Complaint Review: CIRCUIT CITY

When you are buying something expensive at cc or even best buy did it ever occur to you to open the box and have them turn the equipment on? if they refuse, then that is a good idea that they are hiding something.

Unless I can open the box up and make sure it is running up to my expectations, then I wont buy it and if they dont like to do that, then I dont like to spend my money at that store for the high priced item.

Just like buying a car, you should be able to take the item for a test drive and make that one is working up to snuff.

Just my two cents

I'd like to point out something that is relevant to the case, and put in some input concering such practices.

Although I am in the UK, the law is almost identical in the US - the customer has the right to return ANY item, whether it is sale, second-hand, ex-stock if it is found faulty. Some stores prohibit you to open goods on their premises (I've no idea of CCs policy, but this is common for computer companies).

The onus is focused on the supplier, not the consumer, and unless they can specifically prove the customer has damaged the goods they must legally replace or repair them, full stop. They can of course refuse to serve the customer if such occurs again, but it is the legal right of the company to replace goods if faulty.

I have a good example of my own - a popular chain of computer stores in the UK sells stock for the user to install himself, however, if you try and return such an item as faulty, they will try to fob you off that you 'didn't follow procedure for static safety when installing it' and therefore its your fault not theres. I enjoyed point out that I have specialist training in ESDC (Electrostatic Sensitive Device Control) and have my own little static free area from when I used to repair computers. I also pointed out the law and they accepted the return and exchanged it.

My advice to the customer is check how the retail law works (I studied UK law not US so it may be slightly different) and who has the onus of proof - is is more than likely to be the retailer, and since CC are distributing a product for sale (i.e. retailing) it is up to them to replace the item not the manufacturer. Yes, they can return the item to the manufacturer for repair or replacement, but THEY must 'foot the bill' unless the manufacturer's parts are found faulty. Since the screen was cracked then it may have been when the product was unloaded, when it was boxed at the factory or when it was put in the back of the car - there is no proof either way, but still CC must replace or repair it, it is their legal obligation.

Lets take the original post in a nutshell....

Customer purchases product, upon returning home, finds out product is broken. Comes immeadiately back to the store for a return or refund. He gets nothing.

That is the basic sum of the original post.

Now......

Look at the long list of replies after. Granted, we dont know the end result, since the original poster has not responed. But, we DO have the above scenario. What is the general CC employee response to that scenario.


I'll tell you.

It has been NOTHING but dodging, insulting, and completely useless excuses. Sometimes even comming full circle and starting again. It shows the general contempt that these several employees have for their customers. It shows that they will point the finger outward at the customer regardless of the situation, and never even consider the thought that their employer could do wrong.

You CC trolls have even tried to say your rants about customers being crooks, customers should take products elsewhere for repair when the warranty is with CC, customers cant follow policy, customers cant read the "rules" on the back of a recipt after the sale.........are HELPING?!?!?!

Thats an insult, and its disgusting. You people are a complete joke of the retail community, and should be ashamed of yourselves.


ALL THIS.......because someone dared to say on a rip off site.....

"I purchased an item at Circuit City, it was broken, I tried to return it, and they wouldnt help me"

Lets assume this person did get a resolution from CC.......GREAT!!!! But not even that can absolve the way you trolls treated his initial post.

well... if you read my statement and not just the letters in caps... i said... that if i knew the story... i could tell you why it was not taken back... there had to be a reason besides a straight denial...

if i knew the story... i could tell you exactly why there was a denial

either way.... we do REPLACE OR REFUND.... and of course... we do HONOR OUR WARRENTIES (read above for my actual post)

"But for you Ben... we do... REPLACE OR REFUND.... we do... HONOR OUR WARRENTIES... sorry Ben... we do all those... no need to fuss"


Was that your quote there?? I think it was. Funny, did you ever think that if the above statement is true.....then this thread WOULDNT BE HERE!!!??

I see how we are now comming full circle. You have exhausted your excuses and now resort to just flat out denial that anything happened. I bet you totally forgot the other threads where "chris" told the customer to take a product to another shop for repairs. When they had a CC warranty. So your denial is fairly obvious.


IF A PRODUCT IS BROKEN OUT OF THE BOX.....REPLACE IT....OR REFUND THE MONEY.

HONOR YOUR WARRANTIES.

not one time have i said the customer is the crook...

but i do think there must be more to this story...

either way... the mantra u say over and over.... well we do that... we have done that... and we will do that...

if i knew the whole story for the original poster... then i could tell you WHY we didn't take the computer back in this instance...

But for you Ben... we do... REPLACE OR REFUND.... we do... HONOR OUR WARRENTIES... sorry Ben... we do all those... no need to fuss

Once again I will have to use cut and paste of quotes....(this is really getting old people!)...

"ok... so if the product is defective we replace the product...

or upgrade if you so desire...

you, as the customer, also have a right to open the product to check for damage before you leave"


And I say once again.....THAT did NOT happen. They told the customer to stuff it and take it up with the manufacturer.

And about this "check for damage" thing.....

If you read further back I mentioned to "chris" that if CC intends to use that as an excuse then they need to post above all points of sale, the front door, and customer service desks "CHECK YOUR PRODUCTS BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE STORE...WE WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR BROKEN OR DEFECTIVE MERCHANDISE ONCE IT LEAVES STORE PROPERTY".

I doubt you will find any retail establishments try that one!

And....about the "orginal poster hasnt come back". Once again I say SO WHAT! Keep this thread alive gentlemen. I will post the same thing every time. And other people will see it over and over and over till the day the Earth stops rotating if need be. The longer you continue this attitude of the "customer is always a crook", the longer others will continue to see it on the latest reports. You are not doing your compnay any favors gents!

IF A PRODUCT IS BROKEN RIGHT OUT OF THE BOX....REPLACE IT OR REFUND THE MONEY.

HONOR YOUR WARRANTIES.

Wish Andrzej would get back on to let us know what's happened. My suspicion? It was resolved amicably since we've heard nothing further. Here's where the rub comes in: He made a purchase, found the product was defective after getting home, returned and was told the manufacturer would be contacted after the holiday. Seems simple, right? Wrong! Andrzej immediately gets on this board and starts yelling rip-off, rip-off, rip-off! It's attitudes like his that bring out the worst/best in people.

I've been in Customer Service lines wating to be helped and have seen the shenanigans scamming customers have tried to pull: item purchased on sale, but want original price refunded; credit/refund with no receipt; item purchased so long ago it no longer is in retailer's computer/inventory. I could go on and on. These are the type customers which have forced a strict return policy on the public.

I applaud the CC employees who defend their store's refund/exchange policies. I'm sure they've seen many more attempted scams than I.

Had Andrzej waited for at least a week or two before he started screaming rip-off, we wouldn't see all the name-calling we have on this subject.

All of us, consumers and retailers alike, have one interest in common: our bottom line!

ok... so if the product is defective we replace the product...

or upgrade if you so desire...

you, as the customer, also have a right to open the product to check for damage before you leave

if you, the customer, wants to return the product when you have the option to wave the restocking fee by trying another then that is your choice, the fee imposed on you, it is written as part of our policy (good or bad)...

if i may say... since Circuit City almost always trys to please the customer... i would say thats why we have gotten into a rut as it is... we are losing money on the "renting", paranoid, and the customers one cannot please... that is why we, as most retailers have, institued a restocking fee for the customer if they feel that they need to return the product without replacement...

