Massive Soundsaround Sale!! Today only **WARNING- False Advertizing! **

[arsenal]

Originally Posted by 4X4

I must be the only person in Canada that still rocks a square 32" TV.

I am rocking a 36" CRT.

[psicodude]

Time for my Soundsaround horror story...

This was over a decade ago, and I was fairly naive still. I went into the store looking for a small stereo for the girlfriends birthday. (I was going to say ghetto blaster, but I don't want everyone to make fun of me). Anyway, sales dude pretty much jumps on me as I enter the door and I tell him what I am looking for. He says "I can give you a smoking deal on this unit!", and he literally jogs to a stereo on the other side of the store. He is about 40 feet away, but I swear I see him rip a piece of paper off the demo model...but I am not 100% sure. He tells me the regular price is $300, but he can give it to me for $250. It was tempting, but my spidey senses were telling me something was up, so I decide to bail.

A couple of days pass and I decide to go back into the store and purchase the stereo. It was busier this day, so no sales dude hits me up right away. I walk over to the demo model I looked at earlier, and this time it has a price tag on it. The damn stereo is on sale for $200!!!. This loser was going to charge me $50 more than the sale price!

I have never purchased anything from that place since, and never plan to.

[FireInTheHole]

Anyone else here old enough to remember a really sleazy store back in the 80s called Krazy Krazy's? Now THOSE guys were a bunch of bait & switch shysters. Makes Soundsaround and Visions look like kindergarten!

[TheyCallMeBruce]

Originally Posted by fotze

It is a shame that this type of crap goes unpunished, my dream is a website that rounds consumers into a frenzy in one day and absolutely embarass and destroy a business all through word of mouth. If it was instantly relayed to every consumer of electronic goods that a certain company was lying, the effect would be insane. There would cease to be "mistakes" on the first day. Pure capitalism at its finest.

Interesting you should say that. You should see what "the other calgary forum" does when someone gets ripped off by a business.

[TheyCallMeBruce]

Originally Posted by fotze

beyond?

Yeah, apparently it gets so bad that if you google the business, they would appear number 1 on the search engine with hilariously negative publicity. So much so, that the business would issue a cease and desist letter to the forum.

[TheyCallMeBruce]

Originally Posted by fotze

That is awesome. If I had any interest in vehicles I would probably be all over that site, but my $500 ford escort would have me banned.

This is probably the best part of the interwebs,

The funny thing is you would fit in there well.

Now, how can we at calpuck get this thread bumped up to #1 on the search engine?

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by TheyCallMeBruce

The funny thing is you would fit in there well.

Now, how can we at calpuck get this thread bumped up to #1 on the search engine?

Well, having the name of the store spelt correctly in the thread title would be a start.

[Buff]

Originally Posted by 4X4

I must be the only person in Canada that still rocks a square 32" TV.

Mine is only 28"

[TheyCallMeBruce]

Originally Posted by flameswin

Well, having the name of the store spelt correctly in the thread title would be a start.

Good point.

[yads]

I much prefer Soundsaround/Visions to FutureShop/BestBuy for electronics. Haven't had a bad experience yet (knock on wood.) The sales guys have for the most part been very friendly and courteous. It's not like FutureShop is any better. My buddy worked for them and he told me that putting broken units back in the packaging and selling them was standard practice. Jerking people around when people needed to take advantage of warranties, etc.

[photon]

Originally Posted by TheyCallMeBruce

Yeah, apparently it gets so bad that if you google the business, they would appear number 1 on the search engine with hilariously negative publicity. So much so, that the business would issue a cease and desist letter to the forum.

That's happened to threads on CP a lot. Google E mpire V ehicle S olutions (without the spaces, don't want to get into round two).

I hate Internet legal bullies.

Originally Posted by TheyCallMeBruce

The funny thing is you would fit in there well.

Now, how can we at calpuck get this thread bumped up to #1 on the search engine?

Lol please don't.

