Consumerist: Retailers

Man Finally Gets His $130 Back From Circuit City

Ben Popken — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 09:24:15 EST

In an update and conclusion, reader Sean let us know he finally got satisfaction regarding his story that we posted, "Circuit City Credits Wrong Card For $130 Return, Sends You Away With Nothing."

Sean writes:

1) The e-mail I sent to customer service did nothing. They replied that they could do nothing.

2) The store manager called me back the next day to tell me the district manager had given approval to have the store contact the original purchaser, explain the mistake, and ask if they could recharge his card. Once this was completed, they would issue me a gift card for the original amount. She did "apologize for all he craziness" at the store the night of the incident.

3) About a week later I received a call from the district manager asking if everything had been resolved. I said I hadn't heard any updates. He told me that everything had been taken care of (the original purchaser's card had been re-charged) and that my gift card was waiting at the store. I could either pick it up, or they could mail it to me. I asked him to mail it to me.

4) A few days later I received the gift card in the mail. I called the number on the card to check the balance, and it said it couldn't because the card wasn't active. This concerned me, but I thought it could be due to the circumstances it was issued, etc.

5) A few days later, I went to the store to use my gift card. I first stopped at the customer service desk to have them check the balance on the card. They said it wasn't active, and asked if I'd already used it. I said no and that it was a long story, and they went to get the manager. She came out a few moments later (it was the same manager from the night of the original incident) and issued me a new card, which I used immediately.

So, in the end, it all turned out. I was a bit surprised that they didn't offer me anything for the trouble or at least a more sincere apology. But, I guess I should just be happy that they took responsibility and corrected the mistake.

In the future, I'll be much more explicit when making exchanges or returns as to what I want before I hand over the product. And, even though I don't think I should have to, I'll no longer assume the clerk will understand that I'm not the original purchaser if I'm using a gift receipt.

PREVIOUSLY: Circuit City Credits Wrong Card For $130 Return, Sends You Away With Nothing
(Photo: qnr - Gone for a while)

Circuit City Credits Wrong Card For $130 Return, Sends You Away With Nothing

Chris Walters — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 13:41:03 EDT

UPDATE: Man Finally Gets His $130 Back From Circuit City

Sean writes:

I returned a product [yesterday] to the Appleton, WI Circuit City with a gift receipt. The clerk accepted the returned product, but mistakenly credited the original purchaser's credit card (I am not the original purchaser) for the return. After informing me of this, I told her that I did not purchase this product, it was given to me (thus, the gift receipt) and that I intended to return it for store credit so I could purchase a different product. I was told that since the return had been processed and credited to the original purchaser's credit card, nothing could be done. I was advised to contact the original purchaser and try to collect the money myself.

After much debate with the clerk, the supervisor, and the operations manager, I was told there was nothing that could be done, and the only option I had was to go back to the person who bought it, and ask for the money. This is unacceptable.

I entered the store in possession of a product (my property, I was the owner). I gave the product and gift receipt to the clerk to process a return. The clerk accepted my return and gave my money (the monetary value of the product - the original purchase price) to the wrong person (someone other than me). I left the store without my property or the monetary value of the property.

I would like either my property (the original product - a Logitech Harmony remote control) returned to me or store credit (gift card) for the orignal purchase price (approximately $130) of the product.

That's the letter Sean sent to Circuit City's customer service department, although Seans says he has yet to hear back from them. He adds, "What can I do? Isn't this illegal? They accept my returned product and mistakenly give the money to someone else, and then refuse to give me either the product or the money (store credit)? Isn't this theft of some sort? Should I contact the police?"

What do you guys think? Will the police take his report seriously? This certainly sounds like the definition of theft to us.

In the meantime, Sean, you may want to send that same letter to these Circuit City executive email addresses. What happened to you sounds to us like a fireable offense for that supervisor, and you need to make sure your story reaches the people who can see to it that you're compensated.

(Photo: Getty Images)

Forever 21 Aftershocks? Citibank Cancels Cards Due To Retailer Security Breach

Chris Walters — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 19:44:13 EDT

We've received queries from readers telling us that their Citibank cards have been replaced, and asking whether we've heard about any new security breach. Other than Forever 21 we haven't, so we're wondering whether they're responsible for the stories below.

Jeremy writes:

Just got a replacement card from Citi due to possible “compromise of information” but when I asked customer service who the merchant was who may have been compromised, she said she did not have that information, but that it came straight from Visa and Mastercard and that it happened in the last 6-8 months.

Trevor writes:

I logged onto my CitiCard professional account today and discovered an "important security messsage" that my account may be at risk due to a problem with a merchant's database. The CSR said someone had "hacked in" to a database. His manager said she didn't know which merchant was involved, and invoked the TJ Maxx case as an example. When I asked if this was of comparable size, she said it was, and the CitiBank was issuing new cards to people, and that mine should be in the mail already.

Update 09/19/08: We received another report this morning:

Just yesterday, I received a replacement card.

Logging onto their site, I got a message saying my card had been compromised. I decided to activate the new card, but pressed 5 for a consumer rep. This was not the ordinary rep with noise in the background. She had no "sell-up" scripts nor an ebullient demeanor.

She said my card had to be replaced due to a database compromise.

Don't Let Credit Blocks Eat Up Your Available Balance

Carey — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:45:48 EDT

Hotels and rental agencies like to carve out the full cost of their services on your credit or debit card before you pay in full. This credit blocking can catch anyone who sticks near their minimum or maximum balance off guard when they try to use their card. Inside, learn how to keep retailers from unexpectedly clogging your credit and debit cards with unwanted blocks.

When you check into a hotel or rent a car - or if a restaurant or other business asks for your card in advance of service - ask if the company is "blocking," how much will be blocked, how the amount is determined, and how long the block remains in place.
Consider paying hotel, motel, rental car, or other "blocked" bills with the same credit or debit card you used at the beginning of the transaction. Ask the clerk when the prior block will be removed.
If you pay with a different card, by cash, or by check, remind the clerk you're using a different form of payment and ask them to remove the prior block promptly.
If your debit card issuer allows blocks, make sure you have overdraft protection.

Of course, keeping sufficient funds in your debit account and steering clear of maximum credit limits is the easiest way to make credit blocks painless and irrelevant.

Credit and debit card blocking can sour weekend travels - so be careful! [All Consuming]

Circuit City Says Rogue Firedog Was Wrong, Refunds $40 'Repair' Fee

Chris Walters — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 10:25:06 EDT

Last week we wrote about a Circuit City customer who was charged $40 without warning for "repairs" to a brand new computer. We received several explanations from Circuit City insiders, both in the comments and through email, that the repair was mandatory—Acer and Circuit City had agreed that instead of pulling the PCs, the retailer's Firedog techs would flash the BIOS in-store upon purchase. What was unclear was how or why this would fall under the Firedog "Quickstart" service, which is optional and includes things like removing shortcuts from your desktop and setting up your background. (Seriously, check it out here.) Yesterday we received the following interesting email from Circuit City HQ.

Jim at Circuit City's consumer affairs division wrote,

I have some follow-up information on this matter to share with you.

Thanks to your Web posting, we have been able to determine that a few employees at one of our stores incorrectly charged a customer for work that our firedog techs did on the computer that he purchased. The manufacturer notified us that the PC in question did need a repair and we coordinated the repairs with the manufacturer. The customer should NOT have been charged.

We have reached out to the affected customer to apologize to him for any inconvenience and to make sure a refund is provided. We have also taken steps to ensure that our associates are aware of company policies on this issue.

I hope this information is helpful,
Jim

Frankly, we were suspicious that Circuit City was taking advantage of the faulty PC inventory to make a little extra money, so we're happy to see the company step up and correct this oversight so quickly.

