Complaint Review: Circuit City - Nationwide

This is how many posts long yet I am the first person from CC to actually post? Do you people enjoy bickering? Anyway, back in a land long ago (actually like 3-4 years ago) CC did not have a restocking fee. This resulted in many open box products being sold at losses. Now CC is a public company so this meant stock holders were losing money because people were either "renting" products or didnt understand them. Personally I've seen computeres returned after 60 days because the Office trial expired. I would imagine the "defect" in the monitor was a dropped pixel. Its so common that you're sorta lucky if you get a monitor without one. There is NO reason for you not to just take the same brand monitor. As for the exceptions thats total BS. The rules are in place for a reason. If there is a need (not wanting the monitor you payed for is not a need) we will bend the rules. In my many years I've seen it done twice.

This is how many posts long yet I am the first person from CC to actually post? Do you people enjoy bickering? Anyway, back in a land long ago (actually like 3-4 years ago) CC did not have a restocking fee. This resulted in many open box products being sold at losses. Now CC is a public company so this meant stock holders were losing money because people were either "renting" products or didnt understand them. Personally I've seen computeres returned after 60 days because the Office trial expired. I would imagine the "defect" in the monitor was a dropped pixel. Its so common that you're sorta lucky if you get a monitor without one. There is NO reason for you not to just take the same brand monitor. As for the exceptions thats total BS. The rules are in place for a reason. If there is a need (not wanting the monitor you payed for is not a need) we will bend the rules. In my many years I've seen it done twice.

This is how many posts long yet I am the first person from CC to actually post? Do you people enjoy bickering? Anyway, back in a land long ago (actually like 3-4 years ago) CC did not have a restocking fee. This resulted in many open box products being sold at losses. Now CC is a public company so this meant stock holders were losing money because people were either "renting" products or didnt understand them. Personally I've seen computeres returned after 60 days because the Office trial expired. I would imagine the "defect" in the monitor was a dropped pixel. Its so common that you're sorta lucky if you get a monitor without one. There is NO reason for you not to just take the same brand monitor. As for the exceptions thats total BS. The rules are in place for a reason. If there is a need (not wanting the monitor you payed for is not a need) we will bend the rules. In my many years I've seen it done twice.

This is how many posts long yet I am the first person from CC to actually post? Do you people enjoy bickering? Anyway, back in a land long ago (actually like 3-4 years ago) CC did not have a restocking fee. This resulted in many open box products being sold at losses. Now CC is a public company so this meant stock holders were losing money because people were either "renting" products or didnt understand them. Personally I've seen computeres returned after 60 days because the Office trial expired. I would imagine the "defect" in the monitor was a dropped pixel. Its so common that you're sorta lucky if you get a monitor without one. There is NO reason for you not to just take the same brand monitor. As for the exceptions thats total BS. The rules are in place for a reason. If there is a need (not wanting the monitor you payed for is not a need) we will bend the rules. In my many years I've seen it done twice.

Honestly... To assume all monitors are bad is your choice, as was said earlier. Because you return this monitor, they now have to scrap it, or sell it at a discount. Circuit city looses money off a open boxed monitor every time. they are only doing %15 to meet you halfway, for your choice. not to mention every major electronics company as far as I know takes a %15 restocking fee, go check Best Buy if you like, I gaurantee they have one. Not to mention they were the last major electronics store to adopt the fee... They did fair, by offerening to exchane it.

"We argued over that point for how long? Again, I am sure glad to know you see it my way." No Robert, we argued over IF an employee should know the return policy and should be held accountable for failing to give it to a consumer accuarately or even flat out lying about it. And that was another thread. Lets not hijack this one again with your lame drivel. This is a matter of "policy", if its fair, and who has the authority to alter, amend, or make judgement calls on it. Nice way to twist. I've said my opinion on the matter. I didnt reference you by name, quote, or even your little opinions. I just gave mine, and once again, here you are with your little laser targeter only on me. Nothing need more be said by me. Ill let my comments stand for themselves. If you want to hijack this thread like so many others. Be my guest. I've got better things to do than deal with a person that just hates everyone in general like you. I didnt make this personal. But I guess you always will. OU812?

"Its up to a person of authority at the establishment to make a call." WOW! The Manager is the person who makes ALL the store's meaningful decisions about a customer's purchase, and not the salesman or cashier. I never would have believed that until I saw it with my own eyes. Welcome to Earth Ben. It sure is good to know, you understand who's in charge now. We argued over that point for how long? Again, I am sure glad to know you see it my way.

