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Buy from FS or don’t, that is the question

Posted by luckycharms on August 27th, 2010

I just happened to find this website the other day from another staff member and I actually injoy reading some of the stories. By injoy, I dont mean reading all the horror stories about tech work, in-homes, or psp/prp… I mean the people that make some of the stupidiest comments I have ever read. At this point, I should mention I am an employee of FS and though I do not agree with all the practices and proceedures, I have to follow most to actually keep my job. Next time you go into FS and get completely pissed off that someone offers you prp/psp, don’t give gim/her a hard time because at the end of the day, if we didn’t, we’d get fired. But that is not what this post is about. I read a few comments earlier on stating that people will never purchase items from FS again because there friend or family member, or even someone on here for completely sh!t on due to a warranty issue or they would not honor the manufacture warranty. At the end of the day, if anyone reading this has an issue thats under manufacturer warranty only, and you get denied help by some kid or adult at customer service, there is a reason for that. Go anywhere and try to return a major electronic after a year of owning it, it won’t work. Is it your fault it broke? Defenatly not. Is it our fault we CANNOT return it without getting fired? F**K no. Now, in closing I have one more thing to vent on… To anyone who says they will never buy from FS again due to a PRP/PSP mishap, I feel for you, I really do; however, to anyone that says they will never buy from FS because the products are cheap, mislabeled, or manufacture warranty sucks… stop being a f**king moron… at the end of the day, all this sh!t is made by cheap labour in some forgein country. It’s not like we make sure we buy the cheap stuff and save the good stock for Walmart. It’s all the same, so stop being stupid and save the forum for people with real problems.

Bad Business Practices

Posted by gord1961 on August 20th, 2010

I had the repair department of the St, Catharines Future Shop store actually go in and remove my hard drive and have it destroyed. The claim by future shop was that according to my warranty my hard drive should have been backed up. The warranty says nothing about the removal of any part of my computer. Future Shop blamed Apple Canada for removing my hard drive but Apple Canada has told me that not only is that not their policy but they can find no record of my computer being repaired. All this because I had lines on the screen. I have found out that Future Shop does have an internal policy regarding repairs that nullifies their warranty agreement. If someone tells you to read the warranty, it is totally worthless. My suggestion to all who have complaints against Future Shop/Best Buy, is to submit an on-line complaint with the consumer protection branch of the ministry of consumer affairs. It will take five minutes and they will investigate the matter for you. Nothing will be done until enough complaints have been submitted. If you would like to e-mail me your complaint, I would be more than happy to take them to Peter Kormos’ office personally. His office is in my home town. I will hand them over to them myself. Peter Kormos is a board member of the Consumer Protection Board for Ontario.

