Rant- Retail Stores

[Techfizzle]

I have a rant and gotta get it off my chest, Il be nice and not swear.

This has happened to me many times, and hopefull you can relate to this and reply.

I go to a store.. radioshack or sears for instance.
I wanted a camcorder, so....

I know what I want, picked it out online, read reviews, thought i will like it, etc.
Okay, I go to the store with the intention of picking it up, having it scanned, paying for it, and leaving, all it five minutes, right? No!

Only one person working in the sears electronics dept. I gotta wait on two people that want a TV, but act like they dont even know what a tv is.

Okay I am at a mall, there are two other stores, kmart and radioshack, that sells camcorders. So Il go blow some time while i wait.

Go into radioshack, saw a tv they had on clearance for 399.99 I wanted it too.
"Im sorry we dont have any in right now, and wont have any for a couple weeks."
WTF? seriously! It like walking into KFC and them saying were out of chicken!
WHY do stores have crap on display if they dont have it? Whats the point of wasting electricity, display space, etc if you cant buy it?

So I'll walk down to kmart, hey! They have the same camcorder, same price etc.
Think I could just buy it and walk out... No! The salesmen said "We only have the display left for sale." Okay not to shabby. "Now do i get a discount since its a display model? (Walmart does this.) " Nope!

Okay, why pay full price for something if its a display? Its been handled by god-who-know's how many people that had god-who-know's what on their hands when they played with it, and it has probaly been dropped before.

I still wanted it so I didnt have to walk a mile back to sears and wait again.
So she says she will have to get a manager on the phone to unlock the case..WTF? Its a 179.99 camcorder, not a priceless painting.. why couldn't they of given the salesmen the keys.. they dont trust the person?

After waiting 5 minutes on the manager, I gave up and walked (one mile) to sears. I had been gone 20 minutes since they (the two people that didnt know much about tv's) and they had just left with a tv 15 inches bigger then they were set on in the first place!

So i bought the camcorder there, they gave me a tag so I could go down to pick up and pick it up (so to speak).

The whole theme that they created in pick-up made me feel like I was picking up some Classifed Documents from the FBI!

Have two checkout lanes, for people who know exactly what they want and one for those who dont?

Sears, why are you Extended Waranties half the price of the product?

To those brands that sell these $40 camcorders:

Why do you sell such crap?? I can draw stick figures on a flip-book and make it look better. My cell phone takes better video than that junk you sell.
Why make such a crap product that you know people will take back and tell thier freinds what junk you sell and nobody will ever buy from you again and you go bankrupt and see the tears on everyone faces when they have to be laid-off?

Emerson, Phillips, Magnavox, Symphonic, Sylvania (all sold by FUNAI), Durabrand, Element, Apex, Advent, Sentry, Sansui, Norcent, Proscan, and AOC, get out of the retail stores for good untill you can make something that doesnt break when you fart and doesnt have cheap silver nail-polish on it that wears off and look disgusting after one day in you pocket. No one likes you!

 

[DishDave]

Next time stay home and order from Amazon

 

[Techfizzle]

thats another point i want to add
look it up on the web dont waste peoples time at a store. Look it up on the web then buy it at the store.

 

[snathanb]

Next time stay home and order from Amazon

Ha! That's exactly what I was thinking as I read his post.

He shops backwards. I do my research online. Then maybe go to a store and check it out in person, then order online.

If I'm feeling really impatient, I buy it in the store and online. Then when the online order arrives, I return it unopened to the store.

 

[navychop]

Yep. I love the Amazing Dot Com people more each year. Second year in a row NOT A SINGLE XMAS GIFT was bought by me in a B&M by me. Some things, you've gotta see and handle. So gift something else.

Shopping is hell.

 

[TNGTony]

After having worked retail for 15 years of my life, I can tell you that the other side of the coin is no piece of cake this time of year. There is an answer for every one of the complaints you have against each retail store, but I suspect you don't really want to hear or care about the answers.

Since I am intimately familiar with retail, I stay clear of any large retail areas from Nov 15 to Jan 10. I won't voluntarily go to a store. I will stock up on groceries in early Nov and try not to shop again at a real grocery store until January. Specialty and convenience stores take care of the perishables.

Shop on line! It's "greener" too.

 

[Agonizing Fury]

If I see something online and I have to have it now, I'll check and see if it's in stock and order it for pickup from my BestBuy. I know they're a little over priced, but you can't beat the convenience. They actually have a guarantee that you will have your product in hand in a certain amount of time after you hand them your order confirmation. 3 times I've done this and every time my product is sitting on a shelf right behind customer service, ready for them to put it in my hand to make sure it's what I want. I have never waited more than 20 seconds after handing them my order confirmation. Added advantage is I don't don't have to see all the other things I think i "need" and end up spending hundreds more than I planned to.

 

[charper1]

Emerson, Phillips, Magnavox, Symphonic, Sylvania (all sold by FUNAI), Durabrand, Element, Apex, Advent, Sentry, Sansui, Norcent, Proscan, and AOC, get out of the retail stores for good untill you can make something that doesnt break when you fart and doesnt have cheap silver nail-polish on it that wears off and look disgusting after one day in you pocket. No one likes you!

Funai manufactures and designs products under its own Emerson, Pye, Sylvania, and Symphonic brands. In 2008, Philips agreed to hand over its entire consumer electronics business to Funai, with Funai now manufacturing Philips and Magnavox flat-panel TVs and video products, effective January 1, 2009. Funai also manufactures DVD players for Denon, DVD players/recorders for Toshiba, digital cameras for Eastman Kodak, projectors for Intech, and computer printers for Dell and Lexmark.

