Comp USA craziness......

[jaltiere]

OK, here's the short version of a pretty entertaining story. I have an OLD computer I have running as a linux server, it's a Pentium II. The CPU fan/heatsink went bad and I wanted to get it up and running ASAP, so I ran to the local Comp-USA to try and grab the replacement part. Well, as expected they didn't carry it and I had to order one online, but here is the good part......

I started talking to the employee that checked on the part for me and the subject of building a computer came up. I told him that I was on the fence and was trying to decide whether to build an Athlon64 now or wait until later in the year for the changes to PCI Express, etc.

Here was his first gem:

He told me not to get an Athlon 64 because you will not even be able to use a 3D video card with it. He told me that 3D video cards were not compatible with motherboards that used Athlon64 processors.

Wow!!!! News to me! And this guy is getting paid to offer hardware advice to customers???

His second piece of advice was that I should get an Intel based board with a P4 Extreme Edition chip. I don't have a problem with that in itself I guess, but he told me in the next sentence that he recommends to every customer that asks him to go with it. He states that it offers the best price/performance ratio, and that you get the most bang for your buck with an Extreme Edition chip.

How many people have taken that advice and wasted all that money for very little gain? (at least in my opinion)

Then the subject of hard drives came up, and I asked him if they carried the Raptor. He told me they were all out but that he wouldn't suggest it anyway. He said you got no performance gain, and that I would be better off going with a normal 7200 RPM drive. I can agree that maybe going with a more reasonable hard drive would definitely save money, but to say that the raptor isn't any faster is just plain ignorant.

Do these employees have to go through any sort of training?? I'll admit that I'm not the hardware guru that a lot of you are, but I'm not being paid to advise people on which parts to buy either. Am I the only one that finds this crazy?

*edit* my grammar is teh suq

 

[us3rnotfound]

Wow, that's really sad.

I like just going to Best Buy or some tech place and the ask the employee a question about hardware that I know the answer to, and hearing his answer, and I get sh!t like that.

Edit: And to add, I took my Viewsonic monitor to a CompUSA, and they said it was completely fine. They suggested maybe its doing its erratic behavior because of cold ambient temps in my basement. One employee even suggested maybe a bug got in it

I might as well have said "Yeah, thinks for the bs," and left.

 

[pukemon]

people who work at compusa are kind of like cops. for example, many police departments will not hire anyone with an IQ above 120 because those who do are more likely to get bored/restless/flip out over the monotony of being on the beat. (this actually came from the mouth of a Chesterfield, MO police officer... maybe he was lying, after all he was teaching us the D.A.R.E. program in sixth grade)

to relate to the cops, CompUSA makes sure that they hire the dumbest, most inept morons out there who they know they can control as some sort of corporate drone to spew out crap to unsuspecting customers. they don't know $hi1t, and they are pretty oblivious to that fact. it's really quite amusing to toy with them and see the dumb look on their faces when they have no idea what you're talking about. "umm... let me talk to my manager... umm... let me look in the computer... umm...."

:evil:

 

[TerryMathews]

What's really said is that he got the specifics wrong, but he's got the right idea. On everything except the P4EE that is.

Opteron is the AMD chip that you can't use AGP cards with (Most of the time)
There isn't a huge performance benefit on those Raptors if you use a PCI32/33 controller for them. Most people who shop at CompUSA probably don't have integrated SATA support on their board.

The P4EE is a waste of money no matter how you cut it. Someday I'd like to own one, but I doubt they're ever going to get cheap.

 

[jaltiere]

Interesting about the Opteron, I didn't know that. I did tell him that I was trying to decide between the 3200+ and the 3400+ though.

 

[sharq]

They hire anyone who will work for cheap. I have no idea if they are trained or if they are even quizzed on what they know. How many "tech guru's" do you know who would want to work for close to minimum wage? (I belive their tech support gets paid more). Anyone who has the experience and knowledge looks for better opportunities. I have a CS degree, but I am not looking for work at compusa

 

[jaltiere]

haha, good point.

 

[WackyDan]

I work for a rather large computer company-( think tier one).... love it when I'm wearing one of my company shirts or jacket into a Best Buy or CompUSA and have one of them come up to me and try to "help".

But I cringe when I over-hear them talking to a non-informed customer in the same aisle, etc.....

Argh....

 

[Lore]

But I cringe when I over-hear them talking to a non-informed customer in the same aisle, etc.....

I know how you feel. I usually cringe at Fry's, Best Buy, CompUSA, and any other place that sells a large selection of computer products when I hear the salespeople try to give customers advice on X or Y and why one is a better choice over the other. I even cringe at car dealerships when salespeople try to pass off some numbers to the uninformed consumer.

 

[zodder]

But I cringe when I over-hear them talking to a non-informed customer in the same aisle, etc.....

I usually go over and correct the information when the salesperson leaves.

 

[Alptraum]

Originally posted by: zodder

But I cringe when I over-hear them talking to a non-informed customer in the same aisle, etc.....

I usually go over and correct the information when the salesperson leaves.

I did that once years ago. I can't remember exactly what the CompUSA person was telling some other customers that were near me but it was so far fetched I had to step in and clear it up, lol. The sales guy wasn't too happy. I just told him he might want to have even a vague idea about what he was talking about before he opened his mouth.

 

[smahoney]

I go to CompUSA to look around and get a few parts I don't feel like waiting for or paying shipping on. The sales people are not vey knowledgeable on computers, but every once in a while you find someone who has a clue. Best Buy is much worse. I did get my case at a CompUSA though.

 

[Wildog]

Mac people have been dealing with this for years. I'm not a Mac guy anymore, but I heard all sorts of misinformation about them when I'd browse in CUSA.