About this "exceptions" thing..... I see stores and restaurants make "exceptions" all the time. Its up to a person of authority at the establishment to make a call. I've gone to a fast food place and they didnt have the food ready at all. The cashier that took my order explained that it would be a 10 min wait before they had it ready. I never complained. I never got irate. I said "fine", and was capable of waiting the 10 minutes. Before I walked away, she offered me a free soda for the wait. I said "thanks, but no thanks" (I wasnt that thirsty), and proceeded to wait. This wasnt the first time that situation had happened. Be it in a restaurant or a retail store. I certainly DONT expect that every time a business drops the ball, or (as in this case) just happened to be very busy. This showed a certain level of customer service and "PR" that Circuit City never could. Yes, they made an "exception". I dont see them do it all the time. I dont expect them too. But most importantly, I didnt see every other soul behind me in line demanding the same treatment. Nor have I ever seen someone before or since demand that they do. So too me, that completely trounces any notion that some here say "if we make an exception for you, then we have to do it for everyone else". That is nothing but an excuse to just dodge and resist. Nothing more. Managers of businesses should be allowed to make "exceptions" as they see fit. A good manager can tell what is reasonable, and what is not. As opposed to a bad manager, or a manager who's hands are tied by a corporate monster hell bent on gouging consumers at every turn, then hiding behind a vague and legalise worded "policy". I dont believe that the "customer is always wrong". I DONT believe that the "customer is always right". And I certainly dont believe that "all customers are crooks", as many CC defenders often rally around. Nor do I believe that "all businesses are crooked". There are two sides to everything. Those that only see one side are part of an argument. Those that can see both sides, be honest, and rational, are part of the solution.

I think that it is a time to have better policy in place - both customer and sale oriented. They have to have balance, so no customer is left behind. If there is better policy, there are better sales. Right? This is the missing part, you got that right!!! :) Good luck!!~!~

Well I think everyone is in agreement about WHAT Circuit City's policy is. Of course there is a question about exactly HOW that policy is presented to the customer. I have made my opinions on that subject, and on the status of the Circuit City store near me well clear on other threads. No need to get into that here. Obviously Circuit City does not have a reasonable policy. Based on this thread and numerous others with the same thoughts, opinions, and facts, I cant see how anybody will shop there. I certainly wont. I doubt any rational person who sees these posts would either. Let these threads stand as is. Let Circuit City figure out just how their "PR" is working for them. (by the now constantly vacant parking lot at the store near me.....the writing is on the wall!) As a consumer you have a choice. If you disagree with the way a business handles its "policy" and makes it known....then DONT SHOP THERE. I dont like what Circuit City does. Its policy is highly unethical to me. It even smacks of outright gouging, if not highway robbery. Thus I dont shop there.....ever. I suggest everyone else do the same. Their policy is dubious. Its poorly presented to the consumer at the time of sale. Its shifty in its wording. And its horribly implemented both at the corporate, and store managment levels. I respect a business that trys to make money honestly. I dont respect a business that needs to fall back to a "set-in-stone" policy thats ruthless in its intentions. Completely unwaivering in its implementation. And always ends with the same result......they get your money regardless of the situation.

Believe me, Exceptions are everywhere. Look around you..... I think that every customer should be treated as an individual, with respect... Plus, not everyone needs an exception, right? I don't need one... Because I don't go to Circuit City.......

I used to work at best buy customer service..we hardly had exceptions for restocking fees. I do not see a reason why an exception should have been made in this case. An exception would be nice, but if you think about it, it's not fair to make an exception for YOU and not for anyone else. If we make an exception for you, we have to make them for everyone else. This is why exceptions are rare, when circusmtances are out of the ordinary. The customer refused the exchange..it's not the company's fault. Also, just because one item is defective doesn't mean all of them will be.

There is an exception to any rule, if this is what we talking about. There is always ways to make customers happy. Okay? I am not against the policy; I like to be treated with respect. There is always an exception, and big businesses like that should do that. We are not talking about a little bunch of crooks" around the corner small firm that sells gum. Okay? Treat your customers with respect. Make them happy. Three are proven more than 100 ways to do so. General store policy is just a manual how to deal with the business operations. Good management is very important...

There is an exception to any rule, if this is what we talking about. There is always ways to make customers happy. Okay? I am not against the policy; I like to be treated with respect. There is always an exception, and big businesses like that should do that. We are not talking about a little bunch of crooks" around the corner small firm that sells gum. Okay? Treat your customers with respect. Make them happy. Three are proven more than 100 ways to do so. General store policy is just a manual how to deal with the business operations. Good management is very important...

