From: chguest@pioneer.arc.nasa.gov ( Charles J. Guest )
Subject: Re: Fry's -- Yet Another Bad Experience
Organization:  ... a Republic... if you can keep it.
Distribution: ba
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 92 21:55:17 GMT


	In a previous article I wrote that I had decided to fax the
Fry's folks a letter explaining the concerns and complaints that have
been so well covered by the folks who have posted. I decided to share my
viewpoint and experiences with them for what it was worth.

	I told the  people who responded to my article that I would post
my original letter to Fry's, I also said that I would 
post a summary *IF* I ever got one.  Well as of yet, Fry's has not seen
fit to dignify my letter with a response.  That's okay, I really did not
expect one.... but it would have been nice and it would have showed
interest in my business.  

	Well since so many of you requested this, I have decided to post
the letter that I faxed to the General Manager and the President of
Frys.  I want to stress that these are my views or opinions only, they
are NOT in any way related to views held by my employer, the government,
the KGB, or the Queen of Great Brittain.  These views are bassed on my
own experiences and may or may not be indicative of the usual customer
service practices or general businnes or shrink wrap practices of Fry's.
I in no way am making an accusation of impropriety or deception, just
pointing out what I have seen as it  might appear to a reasonable person with
similar experience.

	I got a LOT of responses... lots of people sent me mail saying
that they had very similar or worse experiences.  I would like to see
you guys share them with the net, but many seemed to be unable not to
include descriptions of the employees in a rather lurid and colorful
way... so perhaps the net is better off :-) 

	I have deleted names numbers and addresses from this document
where appropriate... if you want these numbers they are easily obtained
from Frys itself, or 411.  Additionally some text may not be included
exactly as it was in my original letter because my file transfer
hiccuped and I had to reconstruct some slmall portions from memory.





xxxxxxxx Fry
c/o Fry's Electronics
340 Portage Avenue
Palo Alto
California
94306



fax: 1-415-496-6xxx
     1-415-496-6xxx
     1-415-496-6xxx

Att: xxxxxx Fry General Manager &/or xxxx Fry President
     Fry's Electronics Corporate Offices



From: Charles J. Guest
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxx
California
xxxxxxxxx

Re: Complaint

Dear Sirs,

      I have never written a letter of criticism to a retail store, much
less to one of its owners.  However I am so dissatisfied and disappointed
with recent events that I feel compelled to do so.
      
      I have been a Fry's customer for some time since I work in the data
processing field and I own my own small system. I also do a small amount of
repair on PC systems for family and friends.  Until the last couple of
months I was pretty happy with Frys. While the lines are long and the
prices are only average for what I purchase, I have been happy with the
employees apparent product knowledge and the good overall selection at
Frys.

      Until recently I had not needed to return anything that I had
purchased from you, doing so was an eye opening and disenchanting
experience to say the least.

      The basis of my complaint is twofold; first I am quite dissatisfied
and even insulted with the return procedures one must go through when
merchandise comes back to your stores.  Secondly, I am infuriated at your
apparent policy of repackaging and re-selling defective or used
merchandise without letting potential customers know of its condition.

      The salient points for my two grievances are as follows:

      I will start with the WAY that returns are handled.  I have had to
return four different items over the last several months, three at the
Palo Alto location, and one at the Sunnyvale store.  All four times I have
been very inconvenienced by the process and angered by the way it is
carried out. Please allow me walk you through a simple exchange through
the eyes a customer. Through the magic of creative but accurate writing you
are no longer an important exec, but a lowly customer.... **poof**

      Having determined you were sold a defective item, you, (our customer)
walk through Fry's the doors and are stopped by a 'customer service'
representative who informs you that to take another step you must fill out
a form (in triplicate no less) with a bunch of silly and private information
such as name a phone number.  You are then told to go stand in line at the
(tiny in SV) customer service window.  Eventually you get to the window and
someone (with a DMV attitude) appears to process your return, he double
checks that you have your papers filled out properly and then you are told
to wait some more while he goes and gets the papers initialed.  Now your
original receipt is taken and attached to one of the forms and you are
given a copy.  You are told to go find your replacement merchandise and to
go to the checkout line.  After you stumble around the store and find the
product you want, you go to the checkout coral and wait in the same line you
have already been through when you originally bought the item. The
checkout clerk calls you and you finally make your way to the register.  At
this time the clerk has to go back to the customer service department to
get your original receipt (or you could get lucky and it could be at the
supervisors desk -- not likely).  When he retrieves your receipt he comes
back and begins the transaction.  Halfway through he is expected to go to
his boss and get the return initialed. If you have the poor sense to have
paid by check or VISA, and have been so stupid as to not buy something
more expensive, you are expected to wait 4 weeks for your six dollar
'change' refund. After completing this, you make your way toward the exit
where you are checked for the new receipt on your way out the door.  Total
time: 25 minutes, total number of people to take care of the transaction: 5. 
Ridiculous.