Circuit City Firedog Charges $40 To 'Fix' Computer You Just Bought

Chris Walters — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 14:56:50 EDT

Update: Circuit City says the repair should have been free. Here's their response. Travis writes that a friend of his just bought a new computer from Circuit City, and after turning down all of the Firedog's "it won't work unless you also buy this" offers, he noticed a $40 fee on his receipt. Turns out the associate claims he had to flash the computer's BIOS or Vista wouldn't work. Travis writes, "Regardless of the fact that Vista booted up just fine with out the update, he was more disturbed with the fact that Circuit City would sell him a computer that they knew didn't work, or so they say." So does Circuit City sell computers that don't work without a preliminary repair, or do they lie in order to generate extra fees?

A colleague of mine recently purchased a new Acer desktop for his dad from Circuit City in Lancaster, PA. After the checkout process he noticed a $40 charge from Firedog on his receipt. When he questioned the Circuit City employee about the charge, she replied "Firedog had to fix the computer by updating the bios."

He had seen an advertisement in a local newspaper for a desktop that he felt was a good buy. He knew that his dad was still using an aging desktop and thought this system would be perfect for the kind of tasks his dad uses the computer for. So he drove 30 minutes to pick up the system to give his dad later that evening. When he got to Circuit City, he quickly picked it out proceeded to an employee to purchase system. The first thing out of the sales associates mouth were, "You'll need to upgrade the system if you plan on using it for anything beyond surfing the web.".

A little history about my friend, he is the new systems purchaser for the company we work for. He knows about hardware and software and what they are capable of doing. He is NOT an inexperienced buyer when it comes to computers.

So he turned down the video card upgrade, the hard drive upgrade and memory upgrade that the sales associated recommended he would need. Of course all of these upgrades were services that Firedog could perform for a fee. He told the sales associate, "Look, I know what I'm buying and this is all I need.". After convincing the sales associate of this, they finally started the check out process. So he slides his credit card through and signs for the purchase. The sales associate hands him his receipt and he is on his way to his dad's with his new computer. Until, after a quick scan of the receipt, he notices a $40 charge from Firedog. He turns right around and asks the sales associate what the line item was for. The sales associate replies that Firedog needed to setup Windows Vista and flash the bios for the computer to work.

What?

To which he replies, "So you setup Vista, which was working just fine in order to update the bios?". Yes, says the sales associate. Regardless of the fact that Vista booted up just fine with out the update, he was more disturbed with the fact that Circuit City would sell him a computer that they knew didn't work or so they say. Unfortunately, he was short on time and did not press the issue in the store. Later the next day he sent off an email to the Firedog supervisor for the store explaining his disappointment in the nickel and dime charge.

Back to school shoppers beware!!!

Travis, your friend shouldn't stop with the Firedog supervisor of the store. He should contact Circuit City's executive level and let them know that you specially refused any additional "help" from this Firedog associate, only to have him meddle with your purchase without your consent and then charge you for it. They owe your friend a $40 refund.

Macy's Confirms It Never Did Business With Queens Sweatshop

Chris Walters — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 10:48:05 EDT

Last week, news broke that a sweatshop in Queens, NYC was producing clothing for several large U.S. retailers, while overworking its mainly Chinese immigrant employees and cheating them out of wages. At the time, Macy's announced it was cooperating with New York's Department of Labor and investigating the matter internally. Now the company has confirmed that it never did business with the sweatshop—in fact, it investigated it twice in 2007 while evaluating potential suppliers and rejected it for shoddy record keeping. Use your crazy Macy's coupons all you want, readers.

From Macy's own press release yesterday afternoon:

An internal investigation conducted by Macy's, however, discovered that no Macy's goods were found in Jin Shun. But a factory named Zheng Da Inc. in Long Island City, which also was inspected by the Department of Labor and also cited for labor law violations, was making apparently counterfeit goods with labels from a Macy's private brand. These goods, which were neither ordered nor authorized by Macy's, were private brand prints from previous seasons and of inferior quality to those made to Macy's specifications. Macy's, Inc. is considering legal action against the owners of the Zheng Da factory for unauthorized manufacturing of counterfeit goods under a label owned by Macy's.

Moreover, independent third-party monitors retained by Macy's twice inspected the Jin Shun factory in 2007 as Macy's was evaluating potential suppliers for its private brand merchandise. In both instances, the Jin Shun facility was rejected and removed from consideration because of incomplete employment record-keeping. All Macy's vendors are required to conform to the company's stringent Vendor/Supplier Code of Conduct that sets out specific standards and requirements for any vendor doing business with Macy's.

As for the other companies involved in the story—the Gap, Banana Republic, Urban Apparel, and Victoria's Secret—we've seen no similar statements so far.

"Macy's Goods Were Not Produced in Long Island City Sweatshop" [Marketwatch]
(Photo: Eddie~S)

Updated: Fry's Electronics Home Office Company Directory

Ben Popken — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 10:40:41 EDT

Inside, the Fry's Electronics Home Office corporate directory. Some of these extensions are duplicates, but the list seems to work in general. If you're having trouble getting traction on a customer service issue with the notoriously difficult to reach company, this could be your lodestar. Update: An insider went through the giant phone list and broke out the upper-level people by their job area.

They also add, "Don't be afraid to use the "Tell Randy" forms. He really does read every single one. If its a complaint, mail it yourself so it doesn't get lost. You can find these at the Front Check Out, or by the PIC Podium."

President
Randy Fry - wrf@i.frys.com
[He is very involved with the everyday operations of the company.]

Vice President
Omar Siddiqui - aos@i.frys.com
[Very rarely in the office. Handles the purchasing side of the business. Also in charge of all ads & "ADORS". More on that later.]

Director Of Operations
Ken Lutz - kjl@i.frys.com
[In charge of all Store Managers and their subordinates. Works closely with Randy.]

Director Of Customer Service
Shahriar Saraj - shs@i.frys.com
[Handles front checkout, returns, customer relations, & cafe.]

Head Of Legal
Kathy Kolder - kjk@i.frys.com
[In Charge of Fry's legal affairs, also part owner]

Components Department - (Memory, Processors, Motherboards, Hard-drives, Cases, etc)
Director - Vacant
Purchasing Manager - Steve Monnier - smm@i.frys.com - (408) 487-4665
District Managers
D1 Lerida Gomez - (408) 487-4696
D2 Leo Lopez - (408) 441-0831
D3 Eric Maxwell - (408) 487-4697
[Steve is a good guy. If you can get a hold of him, he will take care of you.]

Computers Department - (Desktops, Notebooks, Monitors, Printers, Thumb Drives, Office Supplies, Apple Computers, etc)
Director - Rajesh Seth - rks@i.frys.com - (408) 487-4520
Purchasing Manager - Inderjit Khera - ijk@i.frys.com - (408) 487-4522
District Managers
D1 Joseph Kerr - (408) 487-4756
D2 Vacant - (408) 487-4757
D3 John Norris - (408) 441-0249
[Rajesh is a pretty busy guy, so getting a hold of him will be tough. Inderjit can be contacted a bit easier so use him to get to Rajesh.]

Software Department - (Movies, Software, Games, Books, etc)
Director - Rayman Cheng - rwc@i.frys.com - (408) 487-4530
Purchasing Manager - Vacant
District Managers
D1 Lynda Luu - (408) 487-4565
D2 Molly Talooi - (408) 487-4761
D3 Jennifer Haddan - (408) 487-4565
[Don't know him too well, but he seems to treat his people well, so maybe he'll do the same for a customer.]

Service Department - (Service Center, All Warranty Repairs)
Director - Jeff Staat - jes@i.frys.com - (408) 487-4542
District Managers
D1 Vacant
D2 Ricky Cheng - (408) 487-4544
D3 Vacant
[Jeff is actually under Rajesh Seth, so if he can't help you escalate it to Rajesh.]