Stores that charge restocking fee when returning computer, cameras, and car electronics:

BestBuy (www.bestbuy.com)
Circuit City (www.circuitcity.com)
Target (www.target.com)
Meijer (www.meijer.com)
Compusa (store credit only, no restocking fee) (www.compusa.com)
Fry's Electronics (will not accpet returns for most computers) (www.outpost.com)

of course... the list goes on... but really... it just tells me... that if you shop in a consumer store then you will get a stocking fee when trying to return something

and based on the amount of times the original poster posted.... it looks like the problem was resolved!! consumer... wins again...

poor guy/gal, they probably got a new laptop...

Alex, the product had a cracked screen right out of the box according to the original post. CC refused to satisfy this customer.

You have either not even read the post (let alone most of the thread), or just dont care. Defective, yes, replaced or refunded no. So your point is also moot.

And what about the other threads? There is one with a gal that purchsed a GPS system and it broke within days. Her faith shattered on that particular brand and wanted something else. Why should she have to pay herself, to show your company that a product stinks. And then to charge a restocking fee??? Now why would any rational company make a person pay a RESTOCKing fee on a broken product? Does CC have a policy of putting broken items back on the shelf hoping another customer will fall into the trap??

Ben, we do replace the product if it faulty. Depending on what you purchase, you usually have a return period that if it does not work correctly or you simply do not like it we will exchange it or refund you money, once again depending on what it is. If your product breaks on you four months down the road, the people who built your product give it a limited warranty for any defective merchandise. If you want more coverage for a longer amount of time and more protection you can by an (optional) plan from CC. By the way you are incorrect about being able to send the merchandise back to the manafacturer for full credit. If the merchandise is considered non repairable we have to write it off and only get a small fraction of what we paid for it. We still will accept all product returns within the specified time frame. You keep calling our policy bad policy. What is so bad about it? That we honor it? It is a more than fair policy and most people seem to think it is good. I deal with CC customers every single day, so I would say I have a better insight on what customers of our store think than you do. I see the good and the bad, I read all of the comments posted to our store, I take the time to talk to the customers in the store and ask how their experience was, and how we can improve it the next time they shop with us. You are forming opinion on one bad experience that you had with Circuit City, I am basing my information on thousands of customers I have personally talked to. Thats it, I think I am done with this post, we can go back and forth till the end of time. You have your view, I have mine, have a great day.

Of course I repeat myself over and over and over and OVER. Why? Because you folks keep changing your excuses.

First it was the consumer was the con-man.

Then it was "sorry it was out of stock".

Then it was "gee wiz...cant you just follow rules?"

Now its "well your the only poster so the whole thing doesnt matter".

I'm going to repeat myself as always. My point has never changed......

If a consumer purchases a product and it doenst work right out of the box, then replace it or refund their money......period. Dont use the excuse that your losing money because we have already gone over that issue. If its defective, then YOU, the STORE, will get YOUR money back from the manufacturer. That is why you, the store, is considered RETAIL. It is your job to deal with the manufacterer, not the end user's job.

As stated in my last post there are things called "Bad return policies". It is my feeling, and obviously several other posters feelings that CC falls into this category.

If you dont like by all means try and make the consumer and myself look bad. It will show in your bottom line.

Now about your "your the only poster here" crap. So what, that doenst mean none of this ever happened. Why dont you go look at other threads where Chris tried to use that as his "get out of jail" card. Like the one where a gal bought a useless as usual warranty from CC and they wouldnt honor it. When I posted a few times "chris" tried that excuse only to be shot down hard when the poor woman responded and told him "yes im still here and CC still hasnt helped me!".

The fact I'm the only one to post on a particular thread, doesnt absolve the fact that the incident happened. And it certainly doesnt change that fact that CC has a BAD RETURN POLICY.

Repeat.....of course! At least I stick to my guns. Unlike you folks that try to change your excuse every other post. So send me another excuse (your folks are running about one a week) I will respond with the exact same thing......

IT WAS BROKEN OUT OF THE BOX....REPLACE IT.....OR REFUND THE MONEY.

(Perhaps I will just use cut and paste from now on. You people just cant seem to get the simple things can you?)

Ben,
I am who I say I am, no need to be paranoid. Like I posted on you other thread, I will restate the same thing, you can quote me on this, "the policy is the same at Best Buy and better than some of the other competitors. Where are you going to go? Order online? then you will have something to truly complain about because most online vendors don't alow returns. You have to abide by store policy in any store you ever shop at period! What is so unfair about our policy anyway? I was a shopper at Best Buy and Circuit City long before I worked for CC, I understood the return policies before making the purchase and never had a problem. Did Circuit City kill your dog? What is it that you are so angry about?

at least ur funny ben...

seeing as theres probly 60000 people that work in the Cicuit City stores alone... (yes, we have more stores then the heaven-blessed Best Buy [US and Canada])

next... your the only one thats updating... so your the only one to post against...

and last... because you keep repeating yourself... theres always going to be someone to revoke your insults and try to set you straight... just quit repeating yourself

I love my job, I help who I can, I don't make the rules, I just follow blindly

at least ur funny ben...

seeing as theres probly 60000 people that work in the Cicuit City stores alone... (yes, we have more stores then the heaven-blessed Best Buy [US and Canada])

next... your the only one thats updating... so your the only one to post against...

and last... because you keep repeating yourself... theres always going to be someone to revoke your insults and try to set you straight... just quit repeating yourself

I love my job, I help who I can, I don't make the rules, I just follow blindly

at least ur funny ben...

seeing as theres probly 60000 people that work in the Cicuit City stores alone... (yes, we have more stores then the heaven-blessed Best Buy [US and Canada])

next... your the only one thats updating... so your the only one to post against...

and last... because you keep repeating yourself... theres always going to be someone to revoke your insults and try to set you straight... just quit repeating yourself

I love my job, I help who I can, I don't make the rules, I just follow blindly

I can only assume that this "alex" is either "chris" in disguise again, or another employee that works with "chris". I find it hard to believe that suddenly numerous CC employees are comming to this site and posting on the same threads.

His rants are the same, his excuses are the same.(like any CC excuse is different than the usual "can't you follow the rules....our rules...even if they suck")

Funny alex (or "chris") how all your points have been shot down many times before by more than just me. Stop going over the same things, so I can stop going over the same things.

CC's return policies stink. You have already made it clear that if we dont like it, then shop elsewhere.

We are going to take that point to heart, and shop elsewhere. We stated our reasons for not liking CC. You answered them by saying "tough $hit". We get the point....you dont care. So stop sounding like a broken record. You want us to stop shopping at CC.....ok ok....we will stop shopping there.

I can only assume that this "alex" is either "chris" in disguise again, or another employee that works with "chris". I find it hard to believe that suddenly numerous CC employees are comming to this site and posting on the same threads.

His rants are the same, his excuses are the same.(like any CC excuse is different than the usual "can't you follow the rules....our rules...even if they suck")

Funny alex (or "chris") how all your points have been shot down many times before by more than just me. Stop going over the same things, so I can stop going over the same things.

CC's return policies stink. You have already made it clear that if we dont like it, then shop elsewhere.

We are going to take that point to heart, and shop elsewhere. We stated our reasons for not liking CC. You answered them by saying "tough $hit". We get the point....you dont care. So stop sounding like a broken record. You want us to stop shopping at CC.....ok ok....we will stop shopping there.

I can only assume that this "alex" is either "chris" in disguise again, or another employee that works with "chris". I find it hard to believe that suddenly numerous CC employees are comming to this site and posting on the same threads.

His rants are the same, his excuses are the same.(like any CC excuse is different than the usual "can't you follow the rules....our rules...even if they suck")

Funny alex (or "chris") how all your points have been shot down many times before by more than just me. Stop going over the same things, so I can stop going over the same things.