From the desk of a FS employee

Posted by NT on August 16th, 2010

I work at FS… have worked there for just over two years now… I’ve only just discovered this… interesting website, and have taken up a good chunk of my day looking over the posts. Firstly, I have to say I do agree about most of the PSP/PRP issues. I can honestly say it can be difficult. But there are some instances where it actually (believe it or not) pays off to have an extended warrenty. I don’t often try sell it, usually I don’t care, but when something comes up for instance a lage TV (I’m talking between 32? to 60?) I try. Because all too often do I see and hear about customers coming in gloves on, not wanting the warrenty, refusing till their blue in the face, only to come back for a new one a year later, after the manufacture warrenty wears off. So I DO agree, most of the time it’s a waste of moeny, but sometimes it is the smart course of action.
Also, alot of these posts feel like an attack at the associates, not the company. To be honest, I have had many customers yell at me, especially when I worked in the customer service area, and I have to say majority of those times it wasn’t my fault. We aren’t all perfect superhumans that know exactly what the problem is and exactly what to do to fix it. I realize (and agree) that there are some product experts that are pushy, rude, and think they know exactly what you need, but their all horrible people. Alot of times even their fellow associates try and not deal with them. There are a few of those where I work. Thats because they live for the commision, wanting nothing more than to make money. But if you`ve worked there and seen the stuff that happens behind the screens you might understand. There is a tremendous amount of pressure to sell, sell, sell. And if we don`t sell, we get placed in the `red`group, basically the poor sellers. Nobody wants to be labled the worst in the store.
Anyways, my point is please don`t assume it`s always the associates that are in the wrong. We don`t want to help someone whos going to threaten legal action on us (not, by the way, very smart) or wants to break the doors on the way out (yes, someone actually pushed the sliding door off its hinges). But we`re glad to assist someone who`s calm, respectful, and realizes that we are also people and we, as people, don`t WANT to ruin your lives. So thankyou for all the wonderful posts about how we are all horrible people and we shouldn`t have jobs becuase FS should go down. Thankyou for telling us about your issues calmly and face-to-face, instead of writing about them in some dead beat, wine-fest blog. Thankyou. You`ve all made us feel great about ourselves.
Oh, and one more thing: I`m really sorry on behalf of all the FS stores around the counrty, even though I had nothing to do with your issues (I hope!). I too know what it feels like to think you`ve had your life ruined by a multi-million dollar company. And so, I`m sorry. Please forgive us. The cusomer may not ALWAYS be right, but neither is the associate. So next time you run in to a problem like the one you`ve experienced (with us, or ANY company), please try to keep in mind that we dont hate you. In fact, we value your service. Some of us may be rude a-holes, but we`re not all bad. Thankyou for reading.
Signed, NT

Olympic Oval Adopt-An-Athlete Speed Skating

Posted by Admin on August 4th, 2010

Why not check this out and help this young lad get to the Winter Olympics and win Canada a gold medal

Olympic Oval Adopt-An-Athlete Speed Skating
Jamie Inglis

Please support my speed skating goals and dreams.

Your financial assistance will go to support the Olympic Oval high performance speed skating programs through the University of Calgary’s Adopt-An-Athlete program. This program works to support Canadian speed skating athletes by helping to employ coaches, contract support staff, purchase training equipment, and cover facility use at the Olympic Oval.

Your generous support will provide me with the opportunity to pursue excellence in my athletic career while developing the tools and skills necessary to become a leader of the future. You’ll become an important part of my success by contributing directly to the programs that develop Canada’s Olympians, world champions and sports leaders of tomorrow.

Please note that a tax receipt will be provided for all donations made to the Adopt-An-Athlete program.

Here is the link to Jamie Inglis personal page
https://netcommunity.ucalgary.ca/SSLPage.aspx?pid=1945&frsid=100

I understand that this has nothing to do with FSS BUT sometimes you just have to do the right thing!

Deal of the day ?? very misleading advertising

Posted by tflf001 on August 4th, 2010

Another example of FS creative advertising at work
Note: both prices are as posted on Future Shop website today!!!
Toshiba Satellite 15.6″ AMD Athlon X2 P320 Laptop (C650D-00P) – Black
Deal of the day August 02 – one day only 479.99
sale price until August 12 – 449.99

Deal of the day – pay 30 dollars more!

I agree “Future Shop Sucks”

