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See Full StoryFry's Electronics said Friday it has agreed to buy electronics e-tailer Outpost.com in a
deal that includes an immediate US$13 million loan. The all-cash deal values Outpost
shares at 25 cents each, for a total of about $8 million. Including the cash loan, the
deal is worth about $21 million.
According to Forrester Research analyst Christopher Kelley, Fry's goal in making the deal
is gaining access to Outpost's customer database, as was the case in Fry's recent
agreement to acquire the now-bankrupt Egghead.com.
Frys is well known for lacking in customer service skills. When I placed an order the first week of September, I was told everything on my list was in stock. It wasn't. I tried to change my order after they changed the availability, and I was instructed to just refuse the package. Well, the package was left at the front door without a signature! I was instructed to pay for a pick-up and return.
Then the monitor arrived, and the styrofoam packing INSIDE the box was broken in pieces and had been taped together. The monitor did not work. I was told it was not returnable and I had to send it to Sony for repair. After talking to customer service (a manager was never available) for 2 days I finally got permission to return it. A Customer Service rep actually told me that it's not fair that they have to take it back because it's broken! Unbelievable!!
SHOP LOCALLY. IT'S NOT WORTH GETTING THE RUNAROUND FOR 6 WEEKS!!
Fry's is a joke in Silicon Valley as an evil you can't live without - the largest and most diverse source for electronics products and information, but don't try to get any help there. None of their staff speak English, and the waits are horrendous.
A running joke is the Fry's "application form" at http://www.best.com/~braith/frys.htm. (It used to be the only thing you'd find if you searched Web search agents for "Fry's".)
An excerpt:
[Questions for] Cashiering positions
1. English is your ...
- Second
- Third
- Fourth
- Next
...language
2. You are at a register and the customer's total is $6.31. The customer hands you a $10.00 bill. You should ...
- Have the customer wait while you call the Federal Reserve to make sure the bill is good
- Shout, "Check approval please!"
- Mumble "Customer service..." and stare vacantly into space while waiting for your supervisor
- All of the above
3. A customer picks up a can of soda but decides he doesn't want it while at the register. You:
- Call Sunnyvale to doublecheck his resale number
- Call Pepsi to check the expiration date on the soda
- Refuse to return it because he doesn't have a receipt
- All of the above
As an ex-Fry's customer from L.A., I am permanently boycotting the store. They have the worst service I have ever experienced in my many, many years of shopping. The result of my boycott alone - has cost them close to five thousand dollars in potential revenue (and that was only a one-visit purchase that went to Creative Computers instead). They were harshly written-up as a result of this scenario - but none of that matters. They will continue to not care.