CC's return policies stink. You have already made it clear that if we dont like it, then shop elsewhere.

We are going to take that point to heart, and shop elsewhere. We stated our reasons for not liking CC. You answered them by saying "tough $hit". We get the point....you dont care. So stop sounding like a broken record. You want us to stop shopping at CC.....ok ok....we will stop shopping there.

Pure and simple, CC swaps out faulty merchandise for the same product within it's return policy. I have a hard time believing that they refused to let her return without a reason. There is more to the story then was posted. I don't know any manager that would upset a customer when the policy allows us to take care of the customer. I don't know all the managers, but I know 15 in my region alone, the situation would have had the same resolve with everyone of them. I hate upsetting customers and would do anything within policy to accommidate them. As far as Circuit City being a sinking ship, what are you basing you info on? Look at the stock market, our stocks are rising not lowering. Ben might hate us, but apparently alot of consumers have a good experience with Circuit City, you will just not find them on here.

This was a pretty hot sale on that Toshiba laptop, I remember it myself and it selling pretty quickly at the location I work at. I'm assuming that the store where this complaint is aimed at was doing what they could to help that person out but sadly the person complaining either didn't understand what was going on, or is trying to get something more free out of Circuit City.

I hope regardless that this has been taken care of.

So you "know" what laptop he bought? So therefore you "know" WTF your talking about???

The poster never mentioned anything about what model the notebook was! He only mentioned that it was a Toshiba! So let me guess now your going to say that Toshiba only makes one model?? And you you "checked" for it??

So I'll say again..........


IF HE BOUGHT IT, AND IT DIDNT WORK OUT OF THE BOX, AND YOU DIDNT HAVE ONE IN STOCK TO REPLACE IT....THEN GIVE HIM HIS MONEY BACK. ITS CC's PROBLEM FOR NOT HAVING ONE IN STOCK....NOT THE CONSUMERS!

Besides "chris", you DIDNT EVEN MENTION THE STOCK ISSUE till I jumped your case. You ranted about how the consumer was trying to rip off CC and you thought the post was bull. The original post never even mentions something about a "stock" issue. The issue was they told him to goto Toshiba for help HOURS AFTER HE BOUGHT IT AND IT NEVER WORKED. God what does it take to get that through your maximum high school education mind!!?

Sheesh man! Your story falls apart before it even begins!

And for Kim about the "original poster not responding"....I really dont care. I post on threads like this when I see a pattern of abuse by employees of a business. This "chris" who now likes to go by other names (should tell you something there!) has bantered on many CC threads. It just makes me absolutely IRATE when fools like that immeadiately bash consumers at every chance they get then have the gall to say they are trying to help. Then go on and on about how their company can do no wrong...ever! So I really dont care if the original poster never comes back (I do hope he gets the problem resolved!). Just because he doesnt, does not absolve CC of what they did wrong, or their poor treatment of this guy. And even if they did resolve it, this thread will still be here as a warning of what CC can do, and has done. This isnt the BBB website where bad things suddenly disappear after the resolution. This website will let consumers know of a companies past actions.

So you "know" what laptop he bought? So therefore you "know" WTF your talking about???

The poster never mentioned anything about what model the notebook was! He only mentioned that it was a Toshiba! So let me guess now your going to say that Toshiba only makes one model?? And you you "checked" for it??

So I'll say again..........


IF HE BOUGHT IT, AND IT DIDNT WORK OUT OF THE BOX, AND YOU DIDNT HAVE ONE IN STOCK TO REPLACE IT....THEN GIVE HIM HIS MONEY BACK. ITS CC's PROBLEM FOR NOT HAVING ONE IN STOCK....NOT THE CONSUMERS!

Besides "chris", you DIDNT EVEN MENTION THE STOCK ISSUE till I jumped your case. You ranted about how the consumer was trying to rip off CC and you thought the post was bull. The original post never even mentions something about a "stock" issue. The issue was they told him to goto Toshiba for help HOURS AFTER HE BOUGHT IT AND IT NEVER WORKED. God what does it take to get that through your maximum high school education mind!!?

Sheesh man! Your story falls apart before it even begins!

And for Kim about the "original poster not responding"....I really dont care. I post on threads like this when I see a pattern of abuse by employees of a business. This "chris" who now likes to go by other names (should tell you something there!) has bantered on many CC threads. It just makes me absolutely IRATE when fools like that immeadiately bash consumers at every chance they get then have the gall to say they are trying to help. Then go on and on about how their company can do no wrong...ever! So I really dont care if the original poster never comes back (I do hope he gets the problem resolved!). Just because he doesnt, does not absolve CC of what they did wrong, or their poor treatment of this guy. And even if they did resolve it, this thread will still be here as a warning of what CC can do, and has done. This isnt the BBB website where bad things suddenly disappear after the resolution. This website will let consumers know of a companies past actions.

The first report on this is dated 05-30-05 and the original poster has not replied again hummm. Wonder why?

You seem to forget that I actually know WTF I am talking about here. I know for a fact that for about a month and a half that laptop was not to be found. In a sense I was "grasping at straws" to find a resonable answer. Thats what REASONABLE people do, they find out why things happen.



Still waiting for an answer...

Why are you so focused on the issue of this laptop being in stock. The original poster never mentioned anything about it being out of stock. He mentioned that CC told him to go talk to toshiba the same day he bought it and it didnt work right out of the box!

I think your grasping at straws here and making things up to deflect the real issue.

He bought it, it didnt work from SECOND one. Take it back and replace it. Nothing was mentioned about it not being in stock until you mentioned it "chris". Obviously if it wasnt in stock, the poster would have mentioned this.

If it were I that this happened too, and it truely wasnt in stock, I would be asking for my money back. Do you really think CC would do this? I doubt it.

Stop making up excuses. Face the fact that CC left this guy high and dry.

Hey man, when I see something bad done I'll let you know. I never said the store was perfect, nothing is. And seriously, do you have email alerts on or something. I dont see why a consumer (unless he had a grudge) would be this concerned with a company.

Do me a favor please. Tell me how the store would swap out a laptop when it dosent have it or any other comprable laptop in stock. I dont work for the store in question but I know every store in the states I checked didnt have the laptop.

Give it up will you. Circuit City doesnt give a d**n about customer service. Im sick of reading your little CC patriot posts all over this site.

CC doesnt honor what they say in the store. CC's employees promise things that arnt corporate policy leaving the consumer to pick up the tab. CC rarely if ever honors its warranty agreements.

Your a joke man! Stop blaming everyone else and assuming people are trying to rip off big business all the time. If someone was really trying to bag some cash off of CC, I can think of zillions of ways to do with with far less hassle and far bigger payoff than dicking around with coporate patriots like you and your moneygrubbing managers.

The guy got a broken laptop....REPLACE IT!

A person bought a warranty......HONOR IT!

Take your "oh stop complaining" crap and shove it.

By your posts, and the many I have seen on other threads "chris" you are no better than these theives yourself. You have NEVER admitted to any wrongdoing by CC...EVER! I find it a statistical impossibility that there are PERFECT companies out there. Nobobody can be as "perfect" as you make CC to be. Right there proves you wrong. Christ man, on another thread you even told a person with a warranty to "seek another repair shop" as your cure all. STILL trying to absolve CC of any wrongdoing.

Get real!!

I have been a consumer far longer then I have been a salesman. Hell, I even ordered a guitar from a store that told me they had it in stock only to wait 9 months after I paid them. Every time I contacted them I was nice and understanding. In the end they gave me a case for free and didnt charge me for shipping. I highly doubt they would have done that if I was demanding.

