F*ck Circuit City
EVEN MORE UPDATES BELOW! NOW WITH RESOLUTION! AND CLIFF NOTES IF YOU ARE EASILY CONFUSED.
Let me tell you about today’s adventure at Circuit City that should leave you scratching your head and wondering why you would ever do business with a company that operates in such a manner…
To begin, Anthony (who is a Circuit City employee by the way) and I head over to the Duluth, GA Circuit City branch to purchase a brand spanking new LN40A550 Samsung 40′ 1080p LCD TV. Anthony and I (we take my car because gas is more expensive in his) head on up there, make the purchase, watch as Circuit City employees in the warehouse bring over a box, take the TV out of the box and discard the cardboard and styrofoam, leave on the shrink wrapping and such, proceed to wrap the TV in bubble wrap, and wheel it out to my car on a cart. We had to leave the box behind because the TV wouldn’t fit into my car with it still in the box.
Happy, we head back to my place, to watch David while Valerie gets ready to head to work at Pottery Barn.
We get to my place and bring the TV inside. We unwrap the TV to take a look at it in all of it’s glory.
They gave us a LN40A330 TV. A scratched up, dinged to hell, beaten and abused FLOOR MODEL OPEN BOX to boot.
We’re pissed.
We wrap it back up and head back to Circuit City to return it, outraged at what was given to us.
We make it back to the Duluth store (Store 3220) and the floor manager Mike Jones starts giving Anthony crap about returning the TV, saying that “we wont take that TV, sorry but I have a store to run. You can take it back to Athens.”
How about we just get our money back? I mean, we got the wrong TV, we should at LEAST get a refund. We had the receipt and everything.
Nope. No refund. Mike tells us that we can “leave the TV on the curb for all he cares, he’s not taking the TV back and not refunding the money.”
Anthony is (rightfully) livid, and calls his manager, his manager’s manager, anyone he can to get this thing resolved and us leaving with either the correct TV or a refund.
No dice.
Upper management decrees that Anthony must take this busted ass floor model with him to Athens so that his district manager can sort the whole sordid affair out. It appears that Mike Jones is under the impression that Anthony is trying to pull a fast one on the Duluth store, by walking out of there with the correct TV and attempting to return a busted floor model as if that was the one he received when he was there eariler.
So what does that mean for Anthony? He’s currently out $1200, he’s being accused of lying, and has a busted ass floor model of a TV to show for it.
Circuit City can go f*ck themselves. God forbid we were a customer stuck with this TV, Mike Jones would have told us to kiss off. The only reason we even got to talk to who we did was because Anthony was an employee at the store, and could call his manager to vent about the whole ridiculous situation.
I’ll keep you updated on what, if anything, happens tomorrow. All I know is I’ll be damned if I buy anything from Circuit City ever, and it’s no wonder their business model is struggling at the moment if this is the way they treat customers, let alone employees.
EDIT: Pictures are up of the horrendous looking TV and the receipt from today.
EDIT 2: Circuit Shitty has determined, after much deliberation, that they need “more time” before coming to an official conclusion on yesterday’s fiasco. So yeah, another 24 hours minus the money and without a TV. There should really be some sort of partial refund or something for all the hassle and stress this situation has caused, but I’m not going to hold my breath that Circuit Shitty will man up anytime soon and do the honorable thing.
Also, the store has a horrible rating at the Better Business Bureau and we’re not the only ones to experience the wrath of Mike Jones and his stellar customer service.
EDIT 3: The whole fiasco is over. Anthony has the correct, brand spanking new TV. Case closed. gg Circuit City.
EDIT 4: CLIFF NOTES VERSION OF THE WHOLE FIASCO
- My brother Anthony and I head over to Circuit City in Duluth, GA (Store 3220) to purchase a brand new 40″ TV. Anthony is a Circuit City employee at the Athens, GA store.
- We purchase a new TV, ask them to take it out of the cardboard box and wrap it in bubble wrap so that it will fit in the backseat of a car. They do just that.
- We get home with the TV, find out that they gave us a busted floor model instead of the new TV we purchased.
- We head back to Circuit City Duluth, the store manager on duty, Mike Jones, refuses to take the TV back, refuses to refund the money, is rude, combative, and as unhelpful as you can possibly be. He also implies that Anthony is a thief and is lying and trying to pull some scam on Circuit City.
- (The scam works like this. Customer A purchases/steals a floor model TV, any model will do. Customer A then purchases a similar size brand new TV from Circuit City. Customer A takes new TV home, takes it out of the box, puts busted floor model TV back in the box, wraps it back up, takes it back to Circuit City and returns the “new” TV for a full refund.)
