Complaint Review: Circuit City

In December, i bought a Sony Playstation. I hesitated to but it, but the salesman broke the ice by telling me that if i wasn't happy with it, i could simply return it.

I returned the next day to exchange it for something else because it wasn't what i wanted. The girl at the service desk scanned my PS2 and said that the serial # didn't match my receipt. I asked to speak with a manager, and she replied that this is the rule and there was no need. Finally i was able to speak with the operations manager(mark) of the store and he did some investigating, (not much) and came back saying that that was not the same system they sold us. He did all in his power to avoid insulting me, but this gesture in general is a slap to my face. I'm am an honest person and have shopped at their store for years. I even work right next door to your store at the Guitar Center. I too work in customer service and this is by far the most bizarre thing i have ever encountered. This was the same unit i purchased at store 849 and the same i was returning. I was hoping to speak with the General manager, but he must have been too uninterested in what i had to say. As they all were. This was definately a mistake done in that store, wheather it was a computer error or some shady actions done by the salesman himself. I know people try to pull fast ones and that is why serial numbers are relied on. But this case is different. i feel i was cheated by their company and blown off by their employees who eyeballed me as if i were trying to rob them. my ticket number is 084904421329
the following day on Dec. 24, i my manager from work helped me get ahold of corporate and he spoke with a helpful lady at Circuit City corporate named Tammy. Through some investigation done by Tammy, she discovered this was indeed the unit that corresponded and that the wrong number was being looked at. She gave us the "go" and told us to return it with "no hassle." When we arrived, the man a the help desk took the piece back to the operations manager (mark@ 849)and he came back and said, "well, this isn't the same unit that you tried to return yesterday, because the number was right." I told him that he was looking at the wrong number the whole time. Instead of appologizing he then accused me of having tampered with the game system and he said i removed two screws from it. We once again requested to speak with the General Manager (David "Keith" Canoon) since Mark (ops manager) wasn't resolving anything and just accusing me of switching systems and tampering with the system. Once he realized he was wrong, neither Ops manager nor General Manager showed their faces to appologize. After several attempts, the general manager was like a ghost. He's non-existant and refused to speak with us. This whole experience has been an insult to me. I do not plan to ever shop at their store after this. I will cancel my Circuit City card and never recommend your store to anyone. I believe word of mouth is stong, and i work directly next door to store #849, i'll be sure to advise all my customers (which happened to shop at Circuit City aswell) to never set foot there again.

Menahem
miami, Florida
U.S.A.