I try my hardest to live by the golden rule and it has helped both me and customers. Sometimes people need to step outside of their spoiled world and get over themselves. There are problems that cant be solved by complaining.

I was a gun dealer & sold fishing gear during the summer months.This problem I ran into with one of my suppliers.This company would ship broken fishing rods counting on UPS to bend the boxes & for the distributer to collect on UPS insurance or for me to open the boxes and be stuck with broken fishing rods.I quickly learned to drop this company as you should circuit city & toshitba.I have a son in college and his toshitba(I misspelled it on purpose)has been worked on several times and he had the extended warranty but got his money back while he still had time.Live and learn a company who grows too! quick either did so by good service or by ripping people off the latter is in order for circuit city.OH! when chris get's fired by circuit city let's see if his tune changes?

I would be willing to bet all of my guitars that the store didnt have the laptop in stock. Our store and every store in our region didnt have it in stock for more then three weeks. I cant say this any clearer, THERE WAS NO WAY TO DO A RETURN!

And yes the store would have lost money on the return. If we didnt have it in stock and needed to exchange it we would have had to drop the price of the other laptop to match the rebates. Rebates come from the manf. and the store. That means we would have lost whatever the rebate amount was from the manf.

You people are also way to quick to jump on a store. There could be things the poster isnt telling us. If the screen fracture is in the middle and eminates from a point its obviously been hit. I explained the packaging and it would have been damaged.

Opening up damaged packaging in the store is a good idea. If a box is damaged I usually recomend the customer tries it out when they are in the store to avoid problems like this.

Notice how the poster didnt do any follow ups? Could it be because the problem was resolved with Circuit City's help. Dont forget he stated that CC was contacting Toshiba to get it worked out.

As many of my coworkers know (they like to read this and make fun of me) I am far from being a CC fanboy. The constant "Retail store #4 didnt suck me off" complaints get tiresome.

I'm actually kinda curious to see if the mods let me post this...

One minor issue mentioned in this link REALLY makes my blood boil! When I buy a product from a retailer and immediately have a DOA or other problem, I go absolutely postal when I'm told to pursue the issue with the manufacturer or distributor.
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I bought the item from the retailer. The retailer probably made the major mark-up and hence profit. But more importantly, I didn't buy from the manufacturer or distributor. The retailer was my last piont of contact, and it's absolutely ludicrous that the dealer would be out of the loop if a problem arose.
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I prefer the image of being a customer who is prepared to go the distance and continue saying "I'm sorry, that answer is not acceptable. Please allow me to move on to someone who has the authority you apparently lack,and who might that be?" If I truly feel that if my request is reasonable and in line with a dealer properly handling a problem, I simply WILL NOT take "no" or a brush-off. Actually, I've found that most of the personnel in these "big box" electronics stores can't sustain a argumentative,legitimate exception to a reasonable, legitimate issue which is presented, upon which they disagree.
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If the situation gets completely out of hand, I welcome their threat to "call the police". Let them do all the screaming and bitching, ask them if they're through, and then explain YOUR position in a concise, polite manner. They can easily be made to look like the idiots they are. Just let them do it. A store is, indeed, "private property". It is also open to and soliciting the presence of customers. You're NOT "trespassing".
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Grrrrr! Retailers and their zombie sales force!

One minor issue mentioned in this link REALLY makes my blood boil! When I buy a product from a retailer and immediately have a DOA or other problem, I go absolutely postal when I'm told to pursue the issue with the manufacturer or distributor.
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I bought the item from the retailer. The retailer probably made the major mark-up and hence profit. But more importantly, I didn't buy from the manufacturer or distributor. The retailer was my last piont of contact, and it's absolutely ludicrous that the dealer would be out of the loop if a problem arose.
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I prefer the image of being a customer who is prepared to go the distance and continue saying "I'm sorry, that answer is not acceptable. Please allow me to move on to someone who has the authority you apparently lack,and who might that be?" If I truly feel that if my request is reasonable and in line with a dealer properly handling a problem, I simply WILL NOT take "no" or a brush-off. Actually, I've found that most of the personnel in these "big box" electronics stores can't sustain a argumentative,legitimate exception to a reasonable, legitimate issue which is presented, upon which they disagree.
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If the situation gets completely out of hand, I welcome their threat to "call the police". Let them do all the screaming and bitching, ask them if they're through, and then explain YOUR position in a concise, polite manner. They can easily be made to look like the idiots they are. Just let them do it. A store is, indeed, "private property". It is also open to and soliciting the presence of customers. You're NOT "trespassing".
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Grrrrr! Retailers and their zombie sales force!

One minor issue mentioned in this link REALLY makes my blood boil! When I buy a product from a retailer and immediately have a DOA or other problem, I go absolutely postal when I'm told to pursue the issue with the manufacturer or distributor.
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I bought the item from the retailer. The retailer probably made the major mark-up and hence profit. But more importantly, I didn't buy from the manufacturer or distributor. The retailer was my last piont of contact, and it's absolutely ludicrous that the dealer would be out of the loop if a problem arose.
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I prefer the image of being a customer who is prepared to go the distance and continue saying "I'm sorry, that answer is not acceptable. Please allow me to move on to someone who has the authority you apparently lack,and who might that be?" If I truly feel that if my request is reasonable and in line with a dealer properly handling a problem, I simply WILL NOT take "no" or a brush-off. Actually, I've found that most of the personnel in these "big box" electronics stores can't sustain a argumentative,legitimate exception to a reasonable, legitimate issue which is presented, upon which they disagree.
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If the situation gets completely out of hand, I welcome their threat to "call the police". Let them do all the screaming and bitching, ask them if they're through, and then explain YOUR position in a concise, polite manner. They can easily be made to look like the idiots they are. Just let them do it. A store is, indeed, "private property". It is also open to and soliciting the presence of customers. You're NOT "trespassing".
.
Grrrrr! Retailers and their zombie sales force!

One minor issue mentioned in this link REALLY makes my blood boil! When I buy a product from a retailer and immediately have a DOA or other problem, I go absolutely postal when I'm told to pursue the issue with the manufacturer or distributor.
.
I bought the item from the retailer. The retailer probably made the major mark-up and hence profit. But more importantly, I didn't buy from the manufacturer or distributor. The retailer was my last piont of contact, and it's absolutely ludicrous that the dealer would be out of the loop if a problem arose.
.
I prefer the image of being a customer who is prepared to go the distance and continue saying "I'm sorry, that answer is not acceptable. Please allow me to move on to someone who has the authority you apparently lack,and who might that be?" If I truly feel that if my request is reasonable and in line with a dealer properly handling a problem, I simply WILL NOT take "no" or a brush-off. Actually, I've found that most of the personnel in these "big box" electronics stores can't sustain a argumentative,legitimate exception to a reasonable, legitimate issue which is presented, upon which they disagree.
.
If the situation gets completely out of hand, I welcome their threat to "call the police". Let them do all the screaming and bitching, ask them if they're through, and then explain YOUR position in a concise, polite manner. They can easily be made to look like the idiots they are. Just let them do it. A store is, indeed, "private property". It is also open to and soliciting the presence of customers. You're NOT "trespassing".
.
Grrrrr! Retailers and their zombie sales force!

I hardly think you "shot down" anything.

I say "do the right thing and replace a defective product".....period. (has honesty totally become extinct in the country??)

You say "The customer is lying".

I think others that have posted here made the point very clear. Maybe....just maybe had it been 2 weeks or so later, your reasoning might...might...have a slender piece of balsa wood to stand on. But not the very next day.