 

[Mr Tony]

After having worked retail for 15 years of my life, I can tell you that the other side of the coin is no piece of cake this time of year. There is an answer for every one of the complaints you have against each retail store, but I suspect you don't really want to hear or care about the answers.

.

agreed. I worked 4 years at Radio Shack and 7 years in retail and I have the exact same stories but for these "customers".

Go into radioshack, saw a tv they had on clearance for 399.99 I wanted it too.
"Im sorry we dont have any in right now, and wont have any for a couple weeks."
WTF? seriously! It like walking into KFC and them saying were out of chicken!
WHY do stores have crap on display if they dont have it? Whats the point of wasting electricity, display space, etc if you cant buy it?

the key word is CLEARANCE...that means when they gone they gone. They should have sold you the display if you wanted it so damn bad. Also Radio Shack as do other stores can only keep X amount of inventory in the store (again working for the Rat Shack I know) and if that store is a smaller (volume wise) store they can't keep as much in stock as say a larger store. When I managed a store we had the same issue. Our replenishment stock was say 2 of an item but the larger store 20 miles away was maybe 5 and Mall of America was 10.
Your KFC analogy is bunk as KFC sells CHICKEN...(and my parents run one so I know how that works too)

So I'll walk down to kmart, hey

damn you still have one of those???

But I guess you'll understand more of how the real world works when you grow up

 

[Techfizzle]

They told me they cant sell it.
The only reason I go to the ratshack is for electronic parts. If I need a capacitor it well worth buying the one for $2 then getting one on the web for 8 cents and wating 3 days to get there.
Thats the reason they charge so much for thier electronic stuff, its the convience and they can get away with it. Its like when you go to six flags and thier cans of soda are $3, people get thirsty, and they aint gonna drive 5 miles to the gas station to get one. If people want things bad enough, they will pay whatver it costs. It's shameful in my book.
I 'll go to farmking (its a farm and fleet like store) and get a 100 foot roll of coax for $13 that has been up for 3 years outside and still looks like new. No way am I going to pay $40 a roll at the ratshack.
If your lucky enough, you will find goodies at yard-sales and auctions.
I got a 500 foot roll of RG-6 For $2. A 4dtv for $75 and sold it on ebay for $250.
Sometimes radioshack will have stuff on close-out, then you can get it cheap.
When I got a capacitor there one time, I saw a computer cable that had '87 stamped on it, I looked at some other stuff, alot of things have been on the shelf for 5 years or more, lower your prices man!

 

[Mr Tony]

They told me they cant sell it.

if its truly on Clearance (the 97 cent at the end of a price means its on clearance) they can sell it. Its called "move the crap out" and any smart manager will get rid of it and off the books.

The only reason I go to the ratshack is for electronic parts.

and thats not saying much compared to when I worked there 12+ years ago

If I need a capacitor it well worth buying the one for $2 then getting one on the web for 8 cents and wating 3 days to get there.
Thats the reason they charge so much for thier electronic stuff, its the convience and they can get away with it.

those parts they get for about 15-20 cents wholesale and make oodles of money. When I ran a hellhole of a store, my profit margin was like 90% because we sold oodles of parts

No way am I going to pay $40 a roll at the ratshack.

I wouldnt buy cable from there...cheap cable and cheap ends. Give me a nice spool of it from somewhere else

When I got a capacitor there one time, I saw a computer cable that had '87 stamped on it, I looked at some other stuff, alot of things have been on the shelf for 5 years or more, lower your prices man!

I believe it.

 

[TNGTony]

Just for those that may not know, if an item is out of stock at a store and they expect more to come in soon, the store does not want to sell the display (especially at a discount) because when the item comes back in stock they have to open another new one as a display and then eventually sell that one at a discount. At the same time no customers between the time the display is sold to the time the item comes back in to stock can see the item and get the urge to buy one! Believe it or not, when something is out of stock you tend to get more people interested in buying it. Why? because it must be good if "everyone" is buying one. You may not make the buck at that moment, but you save a couple of bucks by not selling the display at a discount and using it to advertise the "popular" item. And then, not all people are so impatient that they have to have something the instant they think they may want it like a 3 year-old!

See ya
Tony

 

[Mr Tony]

exactly Tony. But if its truly on clearance, then they do want to get rid of it because its just there collecting dust (and on the books)

 

[bhelms]

...and to be sure there will be no more coming...! I too worked for 4 years at RS "back in the day". We had a lot more control of operations back then and could easily make decisions like that, you know, in the spirit of "customer service". They used to have "where is, as-is" sales that meant exactly that. Sometimes you had to hit a couple of stores to find items on that list because once a store was out of it, that was final. (Of course we could always make exceptions for special customers!) But it was usually worth shopping several as the prices were..."insane"!

Charles Tandy has probably rolled-over in his grave so many times due to the chain's decline that by now he's closer to China! The internet has really diminished the value of this kind of chain and RS is struggling for an identity, has been for years. I rarely use RS anymore except for "gotta have it now" components. Everything can be found at lower prices and better quality elsewhere if you can wait a bit. There was a time when the Realistic and Archer brands were worth something. Not any more IMHO...

 

[ravman]

LOL, that's what I do.

Ha! That's exactly what I was thinking as I read his post.

He shops backwards. I do my research online. Then maybe go to a store and check it out in person, then order online.

If I'm feeling really impatient, I buy it in the store and online. Then when the online order arrives, I return it unopened to the store.

 

[cjwct]

I was a salesperson and a manger in retail and you also have to remember this: the display shelf/case may yet to have been updated from corporate and that model needs to remain out here thus not allowing us to sell it OR a newer model is coming iwhich physically looks the same, so we just keep the old model out