Audio Video - (TV's, Home Audio, Car Audio, Cameras, Telescopes, MP3 Players, etc)
Director - Gopala Ajjarapu - gba@i.frys.com - (408) 487- 4550
Purchasing Manager - Vacant
District Managers
D1 Randy Eaton - (408) 441-0251
D2 Cesar Perez - (408) 487-4593
D3 Eric Weers - (408) 487-4592
[FTP]

Appliances - (Appliances, Cell Phones, AC Units, etc)
Director - Sanjeev Shera - ss11@i.frys.com - (408) 487-4677
Purchasing Manager - Vacant
District Managers
D1 Andrew Patty - (408) 487-4557
D2 Dimpy Sidhu - (408) 441-0264
D3 Vacant - (408) 487-4738
[Good guy. Customer Oriented. Will go the extra mile to help you.]

District Managers. These are the guys who you would contact if you cant get something done on the store level. Each Department (Computers, Software, AV, Service, Appliances, Components) has 1 District Manager per district, so there are 3 DDMs per department. Some are great, others make you wonder what on earth upper management was thinking when they promoted them. Along with reporting to their own Director, they also report to a DDM of Store Operations (listed below), who then report to Ken Lutz.

District 1
Reza Davariar - (408) 487-4716
[On his way out. If you've shopped here in the bay you'll understand why]
Palo Alto, CA
Campbell, CA
San Jose, CA
Sunnyvale, CA
Sacramento, CA
Wilsonville, OR
Fremont, CA
Concord, CA
Roseville, CA
Las Vegas, NV
Renton, WA

Dsitrict 2
Mike Millar - (408) 487-4773
[Very tough guy to work for, but pretty fair and balanced]
Manhattan Beach, CA
Fountain Valley, CA
Woodland Hills, CA
Anaheim, CA
Burbank, CA
San Diego, CA
Tempe, AZ
Phoenix, AZ
San Marcos, CA
City Of Industry, CA
Frys.com
Oxnard, CA

District 3
Todd Smith - (408) 441-0210
[Don't know much about the guy, seems okay]
Dallas, TX
Arlington, TX
Austin, TX
Houston, TX
South Houston, TX
Downers Grove, IL
Alpharetta, GA
Plano, TX
Webster, TX
Irving, TX
Duluth, GA
Fishers, IN

REBATES
If you don't get a satisfactory answer, contact Ginger Bautista at (408) 487-4743. She is the person in charge of all rebate issues at home office. She will cut you a check and ding the vendor who refused to pay. It's written into every contract that Fry's reserves the right to deduct any unpaid rebates from their account. (Please make sure that you did everything as requested. They can't help you if you missed the deadline, or possibly just failed to read the instructions.)

PREVIOUSLY: Departmental Phone Extensions For Every Fry's
(Photo: bryce_edwards)

Steve & Barry's, the super cheap clothing ...

Chris Walters — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 10:17:45 EDT

Steve & Barry's, the super cheap clothing store that's like H&M with all the Euro-DNA removed, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Analysts say it has to do with declining credit markets throwing it into a liquidity crisis, higher commodities and fuel prices, and oh yeah, razor-thin margins on those $9 sneakers. [Marketwatch]

Newegg.com Holds Woman's Account Hostage Until She Gets Her Brother To Reverse Chargeback

Chris Walters — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 11:59:15 EDT

Newegg seemed to think Jenn was responsible for her brother's chargeback with them. When she tried to place an order using her own name and credit card number, but with the same shipping address as her brother, her account was suspended. Jenn figured she could resolve the problem with a conversation or two with Newegg's customer service department, but as you'll see from the transcript below, Newegg's CSR blatantly says Jenn's account won't be approved until her brother reverses his chargeback.

First, here's what happened to trigger the suspended account in the first place:

I attempted to order a memory card from Newegg.com. I say attempted because beyond running the financial transaction and holding my money hostage for a week, nothing else was processed. The only reason I became aware that there was an issue was due to wanting to check the status of my order and attempting to log in. They locked my account which was less than 24 hours old. So I played the customer service game.

First came the email I sent, "I do not understand why my account is suspended.... I just wanted to check my order status. I tried to log in for the first time and it is suspended. Help me understand please."

Then the reply, "We apologize for the misunderstanding. However, we have an account that has a charge back with the same information you have provided. This is the reason we are unable to service you at this time. You will have to take care of this matter before we can further assist you."

Jenn called Newegg to talk to someone about the matter, and was surprised when "they gave me the name on the other account without prompting. The privacy act does not seem to be in their training. The name was my brother's, who lives at my house with me."

Jenn asked the CSR directly, "So, does that meant I'm not allowed to have an account because my brother has an issue with you?" She was told they'd get back to her via email:

The next email they sent said, "Unfortunately, we are not able to re-open your account. Apparently, there is a 3rd account yours is linked to. I have no further information than this.I apologize for the inconvenience."

Now annoyed, Jenn tried reasoning with Newegg via their live chat customer service, which is where the really shocking part of the story comes in—that Newegg is holding Jenn accountable for her brother's actions:

In that chat they gave me my brothers full name and account number. This is making me nervous as that's all private information that should not be released, I don't really care if we live at the same house. They proceeded to tell me,

Phoebe: We have checked that your acct is related to account with customer number CENSORED That account has charge back record with us. so we block that account. The account holder name is CENSORED.

Jenn: Yeah, thats my brother.

Jenn: We have the same address.

Jenn: Shipping and billing, or do you mean credit card information.

Phoebe: Sorry for keep you waiting.

Jenn: Not a problem.

Phoebe: I have checked that you need to let your brother to reversed the charge back with his bank and provide us with proof that shows the reversal was successful done.

Phoebe: We will then be able to further assist you.

Jenn: in order to have an unrelated bank and account unlocked....

Phoebe: Yes, please send the proof of the reversal to [redacted].

Jenn: I have absolutely no idea what you mean by reversed charge either.

Jenn: Are you kidding....

Jenn: Seriously are you kidding?

Phoebe: It is the issue between your brother and the bank. He may have issue with bank.

Jenn: So you're telling me, that I have to go to my brother, tell him that you guys gave me his personal information, tell him that unless he calls you, finds out what it is that you want done, takes care of it, emails you proof that its been taken care of, that I cannot order anything from you.

Jenn: My brother, who has nothing to do with my money and I have nothing to do with his.

Jenn: I just live in the same house.

Jenn: And this is the only way I am going to be able to order anything from you ever....

Phoebe: Sorry for all the inconvenience this may have caused you. I have checked with our related department that we will not unblock your account.

Jenn: Is there a reason why?

Jenn: Is there something I did that violated terms of service in any respect?

Jenn: Or is it simply that my account is related to my brothers account?

Jenn: And I still need to know if its banking information or credit card information thats related.

Jenn: Rather shipping and billing.

Jenn: Sorry.

Phoebe: You brother's account has charge back record with his bank. Your account is related to him since the address is the same.

Jenn: Gotcha, just so I have the facts straight.."

That was all strange enough, but then Jenn filed a complaint with the BBB and her story took a weird turn when a Newegg rep called her directly to explain why they would really never, ever, not in a million years, ship anything to her (emphasis ours):

Since going through their customer service did not get me the desired result, I filed a Better Business Bureau complaint. I was not happy about being used as a collection agency, the financial transaction being done before address verification, or the amount of information they were willing to release to me about someone who I have no legal bond to. Well, they got the BBB complaint, and they called. I answered and the woman on the other end of the phone seemed appalled and apologetic of the behavior of the customer service department and was totally utterly shocked. She requested all the emails and the chat logs to be emailed to her, so I did.

She called me back about 45 minutes after that conversation and said that it had nothing to do with me or my brothers account. Someone, who's name I don't recognize as they gave me that too, did something so horrible years ago that they have banned our address until the end of time. Absolutely no dealing with anyone at that shipping or billing address allowed. I politely said well that's fine but we've only lived here for 3 years that person is no longer here. She said "Well I cant help you, it doesn't matter that you haven't been the owner of that house for very long, its a security issue and we will never ship to you.