Ill say it one more time. If I buy a product, go home, open the box and it doesnt work. I expect to go and return it for either the same product (a working one!) or my money back. No questions asked.

Simple.

Now your comming up with the "well...they most likely didnt have any more in stock". Well, thats just an assumption. And judging by the original post that was not the case. The store immeadiately jumped on the "customer is lying...customer is lying!" bandwagon and now here we are.

For petes sake people!! It didnt work right out of the box!! Take it back! All other stores do it. Good lord! Even Frys, being so notorious for its customer service, can understand that basic reasoning.

I'd say your points are the only ones being shot down.

So when am I going to see the new Circuit City discalmer posted there bud? I only see two die-hard people defending this horrid company. One current employee that cant seem to get simple concepts of "honest return policy" and "all consumers making a return are not crooks" through his head. And another that even admits she wanders these CC posts looking for ways to "help" the consumers, only to bash then into thinking that Circuit City can do no wrong...even when lying is involved because "well...everyone lies now and then".

Sheesh!

If its broken...take it back! Dealing with the manufacturer is YOUR JOB! Thats part of RETAIL! Cutting that part out does nothing but boost your bottom line which your increasing at the consumers expense and hardship. Consumers will go elsewhere. By the vacant look of the CC's lots around here, they already are.

20 years ago this sort of thing would be totally unacceptable. If it went to small claims I doubt the judge would spend more than 15 seconds before wacking the CC lawyer with his gavel. Now, going by your attitudes, I'm not so sure. I guess we will have to see here in the near future how "well" CC does with this policy. I see far more ex-employees siding with the consumers here. As opposed too you two that goose-step behind the coroporate yahoos.

Ill stick with what Peter said above....

"the store does not lose money on returns
chirs you listen to many uppers end boss"

I'm done with this thread. Im disgusted that there are people out there who so blatantly would try and rip people off like the two of you and justify your reasons with every excuse under the sun. First its the customer was lying. Then its coporate policy. Then its because you didnt have one in stock, etc. On and on you go. Next I guess CC's return policy will be based on the phases of the moon. I'm not surprised your doing this sort of thing Heather. After all, you did say you mainly post on rebate related posts. Have you read what the author of this website has to say about rebates and extended warranties? Hmmmm? I doubt you will like it. I'll stand behind him. I've seen it, and lived it.

Shot down...hardly. I have over 300 threads here to shoot you down with. And each one with a loooong list of posts.

Do your worst.

I think you guys were missing the point of my posts. The customer really had nothing to be angry about because Circuit City did help them. The reason they probably didnt do a swap out is because we didnt have in stock at the time. Now I can say this for sure but I did a lot of hunting for customers and I couldnt find that laptop at all for about two weeks. In that time she could have recived it sooner from Toshiba.

If at any point I sounded harsh I'm sorry. Its just anoying when people dont understand anything other then what they want. There are times when our hands are tied. The other employes stated the same thing I did, normally we would take the return. Its not really a big deal. We actually had a customer return one last week that had no issues and we gave them a laptop that cost $200 more for free. There has to be something the customer isnt telling us.

And Ben your claims have been shot down by me and my co-workers. We would normally accept the return but in this case didnt because of circumstances we couldnt control.

I changed my name because you keep getting me confused with the other Chris!

I didn't read all the responses, as you and Chris can argue all you like, hope it makes you feel like men. You guys sound very silly going back and forth.

I myself, respond to Circuit City posts quite often. There are some that I have attempted to resolve, those being rebate issues, as I worked for a company that did Cirucit City rebates.
I also respond to ones about the return policy, as there are many complaints about it, but it is not a rip off, as the customer did not read about it.

A lot of these stories, if you read into them, as you have on some other threads, it does go back to the manufature that the customer should be angry with. Circuit City gets the blunt of it, as that is where the customer walked into.

I am curious as to how YOU would run a store. What type of warrant policy you would allow.

If Circuit City is to lient, they will get walked all over, if they are too strict, they get complaints.
What do you see as a happy medium, that would allow them not to loose profit by scammers out there?

As for complaints about the actual Customer Service, that the person has been rude with them, they have not done enough, that is all perspective. i have a very high expectation for Customer Service, as I have done Customer Service for years. I am very sensitive to Customer Service issues, and for that reason, there are NOT a lot of stores i will shop at. So, you will understand that this is all perspective. As well, as I believe others have touched on, it is very hard to keep your cool when having someone yelling directly in your face.

I didn't read all the responses, as you and Chris can argue all you like, hope it makes you feel like men. You guys sound very silly going back and forth.

I myself, respond to Circuit City posts quite often. There are some that I have attempted to resolve, those being rebate issues, as I worked for a company that did Cirucit City rebates.
I also respond to ones about the return policy, as there are many complaints about it, but it is not a rip off, as the customer did not read about it.

A lot of these stories, if you read into them, as you have on some other threads, it does go back to the manufature that the customer should be angry with. Circuit City gets the blunt of it, as that is where the customer walked into.

I am curious as to how YOU would run a store. What type of warrant policy you would allow.

If Circuit City is to lient, they will get walked all over, if they are too strict, they get complaints.
What do you see as a happy medium, that would allow them not to loose profit by scammers out there?

As for complaints about the actual Customer Service, that the person has been rude with them, they have not done enough, that is all perspective. i have a very high expectation for Customer Service, as I have done Customer Service for years. I am very sensitive to Customer Service issues, and for that reason, there are NOT a lot of stores i will shop at. So, you will understand that this is all perspective. As well, as I believe others have touched on, it is very hard to keep your cool when having someone yelling directly in your face.

look people

i have been in retail for nealy 20 years
just a few tips:

1 the store does not lose money on returns
chirs you listen to many uppers end boss
2 you can tell if someone is lieing to you
3 if you do a simple check on the s/n and the
box you can tell if they are b@lls#$ting you

if she had for less then one day mostlikly
she is telling the turth

if a more then a week or so has gone by then maybe she is pusshing it

my 2 cents

look people

i have been in retail for nealy 20 years
just a few tips:

1 the store does not lose money on returns
chirs you listen to many uppers end boss
2 you can tell if someone is lieing to you
3 if you do a simple check on the s/n and the
box you can tell if they are b@lls#$ting you

if she had for less then one day mostlikly
she is telling the turth

if a more then a week or so has gone by then maybe she is pusshing it

my 2 cents

look people

i have been in retail for nealy 20 years
just a few tips:

1 the store does not lose money on returns
chirs you listen to many uppers end boss
2 you can tell if someone is lieing to you
3 if you do a simple check on the s/n and the
box you can tell if they are b@lls#$ting you

if she had for less then one day mostlikly
she is telling the turth

if a more then a week or so has gone by then maybe she is pusshing it

my 2 cents

look people

i have been in retail for nealy 20 years
just a few tips:

1 the store does not lose money on returns
chirs you listen to many uppers end boss
2 you can tell if someone is lieing to you
3 if you do a simple check on the s/n and the
box you can tell if they are b@lls#$ting you

if she had for less then one day mostlikly
she is telling the turth

if a more then a week or so has gone by then maybe she is pusshing it

my 2 cents

I actually just stumbled upon this site today and decided to look up the company i had worked at for over 4 years. I can honestly say I am not surprised at the amount of negative feedback towards Circuit City. I worked at the Lancaster, PA store as a CSA and was trained as a customer service manager.

One of the reasons i decided against taking the manager position is that i wasn't happy with the rules that i was supposed to adhere to when dealing with customers.