Posted by danushka on July 29th, 2010

I tried to buy a dishwasher in May at a Future shop store on the south shore of Montreal. I was told by the sales person it would not be available until June 24. In early July I called to inquire if I could buy it from a store closer to my home. I was told yes but it was the last day of the tax-free sale, and it would be delivered by the south shore branch. The downtown store had 6 people hanging around at the cash chatting all said they could not help me buy the $500 dishwasher that I showed them the model number of, that only one employee was trained to do the transaction and he was busy selling air conditioners. By the time he was free I had to start heading back to work from my lunch hour. There was confusion; his computer would not accept the tax rebate. When he finally was able to do the transaction I asked him to call the south shore store to confirm the transaction and ensure there would be no later confusion about the tax rebate, free delivery and to set the delivery date. He was annoyed and did not want to call them and was reluctant to give me written confirmation that delivery would be free and the purchase was tax-free (the receipt still showed the tax because the computer could not delete it). I got on the line when he finally called the south shore store that stocked the appliance to set a delivery date. I was told once the downtown store faxed them my address they would call me to schedule delivery. They never did call me so after a few weeks I called them and the manager at the downtown store after many hours and multiple phone calls delivery was confirmed for the following week, today between 5 and 9 PM. Well, not surprisingly given their history, no one showed up. At 8 PM I called the south shore store to make sure they did not forget about my delivery. I was told the computer is down again and the info cannot be checked. Instead of them calling the delivery people to look into it they gave me the number to call (customers have to work harder than employee if they want to buy something at future shop) but it was an office number with no one answering, not the delivery guys’ cell number. The right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing at future shop and the customer has to work very hard, harder than the employee to spend large sums of money to buy their products. I wasted another 4 hours tonight (I had to arrange my schedule to ensure I would not work late to be home by 5 PM, I missed my gym workout, etc). I think future Shop should pay me for my time they have wasted. A word of advice, buy your appliances somewhere else and save yourself months of waiting. I would love to comment on the product but Future Shop took my money but won’t bother to do what it take to deliver it to me. Now at 10 PM I have a sink full of dishes to wash by had I would not have left pile up had I known Future Shop would disregard my delivery. This is not the first time I have had lousy customer service at Future Shop but it will definately be the last. Competent companies and staff will get my business from now on.

FU$%ED WITH LAPTOP EXTENDED WARRANTY

Posted by dody75 on July 20th, 2010

SUPER LONG EMAIL TO FUTURESHOP REGARDING THE PROBLEMS I HAD WITH MY LAPTOP, UNLESS YOU HAVE PLENTY OF SPARE TIME, I SUGGEST YOU MOVE ON TO NEXT STORY. IF YOU ARE A FUTURE SHOP EMPLOYEE, DO NOT LEAVE A COMMENT, I WILL MOLLEST YOU WITH HORRIFYING EMAILS AND PHRASES YOU CANT IMAGINE. AND UNTIL THIS DAY, THIS PROBLEM HAS NOT BEEN FIXED BY THE WAY. THIS EMAIL WAS SENT TO THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE EMAIL: SERVICE@FUTURESHOP.CA.

 

Please note I have sent this exact email before and no action has been taken since and my problems with my computer are getting larger as future shop ignores me further. If i receive no reply regarding this matter, i will be forwarding it to the better business bureau.