There is an exception to any rule, if this is what we talking about. There is always ways to make customers happy. Okay? I am not against the policy; I like to be treated with respect. There is always an exception, and big businesses like that should do that. We are not talking about a little bunch of crooks" around the corner small firm that sells gum. Okay? Treat your customers with respect. Make them happy. Three are proven more than 100 ways to do so. General store policy is just a manual how to deal with the business operations. Good management is very important...

There is an exception to any rule, if this is what we talking about. There is always ways to make customers happy. Okay? I am not against the policy; I like to be treated with respect. There is always an exception, and big businesses like that should do that. We are not talking about a little bunch of crooks" around the corner small firm that sells gum. Okay? Treat your customers with respect. Make them happy. Three are proven more than 100 ways to do so. General store policy is just a manual how to deal with the business operations. Good management is very important...

Here it is: 1-Digital cameras, camcorders, desktop PCs, notebook PCs, monitors, printers, scanners, projectors, PDAs, mobile video, GPS and radar detectors must be returned within 14 days of the sale date, and (except where prohibited by law) are subject to a 15% restocking fee if returned opened or in a non-factory sealed box. 2-Home theater seating must be returned within 14 days of the sale date, and (except where prohibited by law) are subject to a 25% restocking fee if returned opened or in a non-factory sealed box. 3-There is no restocking fee for defective product returned in exchange for the exact same product, or for product originally purchased as Open Box. 4-For any exchange or refund, we need the original receipt or a record of the purchase in our system, and the product must be in its original condition, including the box, UPC bar code, packaging, and all accessories. 5-Opened software, music, games, and movies may be exchanged for the same title only. 6-Charges for installation and delivery services are nonrefundable after the services have been performed. 7-Restocking fees do not apply to the return of a purchase made from a Hawaii address. 8-Circuit City is not responsible for contacting wireless carriers regarding changes or cancellations of your service plan. 9-For in-store purchases, refunds are issued in the original payment type. Refunds on check purchases less than 14 days old and in excess of $100 are issued by check from our corporate office within 14 days of the return date. That pretty much says it all. As I said, CC has a written policy in regards to returns. Mike chose one option(1) over another(3). He made a bad choice.

Here it is: 1-Digital cameras, camcorders, desktop PCs, notebook PCs, monitors, printers, scanners, projectors, PDAs, mobile video, GPS and radar detectors must be returned within 14 days of the sale date, and (except where prohibited by law) are subject to a 15% restocking fee if returned opened or in a non-factory sealed box. 2-Home theater seating must be returned within 14 days of the sale date, and (except where prohibited by law) are subject to a 25% restocking fee if returned opened or in a non-factory sealed box. 3-There is no restocking fee for defective product returned in exchange for the exact same product, or for product originally purchased as Open Box. 4-For any exchange or refund, we need the original receipt or a record of the purchase in our system, and the product must be in its original condition, including the box, UPC bar code, packaging, and all accessories. 5-Opened software, music, games, and movies may be exchanged for the same title only. 6-Charges for installation and delivery services are nonrefundable after the services have been performed. 7-Restocking fees do not apply to the return of a purchase made from a Hawaii address. 8-Circuit City is not responsible for contacting wireless carriers regarding changes or cancellations of your service plan. 9-For in-store purchases, refunds are issued in the original payment type. Refunds on check purchases less than 14 days old and in excess of $100 are issued by check from our corporate office within 14 days of the return date. That pretty much says it all. As I said, CC has a written policy in regards to returns. Mike chose one option(1) over another(3). He made a bad choice.

Here it is: 1-Digital cameras, camcorders, desktop PCs, notebook PCs, monitors, printers, scanners, projectors, PDAs, mobile video, GPS and radar detectors must be returned within 14 days of the sale date, and (except where prohibited by law) are subject to a 15% restocking fee if returned opened or in a non-factory sealed box. 2-Home theater seating must be returned within 14 days of the sale date, and (except where prohibited by law) are subject to a 25% restocking fee if returned opened or in a non-factory sealed box. 3-There is no restocking fee for defective product returned in exchange for the exact same product, or for product originally purchased as Open Box. 4-For any exchange or refund, we need the original receipt or a record of the purchase in our system, and the product must be in its original condition, including the box, UPC bar code, packaging, and all accessories. 5-Opened software, music, games, and movies may be exchanged for the same title only. 6-Charges for installation and delivery services are nonrefundable after the services have been performed. 7-Restocking fees do not apply to the return of a purchase made from a Hawaii address. 8-Circuit City is not responsible for contacting wireless carriers regarding changes or cancellations of your service plan. 9-For in-store purchases, refunds are issued in the original payment type. Refunds on check purchases less than 14 days old and in excess of $100 are issued by check from our corporate office within 14 days of the return date. That pretty much says it all. As I said, CC has a written policy in regards to returns. Mike chose one option(1) over another(3). He made a bad choice.