Now granted i stoped working for the company in the beginning of 04, so i'm sure their direction has changed dramatically by then. When i worked their the company direction was constantly changing depending on what was bringing in the most profit.

For 6 months i remember that EVERY employee had to adhere to the return policy to the proverbial "T". it turned out that this was causing a lot of irate customer responses and the company relaxed their stand point. Circuit City then switched over to a more lenient return policy where each situation was dealt with individualy and the amount of returns was much higher then before, obviously. Turned out this wasn't profitable, so the company again changed back.

That is just to give a picture of Circuit City's veiwpoint, yes they are a company and they must answer to stockholders who want profits. The problem lies in the fact that the people who make the decisions on policy don't work in the stores and thus do not see the "personal" impact they have. Sadly enough most of the time i worked their the store was trying to mimick Best Buy because their profits were always higher.

On the issue of the laptop I can easily say that the store i had worked at when i did would have done the return for you on the spot and would have been more then happy to get you a replacement, and open it up in front of you to make sure it was ok. I had done this on several occasions for products that were returned with physical damage immediatly after a return.

The process that would follow that would be sending it back to Toshiba in an attempt to get credit for the unit. I have however seen many company's chose not to give credit for any reason they can think of, in which case the laptop would go to a Circuit City service center and the store would eat the cost on repairing it, and then selling it as an "Open Box". The other possible route is that the store would label it DEF-MAC, wich is basically their code for writing off the unit all together.

I feel sorry for you and the expierence that you have had to date, and if i were in your shoes i would definatly not continue to be a customer with Circuity City, and would give negative feedback to friends about going there. I do feel that the store made an error in judgement by not returning your product immediatly and rectifying the situation for you, and i wish you luck on dealing with them.

Still waiting Chris for Circuit City to post this sign......

OPEN AND TEST YOUR PURCHASES BEFORE LEAVING THE STORE....WE WILL ASSUME YOU BROKE IT ONCE IT LEAVES THE PREMISES AND IT IS NON-FUNCTIONAL OUT OF THE BOX.....WE WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY BROKEN ITEM..NO MATTER WHO OR HOW IT WAS BROKEN

PLEASE BRING IN PROOF YOUR PHSYICS DEGREE IF YOU WISH TO EVEN REMOTELY COUNTER THE ABOVE POLICY...OUR BOXES ARE PERFECT AND NOTHING CAN EVER GET BROKEN IN THEM....EVER.


Once again......I dare you.

Oh and I think you need to look up the definition of "slander".

I remember this incident well, even though it was 5 years ago.

I went in and bought a television from them. I'm looking at the thing for like a half an hour. Nobody comes up. Nobody asks me if I want to buy anything. They simply stand around bullshitting with each other.

I remember going up and asking a worker where I could find the item I wanted. The person turned his back on me. Didn't want to be bothered. No comment. Just turned away. Customers aren't worth his time.

I remember the comment I made to the manager. You don't pay your salespeople anything, do you? Something is clearly wrong, because I practically had to force somebody to take my money. Obviously, they aren't making enough to give a d**n whether I buy or not.

He shrugged his shoulders. Annoyed look on his face.

I still have the TV. It's a Panasonic, so it'll probably last a bunch more years. But, there's one thing I'm sure of.

My next purchase won't be from Circuit City. Why in the world would anyone be that desperate that they go to a place where they clearly are not wanted or needed?

There are so many consumer electronics store that are in business to sell things. Why would anybody go out of their way to fight with one who isn't in business to do that?

Clearly, they don't want to be bothered. I can understand that. First purchase. Last purchase.

Guess I'm not the only one who had that happen.

Actually our policy is to take any defective product back within the return policy. Now for the gizilinth time (and hopefully the last) there is no way to prove the customer didnt do it. Did you even click on the link I posted? The only way that laptop can have a broken screen is if Toshiba broke it before it was packaged up or the customer broke it. Circuit City is not responsible in both scenarios.

I remember a time a customer told me his computer was borked becasue he looked at too much porn. He returned it and got a different computer, fair? I remember another time a customer told me he cracked his laptop screen by throwing a baseball at it and we returned it, fair? You keep acting like CC is the devil and wont accept returns but we did on both ocasions. You wanted proof your a liar, that looks like it.

You also lied by saing I blamed the customer, I never did. You're also riding my a*s and saying that it would be good for me and my friends to loose our jobs. What part of that is constructive?

As for me jumping on other posters I havent. I have explained what to do to fix their problems. If I do so in a blunt manner its because I do this every day. When people realize they can get something for free or forgo any actual effort they become little kids. It gets old fast. I tell people the right way to have their problem fixed.

Also note my explanation for why the store didnt handle it. We didnt have any laptops to swap it out with and we didnt for some time. Lets think logically here. A customer wants to swap out a laptop and we dont have any. They can get a special order and wait for Toshiba to make enough, wait for Circuit City's share of the product and hope there is one left over from the other special orders. Or the customer could just ask Toshiba for another and get one of the first ones made. Which seems like a better choice?

Have you even noticed that the orginal poster hasnt responded? Could it be that this problem has already been resolved and that it wasnt a big deal to begin with. It wasnt a big deal untill you started shooting off at the mouth. I have backed up my claim with a good amount of proof. Untill you can back up your "Circuit City will not accept returns" claim I am done here.

Lying and slander?!?! When? Where??


Get real Chris! Yes I have attacked you. Why? Because you instantly attack every consumer that posts about CC. Then you state you dont care about CC. Well then why are you here?

And get off the "he is insulting me personally" garbage. Your dodging the issue when you do that. Now I have answered your questions about the box and the issue of how quickly someone returned something. Why have you dodged my point about the simple process of returning a broken item? Well?

When someone buys something and its broken right out of the box. They take it back, it gets shipped back to the manufaturer. Customer gets a new item, store gets a new item. End of story. Now dont give me this BS about there is "no way a laptop screen can break in a box". Thats just plain BS. Ive seen it happen. A screen is like a diaphram. Drop the box on the flat side and the screen wants to wobble. Wobble to much and....SNAP!

Like I said before, laptop makers design them to take a hit from the side and corners. That is the way one will hit most if/when dropped. There is a thing called the "mortality rate" with products. Currently the standard for tech items (laptops fall into that) is about 5-7%.

That is the rate at which things will fail from the first time they are used to the first 30 days. At my old television company, I helped design a wall of 255 monitors to watch all the channels at once. When we fired up the huge thing, 16 of the monitors didnt work. Do the math. The industry understands this. Im sure Toshiba understands this. Im sure Circuit City understands it. If it doesnt it should find a new industry to be in. We shipped these back to wholesale house we bought them from and they shipped them back to Panasonic.

Now Chris, do you think that they gave me a hard time about 16 $750 monitors?? NO THEY DIDNT.

And one more time.....blow this "slander" and "lying" out your a*s.

Fact....you side with Circuit City every time.

Fact....you accuse the customer of being a cheat or an idiot.

Fact....You say you dont blame the customer, get countered with your own words....then call it symantics.

Just about every time some idiot comes on here and starts bantering about "slander" its usually a crooked con man trying to justify his own wickedness and bad rap on this website.

Take a good long look at Mr.Sherman from Just-Leather.com. Your starting to sound alot like him.

Now go back to work and get those d**n power strips and free batteries to check out every little widget, gadget, and gizmo you sell at the point of sale. Also make sure that you have a big sign that reads.......


