Complaint Review: CompUSA - Anthony Lyles Store Manager

I must say, it takes an extreme incident of egregious deceptive selling practices to get me to search out a way to inform others of such ridiculous and preposterous behavior from a retailer of any kind.

On June 17th, 2009 I purchased an E Machines computer from the CompUSA location in Plano, TX. After browsing for several minutes at multiple computer setups, and informing four different employees that I was merely browsing, I was confronted (yes, that is the correct term) by an African-American man in a white shirt near the computers at the back of the store. When I informed the man that his tone with me was very suspicious and accusatory, he informed me that he was merely attempting to ensure that I was a "legitimate customer". I asked him to explain himself and he disregarded the statement and then told me he could help me find something. I informed him that I was browsing at the moment but he insisted that he help me. I relented and allowed him to show me several models, especially several on sale.

Now, Mr. Lyles' sales etiquette, while aggressive is fine, and by the end of my time in the store, I purchased an E Machines computer for 199.99 plus tax with an 18" LCD monitor and a set of Logitech speakers that were on sale with the assurance that the computer would be great for my teenager as a first computer. I did not purchase the Internet Security program or any of the other accoutrements that were offered at the checkout as I am fine with my Symantec setup and have been for several years. The aggressive/desperate sales antics of these employees was rather shocking.

I was informed that I had a 30-day defective guarantee on the computer and that if I needed to I could return it within 30-days should the item be defective and I was shown on my receipt where it said this. Needless to say, the computer did fail about three weeks after purchase and I returned it to the same location expecting to either get my money back or purchase something a little more assured. I decided to keep the monitor and speakers as those worked perfectly.

On July 15th, Mr. Lyles was currently in the store selling a large plasma TV to a customer. After an employee stated to me that she needed a manager's approval to do a return or exchange, she informed Mr. Lyles that I was waiting. This manager allowed me to wait through his sale for forty-five minutes before he approached me. Already aggravated, I simply wanted to return the item and said I would be back later if I decided to shop with them again.

I was blatantly rebuffed and refused. When I pointed out that the system was in fact defective, I was informed that he as the Store Manager had full discretion when it came to returns and that he had no way to prove that something I or my child was not the reason for the defective property. I was informed that if it had been defective out of the box I should have brought it back immediately and he would have been able to help me but otherwise, he would not be able to exchange or return the computer. I asked him how we could figure out the defective problem he stated that the Technical Department could run a diagnostic and test the system and then informed me that it would be 49.99 to do so.

I told him that I wanted my money back and he again refused to do a return, smiled at me, handed me my receipt and flatly walked away to handle another customer looking at one of the several large TVs that sit at the front of the store.

I was left looking like a fool in this store and was blatantly refused my return while within my rights.

As for the computer, a good friend spent thirty minutes with the device and located the issue and repaired it, thankfully so my money is not gone completely, but to have been rebuffed like this and lied to blatantly regarding the return policy of CompUSA is absolutely unacceptable.

Do Not Shop at CompUSA in Plano, TX. The Store Manager Anthony Lyles is a liar, short-fused, salesman who seems incapable of coping when a customer or anyone disagrees with him and then becomes gruff and angry when called on it. I will never shop at this store or any CompUSA again until this manager is shown the door and I fully intend to spread the word regarding this. There is a Best Buy not five minutes down the highway at Park and 75 and a Micro Center south of the store at Spring Valley and 75, both of which I have never had a problem with any return I've needed to do.

I hope that CompUSA has the gumption and sense of customer respect needed to remove this lying individual from their management team.

Best of luck should you run into him. Due to the inflammatory nature of his rebuff I will be posting this as Anonymous. The store already has my personal information in their system, which they did not need for this purchase, but I gave anyways, and I would never want this man to discover my identity after this post.

Anonymous
Richardson, Texas
U.S.A.

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