would be filing bankruptcy »www.reuters.com/article/ ··· 20150115 first thing i thought of was, didnt they all ready do that? because i remember about 10 years ago ALL of our local ones shut their doors. about six months later they reopened, but seemed to have forgotten to change their name to cell phone shack. i made the mistake of walking in and asking where the resistors where.. the deer in the head lights look told me all i needed to know and i walked out.

as to the op, my experience with in house "service" of any type from any company where the employees no nothing more than whats wrote on the box, is to run as fast as i can from it in the oposit direction preferably with a tail wind.