Lloyd Braun
New Member
- Joined
- Dec 8, 2004
Don't mean to spam but the following is the letter I sent Circuit City Regional Management regarding my "Rock-In-A-Box" situation. With the economy the way it is, many retailers are adopting non-customer friendly return policies.
"April 29, 2003
Tim Quinn
Regional Manager –St. Louis, MO
Circuit City
801-659-6898
Dear Mr. Quinn,
I wanted to make you aware of a disturbing experience I had while shopping at your Brentwood, MO #3767 location. I purchased a NVIDIA Geforce4 ti 4200 video card at this store on April 28, 2003 for a price of $169.99. When I got home to install the card, I opened the package to find an ATI Rage video card sealed inside an anti-magnetic package with a NVIDIA manufacturer’s sticker on the side. This is a significantly lower quality card and completely different manufacturer than the package promoted. Obviously, I needed to exchange the product.
I returned to the Brentwood location and spoke a customer service representative and presented ALL items that were present when I opened the shrink wrapped package, including the shrink wrapping, to her. She instructed me to pick out the right card and come back for the exchange. When I got to the computer department the shelf was empty. After some searching I found a “gentleman”- Store Manager Ron Bailey, who begrudgingly asked me if I needed help. I walked him to the video card section and asked if they had any more NVIDIA Geforce4 ti 4200 cards left in the store and told him I was there for an exchange. I explained the situation to which he promptly got on his phone and walked away for about 5 minutes. When he returned he said that “(customer service) doesn’t know what you’re talking about.” So we walked back and found the representative who had helped me and my receipt/box- now missing shrink wrap. Ron took a brief look inside, slid the box and receipt back at me, and said that I would have to contact the manufacturer about my problem because “we only carry sealed products.” I asked him to repeat himself because I was in complete disbelief. I explained again that I had purchased the card at his store and expected an exchange or refund. Ron again said, “Sir, you’re going to have to contact the manufacturer, we only carry sealed products.” I again explained that the product was sealed with the incorrect packaging. Ron said, “Yeah, I said, you’re going to have to contact the manufacturer, we only carry sealed products.” I walked out of the store in shock and got to my car when I realized what had happened to me. I returned inside and told Ron that this was unacceptable, I had been swindled and that I needed a solution. Ron’s solution was- “We are not taking that back, you need to contact these people (manufacturer)” pointing at the box. I asked for the manufacturer’s phone number and Ron told me that I could probably contact them on-line. If Ron had been paying attention or had a clue about customer service he would have realized that I could not contact the manufacturer on-line because I did not have a working video card. I specifically asked Ron if he thought the situation was fair for me, to which he replied, “No but you’re going to have to contact the manufacturer, we only carry sealed products.” I cannot fathom a retail store manager who would let a customer leave their store like that. So I left the store with every intention of never shopping at Circuit City again, contacting the local television station’s consumer advocacy show, and contacting a lawyer if need be.
I returned home and called you Bridgeton location (#0533) to get the Circuit City corporate contact information and the regional manager’s name and number. I spoke to a representative named Reid who took the time to ask me what had happened and offered a number of solutions. The Bridgeton location did not have the GeForce4 ti 4200 in stock but Reid offered to upgrade the card for a small additional fee if I would drive to his store and give Circuit City a second chance. Your Bridgeton staff was helpful and dedicated to rectifying the wrong that had been committed by your incompetent store manager Ron at Brentwood (#3767). Reid saved Circuit City from losing a good customer and having a lot of bad publicity.
I still cannot recommend your Brentwood location to anyone I know because of its manager Ron and his return policy- a policy which directly contradicts the agreement on the receipt. Not to mention his utter disregard for customer satisfaction. I intend on telling anyone who will listen to NOT shop at that location. You should seriously reconsider your decision to have Ron interacting with the public and hold a decision making position. With 15 years of retail and commission sales experience, I have never seen anything like Ron.
Reid and your customer service department at Bridgeton deserve to be rewarded for their efforts.
