Fry's Electronics

Fry's advertised an Amana portable air conditioner-windowless 12000 btu with heater for $349.00 and listed all of their Southern California stores in the ad. The ad was in the July 19, 2009 Los Angeles Times.

The closest Fry's store to me was in Manhattan Beach, CA. Fry's Manhattan Beach store said they never had the advertised Amana air conditioner and never would. The sales clerk was pleasant but confused and untrained. She kept me waiting as well as other people
while contacting a "manager."

I was shuffled from store to store including Fountain Valley, Burbank, etc. By the time I had a response from the Oxnard store, 75 miles away, the next morning, I was told it was a one day sale and the price was now $499.00, the full retail price rather than 349.00 the sale price.

Draw your own conclusions!

Fry's Electronics Headquarters
Fry's Electronics
600 E. Brokaw Rd.
San Jose, CA 95112 (Map)
Phone: [protected]
Fax: [protected]
Toll Free: [protected]

I would like you to know one thing first. To me, officially Fry's has the worst costumer service I have ever received anywhere.

For the kind of attitude I received, Fry's will never get mine or my friends' businesses again. I will make sure to tell all the people I know to not shop at Fry's, unless someone can prove to me that Fry's is still worth our business again. In fact I have already told both of my parents and my best friend.

This all started from waiting in line outside of your store on Thursday afternoon at 5PM, 12 hours before the Black Friday sale, with some friends because they needed some computer parts to build new computers fast enough to play the latest PC video games. I joined in only because I thought it will be a fun and memorable experience. In fact, the GPS I want is on sale for $100 at Staples but I was willing to get the same GPS at your store for $150. The last GPS I had was also purchase from Fry's. It was stolen from my car a year ago. Yes can see I was not in a hurry to get a new one. I joined in the waiting line for fun, I thought.

This wasn't the only time I went to a Fry's Black Friday sale though, but this is for sure the worst of all my experience related to spending money.

I won't say too much about the people cutting inline in during the last hour before the store open at 5am. I was told the other stores hand out order numbers to avoid cutting. Not at Fry's. This is a customer consideration suggestion not a poor service complain.

Another thing, please don't let so many people in the store at once. I am sure it's against government regulation to have more than the maximum capacity of people allowed in the store. My friend had a bloody finger and didn't even know how. I was run into many times by the carts. Carts were going over my toe, hitting my back, bumping into my legs. There were many dead ends where there are many shipping carts just stuck. The aisle could have allowed 2 shipping cart through but not with piles and piles of products on the floor in the middle of the aisle.

Anyways back to my reason of writing you. It was very bad experience at 550 E Brokaw last Friday, but nothing compare to how I was treated badly again on the following week.

I made 2 purchases on 4 receipts (One made in the morning then I went back to yours store again at night to make my 2nd purchase)

3 items in 1 receipt

2x 1 item in 1 receipts

20 items in one receipt

Plus 6 Mail-in-rebate with 3 requiring the original receipt

In total I spent around $2800 in your 550 E. Brokaw store last Friday, 11/28/2007

(That is more than sum of the money I spent on entertainment this entire year)

Saturday

Not only the check out line at the casher was a total mess, I discovered the next day I was short of 1 receipt for the monitor I purchased, which of course I need a receipt for the rebate submission. The casher somehow decided to ring up my 3 items on 3 different receipts because she wanted to help other people behind me while she waiting for someone to bring my items from the storage. My point? I need that receipt that was never given to me.

Monday

I discovered that to be able to obtain the mail in rebate, I have to include in my submission my original sales receipt or bill of sale must be either typewritten or computer generated.' How in the world can I get all my rebates back if I purchased a total of 20 items on one receipt with 5 mail-in-rebates for the total of $275 in rebate. Sadly, 3 out of my 5 rebate needed the ORIGINAL SALES RECEIPT. I need to have the original sales receipt. That I concluded.

Wednesday

I was at the San Jose Fry's tonight around 9PM.

So I went back to your store other following Wednesday, after work to get additional receipt for my rebates. I was sent to the customer service counter #53. A lady wearing a red sweater asked me what I need. I told her I need the original sales receipts.

For the following reasons is why I need the help from customer services rep.

1. I was never given the original sales receipt for the monitor I purchased, only the rebate mail-in-receipt. (The casher lady mad me pay for my items in 3 individual times because she said she could help the nest customer while I wait for my items from the stock cage behind the counter) Because of that she got confused and gave me one less receipt then I should have received.

2. On the receipt that I purchased 20 items with, I need 3 original receipts, including the one I have to receive my mail-in-rebate money back from the manufactory. I, of course, have only ONE original receipt.

3. The only reason I spent so $2800 on 11/28/2007 in Fry's is because things were on sale. If the rebates are invalid, these items would cost more than the normal market price. If the store knows about this, the store should have done something to prevent customers from a scam. If the store didn't know, the store should help the customers to obtain the mail-in-rebates by printing the additional receipts.

This is what Selina Avila, the customer services rep, told me.

1. We don't print out receipts for rebate purposes. It is in our policy.

But when I ask to see that written policy, she doesn't have it. She pointed to a receipt request form that says 'Reason Needed: Warranty Purposes Only' But where does it said it's against the Fry's policy to give customer sales receipt for obtaining rebate?) What if I was never given one of my receipts?

She told me many other customers had already came in today with the same problem. She can't help me. So it wasn't just me. It was all the people who purchase that day. She could have reflect that to her supervise and get me an answer. But no she say no. She said if I want, I can ask the supervise myself tomorrow.

2. She said yes she can see these rebate receipt says they will only take original sales receipts but I should have know better.

