The 100.00 charge is OPTIONAL and yes maybe the sales associate didn’t really explain it well,probably because FS employs alot of stupid young kids,who want to make their commision and just get outta there.

To elaborate a bit on the charge.

How many people take their computers home,sit down and than subsequestly finish off the install of windows(which is about as far as most people go),update windows so that its current,get specific model updates for BIOS,sound cards,video cards,display drivers,network & wifi driver updates so on and so forth. Burn off the recovery disks,create recovery partitions,remove ALL trialware and bloatware and have the ability to optimize their system to peak performace,and something that FS does as well during that set-up is run hardware tests to ensure that all hardware is working 100% the way that it should be and not perhaps 35% of its overall performace capability.

The charge is optional,but if you were to put a computer someone took home and setup them selves,and take the exact same model of computer that the FS A+ Certified techs set up,you would be amazed at the result it produces.

Sucks when you encounter terrible Sales staff who dont know how to elaborate on something.

This tactic is to scare people who don’t know enough about computers into paying a hundred bucks more for their machine than they need to. It’s low-end users who get screwed once again, and I won’t stand for it anymore.

Basically it’s a ripoff. I’m going elsewhere for my new computer because FutureShop always tries these scams. It’s just like their extended warranty coverage– full of $hit.

The salesperson did one of two things:

1. He simply did not know what he was talking about, and tried to sell me a service without even knowing what he was selling. Now, let’s remember this site is called Futureshopsucks, not salesguy sucks…
Having an employee who is not trained in the services he is offering, is a complete failure on Futureshop’s part. This would be unacceptable at most jobs…But hey paying burger flipping salaries and offering complicated services is another area of failure for Futureshop, and something that sucks for the poor salesguy. Basically it shows, they care for nothing other than profit margins. They are not willing to offer decent service.

Now for option 2: The first one assumes the innocence of the salesperson. It could have been however, that he was using tactics he was trained in. The way he put it to me was, Windows is not installed on the laptop, you will need to install it yourself. That is far from what their service is…putting in my regional setting and username is not very complicated. He made it seem like the computer would not even work if I didnt pay him for this service. Luckily I am quite comfortable with OS installations myself. The thing is I was taking my Mom to the store to buy her first laptop. Had she gone alone, it would have been so easy for this guy to convince her that she really needed to pay $100 extra if she wanted the computer to work at all. Basically they are taking advantage of people who are not knowledgeable enough to understand what they are being told. They are taking advantage of the fact that their products and services are more complicated than ever before and they can lie and confuse people in order to bring up their profits. Honestly it feels like a debate match when you try and buy something in these stores every time! The way he put it would be the equivalent in the car dealer of the salesperson saying, this car doesnt come with an engine, but for a few hundred bucks, we can put one in for you. Who in their right minds would agree to that?! When it comes to computers, most people just dont know enough, and they take advantage of that. In fact I believe it is their main sales tactic.
I wont even get into the quality of the pictures on the smaller/cheaper flatscreen tvs. I find almost all their sales tactics an insult to my intelligence…and I am pretty sure that’s what gets me fuming every time, that they would assume I am that stupid.

Yup some product “experts” are truly stupid. I had one guy at Future Shop insist that a dual-core means two processors. Stupid.

Most customers don’t care because for them DDR2 or DDR3 doesn’t matter. Any computer that Future Shop sells will do internet and office and that’s what most people use them for. So the stupid salespeople continue to thrive because no one calls them on it.

They aren’t sales associates…they don’t sell, they read manufacturer specs. Try selling a car with that mentality and you will fail miserably…

Evidence:
http://www.futureshop.ca/marketing/ConnectPro/subclass.asp?logon=&langid=EN&PCName=ConnectPro&catid=26851

“so there’s no point in backup disc”

Far from the truth. Just because there is no optical drive doesn’t mean the netbook can’t utilize the recovery discs. You can upload the recovery software via an external drive or an external optical drive. The recovery disc is useful should windows ever crash or require a reboot. Manufacturers don’t include recovery software, like they used to before, in their products.

I don’t know if the salesperson intended to lie or was just misinformed regardless, I just thought I point out those other things out.

Wow… just wow. /face-palm

Do you know what that $100 service is for? That $100 setup OPTION allows your PC to be setup by a tech, which the tech cleans out bloat software that the MANUFACTURES supply (note i did not say FS). They tweak the performance so that your pc/laptop performs faster than the beginner/average user will achieve from them setting it up.

The option is there for you, he did not try to shove the OPTIONAL SERVICE down your throat, are you afraid to just say “No thanks”?

As i roamed by the new showcase of laptops, a computer savvy associate had made a poster that compares the performance of the right out of the box setup VS the $100 OPTIONAL setup service. Understanding computers myself, there was a beneficial difference getting the OPTIONAL $100 setup. Cleans up ram space, faster start-ups, faster response, less buggy/glitchy.. etc..

Also, its not a notebook, them small dvd-less laptops are call NETBOOKS. You can install software, USE YOUR RECOVERY DVD’s from a DVD/CD using an external drive!!!!!! Did you know that? Did you know that DVD drives are not ideal for netbooks because just the size of the dvd drive is almost as big as a netbook?

About the win7, the poor guy already mentioned it to you, and its true. Windows 7 is not installed, but its sitting on your hard-drive. When you turn on your computer its going to run you through the actual windows 7 installation, which has to be done on mostly EEEEVERY fucking retail purchased computer. Which is a given if you work around computers.

Google is a great researching tool, use it!

The salesperson was a jerk to sell a service with little knowledge about what it does. It’s obvious he isn’t trained about what a setup means.

All computers sold at Future Shop are pre-loaded with Windows. You do not need to format the drive with any of them however you do need to set them up.

Future Shop will do the setup for you (the charge starts at $99) and will do the following:
1) Put in the account name and timezone. (This is what most people do and then stop).
2) Install Windows Updates
3) Install BIOS and driver updates
4) System Tweaks for Performance and Use
5) Install AntiVirus Software (sold separately.)
6) Install devices like printers and cameras (if you bring them in)
7) Test for things like dead pixels or features (like a webcam or keyboard) that are not working up to spec.
Removal of Bloatware programs and trials to unclutter your computer and make it run faster.
9) Create system recovery discs in case you need to install a new hard drive in the future and need to re-install Windows.

It’s an optional service but it’s usually recommended for computer users who want to take a computer home, turn it on, and have it working right away.