I would be happy to speak with you about this situation at any time and look forward to hearing how this will be handled. Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter."
"April 29, 2003
Tim Quinn
Regional Manager –St. Louis, MO
Circuit City
801-659-6898
Dear Mr. Quinn,
I wanted to make you aware of a disturbing experience I had while shopping at your Brentwood, MO #3767 location. I purchased a NVIDIA Geforce4 ti 4200 video card at this store on April 28, 2003 for a price of $169.99. When I got home to install the card, I opened the package to find an ATI Rage video card sealed inside an anti-magnetic package with a NVIDIA manufacturer’s sticker on the side. This is a significantly lower quality card and completely different manufacturer than the package promoted. Obviously, I needed to exchange the product.
I returned to the Brentwood location and spoke a customer service representative and presented ALL items that were present when I opened the shrink wrapped package, including the shrink wrapping, to her. She instructed me to pick out the right card and come back for the exchange. When I got to the computer department the shelf was empty. After some searching I found a “gentleman”- Store Manager Ron Bailey, who begrudgingly asked me if I needed help. I walked him to the video card section and asked if they had any more NVIDIA Geforce4 ti 4200 cards left in the store and told him I was there for an exchange. I explained the situation to which he promptly got on his phone and walked away for about 5 minutes. When he returned he said that “(customer service) doesn’t know what you’re talking about.” So we walked back and found the representative who had helped me and my receipt/box- now missing shrink wrap. Ron took a brief look inside, slid the box and receipt back at me, and said that I would have to contact the manufacturer about my problem because “we only carry sealed products.” I asked him to repeat himself because I was in complete disbelief. I explained again that I had purchased the card at his store and expected an exchange or refund. Ron again said, “Sir, you’re going to have to contact the manufacturer, we only carry sealed products.” I again explained that the product was sealed with the incorrect packaging. Ron said, “Yeah, I said, you’re going to have to contact the manufacturer, we only carry sealed products.” I walked out of the store in shock and got to my car when I realized what had happened to me. I returned inside and told Ron that this was unacceptable, I had been swindled and that I needed a solution. Ron’s solution was- “We are not taking that back, you need to contact these people (manufacturer)” pointing at the box. I asked for the manufacturer’s phone number and Ron told me that I could probably contact them on-line. If Ron had been paying attention or had a clue about customer service he would have realized that I could not contact the manufacturer on-line because I did not have a working video card. I specifically asked Ron if he thought the situation was fair for me, to which he replied, “No but you’re going to have to contact the manufacturer, we only carry sealed products.” I cannot fathom a retail store manager who would let a customer leave their store like that. So I left the store with every intention of never shopping at Circuit City again, contacting the local television station’s consumer advocacy show, and contacting a lawyer if need be.
I returned home and called you Bridgeton location (#0533) to get the Circuit City corporate contact information and the regional manager’s name and number. I spoke to a representative named Reid who took the time to ask me what had happened and offered a number of solutions. The Bridgeton location did not have the GeForce4 ti 4200 in stock but Reid offered to upgrade the card for a small additional fee if I would drive to his store and give Circuit City a second chance. Your Bridgeton staff was helpful and dedicated to rectifying the wrong that had been committed by your incompetent store manager Ron at Brentwood (#3767). Reid saved Circuit City from losing a good customer and having a lot of bad publicity.
I still cannot recommend your Brentwood location to anyone I know because of its manager Ron and his return policy- a policy which directly contradicts the agreement on the receipt. Not to mention his utter disregard for customer satisfaction. I intend on telling anyone who will listen to NOT shop at that location. You should seriously reconsider your decision to have Ron interacting with the public and hold a decision making position. With 15 years of retail and commission sales experience, I have never seen anything like Ron.
Reid and your customer service department at Bridgeton deserve to be rewarded for their efforts.
I would be happy to speak with you about this situation at any time and look forward to hearing how this will be handled. Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter."
LOL, on man that was good.