OPEN AND TEST YOUR PURCHASES BEFORE LEAVING THE STORE....WE WILL ASSUME YOU BROKE IT ONCE IT LEAVES THE PREMISES AND IT IS NON-FUNCTIONAL OUT OF THE BOX.....WE WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY BROKEN ITEM..NO MATTER WHO OR HOW IT WAS BROKEN

PLEASE BRING IN PROOF YOUR PHSYICS DEGREE IF YOU WISH TO EVEN REMOTELY COUNTER THE ABOVE POLICY...OUR BOXES ARE PERFECT AND NOTHING CAN EVER GET BROKEN IN THEM....EVER.

This is the policy you state is the case. This is what you have been bantering about since the beginning. This is what you want. Ok fine.

Now my last question to you is.....how long do you think you will be in business if customers saw that? Hmmmm? Since this is ALREADY policy at Circuit City, why not post it big and wide for all to see? Of course your not going to. If you did you would have NO customers. That is the ultimate proof of Circuit Cities' tactics.

Its your policy.....make it well known.

I dare you.

Wow, I didnt want this to turn into to an argument of symantics but I guess it will. All I said was there was no way to prove the customer didnt break it, I didnt say they did. I was trying to provide an answer as to why the store didnt take the laptop back.

As for me being rapid, hardly. You have made personal insults. All I have done was tried to explain why the store didnt take it back. As for me jumping on these posts, I have like five. I am also going to tell the customer the right way to have their problem resolved. Its called being helpful. What have you done to help any of the people here with their problems?

The store might have p***ed you off in the past but that is no excuse to act like an a*s. Sorry to be so blunt but your lieing and your slander are getting old. Remember the old addage "If you have nothing good to say dont say anything at all"? What have you contributed other then insults and half a*s reasoning.

You never said it was the customers fault? Ever? Chris?

Lets see.....

"There is no way to prove you didnt break the screen and people have taken advantage of the store in the past."

Chris, the only reason I commented on this thread is because I have seen you attack every single CC post that gets started lately. EVERY time you assume that CC did no wrong and walks on water.

My point being is that CC DOES do wrong, and doesnt walk on water. But no, you have decided to live in la la land.

And for Heather about the 300 posts. I dont care how big a business is vs. its ratio of bad posts. I even touched on the "ok even if it was half" subject. I even touched on the "granted some may not be true". What I look at is how the end result was. CC does not have a very good reputation when it comes to settling these things. And having a troll like Chris come on here and bash everyone as if he is the Judge, Jury, and Executioner doesnt help. In the end if a company is the size of General Motors and has 2 posts, or the size of the family run Kwik-e-mart down the street and has 1000, it doesnt matter. Its how it comes out in the end game. There are very few CC posts that end well. Not a good sign.

I see day in and day out posts about this company. Most never to be resolved. All set upon by Chris. Acting like a rabid wolf who's den has been violated. Always bashing the consumer first and never questioning his own company.

I would prompt you to read all 300 reports and see which ones are actual rip offs.
I respond to a lot of posts, because THEY ARE NOT RIP OFFS.
A lot of the recent complaints are about the return policy, which the consumer did not read before purchasing the product. How is that a rip off?

And I tend to agree, 300 complaints on a website for a store as large as Circuit City, WalMart, Sears or any other large store, i don't consider bad
Think about how many customers they go through in a day at one location alone. More than 300 I would guess. A day.
Hmm. How does that seem like a large number to you?

I actually took a picture to show how the laptop is padded. This is the exact same model the customer purchased.

http://tinypic.com/view.html?pic=654yvr

I took this today to prove a point. The laptop has a good 2 inches from the box. It is susspended in the foam. If the screen had cracked during shipping there would be a hole in the box or a hella big dent.

I never said it was the customers fault, never! You also have to keep in mind that there are over 650 Circuit Citys and this isnt SOP. If the product is defective we will always take it back, it happens often (hp ALWAYS has problems but that is a different rant). With the screen being damaged there is more gray area. Two years ago Circuit City would have taken the laptop back no questions asked. The problem is people would "rent" products or just smash them up. A cracked screen isnt usually a defect but something that usually comes from abuse (note, I am not blaiming the poster). The store told the customer how to fix it and even got the ball rolling, more then they needed to. I fail to see what the big deal is, they will get a new product but will have to wait a bit longer. What the poster didnt say or even consider is that model was sold out at every store over the weekend. We also didnt get any new laptops from Toshiba in some time. No matter what the customer would have had to wait and they probably would have recived it sooner from Toshiba. The store was actually saving the customer time, our store didnt get any new laptops for 3 weeks.

Before you start shooting your mouth off and wishing I loose my job stop and use your head. I never said anything bad about the poster or you and your attitude is uncalled for.

I think you answered your own question about the damaged box. Along with countering yourself on the blaming of the consumer.

You DID blame him for breaking it. Thats what started this. You even went as far as commenting that "you see it all the time" when customers drop items on the way out of the store and in the parking lot. NOW your trying to say "its probably Toshiba's fault"? Did you forget that little point?

And as far as Circuit City paying you to be here, or your loyalty to the company......

Well, you are HERE, and you do POST on many Circuit City threads. So if they are not paying enough, and you dont care so much for them, then WHY do it?? Why do you bash every consumer and instantly assume that it is they in the wrong?

But to put some of your insanity to rest. Lets address the box. I know for a fact that a laptop can easily crack its screen by being dropped (even in its box) landing flat on its WIDE side. Ive seen it happen. This will leave no marks on the box since it landed "flat" and didnt hit the corners (actually ive seen laptops that can take quite a pounding from the corners. Thats how most manufactures expect a laptop to hit if its dropped). Granted most likely this happened during shipping either from Toshiba to the distributor, or from the distributor to Circuit City. Now, once its in your store, the customer buys it and finds out the screen is cracked when he GETS HOME. Customer comes back to Circuit City, and SHOULD get a new computer. Circuit City then takes the bad one, ships it back to Toshiba and gets credit. Both for the laptop, and the shipping. Or Toshiba just sends Circuit City a new laptop for them to sell.

Loss to toshiba.......replace one screen and pay for shipping.

Loss to Circuit City.....nothing but the time to ship an item.

Loss to the consumer......nothing but the time it takes to run back to the store for the replacement.

Had CC done this, they would be happy, the consumer would be happy, and Toshiba would be fixing something they were responsible in the first place. CC would have retained this customer. And this thread would never have been started.

THAT is how an honest company should respond in a retail situation. But CC wont do it. Either, they are lazy, they dont care, or they are just supporting what 300+ reports show.......Circuit City stinks.

If Circuit City is going to blame the consumer for damage every time something comes right out the box broken then you better post at your points of sale that the consumer should open EVERY ITEM AND INSPECT IT.....TEST IT, ETC.......before leaving the store. The fronts of Circuit City's would look pretty funny with all those people trying to fire everything from big screen TV's to walkmans to DVD's by the cash registers.

If you want to do that......my suggestion is....have lots of DVD players ready to roll, lots of batteries for customers to use (at no cost!) and lots of powerstrips for them to plug things in!

After seeing your tone on all these posts, your tone here, and your attitude, if I ever bought something at Circuit City again I'll make the d**n salesman open the box himself before I even get NEAR the cash register. Make him fire it up, and test every feature on it. If it needs batteries....he better find some. If it needs an AC plug....he better find one. And if its a big ticket item, he will be bringing it out to the floor from the back, open it, and do everything as well. All BEFORE I even remotely reach for my wallet. Heaven forbid I get home and something isnt working!! Because the "Circuit City Motto" of "The Consumer Always Broke It" would come into effect.

^ I was just going with your argument. Type in any retail store and you will see the same things. This is not related to Circuit City.

