Hi, i will be completely honest, when i first joined futureshop i was quite the excited person to be working around my passion of electronics. 6 months later i have quit and i am in school trying studying as hard as i can so i never end up back there. This company starts off every morning by having a staff meeting in which they are told to sell PSP (warranty) and push it on the consumer in a way they can’t say no. This warranty is a scam, the warranty prices and lengths are carefully selected so 95% of the products actually fail after your warranty expires. I understand that every place needs to make money as a business but cables and accessories make the stores a lot of money. Monster cables (scam) are only 20ish dollars for employees (75-250 for customers) and actually work just as good as a cable from ebay.ca, people say that monster cables transfer data faster but you won’t be able to tell the difference with your eyes. (and the store i worked actually uses these cheaper cables on their demos, and compare picture, WHAT A JOKE!) So i was a merchandiser (did all the physical work) and i was able to witness all the crap they try to push. If you bad mouthed the PSP (product service plan) you were immediately fired. If you questioned it than you would made a fool of and told how uneducated you were not to buy it. When truthfully this is how the store makes money, they sell you this warranty when truthfully 1 in 20 items about end up coming back for repair (trust me i worked in the back i loaded up all the defective electronics that had psp). About 5-10 items were returned with psp in a month out of a store that sold 100’s or 1000’s of products a day. Don’t be a sucker, the salesmen make hundreds off you and will make you feel like you need it but honestly they all get the psp for 50% off and most don’t even buy it themselves!! I’ve witnessed it. Not to mention the horror stories you hear about people trying to take it back. This store is a rip off. A HDMI cable should not cost $50 dollars when factory price is 3.50, and computer cables should not be 30-200 dollars when the 200 dollar cable is really 15 dollars. Price on ebay, tigerdirect, newegg. For the most part those places will always be cheaper and easier on your wallet.
4 Responses to “Ex-Employee Beware of Futureshop and the extended warrenty”
Youre right. Accessories at FS are priced way too high. A HDMI cable submits a digital signal so you either get a signal or you dont. Its not like a coaxial cable where you get static. When I bought my TV they were trying to tell me that Monster HD Cables were that expensive because they are gold plated and would not lose a signal in a thousand years. Because I didnt know anything about HDMI at that time I trusted him because he is suppose to know what hes talking about. Paid 120$ for a HDMI cable. A friend that Monday told me it was a rip off and explained it to me in detail so I went back and returned it. Went to a surplus electronic store and got a longer HDMI cable that was a brand name (RCA) for 10$ and got the same quality.
When my aunt was buying her laptop at FS, we were trying to get a deal. There was already a “buy a laptop, get a free printer” deal but you had to still buy the printer USB cable. It was 50$. I told my aunt to try to get that included as a deal with a pack of DVDs but the sales associate wouldnt budge being pretty cheap. Even told him that she was going to buy a PSP and still nothing so she ended up buying the cable because she didnt have a choice. It ends up that the guy put a cable in my aunt’s bag and we forgot about it so my aunt had 2 cables for the price of 1. She ended up just returning one of them so she basically got it for free.
FS are extremely cheap and they only care about the sales they do. I was once testing out a PC there that was on the internet when a sales guy had a customer with him and told me rudely to go away because he was trying to make a buck. Told him I was testing the PC and when he rudely again pushed me out of the way. I went to complain to a manager but the manager didnt care. Thats when I started not going there anymore.
I go to mom and pop stores instead. Sure they will charge a little more for things but at least you are supporting local businesses.
I agree 100% with what you say as I am a former fs employee. they have hands down the worst customer service in the industry. as for HDMI cables, yea they are over priced, but its not FS. monster and other companies priced cables high when they first came out due to low consumer education. every retail store sells monster and other HDMI cables for the same price, not just FS.
couple facts here guys
1st of all, it is not true in any way that what HDMI cable you use makes absolutely no difference. Not all cables can transmit a full 1080p signal, and not all are 3d compatible. Nor do they all carry the same frequency, any of you can go to a future shop or best buy location and read on the back of the box what the maximum frequency of a given cable is. Dynex and Insigna brand cables are considerably less expensive, but only transmit a 60hz frequency. This will hinder the performance of any tv with a refresh rate of 120hz or higher. Rocketfish cables are able to transmit at 240hz, and monster cables at 600hz, however both are more expensive.
2nd of all, in terms of pricing I challenge you guys to look at any retail business and find one who doesnt have an excellent profit margin on accessories. As someone who worked in the hardware business for years I can tell you for a fact that items such as screws, toilet parts, and paint rollers have higher mark ups than many electronic accessories. The thing to keep in mind my guys is that Future Shop, just like any other retailer is a BUSINESS therefore the first priority is to make money. Profit margins on high end electronics such as laptops or tvs or ipods are extremely low and at times (depending on promos) non existant. The company needs to cover expenses such as overhead, and it is their RIGHT to sell products at a profit.
3rd – Obviously employee pricing is going to be better than what the normal consumer would pay. Every one of you has a job and every one of you has certain perks that come with the job. It’s a reality in our society, not a scam by Future Shop to rip off customers. If the every day consumer paid what employees pay for every purchase they make, the company would go belly up awful quick.
4th – to the average consumer looking to buy a computer, cell phone, or tv and audio set-up, my advice to you would be to save up your money and get everything AT THE SAME TIME. when investing a couple thousand dollars on a tv or computer with installation services and accessories, the sales reps and managers will be much more flexible with pricing on small stuff if they feel it will help close the sale, and minimize the chance of returns. Too many consumers are under the impression that running around the city in an effort to save 5 dollars on a cable or 10 bucks on a printer or Blu-ray player is the ultimate way of getting ahead and sticking it to the man, when in reality you are wasting time and gas, and only frustrating yourself and often costing yourself much more in the long run.
My advice – when making a purchase communicate to the sales rep and managers that you are serious about your purchase and investment, and would like to be guaranteed the lowest price possible. Believe me it is much easier for them to give you a rebate at the point of purchase than have you return all your products because you found a slightly lower price elsewhere.
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I 100% agree with PEP plans. They are all good when sold and 99% Future Shop Technician/Sales person are trained to tell you that i had this phone and got it replaced just last week because i wanted an upgraded one. But when you go back then it does not work that way. It can be software issue which is not covered. It can be application issue which is not covered. They can take months and various visits to keep taking off some application and keep helping you the best tey can but won’t replace your phone.
Surprisingly, in a country like Canada such contracts are considered legal which are unfair to consumers. The TWO year contract you sign for cell phone can not be cancelled. So you end up paying $350.00 for PEP on your phone and don’t expect an upgraded phone.
Left by sweetme on January 14th, 2012