I find it truly terrifying that a business can ban an address until the end of time. She also told me that I could still order from them if I got a new address, shipping and billing of course. Which is kind of funny. I have absolutely no intentions of moving or changing my billing, address so I can order things from Newegg.com. I wonder if that's going to go along with Inspection reports when you buy a house from now on? Who will and will not do business with that address? I guess what bothers me more than anything is that I had to find this all out by chance. I was never contacted and told that due to security reasons my money was being refunded and my order was not going to be processed. They obviously don't need the business or the money.

Was Jenn's house the former site of a massive scam perpetrated against Newegg? Was the Newegg rep making up a story to put an end to the drama because the billing department refused to cooperate? We may never know, but it's clear that even Newegg has its limits when it comes to making sure the customer is satisfied. Or is even a customer in the first place.

(Photo: Getty)

Geek Squad Laptop Comedy of Errors

profio — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:17:56 EDT

Reader George is having serious trouble with Geek Squad. It started when he bought a laptop from Best Buy a few years ago. He sent it in to get a loose AC jack replaced. They replace it. Two months later, it's loose again. It's replaced again, but this time, when his picks it up, the door to the DVD/CD drive is warped and won't open. George's in a hurry, so he asked the Geek to make a note about the damage, and he'll bring it back for repair. From here on out, nothing goes right. First they can't find his account, then they can't find the note, then they can't find his computer, then they can't work their own computers. His full story, inside.

I bought a Gateway laptop from Best Buy with a warranty a few years ago.

Powercord was loose and wouldn't stay in laptop. First time I brought it in, they sent it away to have the AC jack on the laptop itself replaced. When it came back, now the AC power supply cord was loose because of the jack being loose, so they had to send away for a new one.

A few months later, the AC port was loose again. This time it took them two months because they had to replace the motherboard. When it returned the DVD/CD drive door was warped open and it wouldn't work because according to the guy at the counter, it was jammed in at an angle incorrectly. Because it was my computer I did work from, I couldn't afford to have it gone two more months so I asked the guy at the counter to add a note in the system, under my name, that it came back this way so that when I did return it, they would know they had to fix what they broke.

Flashforward to last week when I took it in to a different location (where I had to wait for 10 minutes for the only two employees to come out of the back) which was a comedy of errors in itself:

1. They had trouble finding my complete history because under my phone number my name is under my first and last, as well as my first and middle initial.
2. They determined that it had to have been a shipping accident, and when they checked my account to see the note I asked the other employee to add they found he didn't put it in there.
3. It took two employees to do all this, because one geek along couldn't determine how to enter a work order in their computer.
4. When it was entered, he printed it too early and promised he would fix it immediately and call me with a new work order number (never called).
5. I did get a call the next day from their computer telling me the laptop was ready. This was an error and was a result of the employee fixing his previous mistake 24 hours later.

One call to the Best Buy to get my new tracking number had me on hold a half an hour before I hung up. The second had me on hold for fifteen minutes. Requests to have them call me back with a new number, three in total, were never returned as they promised.

I called today to get a status update, because the tracking system on their website still said it was arriving when I knew a week ago it already got there.

Today the employee apologized to me that it was going to take a bit to check on my order because he had to log in twice, which led to it crashing all together and him having to use another computer.

And with all of this, they aren't counting having to replace my AC power supply twice as part of the "hardware repairs" even though both times my laptop couldn't power up for the two weeks it would take them each time to replace it. That means that even though I have been without it five times total, it doesn't meet the "lemon policy" of a computer having to be serviced four times in order for them to deem it a lemon and replace it.

They send you paperwork with each replacement and repair telling you what it cost them each time. I determined that when you add what I paid for the laptop to what I paid for the warranty, they still lost money by the hundreds. When I told the kid at the counter that (that replacing it a long time ago with a more reliable laptop would have saved them hundreds in repair costs) he told me the name of the insurance company they use and how they are the ones paying for this, not Geek Squad, not Best Buy.

They are horribly inept on all levels and I regret ever doing business with them. I have found that it didn't matter what location I dealt with or where they sent it away, there was always numerous mistakes and horrible customer service.

People need to be warned and until Best Buy replaces Geek Squad with a better service and system, they shouldn't buy any computer equipment from them.

Well, George, I'd suggest writing to Geek Squad CEO Robert Stevens, but he may be blowing us off. I wonder if he realizes that this kind of rampant incompetence undermines Geek Squad's recent statement in Kiplinger.com, "Says a Geek Squad spokeswoman, 'We have been the target of a blog that prefers to focus on the exceptions to our service and not the overall, vast majority of successful services we provide to clients.'" They have a perfect chance to step up and make sure George gets a working laptop, one way or another.

(photo:meghannmarco)

10 Things To Remember When Shopping At Best Buy

Chris Walters — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 08:28:01 EDT

An employee of Best Buy apparently thinks too many days have gone without us posting something about the store, so he sent in his list of 10 things he thinks every customer should know when shopping there. Items 10 through 7 are all about warranties and service plans, so the usual caveats apply (make sure you know what's really covered, and that it's worth the extra cost to you). #4, however, is good to know: "Its pretty much pointless to call Corporate/Customer Service Hotline—they can not override a store's decision. Best bet is to call or email a District Manager or higher."

10. If you have purchased a product from Best Buy and it is under MFG Warranty (As long as it is Serviceable), you can send it to be fix from the Best Buy store. You do not have to call the MFG directly or ship it to them. Example: Computers/Cameras/Printers/TV's. Most of the time it will be forwarded directly the MFG.
9. Most items that are store brands(Dynex,Insignia,Init,RocketFish) are covered instore, even after the return/exchange period has passed. Also if you purchase a ADH PSP on the product it then covers physical damage.

8. If a product is exchanged under the PSP within the first year it automatically transfers over. You DO NOT have to purchase a new PSP.

7. If you purchase a Camera/ Computer with ADH you can accidentally drop it and break it, in some cases beyond repair, thus getting credit for a new one. Broken screens and motherboards are nice.

6. If applying for a Best Buy card never sign up for account shield, it is pointless and its just something Reps try to add on to better the store CC rating. Furthermore if you are spending a considerable amount of money ask for better financing. Typically works in Home Theater the most.

5. Do not buy any cables from Best buy. Most are highly marked up and basically suck in terms of quality. Amazon Anyone?

4. Its pretty much pointless to call Corporate/Customer Service Hotline. Most people who work there ill advised and cant make any real decisions. Furthermore they can not override a stores decision. Best bet is to call or email a District Manager or higher.

3. Best Buy recently started a customer care survey at bestbuycares.com. If you feel you got shit service then go on there and rant about it. Most morning meetings go over the surveys. Also use peoples names, always fun.

2. Always get employee names that helped you. Just in case they so happen to bend the truth. Also if the person who helped you rang out your item, there employee number is on the receipt to the far right next to the time of the sale.

1. Yelling a people gets you no where. I have seen one customer yell and not get there way. The next who has the same issue, get taken care of. Its simple, don't yell. Keep your cool and stay calm. Yelling only gives Managers and employees a reason to make you leave, not help you.

(Thanks to [redacted]!)

(Photo: Ian Muttoo)

Would You Take Your (Really Hot) Kid To The Abercrombie & Fitch Emergency Department And Trauma Center?

Chris Walters — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 20:07:41 EDT

The once-popular—surely it isn't still?—teenaged sexpot clothing store Abercrombie & Fitch is shelling out $10 million to build a new emergency room and trauma center at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Now a group is speaking out against the idea of prominently naming the kids' ER after the store, which the hospital has been hinting at in announcements. The reason the hospital is called "Nationwide Children's Hospital" is because Nationwide Insurance gave it $50 million. Up next: the Budweiser End Zone Birthing Center, and then the American Apparel Teenaged Pregnancy Wing.