      I exchanged a modem I bought at your Palo Alto store (which I will
discuss below), and I had the audacity to tell the checker that I wanted to
open the package and make certain that all the documents and ancillary
items were in the box.  This necessitated a call to a supervisor and a
member of the modem department who had to stand there and watch over me
as I ascertained whether or not your product was complete.  

      Now Mr Fry, I FULLY understand the need for security. I am directly
involved with it at [..deletions for post..] in a closely related field, but to
have SEVEN people interact with us on the return of ONE modem?!?!?  I am
sorry but having to negotiate this gauntlet is patently ridiculous. 
Add to that the security cameras and other protection you have in place
and one begins to feel more like a suspect or even a convict than a valued
customer.  This entire process in unnecessary and insulting, it not only
shows that you don't trust your customers, but also the employees that you
expect us to trust to make reasonable purchase decisions.    

      As a comparison, if you return something to Egghead you can be in and
out in five minutes and have to speak to only one person.  You also need not
fill out any ridiculous and intrusive forms on a straight over exchange.
CompUSA is similar but you have to talk to 1 customer service rep and one
checker.  Still less than 10 minutes if you're quick.

      The second and more infuriating complaint deals with defective
repackaged merchandise. Recently two of the items I have returned have
been of items that were in some manner defective.  One was a modem the
other was a joystick.  In both cases there was evidence that the packages
had been opened previously and re-shrink wrapped.  The modem had all of
the 'factory preset' jumpers reset and the documentation and diskette
were dogeared. Additionally, the antistatic bag had been opened and the
telephone patch cord was missing. Doesn't take a brain surgeon to know
that this item had been sold previously. Still wanting to use it that
evening, I read the docs, reset the switches and tried the modem, (after
scanning the control software diskette for viruses), and found that it
would not work.  I reread the documentation and double checked the
jumpers and dip switches and tried again.  At that point I decided it was
defective. I had a similar experience with the joystick.

      On the occasion when I returned the modem I made a point of asking
one of your associates at the 'customer-service' counter how it was
possible that I could have gotten a used and defective item.  I was told by
this surly individual that it was common practice for you folks to rewrap
items and that most customers just screwed up the jumper settings, that it
was almost always the customer's fault, and that it was rarely if ever the
product.  When I questioned the ethics and good business sense of
repackaging these items, I was asked what I would do if I had a business
and could potentially loose money with every return. Wonderful.

      My answer is that it is wrong and unprincipled not to tell customers
that they are getting stuff that should be on the scratched and dented
table. It seems myopic or even a bit stupid to base return policies on the
'fact' that 'if there is a problem with the equipment then it stemmed from
the stupid customer's ineptness or ability rather than a truly defective
product'. It is also really incredible that you would repackage software in
this climate where viruses and trojan horse programs are so prevalent.  I
have heard from other professionals that this practice is common in your
stores. Several of the people I have discussed this with have related
stories of missing warranty cards, defective files, and missing programs
replaced with garbage that obviously came off of some other user's system. 

      Again by way of comparison, Egghead Customer Service and CompUSA
both have assured me that normal practice is to ALWAYS send back opened
software.  They say the distributors are very good about returns and they
fear tampering too much to expose themselves to problems of this type. I
have never heard directly from someone who had a bad software problem
from either store. Sadly this is far from the case at Fry's.

      It would be presumptuous and deceptive for me to say that 'I will
never shop at Fry's again', since you do have a good selection and are
convenient. However you will be not be my first stop until you change some
of your policies and or give me some tangible reason to come back. This will
be particularly true if there is even a remote possibility of a return or
exchange.

      In closing, thank you for taking the time to read this long and
somewhat verbose dissertation.

Charles Guest

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ *READ* ---> The opinions expressed above are to the best of my knowledge, +
+ however all options should be discussed with persons who have professional+
+ training with the subjects covered here. * ALL POSSIBLE DISCLAIMERS APPLY!+
+ ____FROM: chguest@pioneer.arc.nasa.gov =>or<= sun!ames!pioneer!chguest____+
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+  ...One useless man is called a disgrace, two are called a law firm, and  +
+     three or more become a congress....                                   +
+ A new Soviet/American truism - KGB does NOT stand for Kinder Gentler Boys +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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