So I bought a laptop over a year ago and the warranty will be up this August, and the darn thing has been broken since the day I bought it. The very first day I got it home it overheated. Ever since then it’s done pretty well nothing right. I’ve brought it back to the Future Shop literally more than 10 times and every time it comes back to me in the same shape or worse than it was. I was told back in the beginning that they would send it to HP because it was under their warranty, and when I called HP a few months ago they told me there was no record of my computer ever being sent to them. When I go to pick it up from the Future Shop the guy told me that it was on the floor the whole time. From that day I write down who I deal with and what date I was out there. They keep changing the rules about computer replacements. They tell me now that I can’t get a new one until I have 3 part replacements. In the beginning they said it was just 3 repairs. Half the time they don’t believe me when Is say there is something wrong with it. But then why is it overheating, disconnecting from the internet, randomly shutting off, etc? And I just noticed today that the last time it was in the shop they put stickers on the bottom of it that say that if the seal is broken the warranty is void. They are sly. I hate the Future Shop.

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ok, so after weeks of back and forth with a regular futueshopsucks.com contributor who claims she is not a FS employee I have a hunch as to her identity(I say ’she’ based on her writing style…50/50 shot right, lol).

We all know her matter of fact, smells-like-corporare responses and many of us have responded to her with outright accusations that she is a FS employee.She denies it every time but it wasn’t until she responded to the accusation in one of the recent posts that it dawned on me.  PRIONS is not a FS employee as she notes, and I tend to believe her.

She writes clearly  with a limited number of errors and as stated, in matter of fact style.   PRIONS never curses or even raises an ire in any way to direct attacks.  I’ve looked back to past posts and she’s been on this site for a while.  When posting a response, she seems to zero in, not on the actual issue which is generally related to service but moreso the ‘easy-out’. 

 ex:  someone buys a TV and is told it does X. [NOTE: After buying 2 computers, I can personally say the average sales rep knows little more than the specs on the box] A month or so later when customer tries to do X, he/she finds out the TV does not do it.  Customer returns and explains situation and wants some sort of reparation and is immediately told the exchange policy is 30 days, too bad so sad.  After waiting what feels like hours and being passed off to different people, a manger arrives and does nothing more then reiterate the original response.

Someone buys a $1,000+ TV based on bad info and nothing eh?  Not in my Canada damn it!   PRIONS will point out that the exchange period passed and FS was in the right.   Sure,those are the facts but the issue is, and seems to always be, the behavior and more so the behavior of the  poorly educated sales rep.  But PRIONS can’t comment on behaviour, that wouldn’t fit with a standardized response.  Any posts that straight up call FS employees liars are dealt with delicately but tend to point to yet another standardized response or attack the customers experience.

What am I getting at? 

PRIONS is most likely a PR account rep.  I’ll even go further with a theory that rivals anything Dan Brown could write… PRIONS is a rep from ION PR. http://www.ionpr.net/

I don’t have any proof but I do have this to proclaim:

Her ability to actually do any PR and curve the anti-FS sentiment in anyway is limited at best and I wouldn’t pay her a dime if she is paid in CND $, this is a pure outsource job.  I was in communications for 3+ years and she doesn’t even follow the basic rules to tackle negative comments on websites, whoever is paying her needs to stop.    Being so transparent only adds fuel to the fire, heck,  after I posted I would’ve left this site alone if it weren’t for my special friend PRIONS. 

If you are in fact PR.  Get off the blog.  What a waste of a limited communications budget.

If not.  Get off of the FS ’sauseege’ because unless you two are dating, there is no reason to  take the side of the  illegitimate son of Satan. Seriously.  You won’t win.  I won’t let you win.  I’ve got this shit on my mobile devices, laptop, desktop, cattop(my netbook strapped to my cat…).  Typing is easy and effortless and if it becomes too hard, I’ll outsource if I have to.  Whatever it takes.  I made my fortune raising guinea pigs so I got the time and the money. 

My point is, why fight the inevitable?  Resistance is futile.  Vive la revolution!!!!

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Dont waste money on their so called ISF tv Calibration to which they charge 300$ and done by a so called certified professional, to which all certification is is passing a test.

DO NOT buy this service, you can get the same if not better quality from the many DVD caibrations ex DVE, AVIA for 40$

all the connect pro as they are called does is adjust the user settings on your tv with your remote on one input with HIS dvd. YOU CAN DO THIS YOURSELF

and if you must get an ISF calibration, because i do beleive that it can benefit your tv, go somewhere else, anywhere else that will actually go into your tv and calibrate it properly and not just change the USER settings

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Well here I am updating yet another forum to get this ridiculous story out. I am going as far as I can with this issue. Currently the BBB and CBC marketplace have been notified. I have also started a group on FB to see if I can gather enough people to start a class action suit.

So here is the story.