Research has shown a link between sexualized images of teens in the media and mental health problems in girls, including eating disorders, low self-esteem, anxiety and depression, according to the Boston-based Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood.

(Thanks to Darkwing Duck!)

"Group: Hospital should nix retailer name" [BusinessWeek/AP]
(Original photo before it got corrupted: D'Arcy Norman)

Latest ACSI Survey Is Out: You Really Like Dollar General

Chris Walters — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 11:27:36 EST

The American Customer Satisfaction Index has released its latest scores of retail businesses, so we thought we'd take a look at the department store rankings by constructing a handy graph. When it comes to customer satisfaction, apparently Dollar General is doing something right—and Wal-Mart, as usual, is doing lots of things wrong.

In the commentary on last quarters scores, ACSI says they've started including Nordstrom again because of its increasing market share, and back before it dropped off the survey in 2001, it held the top spot frequently, so no surprise there.

They also suggest that Dollar General, "which typically serves neighborhoods that may be too small to attract Wal-Mart," may be scoring high because of its wide variety of items in such small retail spaces.

Sears and Kmart are pretty much exactly where we'd expect them after their plunging customer service last year.

One thing we're not sure about is how the various recall disasters last year affected scores—clearly Dollar General emerged unscathed, despite its healthy dose of lead-tainted toys, Halloween pails, and holiday decorations.

"Q4 2007 and Historical ACSI Scores" [ACSI]
"Customer Satisfaction Falls Again; Retail, Financial Services Down; Wal-mart, Home Depot at All-Time Lows" [ACSI]

RELATED
"How are ACSI data collected?" [ACSI]

(Thanks to Shaula!)

Recession Fears Bring "Mass Luxury Movement" To An End

Chris Walters — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 15:53:50 EST

The aspirational upper-middle-class customer who helped companies like Coach and Saks post double-digit growth in the past few years has disappeared due to the current rotten economy, writes BusinessWeek. The result: luxury goods companies that expanded their product lines to appeal to the not-quite-rich now have $150 purses and nobody to buy them. Coach went so far as to offer coupons recently "to drum up sales."

Take Tricia Ehrlich, a 38-year-old mother of three in East Setauket, N.Y., who runs her own online boutique. Ehrlich has a soft spot for classy jackets and matching shoes; in November, she spent $300 on a Perry Ellis black shearling textured jacket and bought a black suede Coach bag for $250. But Ehrlich has shelved plans to make a purchase this winter. "I'll probably hold off until spring. We spent a lot on refurbishing our house last year, and I know we're not going to reap the benefit of that, so the last thing I need right now is another jacket," says Ehrlich.

"The Death of Mass Luxury" [BusinessWeek] (Photo: Getty)

Holiday Stress Drives Tim To Shout "Fuck Off!" At Customer

Chris Walters — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 18:12:12 EST

Here's the strange, sad tale of Short-Tempered Tim at New World Video Direct in Brooklyn, NY. When Nicholas called NWVDirect a week or so ago with questions about an extended warranty for his new plasma TV, he got terse answers from a generally unhelpful man on the other end. The call was abruptly disconnected. Undaunted, Nicholas called back and got the same man, so he asked to speak to a supervisor, which is when things started to spiral out of control at the NWVDirect call center.

He said his name was Tim and he then placed me on hold for a supervisor. About 30 seconds later, someone picked up the phone and said, "This is Timothy, how may I help you?" To my surprise, this was still the same agent but he was obviously attempting to disguise his voice. So I asked if he was the supervisor and he said yes. I told him that I was just speaking to him and I would like to speak with his supervisor please. He then called out to someone and said, "Who transferred this call to me?" - apparently attempting to continue to act like he was the supervisor.? It was almost comical that he felt that I couldn't notice that he was the same person. He was trying to speak to me in a deeper voice and it was very obvious he was trying to cover up what he was doing.
He then said let me transfer you back and before I could say anything I was transferred back to "Tim" the agent again. I then asked Tim or "Timothy" why he wouldn't let me talk to a supervisor? He claimed he transferred me to one but I told him that he didn't do a good enough job in disguising his voice and that I wasn't thrown off by the name either!

Timothy the agent/"supervisor" became very belligerent at this point. He started yelling at me, telling me to "Fuck off" several times and using other inappropriate language. There was one point in the recording where he told me to come down to the store and speak to him face to face, as if to provoke a fight.

Okay, so that was just a bad phone call all around, but then when Nicholas emailed an official complaint to NWVDirect, he got the following response a few hours later:

Hello. The person who helped you originally on the phone did not do anything wrong until you asked to speak to his supervisor.

It's that simple.

Maybe he was a bit tuned during the call due to an email he was replying to, but he was answering your questions to the best of his ability.

Everything that was said after that was a result of this and is considered fruit of a poisonous tree.

Your email was NOT read. The subject line WAS read ONLY as we were expecting your email.

Please do NOT reply as it will not be read.

Thank you, Our apologies, Have a good New Year.

Okay, so that didn't work. Nicholas next took his complaints online to avsforum, which prompted the owner of NWVDirect to get involved and post his own response on the forum in what seemed like a good-faith attempt to make things right:

Hello. My name is Charles Hamaoui. I am appalled and very concerned about the events surrounding the original thread with respect to what occured that evening.

It was confirmed by me this call came in after normal working hours on the east coast. The employee that answered the telephone was completely inapropriate and indeed rude. As it turns out, our shorter staffed supervisors were not in the vicinity to overhear the call due to the time it arrived.

This is NOT a reflection of our Company and should be condsidered an isolated incident.

Nicholas and Charles spoke on the phone at some later point, where Charles told Nicholas that Tim had been fired and that he was sorry for the whole ordeal. He also sounded genuinely shocked when Nicholas read the "fruit of a poisonous tree" email back to him. Nicholas responded that Charles sounded suspiciously like a calmer version of Tim. The phone call ended without anything resolved. Later, Charles posted again to the avsforum, a portion of which appears below—and which seems to imply that the whole "firing Tim" thing was just something Charles said to placate an angry customer:

Hello Nickerz.

Thank you for calling this evening. I hope we cleared the air a bit. I doubt it though.

You seemed vindictive and more concerned with finding out who sent the email and if that person is going to be fired or not.

Question, lets say this person had a bad day, made a mistake, and apologized. Lets say this was the job that supported his wife and kids.

Would you still be persistent on getting him fired? or move on and get your answers answered the correct way?

. . .

Charles

Charles posted again later, and came across as even more weary and exasperated. We think he's sincerely trying to make things right, but maybe he's in a customer service situation that's beyond his ability to resolve—it's not easy to put the fuck-you-cat back in the bag after Crazy Tim lets it out to someone who just purchased an expensive plasma TV and wants to protect that investment. So in the end, all we can say is we hope you enjoyed this tale of customer service gone awry—and if you want to buy A/V equipment but would also like good after-sale support, look elsewhere. Oh, and Charles, you may want to keep Tim away from the phones.

Both recordings are below for those of you who want to compare and weigh in on the Charles/Tim identity issue. (This writer thinks they're different men.)

1st Call - "Timothy" (121 KB)
2nd Call - "Charles" (453 KB)

(Thanks to Nicholas!)
(Photo: donwiss.com)

Best Buy CEO Admits They'll Probably Screw Up Digital TV Switchover

Chris Walters — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 22:58:31 EST

Well, at least he's being honest—Best Buy CEO Brad Anderson announced at CES today that the 2009 switchover from analog to digital television (still a year away) poses "one of the biggest risks our industry has," whatever that means. "The number of converter boxes that is going to be required could put tremendous pressure on us." Oh, you mean because you'll have to have them in stock? Interpretation: if you're going to need a converter box or two, you'd better plan on buying them elsewhere.

Target and Circuit City, on the other hand, were acting almost as if they're in the business of consumer electronics and looking forward to the transition as a selling opportunity. Weird.