To whom this may concern,
I am writing this email on behalf of my wife, ——- being her name also, the undersigned name on the futureshop extended warranty program which to me and her, has been nothing but a headache, pain, and extreme waste and loss of money. As you read further into this concerning email, you will find out and understand my logic behind my frustration with your company.
We bought our Hewlit Packard Laptop computer from futureshop about 2 years ago, along with the highest warranty package you had to offer, the 3 year term. Now, when we purchased our laptop and the sales representative was explaining the program to us, no where in his conversation did he mention that after 4 repairs our laptop will be exchanged entirely. Having said this, not only is it 4, its 4 “major” repairs. All he mentioned, is as follows: ” By purchasing this warranty from us today, you will save yourself headaches, time, and money and not only are you buying a warranty, you are buying your peace of mind. If your laptop is ever brought in, and we are not able to fix the issue on the spot, we will simply give you a brand new computer.” That was his sales pitch.
We agreed to take advantage of this program and enroll with the warranty since it seemed like an extremely good deal. Since buying the laptop, we have purchased 2 xbox 360 consoles with the 3 year warranty, an entire Sony Bravia 42 ” LCD television with the 3 shelve glass stand, Sony DVD player, Sony DVD Recorder, and entire Sony Sony Surround Sound Theatre System with the 3 year warranty, a JVC camcorder with the 3 year warranty, and a Compustar car security system with the 3 year warranty. I have receipts for ALL OF THESE ITEMS TO SUPPORT THIS EMAIL. The reason i did this, is because i beleived it was worth it after buying the first warranty and getting convinced it was simply a peace of mind. So as you can imagine, all these products, last one being the camcorded being purchased 3 weeks ago, all add up to over $8000.00 business for your company.
Now, my focus is on the laptop. After about 1 year of owning it, the internet was acting up and disconnecting me constantly from my network, so i decided to bring it in to have them take a look at it. They made me sign a paper and said that it needs to be sent out to the manufacturer to take a look at it. On the sheet that asks the employee to check off the condition of the computer (scratched, broken, cracked, etc.) there is a small lined area where he can wrote comments, of course, he writes “normal wear”, and then he asks my wife to sign it. My wife looks him in the eye, and says “where do you see normal wear?” There was absolutely not a SINGLE SCRATCH on this computer, it was extremely flawless. He starts to inspect it, soon to pull out a microscope and start admiring it making sure there is nothing, and for sure and of course, he found nothing. He scratched off normal wear, and wrote ” no damage or scratches.” Being in a state of shock and not knowing what to expect, we asked him to sign next to where he scribbled on the paper so it doesnt look fishy. I then ased him,” why would you just put normal wear before inspecting it, and not even specifiying where the damage or wear is, is this your way around protecting yourselves in case the laptop comes back with some scratches on it, that way you wont be held liable?” He just said ” i am in no position to comment on that.” Nice, dont you think?
So the laptop is gone, comes back a week later, FULL OF SCRATCHES ON THE FRONT BEZEL!!!! I told him this is unacceptable and i will not take the laptop back seeing it being in this manner. He calls his manager, and the managers name was Jacob. Jacob said we are extremely sorry for this mishap, and we will MAKE SURE that this ets resolved in a timely manner. So, there goes the laptop AGAIN back to the manufacturer for cosmetic issues. One week goes by, two weeks go by, 4 weeks, 1 month and a half, 2 months before future shop decides to call me and say the part is on its way. 2 MONTHS AND THE PART IS ON ITS WAY.
Another week goes by, and i call in to see what is going on. They told me to come in to the store and that my laptop is ready to be picked up. I get to the store, and surely, everything is EXACTLY THE SAME. Who are they trying to fool? I told him no, im not taking it, the scratches are all still there, 2 and a half months almost, and the problem has not been resolved. I asked for a manager, Murray comes and asks me what he can do for me. I said get me my laptop to the way it was when we brought it in for repair. He said we cant do that and he will give me $100.00 future shop merchandise credit to resolve the issue.. I said i dont want money, i just want those damn scratches OFF MY LAPTOP. He insisted that there is nothing he can do, and to take it or leave it. He was giving me these excuses about if I had a scratch on my car, would i call my insurance company…. is this even similar? Not even close, and for all he knows, maybe i do call them. I dont have a single scratch on my vehicle and you are more than welcome to come take a look at it. He cannot use other life scenarios to cover up for future shops lack of care towards MY PRODUCT. I asked for Jacob, the manager i dealt with the first time, only to find out he quit. Now i am stuck. I dont want $100.00, i just want my bezel changed. I continued to explain to Murray, i have been stuck without a pc for 2 and a half months, and this what i get? He said ” well, you could have taken the laptop home with you and when we got the part, we could have called you to bring it in to have it replaced there and then.” See where my problem is? NO BODY TOLD ME THIS IN THE FIRST PLACE, HOW WOULD I KNOW THAT THE LAPTOP IS SITTING INSIDE THE STORE THIS WHOLE TIME AND NOT AT HEWLIT PACKARDS HQ? This clearly means, that the clerk behind the service desk at that futureshop store, didnt do his job properly.
