Futureshop SUCKS!!

[Calgary Flames]

That's what you get for doing your shopping anywhere during a Saturday. Lemmings central man...

Go on a Weeknight.

[Saint Troy]

I am surprised you got that far as Bell has directed all of their hardware to their rental program since late November, so get it while you can, despite the awful service, p.s try London Drugs, a friend of mine just picked up a receiver from there, Good Luck

[snappyk]

I hate Future Shop also. I had another bad experience at Best Buy, stood in an isle looking at wireless routers for 20 minutes and none of their employees came near me, had to call a buddy on his cell for help.

[Saint Troy]

Originally Posted by snappyk

I hate Future Shop also. I had another bad experience at Best Buy, stood in an isle looking at wireless routers for 20 minutes and none of their employees came near me, had to call a buddy on his cell for help.

Same Company, as Best Buy bought Fshop last year, and yes avoid those places like the plague if customer service is what you are looking for, the salespeople there are uninformed at best.

[Jayems]

Originally Posted by fotze

Hell I can stand uninformed about the product, but not knowing how to ring it through the register is mindboggling.

One of the few bad parts of a good economy is that businesses can be brutallly inept yet make cakeloads of money.

I think thats a management issue, not a business issue (it is, but it isn't the business' falt, its the manager running it crappy).

I can't stand places like that. Especially fast food places that consistantly screw up orders, even when they type it in the screen properly.

Anyway, I have 1 day off this week and its tomorrow. Im out to get righteously inebriated.

[photon]

I think they (Bell) have discounts if you order through their website.

[Eddie Bronze]

I, much like you, despise the FutureShop store. About 8-9 years ago, I went into one back in Halifax looking to buy the original playstation. I spoke to someone who told me they would beat any advertised price so I walked to the wal-mart and got their flyer and then walked to the zellers and got theirs. Went back with both and they wouldn't do it, even though the prices at those stores were cheaper. I haven't been back to the FutureShop Store since.

Originally Posted by fotze

...and futureshop stands with some displays knocked over.

...but having read this I would kindly request that upon departure for your next trip to the FutureShop store, pm me first and tell me when you will be there and which one you are going to. I want to see this next time.

[tripin_billie]

I love going to Frys when I'm down in Vegas or LA. Those stores know how to do electronics. No pushy sales people, but plenty of people around if you do need help. Then, the best part is that they have 60, count 'em, tills. IT is amazing going there right before Christmas, to a big electronics store, and waiting for oh, maybe 20 seconds until the next light turns back on meaning that another till is ready. And the thing is, its not like they just have 60 tills set up and only use five, when its peak season, all sixty of them are running. Its electronics paradise. Did I mention the WALL of motherboards?
Drool

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by Saint Troy

I am surprised you got that far as Bell has directed all of their hardware to their rental program since late November, so get it while you can, despite the awful service, p.s try London Drugs, a friend of mine just picked up a receiver from there, Good Luck

The "rental only" thing only lasted for 2 weeks. Not sure why they changed their mind, but there was a huge backlash.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by fotze

I just spent two hours in futureshop trying to buy a bell reciever, yet here I sit NOT WITH A BELL RECIEVER and futureshop stands with some displays knocked over.

I had it in my hands but the ######s cannot operate a computer.

WHy are there close to 7000 employees standing in the store with 2 of them at the checkout? Why are all the employees and I mean ALL, teenage ######bags?

They have all this technology yet they have these crappy greenscreen computers.

I am now a little more racist. WHITE PEOPLE SUCK! and I'm white.

When I read about displays being knocked over I lose a bit of sympathy. Too be honest I worked at the FutureShop when I graduated from college years ago, and there are always two sides to the story. Out of the 100 people that I would deal with in a day 75 of them were rude, pushy, stupid, trying to pull a con game, a glorious illustration of humanity. When I told them I couldn't help them and gave them a reason, (eg, sorry I'm not going to give you your money back on this laptop that you apparently dropped from the top of the Calgary Tower), they would react very much like it sounds like you did pushing over displays, yelling and screaming etc etc. Yes there are issues at any retail store where your paying your people minimum wage or a commission plan on the south side of selling meat door to door, but theres no reason to go into a store act like an ass and abuse somebody who's trying to do thier job. Turn it around, what would you feel like it some a%%hole showed up at your office and started screaming at you, or got in your face and threatened you or blew a spazz and pushed your desk over . . . hmmmm.

Anyways, I'm just venting because having gone through the whole retail experience I do have some sympathy for them.

To put it into perspective, the average guy that goes into a store and haggles for 3 hours on a 399 dollar computer should realize that the sales person is making $10 or $15 in commissions, and on top of the probably $1200.00 a month not in base salary but in draw you can figure out why they sometimes think that the customer is not always right.


Its two seperate things if your buying for price or service. If your looking for service don't go to a big box mover, you'll save yourself a headache, if your looking for the cheapest price, your going to have to go to a big box mover warts and all.

Just my two cents on a late Sat night.

[Vulcan]

The time I bought a Bell receiver at Future Shop they had to contact Bell to set up the deal. The internet site didn't work so he had to phone Bell and wait and wait and then Bell had trouble finding my account and after spending a lot more time then it should have the salesman and me were both stressed. I don't think I have ever contacted Bell with out going through a mini hell and I knew it so I gave the salesman lots of slack and we both ended up satisfied at the end.

