Consumerist
Future Shop is a Canadian consumer electronics retail chain. Charlie used to work there, and has now passed along the 7 most common lies he heard salesmen use on unsuspecting customers. Whether you have a Future Shop in your area or not, you'll find these lies familiar. (We ran into a lot of them back when The Wiz was still in NYC, in fact.)
1) "The Service Plan covers everything" In fact, it doesn't cover most things. Don't believe any salesman who says it covers physical damage, spills, cosmetic damage, etc. Also, after you have you machine replaced (after 3 repairs), the Service Plan stops working. The salesman will act like the replacement is a benefit, really it's so FS can wash their hands of your buggy hardware.2) "I'm going to give you a discount"
More often than not my co-workers would lie about high priced items, claiming to take off hundreds of dollars on cables or warranties to trick uninformed shoppers. Always shop around and find out how much things are worth, and watch what the items scan in at instead of taking his word.3) "This model is a Future Shop exclusive"
Danger Will Robinson. "Exclusives" are always a repackaged retail product, usually with a slight cosmetic change, but bumped up several hundred dollars. As my manager put it: "They move the speakers from the bottom to the sides, repaint it and we mark it up". Salesmen make about triple commission on these models, so there's strong incentive to push them.4) "Setup will avoid hours of work"
This only applies to computers, but it's good to know. Most salesmen try to push this on technophobes, saying that it's a complicated procedure involving special tools. Really, they click through the Vista install, run regedit to stop some software and burn a backup disk. Oh, and it's automated. Unless your time is worth about 30 dollars an hour do it yourself.5) "You're saving on x"
With some products there are legitimate discounts available for bundling, and managers have the authority to offer real discounts on unbundled product. However, avoid bundles like "Pay 350 dollars for setup and get free Office and Antivirus". You end up saving about 20 dollars on Office and Antivirus, but you're paying 80 dollars for useless setup still. If you're going for a discount refuse to tack on anything you don't want, and try to push the salesman. It'll hurt his numbers to help you, but he won't want to lose a big sale.6) "You need Monster Cables/Setup/x to make this work well"
Anyone who reads Consumerist knows Monster Cables are a scam, so avoid them like the plague. They make the salesman about 25 dollars per cable, and leave you with very expensive copper. Similarly, some salesmen say computers won't work well without setup, which less technically-inclined customers tend to believe.7) "You have to buy x"
Legally, the store is obligated to sell you any available (nondisplay) product at the advertised price. Many stores "pre-setup" their laptops to avoid making customers wait for setup. Salesmen see this as an excuse to force the setup on you. Legally (at least in my store), if the customer didn't want setup we had to give them the laptop at the sticker price, with setup. If the salesman is too pushy ask for a manager, who will know the rules a lot better.
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"Monster Cables, Monster Ripoff: 80% Markups"
(Photo: Getty)
Comments
Salesman: "Can I help you with anything?"
Me: "No, go the hell away."
I hate walking into Future Shop. Its as if I'm invisible and they don't want my money. I had over 1K to spend on a tv last year and no one would talk to me. I waited half an hour and even went up to a friend I know who works there and no one wanted to sell to me.
So they don't get my business.
I can't stress this enough, Best Buy doesn't work on commission, Please stop asking the sales associates, it gets quite irritating, Best Buy employees have never worked on commission.
Instead of buying the service plan, take the money you were going to spend on it and put it into an Internet high-yield (relatively speaking, of course) savings account. Do this every time you buy an item that offers the plan -- just save the money.
When something breaks or needs replacing, you will then most likely have the money to repair/replace it.
Hmm, they should have some sort of tool where you can like, check prices and read up on stuff. Like, some form of a bunch of tubes connected together or something where people "inter"connect.
I'm gonna go punch an electronics salesperson now...
@voteccow: No, but Best Buy cashiers jobs rely on if they sell warranties or not.
There is actually a major camera retailer that will cover liquid spills and physical damage to the camera (though not cosmetic damage), but that coverage is more significantly more expensive than the extended warranty anyone will sell you elsewhere. That's the only exception to rule #1 I've ever seen though.
What about "Don't worry, I've had a vasectomy?" Just me? Oh.
@Moosehawk: No, it's not that way, It's part of their job to offer everything, warranties, magazines, etc. Anything that comes up on the POS, they need to offer, whether they go the extra mile to push it on you is all on them. I've worked at Best Buy for 3 years, it's the managers, supervisors, and senior's bonuses that depend on those things that are offered. They won't fire someone for not offering something, but they may cut their hours short to "get the point across"
@voteccow: "I can't stress this enough, Best Buy doesn't work on commission, Please stop asking the sales associates, it gets quite irritating, Best Buy employees have never worked on commission." If you keep asking we'll rip you off or something.
Oh wait.
j/k
If you're ever in a Future Shop and looking for sales assistance, walk over to the laptops section. There the sales people seem to be in some sort of a perpetual huddle, waiting for a gullible first-time computer buyer like vultures honing in on wounded prey in the desert. They deliberately stand in front of the discounted items to force you to talk to them.
