So, I began waiting in front of my local Circuit City at 10 or 10:30 last night. I was 13th in line for the $199 + $180 AOL signup laptop (of which there are guaranteed to be at least 15 per store?or, presumably, exactly 15 per store). It was quite cold and not as much fun as one might think, though the other people in line were pretty decent. One of them lent me a blanket and jacket (though I was already wearing two). At any rate, the couple behind me?number 14?was a "cute" middle-aged oriental couple who I don't think spoke much English. I didn't really interact with them, but they seemed like nice people.
So, around comes 4:30 and the employees start to hand out vouchers for the laptops (pretty much all the first 30 people or so that I knew of were in the market for one). They did a good job of keeping people from cutting to the front of the line and such, but here's the kicker?they actually only had 10 laptops for the advertised price and 5 that had been specially pre-installed (i.e., they had virus and spyware protection on them). This would only add a mere $100 to the price of the laptop (after a $20 MIR?a "special deal for the holiday season"). Obviously, being 13th, this is what I was offered and, obviously, I didn't want it. I asked if there was any way to get one without this and, of course, there wasn't. Luckily, someone up front got talked into the pre-installation scam, so I requested their non-pre-installation voucher and got it. Yay! Happy ending! But no, then I was standing right next to the couple behind me as the employees were trying to explain that they were getting the screwjob. I'm not sure they quite understood, and the woman looked like she was about to cry. So, the poor sap that I am, I gave them my voucher, told them I didn't need it, and went off to my car.
Now, maybe I should feel good about this, but mostly I'm just pissed off that I didn't end up with a laptop. I know the employees weren't to blame as they seemed to dislike it as much as me, and I certainly wouldn't want to be in their shoes, but the fact of the matter is, this seems like a pretty shady thing to do. Perhaps most stores do it, but as this is my first such experience, I've decided to boycott Circuit City for the rest of my life?not that they'll notice, but, y'know.
On a side note, it's disgusting what people will do to try to weasel their way in front of the people who have been waiting in line for 8+ hours.
That's all. The end.
So, around comes 4:30 and the employees start to hand out vouchers for the laptops (pretty much all the first 30 people or so that I knew of were in the market for one). They did a good job of keeping people from cutting to the front of the line and such, but here's the kicker?they actually only had 10 laptops for the advertised price and 5 that had been specially pre-installed (i.e., they had virus and spyware protection on them). This would only add a mere $100 to the price of the laptop (after a $20 MIR?a "special deal for the holiday season"). Obviously, being 13th, this is what I was offered and, obviously, I didn't want it. I asked if there was any way to get one without this and, of course, there wasn't. Luckily, someone up front got talked into the pre-installation scam, so I requested their non-pre-installation voucher and got it. Yay! Happy ending! But no, then I was standing right next to the couple behind me as the employees were trying to explain that they were getting the screwjob. I'm not sure they quite understood, and the woman looked like she was about to cry. So, the poor sap that I am, I gave them my voucher, told them I didn't need it, and went off to my car.
Now, maybe I should feel good about this, but mostly I'm just pissed off that I didn't end up with a laptop. I know the employees weren't to blame as they seemed to dislike it as much as me, and I certainly wouldn't want to be in their shoes, but the fact of the matter is, this seems like a pretty shady thing to do. Perhaps most stores do it, but as this is my first such experience, I've decided to boycott Circuit City for the rest of my life?not that they'll notice, but, y'know.
On a side note, it's disgusting what people will do to try to weasel their way in front of the people who have been waiting in line for 8+ hours.
That's all. The end.
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