Executives with Circuit City and Target agreed the digital TV transition is fraught with challenges.

But the transition presents opportunities as well, says Steve Eastman, vice president and general merchandising manager for consumer electronics at Target. The analog-to-digital switch will get people thinking about high definition and what technology is in their homes, he says.

Target plans to have converter boxes in stores by April.

"Best Buy Fears Digital TV Switch" [CNN Money]
(Photo: Getty)

Reminder: We Have No Contact Info For Wal-Mart (Do You?)

Chris Walters — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 13:37:28 EST

A reader asks us, "I was wondering how I can contact WalMart Executive customer service. I am facing a return issue and have been completely unsuccessful with in store customer service, over the phone 1-800-WALMART, or the online submittal form." Sorry, Arin, the only other number we've been able to locate is the generic corporate offices number in Bentonville, Arkansas: 479-273-4000. The company also has executive offices in Times Square, New York, at 1372 Broadway—but no public contact information for that address. If anyone has anything, please send it in or post it, kthx.

And just to remind anyone reckless enough to shop online at Walmart.com: their innovative "Customer Contact Reduction Program," launched a few months ago, means there's no way to receive customer support over the phone for online customers. Your contact with them has been reduced in order to keep prices low.

(Thanks to Arin!)

NJ Toy Inspectors Performing Spot-Checks At Retail Level

Chris Walters — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 17:36:13 EST

To pick up slack from the undersized/overwhelmed CPSC, states are stepping up to help increase toy safety locally. New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Vermont, Illinois and California have been taking "aggressive measures," from suing manufacturers to escalating state recalls to the federal level. Newsday describes how New Jersey worked with charities and educators during toy drives to make them aware of recalled toys. The state also assigned 15 state inspectors to a toy safety task force, and over the past month, the inspectors "fanned out across the state with assistance from county health department workers to test products and check for recalled toys.

The inspections point out one real problem retailers face in isolating and removing recalled products from their inventory—the manufacturers don't always make it easy:

Even after spotting the toy boat and suspecting it matched the one on the recall list, veteran state investigator Frank Carmody had to remove the product from its packaging and search the toy for several minutes before finding the model number on the boat's underside, printed in the same bright orange as the boat and nearly impossible to read. He then had to call the CPSC to verify that the toy he was holding and the one in his binder were the same.

To test for high lead levels, inspectors in New Jersey use a handheld reader to identify items to send to their labs for further testing:

Working with the state, the Monmouth County inspectors field-tested 75 children's items including a butterfly keychain, a backpack and a toddler's touch toy. They sent 16 of the 75 on to an independent lab for further testing; all 16 passed the more extensive test.

Merry Christmas to state inspectors!

"Toy safety tops on NJ inspectors' holiday lists" [Newsday]
(Photo: What Rhymes With Nicole)

Nintendo Officially Disapproves Of "Bundling"

Chris Walters — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 10:39:48 EST

Bundling may be a popular tactic retailers employ to force customers to spend more money, but Nintendo of America's celeb-President Reggie Fils-Aime has come out against it, finally: "Retailers have already been given feedback that we are not big fans of that," he told Reuters this week. Is the pre-purchase deal with GameStop one way Nintendo is preventing that from happening this December? If anyone actually buys one of those empty DVD cases, let us know if they try to upsell you to a bundle.

We think it masks some of the price advantage we have versus our competition and, frankly, the consumer should decide what they want," Fils-Aime said.
Asked if Nintendo had threatened such retailers with fewer Wii shipments, Fils-Aime said only that the company carried a lot of weight as maker of one of the most highly sought items this holiday season.

"We don't have to remind retailers of the strength we have right now. We are simply making an observation and that reinforces our point quite nicely with retailers," Fils-Aime said.

Fils-Aime also said that Nintendo is having trouble getting its supply and demand curves in sync. Maybe they should release a networked DS game that crowdsources Nintendo's supply chain for them—we couldn't do any worse than Nintendo has.

"Nintendo says Wii shortages hurt planning" [Reuters]

Sales Of Women's Clothing Drops, May Mean Steep Discounts Over The Next Week

Chris Walters — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 09:10:38 EST

Mastercard reported on Sunday that, after a slight bump around Black Friday, sales of women's clothing has dropped again, down 6% even while sales of men's clothing has gone up 4.5%. They think it has to do with an overall weak year for women's fashion, and the fact that mothers tend to cut back on new clothes for themselves first when faced with a tighter budget. The silver lining: there may be considerable discounts at women's clothing retailers in the immediate future as they try to bump up sales at the last minute.

The drop-off, which the credit card company described Sunday as "surprising," bodes poorly for chains like Chico's FAS and Ann Taylor, which specialize in women's clothing, and could result in steeper-than-expected discounts on their merchandise in the final week before Christmas.

"Retailers Face an Ominous Holiday Sign" [New York Times] (Photo: Scurzuzu)

"Shoppers who pay the full price of about ...

Chris Walters — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 20:13:40 EST

"Shoppers who pay the full price of about $249 for an out-of-stock Wii on December 20 and 21 at retailer GameStop Corp will get a certificate promising a Wii 'sometime in January,'" sez Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime. Only at GameStop, urg. [Reuters]

JCPenney Emails You To Let You Know You Requested They Not Email You

Chris Walters — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 16:58:38 EST

If you buy something from the JCPenney website and uncheck the box for receiving email from them, guess what they do? They promptly send you an email in which they point out that you have asked them not to send you an email. And then they ask you to click on a link in the email and participate in a survey. And then, just in case you're not amused/annoyed yet, the comedy team in their marketing department points out that should you want to receive emails from them in the future, you can visit their site and sign up. They have a lot of emails they need to send to you, you see.

from: Registration OptOut < shopper@jcpenneyeservices.com> to: ******@gmail.com, date: Dec 12, 2007 10:36 AM subject: Email Unsubscribe Confirmation mailed-by: jcpenneyeservices.com
While registering as a shopper with jcpenney.com, you chose not to receive our promotional Email. This is being sent to confirm that ******@ gmail.com will not receive Email from jcpenney.com.

The decision to receive Email is personal and can be influenced for a variety of reasons. In an attempt to better understand and respond to our customers, we would appreciate it if you would answer a short survey on this topic.

To participate in the survey, click here.
Your responses, and your email address, will remain private and will help us to continue to build a better shopping experience for you, and a stronger relationship with our customers.

jcpenney.com has always believed in using only permission-based Email marketing. If, in the future, you decide that you would like to begin receiving our promotional Email you can subscribe at jcpenney.com.

Thank you for your participation, and thank you for shopping with us.

(Thanks to Scott!)

Retailers Exploit Natural Human Stupidity To Get You To Buy More

Chris Walters — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 11:20:41 EST

The Chicago Tribune recaps the findings of some recent consumer behavior studies—for instance, we're irrational buyers, prone to shoddy math and emotional decision making. The studies might be paid for by advertisers so they can better manipulate us, but as the Tribune notes, they're useful for us too because they "can help shoppers make better spending decisions if they understand themselves better."

Consider the concept of "shopping momentum": "During a shopping trip, making a first purchase, even a minor one, can open the floodgates of buying."

Shopping has two phases: deliberation and buying. Once they buy, consumers tend to continue buying without returning to the deliberation stage for future purchases.

In an experiment, researchers found shopping momentum was broken when consumers paid from different envelopes, apparently forcing them to return to the deliberation phase and think more about whether the purchase was a good idea.

That suggests a reason for the success of the longtime tip to budget with an envelope system — that is, spending cash from envelopes designated for such purchases as food, clothing and entertainment.

Also, "buying a guilt-inducing luxury item first during shopping curbed buying momentum."

The "disrupt-then-reframe" sales technique preys on the human brain's natural desire to seek "cognitive closure" when confused:

Researchers found that by presenting a confusing sales pitch to consumers and then restating the pitch in a more familiar way, they were able to increase sales.