[Maritime Q-Scout]

I, like the Captain, worked in an electronics store (his rival Radio Shack, now The Source by CC) for several years. Here's the thing with Bell ExpressVu, it's not the employees fault they don't know how to ring it in. You have to log into their website and put information into thier system, match numbers, take your drivers licences (if I remember correctly) and credit card (unless they changed that one) in order to even let you leave the store with it.

If that wasn't sketchy enough (and I can understand why it's done, people ripped them off for a LONG time) they provided myself and the staff at either store I worked at with a grand total of 0 hours training. We basically had to go through their website and figure it out for ourselves.

Now to contrast, Rogers does the same thing, log into their system online to activate a cell phone. However they provide training, AND it's easy, it's very straight forward. Bell's is complicated with no training at all.

Personally I have an ExpressVu system (I need my Centre Ice, Eastlink Cable doesn't offer it out here), however my parents switched from ExpressVu to Digital Cable, less hassell for them, can watch on more than one TV etc.

I think ExpressVu's taking a hit by making their product so hard to get because they're afraid of pirating, that they are turning people off altogether.

Knowing what I know about the electornics retail industry right now, I'd dare say that you got mad at the wrong people. Now they might have been dumb as a telephone poll, but even still, sounds like Bell is the major evil here not FutureShop.

[Incinerator]

I agree with what Captain and MQS said, I too have been there in the minimum wage slave world, and I can tell you the customer isn't always right. I have seen people who spend $3.99 on a cheeseburger meal bitch out the high school kid at the till because they said no pickles and there are pickles in the burger. To me that's ######ed and if it gets really bad that fat bitch who's berating the kid at the till will get a piece of my mind, if only for holding up the damn line during my lunch hour.

That said gonna have to side with fotze on this one. At least have the ballz to tell the customer you can't do it if you can't do it. Don't just leave the guy standing around like an idiot! This just proves Captain's assertion even more, that there are idiots on both ends of the retail spectrum.

[Maritime Q-Scout]

after reading what Fotze wrote, there is no excuse for that.

I've bitched employees out for not doing their jobs, that's what it boils down to simple mistake or not doing your job. It's ok to rant on the employee if they're not doing their job, but I'll be the frist to come to their defense if the customer's just an ass (which they usually are)

edit: Incinerator, I have friends that I won't go out to eat with as all they do is bitch. I remember one day being at a resturant, my friend ordered a burger with no lettuce or tomato. Ok fine whatever, it came with it on, she looked at it like someone crapped in the bun and said to me "this isn't what I ordered" I went "ugh, what did you order?" The reply of no veggies came, I just looked and said "well pick them off it's no big deal" to which I was given the pleasure of a 10 minute rant on she wants what she ordered and it right. If they brought the wrong order ok, if you're allregic I understand, if it was like mayo and you don't like mayo that's perfectly acceptable, if you're THAT anal about a green leaf... **** off!

[Incinerator]

MQS: I don't know what I'm more disturbed about, the analness of your friend or that fact that you're friends with someone like her, let alone going out to eat with her

[Antithesis]

Stories like this remind me of why I refuse to spend money at places like Future Shop, and Best Buy (for the most part) as well, since its not as if they're any better, being the same company.

[Eastern Girl]

I hate Futureshop, always have. The last time I went in, I wanted to buy a camera. I was with my brother and the salesman totally ignored me. I would ask a question and he would tell the answer to my brother. Whenever he did speak to me, he spoke as though I didn't know the English language at all. It was really insulting.

[Maritime Q-Scout]

incinerator: for the record she was there because there was a group of us; one of those people you need alcohol to be around, if you know what I mean

Eastern Girl: I never understood why salesmen do that, talk only to one person. When I was a salesman I always tried to bring everyone into the converstation, even if they didn't seem interested "what are you looking for" or "have you seen this feature" let everyone take a look. The move EVERYONE is comfortable with the product, the greater the odds of a sale. I generally used laymen's terms with everyone, you're more at ease when someone's talking to you about "rechargable batteries for your camera" instead of "high power nickle-medal-hydryde 1500 milliamp hour batteries"


Personally I like stores like Future Shop, but mostly because I know the ins and outs of consumer electronics, and will do my own research as well as salesmen advice. So I can walk in and play with stuff knowing how it works, rather than having no clue. I just need someone to ring me through, which as evidenced by this threat, Fotze had a problem with, lol

[Shazam]

There have been good salespeople at FS. However, with increased competition in the electronics world and with ever lower spiffs, the good people are leaving.

One guy that worked at Northlands FS made $96,000 in one month a couple of years ago. That sort of performance is no longer possible. So instead you get dumb teenagers that don't know squat.

[STeeLy]

Originally Posted by Shazam

There have been good salespeople at FS. However, with increased competition in the electronics world and with ever lower spiffs, the good people are leaving.

One guy that worked at Northlands FS made $96,000 in one month a couple of years ago. That sort of performance is no longer possible. So instead you get dumb teenagers that don't know squat.

That or you get teenagers that think they know everything!

I may be in high school, but I do go to futureshop sometimes pretending I know absolutely nothing about that product, the info they give you, 75% of it is either made up, opinion or just plain wrong.