I have had the misfortune of dealing with Tweeter (a ?high end? home theatre store here in Charlotte) for just over a month now, and wanted to warn ATers to use caution when dealing with these ?people?. Here is my tale of woe.
All dates are approximate and recalled to the best of my ability. I do not have the records at hand, but the dates/numbers/times/names should be fairly close.
On the Sunday after Thanksgiving, my wife handed me an advertisement for Tweeter that included a swell Yamaha AV receiver (HTR5550 I think) that listed for $399.99 on sale for $199.99. I checked OL, and found it to have everything I needed for our new system. For a variety of boring reasons, we needed to buy a new VCR/DVD player, TV and AV Receiver. So I was very happy to see this for sale for half off! In retrospect, I shoulda smelled a rat right away. Problem is, that Tweeter does not use the standard high-pressure feel to their ads, so one thinks they are a reputable shop. It?s all part of their larger scheme.
So I called the closest store that morning. They wouldn?t open until noon, so I called another to check inventory. Neither this new store, nor the closest had any in stock. Joe the salesleech told me if I put money down I could get one on order by Tuesday. Happy that I didn?t have to run all over town to track this thing down (there are several of these rip-off joints in our town), I agreed and put 20% down. Joe made a strange calculation error and originally asked for more than 20% down, but realized his mistake when I questioned him. And I still didn?t figure this out (I know, I?m a bonehead).
Then I called on Tuesday, nope no receiver. Then I called on Friday. Joe said nope, no receiver. And he had some ?good news and bad news?. The bad news was they had sold out of the receiver I had put a deposit on (read partially paid for). The ?good news? was that they would sell me a model that was one grade lower but from this year for the same price. This model (RX-V440) lists for $299.99 and they would sell it to me for $199.99. The one I wanted was the second in the line by Yamaha standards. This one was the 4th (last) in line. It didn?t have the connections I wanted, so I was pretty disappointed. The one thing it had (as I recall) was DTS Neo (WTF that is, I just wanted to watch DVDs). But it had a lot less connectivity going on. Check out the comparison chart at Yamaha.com. The RX-V530 has the same connections, lists for the same price (399.99) and is in the same place as the on sale model in the line, but they would not substitute it.
So I wrote to corporate. Never heard anything back (to date 12/29/03).
Bonehead that I am, I *still* do not realize what sort of outfit I am dealing with. Too deal hungry, perhaps. Anyway, I noticed at their website that they had (and still have, I might add) a RX-V530 for $199.99 (?Available In-Store Only? ? which means you ain?t getting it; we?re just teasing you, but I didn?t know that then). It was just the receiver I wanted, identical to the advertised one, except with more warranty. Non-techies can skip to the next paragraph. You see, Yamaha has an HTR line and RXV line. The HTR is from mail order (typically) and does *not* include the Yamaha Warranty. RXVs are sold only by authorized dealers, but do include the warranty. The RX-V530 was exactly the same model as the advertised one (HTR-5550?) except it has Yamaha behind the warranty.
So I called around, and found that this RX-V530 was unavailable at stores as well. Gee, what a surprise. Then I cancelled my ?deposit? on the HTR-5550(?). I do not know for sure that the deposit has actually been cancelled. And I emailed corporate. And they did not respond.
However, I had noticed they had this swell Apex DVD/VCR player for $99.99 with free shipping and 10% off due to this email coupon. Yeah, I know ? at this point, I?m an idiot to trust these jokers. I?m just a sucker for a deal sometimes.
So I call them up on Sunday (12/22). You see, I?ve got this Amex GC that expires the end of the year good for $75. And the player is gonna cost more. Of course, Tweeter has absolutely no freaken way of entering two CC numbers in to pay for one order. At this point, I turn from bonehead to idiot to flaming moron and say ?What about a GC?? (My only excuse is the whiskey I was drinking)
The CR on the phone tells me that they might be able to do that, and after considerable discussion, we get an order entered for a $75 GC. First of all, let me come clean and state that half the problem with this last (lengthy) discussion was that Amex (or whoever) had printed the 4 digit security code in black on dark purple ? it was impossible to find in my LCD illuminated office. So I was to blame for half that lengthy call (next time, 1000 watt spotlight on the card, sheesh). But the other part was due to Tweeter not knowing how to handle these sorts of things. Anyway, they promised to send me the GC codes via email in 24 hours.
Of course, that did not work.
At this point, I am starting to realize just how stupid I am to deal with Tweeter. But I figure, if I just ignore them, they will go away. No such luck. A few days later, I am at Lowe?s, trying to buy some home improvement stuff. I use my Amex GC (after all, only got `til the end of the year to use it up). Charge Denied. Geez!
Called the GC CR. Balance: Zilch. Of course, it was Tweeter that had a charge for $75 on my $75 GC that expires in a few days. Even though they couldn?t send me a Tweeter GC. But, if they did not send a receipt, it would cancel in 7 days and I would have all my credits back.
I sent another email to Tweeter, and they said that if I sent my Amex GC number, they?d see the charge was removed. Two hours later (after laughing hysterically about the idea of sending them the numbers again thru email none-the-less), I deleted that email without responding.
So that?s where it stands as I write this. I?m only out a lot of time and frustration (so far). But Tweeter has not so much as apologized for all their misdeeds, and is still running that unobtainable special of a RX-V530 for $199.99 on their website. Sweet Deal Just wanted to warn my fellow ATers to be careful with Tweeter ? yer taking some big chances dealing with them.