You really shouldn't go to FS unless you have a very good idea of exactly what you want to buy. And if you do you're probably able to find a better price at an online shop.
This may make things seem a lot more clear after you read the following words
"bestbuy OWNS Futureshop."
Even though one is a big blue box store and the other is a big Red box store ant the end of the day your money goes to the same pocket.
EVERYONE at Fry's works on commission...except the asshats at the door...
And btw...Futureshop is the worst excuse for an electronics store I have ever had the misfortune to enter. I feel bad for the Canadians based simply on the fact that they have to deal with this overpriced, undervalued, hodgepodge of an electronics store.
@Jaysyn: EXACTLY. I know what I am buying and everything about it LONG before I end up going to a store to purchase it (which is rare - NEWEGG FTW)
@8abhive: Ha, good one
@voteccow: Sure, they don't have comissions, but the managers sure as hell notice who makes the sales when prmotion time rolls around.
If the salesperson doesn't sell enough warranties and accessories, they will be fired. Best Buy and Circuit City sales associates don't work for commission. I have seen sales associates walk away from a customer when they find out the customer won't buy a warranty or accessory with their purchase.
@edrebber: False again, they don't fire people, they just conveniently give that employee less hours
If you have been victim of a 'scam' like this, tallk to a the salesperson some time later and rack up all sorts of things like a new purchaser. Proceed to check out, mysteriously forget your wallet, and leave. Tada. You have now been a jerk back.
When I bought my Nintendo DS, the salewoman asked if I wanted a warranty, claiming it covered all damage. I asked, "What about Accidental?" and she said especially Accidental. I bought it, drove home, read the details, and guess what? It specifically stated that it did NOT cover Accidental. It was in the first paragraph. In fact, it barely covered anything at all! I never buy additional store warranties now, and after thorough readthroughs I know now that I'm justified!
@voteccow: So yes ... their jobs rely on it.
.
Its really sad that you thought you were contradicting him yet confirmed his statement all in one comment.
I've been reading Consumerist for a year but just now made an account to comment on this. I've been an employee for Best Buy for a total of 16 months. I've worked as a Rep1 (cashier) and am now a Customer Assistant (general sales in any department where assistance is needed.)
Fact check: Best Buy owns Future Shop. Best Buy employees have not made commission since the late 80's. Trust me, I've seen the orientation video twice. It's painful.
Charlie is pretty much right about everything, but those are true for every retail salesman. My bosses have NEVER encouraged me to lie and tell the customers the service plan covers anything. In my experience, I get pretty well acquainted with the customers. If I sell them a service plan, I tell them what they are getting, because if/when that product breaks, and they tell customer service "John said this would cover that, You M@%$^*#!!!", then it's my ass on the line. Those returns make the company lose revenue. Managers HATE that. Also, in regards to CLEVERSHARK saying the employees stand in front of discounted items to make you talk to them, that may be true or they might just be standing where because they are zoned there for the intention of reducing shrink (theft). We are also trained to contact customers within 10 feet or 30 seconds, whichever comes first. That also helps reduce shrink
Besides, why the hell would I care that much about lying to the customer and risking my job if I DON'T make commission?? I just want to do my job right, do it well, and make sure I still get my paycheck on Friday. I hope I gave at least one person a little insight. Peace.
@Jthmeffy: Same here. No one at any store is ever any help in helping my make a purchase. I know what I want before I even put my shoes on to head out the door, if I bother going to a store and not buying it online. The only time I bother talking to them is to find out if the empty shelf spot really means that they are out or not.
@AD8BC:
Maybe. Maybe not. I bought a Sony Bravia and the service contract was about 10% for five years of coverage.
At your theory even a hefty 10% return would take 20+ years to replace the item.
To make sense the service contract would have to cost about $1500 dollars to break even in 5 years.
"Exclusive models" are another way that chains avoid having to price-match. Since the other stores technically don't carry that unit with exactly the same model number, Future Shop doesn't have to price-match it.
This is pretty common in the retail/electronics industry. If the wholesale purchase commitment is great enough, a lot of the manufacturers will do this for a large customer-- change something ever so slightly and re-brand it as a 'new' model just for that customer.
@scoosdad: or vice-versa, another store will be unable to low-ball FS's price because technically it's not the same model.
@Snowblind: I understand. I am talking in total.
Most of your items will not break during the warranty period. So if you buy a stereo, computer, big screen, laptop, and a blender, and save the cost of the warranties combined, and one thing breaks, you could replace it.
Sure, it's a gamble. But in my experience, most things don't break in a manner that they will be replaced. So you kind of just lump 'em together.
@scoosdad: This was done alot in the packard bell days... they made specific model numbers for specific chains... even though it was technically the same hardware the stores wouldn't match prices.
@brent_w: I didn't confirm what he said, I merely corrected him, he said it depends on whether they SELL them, when in actuality it's whether or not they're OFFERED
For the record, Buck's Super Stereo World is the place to go for all your stereo needs...
@voteccow: Best Buy sales associates did work on commission. Richard Schultz did an interview with Bill Gates in MN at the University of St. Thomas. In it Mr. Schultz responded to a question by discussing how in 1989 they removed commission pay to employees as an effort to move control back to the consumers.