There was no warning of rebate items needed to be on different receipts. Anywhere. The ad said one rebate per customer not one receipt per item.

3. I should have check out each of my rebate items on different receipts in.

Maybe what I should have done is not even purchased from Fry's. That would have solved the problem. Is she insane? I can't remember which of my 20 items needed rebates. Are customers expected to know EVERYTHING in Fry's now? Why did you hire workers who can't help customers?

First I was hurried out of the check out line on 11/28/2007 by the white haired store manager, who I didn't write down the name of, but at that time I wasn't THAT angry yet. He constantly came over to the casher station and asked the casher why we were so slow. According to him, I was 'holding up the casher time for 5 other customers' The casher lady didn't do anything wrong. She wasn't slow. I just had too many items she had to get from the back counter. On top of that the customer next to my counter had a big microwave on the check out desk and a 45+ large screen TV on a cart next to me, it was almost impossible to see my casher and hand her my items.

I want you to know Lorraine [censored] at register 6 was a good casher from start to finish. At that time we were at the corner register where half of all the customers from 86 casher desks come through this corner casher to exit the checkout area to the exit door. It was noisy; I can't see much of her I had limited desk area to work with, but still she was polite.

Ok I understand. If the rebates require original receipts, I should have paid for the items individually. However, how would I know these rebates needed one original receipt for each of them? The rebate forms were not made available before we purchase these supposedly on sale items (since if the rebates are all a big lie we might have paid more than the fair market price). The only way to act on this is if I read the rebate receipt on the spot and hold up the entire line of customers behind me, then make my way to the return desk and return these items then only then, wait another 2-3 hour in the casher line to pay for these items individually. There where no fine print in the ad or in the store that tells me the restrictions before I make the purchase.

If Fry's know these rebates are going to be rejected if not submitted on original receipt why did your store advertised the items in the after rebate price? I have one original receipt not 3. I cannot possibly get 2 out of my 6 rebate back. I hope a store as big as Fry's is not using these tactics to trick customers into buying. This is against consumers' rights.

4. If my mail-in-rebates don't come back after 12weeks, I can come back to Fry's to let the store know about it. She could call the manufacture to let them know about Fry's policy. Yes. only after 12week after I am rejected out of my Black Friday Discount will she do something. But of course she can't promise anything.

After 12 weeks of waiting for the mail-in-rebates? If the rebate clearly printed say submissions must be submitted with the original receipt. It is a policy. If the lady wearing red told me it's against their policy to print receipts for customers but with no policy in writing to show me, it is not a policy. She was just unwilling to help.

5. She also told me, if I didn't receive the proper receipt I never should have made it past the checking point before existing.

Well, I did but the person at the door looked at all my receipts, but didn't say anything and made a mark with a highlighter on my receipt and told me I am good to go. So it is my fault to leave the store without all the receipt? I had too many receipts in my hands. Are the customers expected to do everything now even when the store worker didn't do their job? I don't know if the person at the door is checking be for sure not for the store's protection or the customers' protection

6. Fry's won't loss money if the customer gets an additional receipt printed or not.

Actually I really wonder if Fry's profits from all the mail-in-rebates that will be rejected because Fry's didn't say the mail-in-rebate items that require the submissions to be on individual original receipts. That is very unethical.

7. About the one item where I never given the original receipt only the mail-in-rebate receipt, she said no at first but after much fighting with her for another 20 min or more, she agreed to request that receipt for me because I never got the receipt.

BUT, if you can request that receipt for me, can't you do that for me for my other 2 mail-in-rebates that require the original receipt? I know she had the power to request the receipt and help me out, she just didn't want to.

8. As if this isn't a bad enough experience for me, knowing I am going to be cheated out of the money I thought I save by choosing Fry's, I can't find her name tag to report her bad attitude.

I know Fry's workers always wear name tags. She told me if I want to complain talk to her supervisor who is, of course, not working at the time. So all I got was the contact information on the supervisor, Cecilia Alvarez. I was wondering why this lady in red sweater didn't have her name tag. I even thought maybe she is Cecilia Alvarez, the supervisor who might be too chicken to take to me about the Fry's no original receipt policy. I didn't even bother to ask this lady in red sweater her name; I knew she would just make something up. I knew. So I wanted to leave right then but my friend who came with me to Fry's to buy the same monitor I purchased last week. He saw it at my house and decided to get the same one too. So I went with him to the casher for check out.

The one good thing in the whole trip back to Fry's after 11/28/2007. is that we were pointed to register #34. The lady wearing the red sweater was sitting right behind this very cash register. She was wearing a name tag. Not when I was talking to her earlier. She clearly was wearing her big white name tag. But, I can't see her name. I want to let you, Randy Fry, know she purposefully remove her name tag at one point while she claimed to get the request form or the pan or ask someone something. She clearly is wear the require name tag now. She knew I was going to reflect badly of her. She purposeful did it. That is very very shameful.

I want you, the owner of Fry's Electronics, to know Selina Avila needs to improve her customer service skills and attitude toward customers. (However if the name is wrong I would be lost again because the only way I can get her name was to ask the casher what is the name of the lady wearing the red sweater) If he lied too, I think your company is really really mess-up.

I want you to know, because of her you just lost me as a customer and all the people I know. Ask you can see I am angry enough to type this letter to you and I want a reply from you. A proof that said you read this letter and that the lady in the red sweater or anybody else in your management team didn't snitch this letter before you can read it. I have in general lost my interest in Fry's. Maybe you can do something to improve this store you created. Please let me know. If I never get a reply back from you, I know, and all my friends will know too that Fry's is not a place worth shopping at. This store is a joke.