I purchased a Gateway NV5905H for 729.99 with the specs Core I3 330M, 500 GB drive, 4gbDDR3, and the ATI mobility Radeon HD 5470 on January 1 2010. It was ordered online and at no point was I advised I wasn’t going to get the listed laptop, but… when it came it was all correct with the exception of the ATI radeon card it had an Intel integrated graphics card! Two very different cards and the only reason i purchased the laptop was for the card it was a great deal.

So upon discovery of this I contact customer service only to have a CSR that told me he can’t do anything but allow me to exchange LIKE FOR LIKE. So the same specs as that system apparently didn’t exist, which is what i was told by their CSR. I then requested a supervisor more than 4 times and had to threaten lawsuit in order to have someone put in a callback. This was on January 13, no one has called me. Therefore I went into the store as I was told that the store could help more than the phone rep.

Once in the store the fiasco got worse, after an hour and a half of the MANAGER showing me lesser systems and trying to give me the same system again we finally found a Sony Vaio that was similar, but it was a DEMO model.

So I said fine i will take it, but you have to throw in a warranty as it is a floor model. He looked at me and stated no you have to pay for that. I then said ok then I will just swap the laptops. Again he said no you have to pay the difference 200.00!!!!! I said well that isn’t like for like then is it?

I asked if there would be any discount to the laptop for the trouble and my time. He stated I can give you 20.00 dollars discount!

So I said “ok so all you want to do is upgrade me and rip me off some more then? You aren’t going to give me a free warranty, nor swap the laptops for no price difference. So Futureshop makes out better than I did and then I get ripped off twice in one purchase?”

He seemed to think that was RESOLVING the issue. Then he stated that the ad was a typo and you MAY NOT ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU ORDERED!! uh what? I ordered this laptop with these specs and you don’t have to give me what i ordered?

That was it for me after an hour and half in the store ranting and progressively feeling like customers don’t matter but they will happily take your money. This lead me to returning the laptop and reporting this fraudulent advertisement all over the internet. People have to know that Futureshop does not take responsibility for their mistakes nor do they honor ANYTHING you may order. So basically if you get what you ordered than good for you and if you didn’t it was a typo and they owe you nothing.

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I’m interested in buying a DVD recorder/player and went to a Future shop in Northwestern Ontario Jan.15/10. I walked around trying to locate the players and looking for a salesperson to help. I encountered 3 or 4 salespeople, none asked if they could help, two walked by me. I walked over to two who were carrying on a conversation and stood by them for a minute, they didn’t offer to help. Finally I stopped one who about to walk by me again and told him what I wanted. He was helpful to a point, answered my questions and offered to see if the model in which I was interested was in stock. He came back saying it wasn’t but some would be in Thursday. When I said I lived out of town he didn’t bother to inform me that there is free shipping on items priced $39 or more, which I found out on the website this morning. I lost considerable time looking for someone to help me and sensed some indifference on the part of some of these people.

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http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10137393&catid=#

I basically want to purchase this notebook pc.

As you can see at the bottom it says:

This model comes pre-installed with Windows 7 Starter for small notebook PCs

Which to me, and everyone else I spoke to, means when I open up my pc, I can select the language of preference and use my computer right away. So on Monday I went to Future Shop at the Forum in Montreal looking for this exact computer which is advertised on their website & it states that it is available at this specific store.

To my surprise, this computer was no where to be found on display. I did find another Gateway which was priced at 349$ . I finally find a salesperson. I tell him about the Gateway on their website priced at 299.99$ with a better processor and he tells me he doesn’t know what we’re talking about. He tells us to test out the laptops on display to find one with an internet connection, go to the FS website and find the Gateway pc at 299.99$. Fair enough. After 10minutes of wasting our time trying to find an internet connection, we get the salesperson to look at the advertisement. He says, “OOOOH that one! We just received a shipment and we didn’t put it on display yet. I’ll go get it for you.”

That’s fine.

He comes back with it and tells me that “You have to format the hard drives to install Windows 7 – it’s preloaded but not actually installed per se, it could take up to half a day to properly install the operating system. You could try to do this at home but we don’t usually recommend it if you’re not good with computers. Future Shop offers this service for 100$, plus we’ll give you a recovery disc in case you ever need to reinstall Windows.”

I refused, I didn’t want to pay 450$ for a notebook pc, at that price I might as well invest in a laptop. So I went home really pissed off and disappointed and told myself I’d buy one from Dell for a little more expensive but definitely less than 450$.

I decided to visit the FS website because I wanted to see if this 100$ service charge was mentioned anywhere. I also found it weird that he would give us a backup disc – notebook pcs are too small to support CD Drives, so there’s no point in backup disc. And what if I decided to purchase the pc from the FS website? Would it warn me that Windows isn’t installed on it and I’d have to go to the store to get someone to do it for me since I suck with computers?