Here's a link to the MPR show:
[minnesota.publicradio.org]
The reason they claim to have done it was to give control back to the customers over what they buy. Which I guess leads us to believe that employees were selling high ticket items to get bigger commissions. The idea, imho, is rediculous because back then most computers cost around $3000 and there were much fewer buyers. However the amount of money they must have saved in wages/commission was probably substantial and my guess is that it helped them grow much faster than Circut City.
@leftistcoast: Nice boogie nights reference!
/bows to leftistcoast
My family members are so UN-tech-savvy that I barely try to protect them from themselves anymore ("Ooo! this computer has VISTA," says mom. "You don't want that," says I. "But... VISTA!", says mom), but I went ahead and tagged along on a trip to Fry's to help them find a computer that would suit my brother's needs. I made the mistake of believing the salesperson who confidently told me that the computer my brother was buying would need a WiFi card.
My brother bought the computer and the card, we took them home, I cracked the computer open in order to install the card and discovered that it had no available PCI slots -- it was impossible to install the "necessary" card. I fired up the computer and clicked on IE, at which point the computer instantly detected the wireless router and, apparently magically, accessed the internet. Thanks for the up-sell, Fry's. Your crappy company can suck my nuts.
@warf0x0r: You do have a point, my bad. Thanks for the correction :)
When I "need it now" I like Circuit City. Their buy-online, pick-it-up system is fast and you don't have to deal with salesmen and I've never been pitched with a warranty. I will not, however, "shop" in a Circuit City.
Other stores that have in-store pickup are slow and stupid. Take Micro Center, for example. Place your order and wait for email confirmation. And wait. And wait.
When buying a laptop for my parents 2 years ago at Best Buy, the associate told me I should get a UPS. I said why not just a surge protector? He said, in case the power went out. He blushed when I reminded him that the Laptop has a battery.
Good Futile shop story.
My dad bought a laptop there a few years back. i inherited it. it was 2 years 10 months into teh warranty and it broke. i went to the store at they "fixed" it 3 times and couldn't find the problem.
went in again on the 4th time with the extended warranty and demanded a replacement computer. (the original cost was $2500.00) do you know what they did for a replacement?
they gave me a heavily used floor model that was worth $1500.00 new.
my dad swears by that store and the salesmen know him by name because they are guarenteed to hustle him out of bigtime coin. seems that only seniors that don't know anything shop there.
BTW bestbuy insisted i buy monster cables and refused to tell me where the cheap ones were. i had to ask 3 other asshats where the cheap cables were and they all gave me the old "i wouldn't run my system with that speech)
sometimes i just want to wear a shirt that says "i know more about gadgets than you do, just point me to it"
My favorites sales lie: "Sure, that will work with your system, no problem." Whenever I hear that I know I have about a 75% chance of coming in for a return because my configuration or specs aren't "right" -- or worse, I will need additional hardware or drivers or something ridiculous.
The odds go down to about 30% when I'm not in a big-box store. Still infuriatingly high.
If I go into one of these (Sound Advice/BB/CC) to actually buy a big ticket item, I already know the specs and if it is in stock. So my desired response to the "Can I help you?" would be "I'd be surprised if you know anything about this product I don't already know." but that would be RUDE.
And you can stop asking me if I want the $15 extended warranty on the $10 CD player right the fuck now, Sherlock.
Thank the gods for OneCall, Amazon, and Crutchfield.
I worked at Future Shop ten years ago, back when I was the only girl in the computer department - and the only person with a clue about technology. Most of the other sales guys were the vacuum cleaner types, who were just good at memorizing lines about the products. I sold a lot of extended warranties, but we never said it covered accidents, and our manager would have killed us if we did. We also did setup for free at my store back them, and the techs installed any drivers for peripherals at that time. I guess the chain's gotten a lot worse in the last ten years. It was a great college job though, because of the commission structure - a hell of a lot better than working someplace at minimum wage.
I have no idea why you'd buy a lappy in particular at a store. Just get a Mac or a Dell via mail order and you'll be fine.
I bought a Playstation 1 from Future Shop about six months before the PS2 launched. (late, I know) The salesman tried to convince me to get the extended warranty since, should my PS1 'mysteriously' cease working in a year or so, they would be forced to replace it with a PS2...
Uh-huh.
the only attention I get when walking into an electronics store is that of the security teams.
@Blackneto: strange i get the same feeling. best buy is watching like big brother...
i think the best buy near me rearranged their computer software because they thought i was stealing a game every time i went in (couple times a week since i worked nearby). truth was someone else was stealing stuff because i always found empty boxes and cut seals. but i digress...
@balthisar: I second that. It addresses both of the two common problems I encounter in stores: finding things and getting rid of salespeople. And it includes a designated parking spot at my local Best Buy.
@Blackneto: Maybe that's because the security teams are required to greet customers? Might not be the kind of attention you're hinting at.
@Crymson_77:
That's probably why I had one asshole tell me that a bunch of stuff I wanted was out of stock to try and get me to buy the next model up.
I asked at the checkout if they were in fact out of stock. No. Got what I went there for.