Another common trick is the "double discount" offer—e.g., Barnes & Noble's coupon and membership discounts, which are applied consecutively instead of all at once.

"Consumers easily confused, manipulated" [Chicago Tribune]
(Photo: Getty)

Nordstrom Opposes Christmas Creep

Carey — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 10:15:39 EST

Nordstrom has conquered the urge to celebrate Christmas before Thanksgiving. The retailer announced its decision to respect the calendar and common sense by hanging signs declaring that they will wait until the day after Thanksgiving, the earliest acceptable moment, to display their Christmas decorations. The vainglorious announcement is an important indicator that Nordstrom's competitors have overdone the unseasonable cheerfulness schtick.

[Image thanks to Celeste!]

Watch Out For Fees With Gift Cards

Chris Walters — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 13:57:02 EST

Like candy canes and drunken family dinners, gift cards have become a Christmas staple. Bankrate has reviewed a wide number of them and published the results to help you pick the best one for your needs. To avoid fees, you should stick with "closed-loop" cards—that is, a card issued by a specific retailer for use only with that retailer. Almost all retailers now offer cards that don't expire and don't charge maintenance fees, with the notable exceptions of Macy's and Bloomingdales, whose cards both expire two years after purchase. However, several retailers—CVS, for example—still charge "dormancy" fees on cards that have been inactive for anywhere from 6 to 24 months, so be sure to check the fine print to see how this is addressed.

"Open loop" cards that you can use everywhere—usually issued by credit card companies or national mall chains—tend to be the ones that will cost money, both in activation and maintenance fees. However, if you find a discount program (like American Express's "Especially for..." cards), you can bundle some potential savings on particular items that the recipient is likely to purchase. (That's a lot of ifs, but the opportunity for savings is there.) The fees can change year by year, so don't go by past experience if you're a returning customer—for example, Discover Card used to ship its gift cards free, but in 2006 added a shipping and handling charge of between $3-7.

Online cards are frequently restricted to online purchases, in case you're thinking of buying one for someone who doesn't shop online.

The following states have laws that forbid expiration dates on gift cards, but since banks fall under federal jurisdiction, they may be able to override any state laws and still restrict the gift cards they issue. Again, be sure you check the fine print if you're worried that the recipient might take a long time to redeem the card.

For example, in California, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts and Nevada, cards cannot expire. Other states put limits on expiration; for example, cards can't expire within the first two years of issuance. To find out how your state treats gift cards, check with your state's consumer protection department.

Bankrate says that in general, cards with no fees, expiration dates, or maintenance costs tend to disclose these facts very clearly, since it's the sort of information consumers like to see. That means if you can't clearly find this information in the literature, the odds are good there's a fee and the business is intentionally trying to obfuscate it to avoid driving off wary shoppers.

Here's a detailed chart of many retailer cards available, along with details on fees and expiration dates. There's also tabs on the chart to switch to views of credit cards and malls. Or check out this chart for information on what various retailers are offering in the way of e-cards this year.

"2007 Gift Card Study: Tops for holidays" [Bankrate]
(Photo: Getty)

FBI Warns LA & Chicago Shoppers Of Possible Threat

Chris Walters — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 21:33:22 EST

The FBI has released an unverified tip that those people who "hate freedom" are planning on attacking shopping malls in LA and Chicago this season. Before you buy more duct tape, the FBI emphasized that "there is no information to state this is a credible threat"—but they felt they needed to share it "out of an abundance of caution."

This is this writer's first ever scare-orrist post! I was starting to think that the era of crazy death warnings from The Enemy were behind us, and here I was with a blog platform to help spread the fear. But now my job here is done.

"FBI warns of possible shopping mall attacks" [Reuters]
"L.A. terrorist threat discounted" [Los Angeles Times]
(Photo: Getty)

Retailing Consortium Launches PRISM To Collect Data On Shoppers' Behavior

Chris Walters — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 23:55:30 EDT

A consortium of retailers and consumer suppliers are working with Nielsen Co., famous for its nonsensical television ratings system, to launch a large-scale study of consumer behavior in stores. The program is called PRISM, which stands for "Pioneering Research for an In-Store Metric," and it uses infrared sensors and manual counting, as well as genetic clones of our loved ones, to monitor not just what we buy but how we go about buying it. "About 70% of final purchase decision are made at the shelf," says a Procter & Gamble rep. "The store has always been important - we just didn't know enough about it."

Some early findings:

Only 13% of food shopping trips are with kids but shoppers put more in their baskets overall when kids are with them. But the presence of kids in a shopping trip didn't have any effect on candy sales.

The article says that Nielsen plans on syndicating and selling the data to non-participating businesses in the next year, and that PRISM in the future may be used to help plan store layouts. We thought they'd been doing that for years—we remember reading an article back in, like, '93 or '94 about the science behind shopping mall layouts (it was in "The Atlantic" maybe?). But apparently Nielsen has managed to convince retailers that the data they collect is valid, so, um, good luck with that.

"Consumer Companies Look For Insights On Shoppers' Behavior" [CNN Money]
(Photo: Getty)

Woot Treats Its Customers Nicely

Chris Walters — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 08:35:51 EDT

We're already fond of Woot for consistently having the most entertaining ad copy around, but a reader has reported that when they recently screwed up a large number of Zune orders—and not even in a terrible way—they shipped free $100 accessory kits to everyone who was affected, then sent out a frank email that explained the situation and guaranteed a full refund to anyone who still wasn't satisfied. They handled the situation quickly and in a way that will likely prevent many customers from complaining or feeling cheated. And best of all, they were up front about the snafu and treated their customers with respect.

According to the email, Woot miscounted their brown Zunes and realized this only as they were preparing their shipments. They substituted black models for brown:

...While many did not care about color, and some may perceive the black color to be a higher value (correct at least from Woot's financial perspective), the dilemma was of course it wasn't what you ordered. Unfortunately, we also had little time to act as we were at the fringe of shipment expectations already. The story does get better, however; we were able to persuade our marketing minds that this was a good opportunity for their budget to expand:

We have included a bonus: A Microsoft Zune Travel Pack has been shipped with your order

The Zune Travel Pack has 5 products including the Zune Premium Earphones, Dual Connect Remote, AC Charger, Sync cable, and a decent bag. These are new retail boxed and carry a Microsoft MSRP of $99.99. Information from Microsoft and links to street pricing are here: http://www.zune.net/en-us/accessories/zune/zunetravelpack.htm#

While your orders left our building only recently, they are on their way. I hope that those of you who are fans of the brown zune find our emergency solution to be acceptable-it was a rather expensive action. Due to logistics delay, there was no time available to make this an opt-in program (or everyone's zunes would not ship until next week.) As things stand now, if this solution does not meet with your acceptance, we're down to a last resort of issuing a call-tag to pick it back up (once it arrives) and issue you a full refund.

Nicely done, Woot! You seem both smarter and nicer than, say, the execs at EB Games. Please buy them.

(thanks to Phillip!)
(Photo: Salim Virji)

Class-Action Suit Filed Against Systemax (aka TigerDirect) Over Unfulfilled Rebates

Chris Walters — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 10:49:12 EDT

Last Thursday, a Texan filed a class-action suit against Systemax Inc. in federal court, alleging the company and its subsidiaries TigerDirect and OnRebate conspire to delay or reject rebates in order to sweeten profits. Systemax says no way, we pay our rebates on time; according to its chief financial officer, "All consumers who properly complete the rebate application and submit the required paperwork have their rebates paid, period." But that's not what the Texan says happened to him.

Vukson promptly mailed in all the rebate materials and, after two months, had not heard from OnRebate. He sent an e-mail Jan. 24 inquiring about the rebate. In a Feb. 28 response, OnRebate said it had not received all the necessary materials to process his form. In March, the company refused to send the rebate, saying Vukson had missed the cutoff date, according to the suit, which lists several other alleged instances of consumers being denied rebates.