Mike got to deal with unreal policy. There is no such policy,okay? They just had a bad day, so they decided to pick on somebody. This is it! I am not going to shop there at all. You know why? Thanks to Mike.. I dont need to ruin my life with people like that. I deserve more for my money... I think that Mike is 100% right. I feel sorry for him. I wish I could help! Bye!!!

Mike was given the option of exchanging the monitor for another one. Mike decided that since one monitor is bad, all monitors are bad(defies logic). That was HIS choice. CC has a written return policy that states there is NO restocking fee charged for items EXCHANGED. What is the point in having the policy at all if it's not going to be adhered to? No store is under any obligation to refund money at all. In fact, most give "in store credit" in lieu of refunding anything. The ONLY reason someone takes back something and says "no" to an exchange, is the customer has bought another, or decided they didn't need it anyway. Either way, THAT is not CC's problem. Their problem is they now have to spend time and money checking the item for "defects", and send it back if it is bad. If it isn't, the store now has a perfectly good product that they have to sell as USED, not new. They have now LOST money on it. Mike was given the option of following one part of CC's WRITTEN return policy, and he chose another part of their WRITTEN policy.

Funny... It seems odd that there are so many posts about situations like this with Circuit City. Yet in most instances their is a Circuit City employee waiting to pounce and call the poster a liar or blab about some unmentioned scenario. Yet here we are again with a consumer saying "I was charged $XX for returning a defective product". Where are all the CC employees with their return comments of "Circuit City does not charge a restocking fee for returned items"? They seem so quiet now. Defective products are returned to the distributor or original manufacturer (eventually), depending on the supply structure, for a full refund. Thus Circuit City is out NO money if the person replaces it with the same product, a different product, or just feels they dont want any product at all now for whatever reason. My opinion, I really don't care about their policy if its defective. Defective is defective. Give me my money back. Then I, ME, NOBODY ELSE, will make the decision IF I want another. Be it the same model, or different, or none at all. Hell, recently I got a BBQ at Yard Birds with a broken handle on the front door. To me it looked designed poorly, and most likely would fail again soon on any replacement they gave me. I went back. Showed what I saw and told them what I thought. They gave me my money back. Done. I would have bought another model there but they didn't sell the 2nd choice I wanted. I still got all my money. Big deal. If it is policy, it would seem that Circuit City just found a way to bilk people for bad luck now too. Would you like the extended warranty with that bad luck sir? If it goes bad for ANY reason. Just come back to us and we will take care of you! 8) If it says ANYWHERE in their policy that they WILL NOT give a FULL refund for a defective product. Or some other form of legal-ise to say they CAN charge you for a defective item return then RUN! Never shop there again. They got your money. And if you continue to shop there. It's up to luck. And you get billed for bad luck. If their policy mentions nothing whatsoever about a restocking fee for returns a defective item, show it to the manager. If he refuses to honor it, go above him. And if that gets too tedious, go to court if the $100 is worth it to you. Good luck!

They really should have more options for the customers. Bad customer service can ruin your whole day. Shopping is fun, some people live for that, so if I get a bad customer service, I will just choose another place to go. Losing a customer is losing part of the business...Or the whole business:)...Ans sorry that you had to go ruin your day...Good luck next time..

What type of monitor was it, did they not offer to have it repaired?

"I purchased a defective monitor from Circuit City. When I brought it back a couple of days later, I was charged $105 restocking fee. They advised me that if I wanted another defective monitor, they could swap me, or I could buy something more expensive, then they would waive the restocking fee." Okay. I'll accept the monitor was defective, but HOW was it defective? I ask this because you immediately assume the same monitor in exchange would also be defective. They have a written policy which states clearly there is a 15% restocking fee unless you exchange the product for the same item. You chose to not exchange the item. "Apparently not. So I warn you, if you buy something from Circuit City and it is broke, they will make you take another one, make you buy something more expensive, or charge you 15%, which in my case is $105. With the remarks of the CEO's assistant that they really don't have a 100% customer satisfaction policy. They have a Circuit City 100% satisfaction policy." Again, they offered to swap monitors, at no charge to you. You turned them down. That was your choice. I do applaud you for talking to the people who actually count though. Some people don't believe it when some of us do that. I can tell you about the phone call I got from the CEO of PEPSI in NY, after I complained about their lack of service down here. Or, the call I got from the President of HP/Compaq when I did the same with them. Going to the top is the fastest way to get what you want. In your case however, they did exactly what their written policy is.