Seeing that i am screwed anyways, i took the $100.00 and left the store with my scuffed, dirty, and uncleaned laptop with disgusting black fingerprints all over the bezel, LCD screen and keyboard. Future shop sells Monster computer cleaners, i suggest they keep one bottle and use it after working on peoples computers, its only being curteous to your customers. A few weeks down the road, my dvd burner in the laptop started to fail. I brought it back in the store for them to take a look at it. He tested it, tried burning a disc, and it didnt work. He went to the back, grabbed an old pc that was used for display inside the store, took it apart, and removed the dvd recorder from that one and put it mine. It then started to work. He also at that time, formatted my pc as it kept having a blue screen and freezing. This took about an hour. I then left the store and everything was ok.
Now, till about a week and a half ago, the laptop is having the same internet issues it had a year ago, disconnecting and reconnecting, and the dvd burner records when it wants but only after killing like 5 cds in the process, and the battery is not holding a reasonable charge anymore. I took it in, and at the computer service desk was a guy named Jordan. He asked me whats wrong, i explained everything i was experiencing with the pc, and told him that this is the 4th issue i am experiencing and i am very frustrated at this point. He said ” i will check our system, and if i determine that this is the 4th, LEGIT repair, we will then replace it. As you can imagine, this is the first time i hear about the 4th repair rule, and also, the first time i hear it accompanied by the word “LEGIT”. I signed the paper to have it sent out and i kept my copy, i then asked for a manager. Turns out, my friend Murray still works for futureshop! I said listen, i am upset, i reminded him about my past issues and made sure he remembered me, surely, he did. I explained my new issues, and showed him all the receipts for all the stuff i had bought from futureshop in the past 2 years. He said, well you see, we are fixing it! You cant say you are screwed, because of your warranty we are taking a look at the issues you are having and fixing them. Ummm, no, not really, the internet problem still exists, you brought it back with a probkem it didnt have, scratches all over the face of the laptop, AND of course last but not least, I bought the warranty so that the computer gets replaced when it starts acting up, not to have to wait 2 and a half months for no results. He said, well give it a couple days, jordan will let you know the status of your account with us and whether or not we will be replacing it or not, and that it was too soon to discuss whats going to happen.
I get the call i wish i never got. Jordan, Rep #:P4F9 from store # 604 in Ottawa South Keys mall, the only location i have EVER dealt with. He said sir, out of the 4 issues you claim you had, i only see 1 in our system. I said no way, this is my fourth time, i am vey frustrated, i want this pc changed right away or i will be doing what i am doing now. He said go ahead, i dont care, we are not in this business to give people new computers. WELL THAN DONT MAKE THAT PROMISE WHEN YOU SELL THE WARRANTIES, simple as that. I took his name, and representative number, and asked him to listen for one second, because he kept interupting me, not taking into consideration anything im saying, not empathising with my whole situation, seemed like he couldnt careless. Up until this moment, i havent received a call back from him or his manager considering i specifically asked him to have his manager call me. I dont know what the case of the laptop is right now, i dont know if its at futureshop, at the manufacturer, nothing.
There is a lack of care, customer service, sympathy or even empathy, understanding, and patience going on with this store, i am hoping its just this store and not nation wide.
I need a resolution. If I dont get a call back regarding this issue, i will take this further. I want a completely different laptop. Fullfill your promises that you make to your customer, and somebody must stand up and take responsibility. I am sick of hearing people like Jordan simply tell me, ” i wasnt there” or ” i cant speak of that issue because i wasnt present” or ” i am in no position to comment or answer that”. Is this all i get from future shop? Customer dont know individuals working, we look at the company as whole. And to me at this moment, i am EXTREMELY dissatisfied with the way i have been treated. I dont enjpy writing an email for over an hour now to have to explain my story because there is no headoffice number, apparently this is the only official way to complain. Im at the library now where people use computers to study, and im using it to complain because futureshop has my computer for the fourth time. Is it my fault the agent didnt register the other 2 times i came in the system? Is that my fault? No, its not, i brought it in, you guys took care of it. God knows, maybe this is the whole trick behind it, try to avoid registering a repair in the system as often as you can so you wont have to replace the product. All jordan can say is, its not my fault, i didnt do it. Well neither did i, someone from your company screwed up, pay the consequences. I even told him to open the pc, and see that its not all the original parts in there, and thats living proof that work has been done it if he doesnt have information on his system. You wont beleive his answer, check it out :” well sir, that wont tell me anything, for all i know, you could have changed them yourself”. Does that statement make sense? Why would i pay $450.00 for a 3 year waranty to repair it myself? Asides from that statement being ridiculous, its like hes telling me IM A LIAR!
Very rude, and extremely ignorant. I am hoping this guy gets lectured and coached back on how he treats his customers. We are the reason he has a job, the person who is reading this email, we are the reason you have a job. Stand by your clients, support them. I need that laptop replaced, or honestly, i will take a full day off work and stand outside the store off your property and make all the people aware of this story, and carry signs and i will do whatever i have to do, to ensure that nobody gets thrown around like i have by future shop.
If you would like to contact me, you can use the following contact information:

****   DELETED   ****

 

HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOYED THAT ONE, NO RESPONSE TO ME YET, ITS BEEN OVER A YEAR SINCE I SENT THE FIRST COPY OF THIS EMAIL TO THEM, THIS WAS THE SECOND ONE, IM NOT GOING TO POST IT ON THEIR WEBSITE!

Gift Card Fraud

Posted by br0dy on July 17th, 2010

I recently tried to use a gift card (which I knew had a balance on it still) only to be told that the balance was zero. I double checked all my receipts, and my bank account to make sure that there weren’t any purchases I forgot. So the next day I go back to the customer service desk, and get them to look into it. Eventually we find that someone had ‘merged’ my card with three other cards in a city two hours away. I was told that someone must have taken my card and used it, then returned it without me realising…
So at this point, I have contacted their customer service through email (actually they emailed me after I posted about the fraud on their official forum) and am waiting for some kind of resolution. I wonder how many people are affected by this issue…

Future Shop Sucks Again

Posted by ddf on July 17th, 2010

March 28 2010 I purchased HP Pavillion desk top PC from the shysters at Chilliwack Future Shop. I bought just the desk top PC as I did not need the rest. I paid $499.99 for it. It has worked well but lately some of the CD’s won’t download to the PC. So I called HP support and they advised me that the unit I bought was a re-furbished unit with only a 90 day warranty. I was never advised that this was a re-furbed unit, as I would not buy a re-furb for the obvious reason of you don’t know what problems there might be with the unit. So I was never told that the PC was a re-furb, in fact the receipt states that the PC was an “out of box`but carried the same warranty as a new unit. I turned Future shop down when they wanted me to buy their extended warranty, figuring that the one year was plenty.

So I called today to the Chilliwack store (2010 Jul 12) and spoke with the store manager who refused to offer to resolve the warranty issue but offered to have their techs look at the PC. Its working they won`t find anything wrong! I told her that I am satisfied with the PC but am concerned that I do not have any warranty left on the unit. I asked that she replace the unit for one that carries the one year manufactures warranty. She refused.`

So while my PC is working Future Shop is selling re-furbished PC`s without telling the customers.

At my age I should have known better to trust a business like Future Shop!

Laptop Diagnostic Scam

Posted by playedByFS on June 9th, 2010

Scott Road Future Shop, in Surrey BC told $40 to run “diagnostics” on my broken laptop… and then they will tell me how much more to fix after diagnosing.

A day later future shop told me that the mother-board is busted and it is cheaper to buy a new laptop than fix. Also that Future Shop will deduct $40 if I decide to buy a new laptop.

Another guy down the street charged me $30 and told me that one of the RAM slots are bad… and fixed it by removing one of the two RAM chips.

I went back to future shop to tell that they mis-diagnosed and almost got me to spend another $600 on a new laptop… and either give my money back or at least deduct $40 off a 2GIG RAM chip I wanted to buy (to jump my laptop back to 2GIG).

Now came the Future Shop story…
1) Future Shop runs a program called RMI to diagnose, and Future shop is not resposible for RMI-program mis diagnosing…. and cannot refund $40.
2) That $40 deduction only applies to only labour that they would provide me… not a cost deduction.

Bottom line… I can guess how many other customers future shop has scammed through this “diagnosing” drill…. to buy new laptops.




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