I also dont really care about defending the store. Do you think I get payed enough to care this much? Its about entitled people with massive egos who think they can do whatever they want. The solution to the posters problem is simple, contact Toshiba. The store even went the extra mile and did so for them. I dont see what the problem is. I also didnt say it was the customers fault did I? Toshiba is probably to blame.

You never did answer my question about the undamaged box holding a damaged product.

We can see where your head is. You deny that Circuit City can do any wrong even with 300+ posts. Now your argument is that "well the other guys are worse!!". Ok fine so they are, that doesnt mean Circuit City walks on water. It just means others have more. 300+ is still bad. It still stinks, and something should be done about it yet Circuit City WONT. And from your tone, you and your company DONT CARE. Its always the consumers fault, and the consumer is always lying. Get real.

And for someone that was complaining about personal attacks in a previous post, you certainly show your true colors now dont you? Nice language there pal. Sorry to hear your going to be on the street. Believe me, I'm not happy that people lose their jobs. But I have no sympathy for an idiot that continues to banter like you do about an obviously sinking ship.

You dont want to be out on the street? Fine, here is a suggestion. Before Circuit City tanks, why dont you LOOK FOR A JOB AT AN HONEST COMPANY......NOW? DUH!

Spend your time trolling the internet for decent work instead of trolling around this website bashing every consumer that posts.

You only have your own dumb self to blame if you end up on the street.

Go back the the front page of this website. In the search feature type in Best Buy and see what happens. Waahh?! Best Buy has more pages then Circuit City, they must really suck! Please you are giving the most pathetic argument ever. 300 people versus the thousands that go through the doors of my store in a week, again those are pretty good odds. You say your the GM of a store, is it a retail store? Do you sell something? Tell me what you would do if someone came up to you with a box showing no damage and told you the product was damaged. If you'd take the product back your an idiot, that simple.

And seriously ***k off! The very fact you think its a good thing for me and my coworkers to loose our jobs is a great indicator of your character. Yay, my manager cant feed his wife and two kids. I cant pay my bills so I end up on a street, woooh! You are saying those things are good yet my store manager nor I have not done a single thing to you. Go back to running your business into the ground and stop acting like an a*s.

Are you nuts!! So you justify this many!! And keep in mind its NOT 150 its near 390.

Circuit City is a scam. They did fine for near 2 decades not pulling this crap. Now they pull it and now they look like a joke. Deal with it.

What a joke you are Chris. I'm the GM of my company. If I had one irate customer, I would do something about it. You have 300+ and refuse to admit Circuit City can even be responsible for one of them. You disgust me!

150 is a JOKE! It puts Circuit City in the 10 ten on this site. And your going to sit back and say it isnt alot??

I eagarly await your next post when you get back from Mars.

150 posts is not a lot. I have about 20-30 customers on an average day and thats just me at my store. If the box showed damage then it would have more then likely been our fault. If the box was damaged the sales person wouldnt have sold it and if they did the customer shouldnt have picked it. I'm sorry but I have litterly seen people drop stuff in the parking lot during my smoke breaks then come back into the store to try and return the product. It makes you angry that people will get away with this stuff, its not fair.

Ok Chris,

Lets assume your right for once. That the customer is USUALLY lying. We consumers can take the same angle. You say "It is not CC's fault the laptop was damaged".

Well...

How do we know its not Circuit City thats LYING??


300+ reports stands for itself Chris. Like I said before...Ok, even if half are bogus.....150+ reports is still a DISGRACE!

I'll admit, there are scammers and liars out there. But I do think that the majority of people are honest. Now do the math what would an accurate "majority" number out of 300 be?? Figure it out and find a viable, honest company to work for.

When a retail outlet goes into business they run the risk of this sort of situation. This has been this way since the dawn of time. Most people DO NOT open products at the point of sale. They wait until they get home. If they find the product damaged, they expect to be able to instantly return it. They dont plan on going through flamming hoops only an hour after a purchase. Especially if its something as pricy as a laptop. They just spend quite a bit of money AT YOUR STORE and got a product they cant even use, most likely for months. How would you feel if you went down to a Ford dealer, bought a $20k truck, parked it in your driveway, then next morning came out and it never would start up again. Then went down to the Ford dealer and they said "sorry not our issue....ship it to Detroit".

Why Circuit City even makes this an issue is silly. The only loss to them is the shipping costs to the manufaturer. They are just going to turn around and ship it back to them and get credit for it as well. CC is just trying to shave $15-30 bucks. And they are losing a customer every time they do it.

Now stop assuming that EVERYONE is a liar. If you do that we can assume that CC is lying everytime as well. Its a double edged sword.

True there are a lot of posts but how many of the compaints are justafied? A good portion are compaints about service centers, not owned by Circuit City. Another good portion are actually problems with the manf. (this post here). It is not CC's fault the laptop was damaged. There is no proof that the customer is lieing. Its sad that the store couldnt take the laptop back and I would have felt bad saying no. I dont see why you think Circuit City is the only company doing this. If the same thing happened in any other store the same issue would have come up. I know for a fact my store has swapped out laptops that have obviously been dropped or hit withing the return policy.

I know I may have seemed harsh as dealing with these issues every day will do that but I didnt stoop to personal insults. YOU are your attitude are the reason we get jaded and dont care anymore. If you ever think a sales person is acting rude stop and think about how you are acting twords them. Your insults are out of line. The store I work at has recived many letters about my knowledge and skill. I have recieved 4 job offers from customers in the few months I have worked at my store.

Please dont make asumptions.

....why dont you just shut up for once. You post every time Circuit City gets a new thread here. Maybe you should stop pointing the finger at the customers and start taking a good long look at the 300+ posts on this website about your company.

And to be more specific.....

Yes CIRCUIT CITY didnt manufactur the laptop. BUT Circuit city is the distributor. If someone buys something and it comes right out of the box...broken...then take it back no questions asked. By not doing so you show complete lack of dedication and support to the products you sell and represent. The reference about how long it took is just a boon to the consumers argument. They obviously didnt delay in comming back to the store for the very reason of deflecting BS comments like yours that "They must have done the damage".

Try looking for better work you dope. Circuit City is about to go out. It doesnt stand by the products it sells. It doesnt stand by the service agreements it sells. Every CC lot I pass is near empty. And every store is so empty you could hear a pin drop if not for the banter of the high turnaround high school employees standing around with nothing to do. Your company is going down like the Titanic after the iceberg. Circuit City has become the poster child of "RIP-OFF" on this site. The 300+ posts are proof of that fact. Even if that number was halved the only other threads that come remotely close in number are those from Tupper Lake NY.

I'm sure when Circuit City finally goes out of business we will find good ol' Chris working at a Drivetime or Ugly Duckling used car lot. The un-ethical tactics are identical.

You do realize that Toshiba made the laptop not Circuit City? How on earth is the person selling it to you supposed to know if the product inside the box is damaged? The store is helping you out by going out of their way to contact Toshiba or corprate and all you do is b***h. You have to understand that Circuit City is a business and is out to make money. There is no way to prove you didnt break the screen and people have taken advantage of the store in the past. Two years ago we would have taken it back but people abused the system and we lost too much money. Whoever accepted the return would be risking their job so just wait and see what the store can do for you.

You bought and filed this report all in the same day. It is a holiday, and they tried to help you. Try waiting a few days so they can actually get in touch with someone. This experience goes back to what I've told people to do before. Open the box before you buy it, right at the register. If it's broken or missing stuff, you have the upper hand to get things done. At this point, you are showing full intent to purchase the product. If the product is not what it is suppoed to be, they reall have no option but to correct it right then. Good luck.