I bought a Gigabyte Triton board from Fry's in Webster, TX for $100 + tax. I ended up not needing the board, and returned it, still sealed, with the plastic straps that they put on all their motherboards (who knows why they do this, but it's their policy). The board has obviously never been touched, but the Fry's employee working the return counter found it necessary to get out his utility knife, cut the box open, and check everything out. In the process, he managed to spill everything short of the board itself all over the table and floor. This merchandise was still brand-new up to this point, but is now used, and I am confident it will go right back on the shelf with a white sticker on it and a discount of $1.25 or so. If you for some reason find yourself shopping at Fry's, DO NOT buy anything with a white sticker on it that says it has been "checked and OK" by a Fry's employee. In this particular case, it was opened and dropped by a Fry's employee, and he didn't check anything. I seriously don't even know why he decided to cut the box open, but it's Fry's - what can you expect?
So after I give them my name and phone number (I have NO clue why they need this, as I paid cash for the item, had the receipt with the item's matching serial number, and wanted to receive cash back - simple transaction, right? NOPE!), the idiot returns person spelled my last name wrong by ONE LETTER, "D" instead of "B". They give me the green sheet of paper that I'm supposed to take to the cashier for my refund, so I take it there.
Thanks to a misspelling of one letter, they won't give it to me, even though I still have the original receipt, and Fry's is actually paranoid enough to record the serial number from the board when you buy it. So unless Gigabyte made two of these boards with the same serial number, there is nobody that this refund could belong to but me, and anyone with half a brain should be able to see that.
After talking to the cashier, she calls a manager, and this is where things start to get ugly. After about 30 minutes of getting the runaround from his underlings, naturally, I'm going to be upset. I calmly explain the situation to the manager and ask him to fix it, and he tells me he isn't authorized to do that, even though he is the active store manager. Apparently you need a notarized document in triplicate from the CEO of Fry's to get a refund if they screw it up. After trying to reason with him for about 30 minutes, I am furious. I ask him what I'm supposed to do with this $108-and-change green sheet of paper, and he tells me it is "not his concern." I have a pretty good idea what "his concern" is, and it probably involves him pocketing an extra hundred bucks for the day. Anyways, since I can't get my refund, I ask for the board back, thinking I can return it again and make sure they spell my name right. The box has been opened, parts dropped, and I don't even care at this point. I just want to walk out of there with SOMETHING since I paid $100 + tax for an item, returned it, and received a green sheet of paper. Apparently the manager isn't authorized to do this either, because the board has to go back to the manufacturer. So an unopened board gets bungled up by a clumsy employee, Fry's is going to RMA it to Gigabyte, and both Gigabyte and the customer get the shaft since this kind of crap is what makes prices rise. When I hear that I can't get my money back OR the motherboard, I start to lose it.
I begin telling the manager very loudly, loud enough for everyone in the immediate area to hear, that essentially they are stealing from me. At this point, the manager calls one of his security goons to stand next to him and try to intimidate me. I won't have any of it, and continue to argue my case, that they are stealing my money. The manager's solution? He tells me I have to leave or he is calling the police and charging me with trespassing. So now I am going to write to Fry's corporate office tomorrow and demand a check for the proper amount, and I doubt that I will receive it, or even a written apology. After that, I have no choice but to write the Better Business Bureau of Houston and add yet another complaint to this Fry's location, which already has an "unsatisfactory" rating. The only other thing I can do is spread my story, and warn anyone against shopping at Fry's at all. If you do shop at Fry's, use a credit card that will allow you to do a "chargeback" when they try to screw you like they did to me.
The bottom line: Fry's STOLE over $100 from me because their employees are incompetent, the management is unreasonable, and the return policy is RIDICULOUS. Seriously, anywhere else on earth, I give the merchandise back, show the receipt, they give me the cash. End of transaction. No green paper involved for some imbecile to screw up so I end up paying a hundred bucks for nothing but an urge to strangle someone. If you have ever been done wrong by Fry's, please do me a favor and spread this message around wherever you can. My experience cost me about $108, but in the end, it will cost Fry's MUCH more than that in lost business. I have spent thousands of dollars there, and will not spend another penny in that dump as long as I live.
So after I give them my name and phone number (I have NO clue why they need this, as I paid cash for the item, had the receipt with the item's matching serial number, and wanted to receive cash back - simple transaction, right? NOPE!), the idiot returns person spelled my last name wrong by ONE LETTER, "D" instead of "B". They give me the green sheet of paper that I'm supposed to take to the cashier for my refund, so I take it there.
Thanks to a misspelling of one letter, they won't give it to me, even though I still have the original receipt, and Fry's is actually paranoid enough to record the serial number from the board when you buy it. So unless Gigabyte made two of these boards with the same serial number, there is nobody that this refund could belong to but me, and anyone with half a brain should be able to see that.
After talking to the cashier, she calls a manager, and this is where things start to get ugly. After about 30 minutes of getting the runaround from his underlings, naturally, I'm going to be upset. I calmly explain the situation to the manager and ask him to fix it, and he tells me he isn't authorized to do that, even though he is the active store manager. Apparently you need a notarized document in triplicate from the CEO of Fry's to get a refund if they screw it up. After trying to reason with him for about 30 minutes, I am furious. I ask him what I'm supposed to do with this $108-and-change green sheet of paper, and he tells me it is "not his concern." I have a pretty good idea what "his concern" is, and it probably involves him pocketing an extra hundred bucks for the day. Anyways, since I can't get my refund, I ask for the board back, thinking I can return it again and make sure they spell my name right. The box has been opened, parts dropped, and I don't even care at this point. I just want to walk out of there with SOMETHING since I paid $100 + tax for an item, returned it, and received a green sheet of paper. Apparently the manager isn't authorized to do this either, because the board has to go back to the manufacturer. So an unopened board gets bungled up by a clumsy employee, Fry's is going to RMA it to Gigabyte, and both Gigabyte and the customer get the shaft since this kind of crap is what makes prices rise. When I hear that I can't get my money back OR the motherboard, I start to lose it.
I begin telling the manager very loudly, loud enough for everyone in the immediate area to hear, that essentially they are stealing from me. At this point, the manager calls one of his security goons to stand next to him and try to intimidate me. I won't have any of it, and continue to argue my case, that they are stealing my money. The manager's solution? He tells me I have to leave or he is calling the police and charging me with trespassing. So now I am going to write to Fry's corporate office tomorrow and demand a check for the proper amount, and I doubt that I will receive it, or even a written apology. After that, I have no choice but to write the Better Business Bureau of Houston and add yet another complaint to this Fry's location, which already has an "unsatisfactory" rating. The only other thing I can do is spread my story, and warn anyone against shopping at Fry's at all. If you do shop at Fry's, use a credit card that will allow you to do a "chargeback" when they try to screw you like they did to me.
The bottom line: Fry's STOLE over $100 from me because their employees are incompetent, the management is unreasonable, and the return policy is RIDICULOUS. Seriously, anywhere else on earth, I give the merchandise back, show the receipt, they give me the cash. End of transaction. No green paper involved for some imbecile to screw up so I end up paying a hundred bucks for nothing but an urge to strangle someone. If you have ever been done wrong by Fry's, please do me a favor and spread this message around wherever you can. My experience cost me about $108, but in the end, it will cost Fry's MUCH more than that in lost business. I have spent thousands of dollars there, and will not spend another penny in that dump as long as I live.
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