[photon]

Originally Posted by fotze

It is a shame that this type of crap goes unpunished, my dream is a website that rounds consumers into a frenzy in one day and absolutely embarass and destroy a business all through word of mouth. If it was instantly relayed to every consumer of electronic goods that a certain company was lying, the effect would be insane. There would cease to be "mistakes" on the first day. Pure capitalism at its finest.

You'd enjoy The Consumerist.. http://consumerist.com/

Right along those lines, lots of good stories where they've been C&D'd.

[3 Justin 3]

Originally Posted by yads

I much prefer Soundsaround/Visions to FutureShop/BestBuy for electronics. Haven't had a bad experience yet (knock on wood.) The sales guys have for the most part been very friendly and courteous. It's not like FutureShop is any better. My buddy worked for them and he told me that putting broken units back in the packaging and selling them was standard practice. Jerking people around when people needed to take advantage of warranties, etc.

I find that it depends on the sales person, not the store. I've had a-holes at Soundsaround screw my mom into buying a S-Video chord way back when I first got my Xbox (1st gen). I've had people make smug remarks about me not purchasing warranty, one guy told me "ok, just don't come crying to me when it breaks". Like wtf?

On the other hand I have had some excellent guys just load me up with info. without trying to sell me extra crap.

My advise is to pick your salesperson, usually you can tell a good one from a bad one, rather than letting them come to you.

[newts]

I walked in yesterday to pick up a PVR and the sales guys were standing around in the middle of the store. Went up to them and asked where the PVR was, and one guy asks another guy to go help me. Took him about 8 seconds to actually think about getting up and acknowledging me, while one of the other guys says to the other "You can see them coming in from a mile away".

Obviously, not much commission on a $328 PVR. Tried to upsell me some other crap and "upgrade my cables", but I got the hell out of there ASAP with PVR in tow.

[killer_carlson]

has anyone who actually went contacted Service Alberta about this?

http://www.servicealberta.gov.ab.ca/562.cfm

It isn't to complain about crappy customer service, but it is the appropriate place to complain about unfair trade practices, such as intentionally misleading advertising.

It's a great piece of legislation that is too often overlooked.

[RW99]

Originally Posted by newts

I walked in yesterday to pick up a PVR and the sales guys were standing around in the middle of the store. Went up to them and asked where the PVR was, and one guy asks another guy to go help me. Took him about 8 seconds to actually think about getting up and acknowledging me, while one of the other guys says to the other "You can see them coming in from a mile away".

Obviously, not much commission on a $328 PVR. Tried to upsell me some other crap and "upgrade my cables", but I got the hell out of there ASAP with PVR in tow.

Exactly. When I went in to purchase a PVR, I had to stand in line at the tills. Every single one of the sales people looked at what was in my hands before walking away from the till to try to help someone else. The last one standing had to ring in my purchase.

[You Need a Thneed]

Soundsaround is pretty good. Who cares about their marketting tactics, you never have to pay even close to the posted price - even if its a sale price.

You just have to play a little bit of hardball with their salespeople. You might even call it fun.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by newts

I walked in yesterday to pick up a PVR and the sales guys were standing around in the middle of the store. Went up to them and asked where the PVR was, and one guy asks another guy to go help me. Took him about 8 seconds to actually think about getting up and acknowledging me, while one of the other guys says to the other "You can see them coming in from a mile away".

Obviously, not much commission on a $328 PVR. Tried to upsell me some other crap and "upgrade my cables", but I got the hell out of there ASAP with PVR in tow.

Who is "them"? People with brains?

The guy who owns Soundsurround used to live behind me when I was a kid. He's made quite a lot of money off people without brains. He's got two Ferraris and a Lamborghini in his garage.

[MacDaddy77]

I don't know who changed the title of this thread but I purchased a TV yesterday for the exact price on the website.

It was difinitaly not false advertising.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by Shazam

You need to change your handle to 4X3.

I'm so out of the loop about electronics that I don't get this (apparently hilarious, judging by the amount of thanks) joke.

I also still have (and use) a VCR.