Rebates require you give up your money as an interest-free loan, while placing trust in a faceless company and postal system that you won't be screwed over. They're not worth it. We think the best thing to do is ignore sales that use rebates to drive down the total cost. Either the retailer can give you an instant discount and deal with the rebate himself, or you can pass on the offer. We're shoppers, not business micro-lenders.

"Consumer sues Systemax over rebates" [Newsday]
(Photo: Getty)

Wal-Mart Will Now Sell Satellite Broadband Internet Access

Chris Walters — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 09:49:49 EDT

Today, Wal-Mart announced that it will start re-selling HughesNet satellite broadband Internet access, starting at 700Kbps for $59.99 a month, through 2,800 of its stores "including locations throughout most of rural America where terrestrial broadband services, such as cable and DSL, are often not available." To help spur initial sign-ups, Wal-Mart will give new customers $100 RFID-enabled "ExpressPay" cards to use while shopping at the retailer.

BusinessWeek wonders whether this will trigger the standard Wal-Mart cost-cutting war that leads to lower prices for consumers, or whether Wal-Mart will try to be more competitive through offering superior customer service—an area it hasn't excelled at lately. As an example, they cite Wal-Mart's successful flat-panel TV push last Christmas, which was a disaster for Circuit City and CompUSA, but led to many returns from Wal-Mart customers who were left on their own when it came to installation.

"Broadband Across America: Through Wal-Mart, Hughes Brings High-Speed Internet to Rural Communities" [press release]
"Wal-Mart's Latest Sale: Broadband" [Business Week]
(Photo: Getty)

Two-thirds of CFOs at retailers in the U.S. ...

Chris Walters — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 18:38:23 EDT

Two-thirds of CFOs at retailers in the U.S. are "actively involved in green practices," and of those, two-thirds said that they're doing it to improve or protect the company's image. Most of the remaining third cited tax breaks or regulatory requirements as motivating factors. [Reuters]

New York Decries CPSC's Inability To Impose Mandatory Recalls, Announces Initiatives To Combat Lead Poisoning

Carey — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 12:58:14 EDT

New York Governor Eliot Spitzer is taking action to ensure the prompt removal of recalled products, responding to the CPSC's unwillingness to ask for, or accept, the authority to impose mandatory recalls. The following proposals do not require approval by the Legislature, and will go into effect immediately:

The Department of Health and the Consumer Protection Board will inspect retailers to ensure compliance with all recalls;
Day care providers will be required to remove all recalled toys;
The Department of Health will send notices to pediatricians reminding them to tell parents about the dangers of lead poisoning;
The state will coordinate Toy Testing Days in November, which is apparently toy safety awareness month;
The Governor has also called upon the Legislature to impose civil and criminal fines against anyone who sells recalled toys after the announcement of a recall. New York's response should serve as a model to other states offended by the CPSC's negligent resistance to adequate funds or authority. It is unfortunate that the federal government must be goaded into action by states that have neither the capacity nor the mandate to uniformly protect American consumers.
Governor Spitzer Acts To Protect New York Children From Lead-Poisoning Threat In Toys (Press Release) [New York State]
(Photo: Getty)

Stores Find New Ways To Seduce You

Chris Walters — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 14:31:45 EDT

The right smells, the right music, manipulating inventory levels, displaying certain colors: aided by tons of research on consumer psychology, stores now employ all sorts of wily techniques to wine and dine you before getting you in the backseat. (And yes, we meant for that sentence to go there.)

A popular trend these days is the subtle use of scents; according to Kimberly Palmer at US News & World Report, a university study "found that certain scents—Rose Maroc in men's clothing stores and vanilla in women's—increased shopping time, number of items purchased, and amount spent." Want a real world example? Sony Style stores use a "sweetish scent with citrus bases and vanilla overtones" to make the store more appealing to female buyers, while many upscale hotels now employ scents to help create distinctive brands and increase customer satisfaction.

Somes stores - Zara and H&M are two examples - are "training" customers to stop looking for bargains by rapidly changing their inventory on a weekly basis, because shoppers are more likely to buy things they like immediately instead of waiting for sales if they're worried that the item might disappear by next week. H&M's spokesperson responds, "Prices are affordable, so it's OK."

If you think you're immune to such techniques, a recent New York Times article on subconscious manipulation may change your mind:

New studies have found that people tidy up more thoroughly when there's a faint tang of cleaning liquid in the air; they become more competitive if there's a briefcase in sight, or more cooperative if they glimpse words like "dependable" and "support" — all without being aware of the change, or what prompted it.

Resources:
The Games Stores Play [US News & World Report]
Who's Minding the Mind? [New York Times]
Fitg? Coconut Sunscreen? Hotels Choose Their Scent [New York Times]
Accessoring the Air [New York Times]

(Photo: Getty)

Supreme Court Allows Manufacturers To Dictate Minimum Prices, Screws Consumers

Carey — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 15:24:28 EDT

The Supreme Court ruled today in Leegin v. PSKS that manufacturers can collude with retailers to set the minimum prices of products, arguing that such a decision was good for competition. Succumbing to the court's recent bender of conservatism is a 96 year-old precedent from Dr. Miles v Park that held minimum price accords as intrinsically - or in legalese, "per se" - illegal. Writing for the majority, swing-Justice Anthony Kennedy showed kiddies the dangers of taking crazy pills:

Minimum price agreements can benefit consumers, Kennedy wrote, by enabling retailers to invest in greater customer service without fear of being undercut by discount rivals. The agreements also could make it easier for new products to compete, he added, because a retailer could recoup the costs of marketing a new good by charging a higher price.

Pardon us for scoffing at the notion that Best Buy might "invest in greater customer service" now that they can work with manufacturers to screw consumers out of an additional $20 for a DVD player. Or as Justice Stevens put it slightly more eloquently in his dissent, "The only safe predictions to make about today's decision are that it will likely raise the price of goods at retail.''

Under the old system, manufacturers could send pricing signals to retailers by way of a Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price (MSRP,) though retailers were free to compete by selling products below MSRP. Under the new system, championed by Justices who promised to respect stare decisis at their confirmation hearings, manufacturers can now use resale price maintenance (RPM) agreements to ban retailers from offering discounts.

Leegin is the 15th ruling this term that harms consumers by shielding businesses and corporations from lawsuits.

Justices End 96-Year-Old Ban on Price Floors [NYT]
Minimum-Price Accords May Be Allowed, Top Court Says [Bloomberg]
Leegin Creative Leather Products v. PSKS (PDF) [Supreme Court]
(Photo: takomabibelot)

Comparison Shopping Actually Saves

Carey — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 10:19:14 EST

We intrinsically know comparison shopping saves money, but according to the Chicago Tribune, we don't compare enough. Though we all think we compare prices, "research shows consumers, time and again, are most likely to buy from the first merchant they visit."

"Prices for identical goods vary, and unless you actually do some comparison shopping, you're not going to know that," Lichtenstein said. "Consumers say, `Well, I may be paying a little bit more, but I don't have time to shop around.' But if they knew the degree to which prices may vary, they would find it's well worth it."

Our grandmother knows the price of grapes in every supermarket in at least five states. The Trib has helpful reminders to become more like her.

Don't overvalue your time: small savings add up over time to make a big difference.
Take advantage of the internet: if you know what you're looking for, plug it into "Froogle, MySimon, Shopzilla, DealTime and Shopping.com."
Take a test: search for the last few expensive items you bought and see if you could have saved more.

If that doesn't help, remember that comparison shopping is the bedrock of our wonderful capitalist economy. If you won't compare for yourself, compare for your country. — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER

Comparison shopping proves well worth spending the time [Chicago Tribune]
(Photo: Peter Gene)