Then I thought to myself, they’re not legally allowed to charge me 100$ if it isn’t displayed anywhere on their website or in store and the fact that it says “comes pre-installed with Windows 7” is totally misleading.

I decided to call the FS Customer Service. I spoke to a sweet woman called Louise. She was shocked at what I told her and she verified with the “computer experts” at the Helpdesk and they all confirmed that there is no need to “format hard drives” because Windows 7 is already installed on the pc. At this point, I’m fuming.

The salesperson at FS blatantly lied to me and tried to charge me 100$ for a useless backup disc.

So today, I’m going back to the store. I’m gunna buy my notebook pc, “install” Windows right then and there and make a complaint to the store manager.

TO BE CONTINUED…

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i suspect that heavily discounted products sold at future shop as new are actually returns or demos. many of my purchases have led me to this conclusion. i will discuss just one at legnth a plasma tv. television was delivered in the box with stand already mounted. the manual clearly stated that the stand needed to be assembled and mounted. in addition the television was filthy. customer service agreed to ship another unit. replacement is delivered guess what same thing although the television is clean. had to laugh the delivery guy noted on his paper work that the returned television was dirty and that there were finger prints all over the screen. i kept the replacement rationalising that return or not it was good value. i contacted the manufacturer about this issue and it was confirmed that the stand should not have been assembled or mounted on the tv. what bugs me the most about this practice is that there suppliers do nothing to stop it . here is a list of other items purchased as new. 2 sets of computer speakers with game console adapters missing, av receiver no remote, an absolutely nonfunctional printer

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I must say that after my recent experience with Future Shop, I will never shop there again! If you thought buying online is convenient, think twice before punching in your credit card info! I am a retail store manager myself and work some long hours especially in December. I really wanted to order a surround sound and an amplifier to complete equipment at home. So I ordered on www.futureshop.ca on December 25th, 2010.
I agreed to purchase 1200.00 of product. It seemed so easy right up untill check out was completed. 2 Days after my checkout was completed, I checked the website and realized that my order could not be processed as something future shop credit card services had on file did not match what I entered as my shipping address. Turns out that 2 hours of phone calls back and forth, it was resolved. The really crappy thing is that when you call these clowns, you have to go through the menu ten times before you can find a way to get a living breathing person, and then the person you get seems retarded.
Anyways, 2 hours of my life is down the drain and my order is good to go! Great, I waited another 24 hours before I got curious to check my order again. SURPRISE! Another problem on our file!!! Again another hour gone before these babbling idiots figure it out! Now, 12 days after I place my order, I call in again as I have no feedback from Future Shop. Again to my surprise, I am told that I have to wait longer as the order is going to be punched in all over again. AND, in 24 to 48 hours I can expect an email letting me know when and if they are finally going to ship my items. What a horrible experience. I will from now on shop anywhere and AVOID Future Shop at all expense. All I got back from them is “SORRY TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE”. It’s an email I will never delete!

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As the title says, I am going to explain the customer service experience I received and would love to see how all the obvious FS employees explain how it is my fault that I was treated that way.

I went into FS last year looking for a tv, I told the sales guy I am buying today, show me some tvs. He showed me a couple and everytime I would ask a question he would answer it and leave to scan price tags then come back after about 5 minutes. I asked him if there was anything on sale and he said not really and went scanning again. Needless to say I took my bank card and had the competitor scan it for a much cheaper price than what I was being offered at FS and I gave that guy every opportunity for a sale.

A couple of weeks after that I went after a laptop and again same deal, ignored for about 20 min and then when someone approached, I again said I am buying today, still same treatment, answer questions and disappear. I again to my bank card to walmart and bought a laptop there.

Last month, knowing it was christmas season, I went in first thing in the morning on a monday so nothing special and was not busy at all, I tell the associate that I am here to buy a laptop and my work will be putting money in my account when I tell them what laptop and price. I asked him to show me some particular brands, he hesitated and seemed like he really didn’t want to (I was asking for non-HP), every time I asked a question he would go and take off. Needless to say, I left and just ordered the laptop through my company and the dealer they deal with.
Why is it when I tell the sales guys that this is pretty much guaranteed sale they treat me like they don’t want to deal with me? I mean, I was there for an external hard drive and I looked at that guy and said I have cash in my pocket, where is this drive? He walked away and went to deal with someone else. I am nice and pleasant every time I am in there, I just think that I am not meant to buy from FS if this is the way I am going to be treated, I mean a total of 4 times I tell them I’m buying that day and they walk away from me/ignore me/ make me wait. This is no way to treat someone if you want them to spend money in your store or even get commission from their purchase…

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 Spread the word!!  I will make sure smartcanucks.ca traffic finds this blog and more consumers can see the light!!

Vive la revolution!!

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