All dates are approximate and recalled to the best of my ability. I do not have the records at hand, but the dates/numbers/times/names should be fairly close.
On the Sunday after Thanksgiving, my wife handed me an advertisement for Tweeter that included a swell Yamaha AV receiver (HTR5550 I think) that listed for $399.99 on sale for $199.99. I checked OL, and found it to have everything I needed for our new system. For a variety of boring reasons, we needed to buy a new VCR/DVD player, TV and AV Receiver. So I was very happy to see this for sale for half off! In retrospect, I shoulda smelled a rat right away. Problem is, that Tweeter does not use the standard high-pressure feel to their ads, so one thinks they are a reputable shop. It?s all part of their larger scheme.
So I called the closest store that morning. They wouldn?t open until noon, so I called another to check inventory. Neither this new store, nor the closest had any in stock. Joe the salesleech told me if I put money down I could get one on order by Tuesday. Happy that I didn?t have to run all over town to track this thing down (there are several of these rip-off joints in our town), I agreed and put 20% down. Joe made a strange calculation error and originally asked for more than 20% down, but realized his mistake when I questioned him. And I still didn?t figure this out (I know, I?m a bonehead).
Then I called on Tuesday, nope no receiver. Then I called on Friday. Joe said nope, no receiver. And he had some ?good news and bad news?. The bad news was they had sold out of the receiver I had put a deposit on (read partially paid for). The ?good news? was that they would sell me a model that was one grade lower but from this year for the same price. This model (RX-V440) lists for $299.99 and they would sell it to me for $199.99. The one I wanted was the second in the line by Yamaha standards. This one was the 4th (last) in line. It didn?t have the connections I wanted, so I was pretty disappointed. The one thing it had (as I recall) was DTS Neo (WTF that is, I just wanted to watch DVDs). But it had a lot less connectivity going on. Check out the comparison chart at Yamaha.com. The RX-V530 has the same connections, lists for the same price (399.99) and is in the same place as the on sale model in the line, but they would not substitute it.
So I wrote to corporate. Never heard anything back (to date 12/29/03).
Bonehead that I am, I *still* do not realize what sort of outfit I am dealing with. Too deal hungry, perhaps. Anyway, I noticed at their website that they had (and still have, I might add) a RX-V530 for $199.99 (?Available In-Store Only? ? which means you ain?t getting it; we?re just teasing you, but I didn?t know that then). It was just the receiver I wanted, identical to the advertised one, except with more warranty. Non-techies can skip to the next paragraph. You see, Yamaha has an HTR line and RXV line. The HTR is from mail order (typically) and does *not* include the Yamaha Warranty. RXVs are sold only by authorized dealers, but do include the warranty. The RX-V530 was exactly the same model as the advertised one (HTR-5550?) except it has Yamaha behind the warranty.
So I called around, and found that this RX-V530 was unavailable at stores as well. Gee, what a surprise. Then I cancelled my ?deposit? on the HTR-5550(?). I do not know for sure that the deposit has actually been cancelled. And I emailed corporate. And they did not respond.
However, I had noticed they had this swell Apex DVD/VCR player for $99.99 with free shipping and 10% off due to this email coupon. Yeah, I know ? at this point, I?m an idiot to trust these jokers. I?m just a sucker for a deal sometimes.
So I call them up on Sunday (12/22). You see, I?ve got this Amex GC that expires the end of the year good for $75. And the player is gonna cost more. Of course, Tweeter has absolutely no freaken way of entering two CC numbers in to pay for one order. At this point, I turn from bonehead to idiot to flaming moron and say ?What about a GC?? (My only excuse is the whiskey I was drinking)
The CR on the phone tells me that they might be able to do that, and after considerable discussion, we get an order entered for a $75 GC. First of all, let me come clean and state that half the problem with this last (lengthy) discussion was that Amex (or whoever) had printed the 4 digit security code in black on dark purple ? it was impossible to find in my LCD illuminated office. So I was to blame for half that lengthy call (next time, 1000 watt spotlight on the card, sheesh). But the other part was due to Tweeter not knowing how to handle these sorts of things. Anyway, they promised to send me the GC codes via email in 24 hours.
Of course, that did not work.
At this point, I am starting to realize just how stupid I am to deal with Tweeter. But I figure, if I just ignore them, they will go away. No such luck. A few days later, I am at Lowe?s, trying to buy some home improvement stuff. I use my Amex GC (after all, only got `til the end of the year to use it up). Charge Denied. Geez!
Called the GC CR. Balance: Zilch. Of course, it was Tweeter that had a charge for $75 on my $75 GC that expires in a few days. Even though they couldn?t send me a Tweeter GC. But, if they did not send a receipt, it would cancel in 7 days and I would have all my credits back.
I sent another email to Tweeter, and they said that if I sent my Amex GC number, they?d see the charge was removed. Two hours later (after laughing hysterically about the idea of sending them the numbers again thru email none-the-less), I deleted that email without responding.
So that?s where it stands as I write this. I?m only out a lot of time and frustration (so far). But Tweeter has not so much as apologized for all their misdeeds, and is still running that unobtainable special of a RX-V530 for $199.99 on their website. Sweet Deal Just wanted to warn my fellow ATers to be careful with Tweeter ? yer taking some big chances dealing with them.
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