- Anthony gets pissed, calls his manager in Athens to get the district manager on the line and get our TV.
- District Manager declares that Anthony must bring the busted ass TV back to Athens with him so that they can conduct an investigation into what happened.
- Circuit City takes 48 hours to determine that Anthony is not a thief, clear him of all implications of any wrongdoing, and make the whole thing right by giving him the TV he wanted to purchase 2 days ago.
- Mike Jones is still the worst manager ever.
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Jeff
Anonymous
Joseph
Kyle
http://digg.com/gadgets/Circuit_City_tries_to_Rip_Off_its_Own_Employee
Oh and if you get a chance share it with The Consumerist
they’d like to know.
Yeah, I worked there for like three weeks back in the spring of 2003. Very shady business practices!
Everyone digg the heck out of this one!
Obviously they thought you were getting more TV than you required, and instead gave you “Just what you needed.”
What they did would be considered theft in most cases. I was in shock when the manager literally said he was “done with this, I have a store to run, I’m not taking back the TV, have a good day” and walked off.
I mean, wow. Jaws hit the floor.
To Circuit City’s credit, the employees at the Duluth store were extremely sympathetic and helpful, despite management obviously deciding to play judge, jury, and executioner on the spot, no appeals allowed. And they were combative and rude on top of it.
How was it paid for? By CCard? Dispute the charge. Also, I’ll be glad to go over there and raise hell with you. Let’s see what they say if we stand around and tell customers about what happened.
They’d probably have you forcibly removed from the premises
What does “gg” mean? And by “Anthony has the tv” do you mean “Anthony now has the correct tv” or “Anthony has the crappy wrong tv”?
maximum lolz achieved.
http://consumerist.com/5007682/circuit-city-sells-employee-busted-floor-model-tv-refuses-to-accept-return#viewcomments
“gg” is internetz slang for “good game”
It’s a snarky way of saying “you tried, you failed, nice try”
Anthony got the correct TV in the end. Circuit Shitty is still conducting an investigation (apparently) and trying to determine whether or not there was any internal fraud committed, but Anthony’s part in it is completed now that he has the correct TV in hand.
Sorry to hear about the huge hassle, Hansen brothers. I’m glad that everything has been resolved. If you are able, I’d be curious to know the outcome of the “internal investigation.”
Anthony, I used to work at Circuit City in Clarksburg, WV and I had a manager named mike jones who recently transfered stores. I wonder if it’s the same one. If so, the guy is a complete dickhead. And he’s super lazy and other managment always complained about what a fat lazy bastard he was. Is this guy white, about 6′6″ 250lbs, wears glasses, and is going bald? Im just curious if it’s the same guy.
Man, that sure sucks BIG time! I can not believe that CC treats any customer like that, much less one of their own. Thanks for the reminder why I don’t shop there anymore.
One thing I don’t understand though: With the box already removed, why didn’t you quickly check the TV right there on the spot? Not because you’d expect for the wrong TV to have been in the box, but just for any damage at all?
no this dude was black and skinny. Hes the bizarro mike jones.
fck that TIM!! you guys better get your gas money back for having to drive that far. Im dead serious. Also, your boy should call th attorney general for your area, and have mike jones and his entire staff under investigation for FRAUD. You and any other customer’s (regardless if they work for CC or not) could have been the victim of Mike Jones. who? Mikes Jones!
Anthony, I’m glad it all turned out well in the end and you got your proper TV in the proper condition it should have been in.
Circuit City is, and has been, a dying franchise. They used to be one of the top electronics stores, but their number of stores and inventory seems to be shrinking faster than I thought. Things like this don’t exactly help.
But, whatever, you got the TV now. Case closed.
Went online and purchased a new LD 50 inch plasma screen tv and a 2.1 surround sound system. Was told by the clerk on the phone who completed the sale that it included set up. When I asked did that mean everything (sound system) I was told yes they would set the whole thing up. Next day they deliver, and wait, oh no, set up would be an additional $169.00. I agree to the set up and like the tv so much I say I want to upgrade to a 5.1 surround sound system. I call the store and they say no problem bring back the 2.1 (never opened still in the box) and they will upgrade me with a 5.1 system advertized for 249.00. Perfect! I go to the store and oh wait, they dont have any of the 5.1 systems left in stock but will gladly sell me a panasonic 5.1 system for an additional fifty dollars $299.00, but its a floor model. I say yes and they bring this banged up tuner and four trashed speakers to my car. I look them over and tell them these are trashed so they try to clean them using some sort of spray..two clerks rub on the speakers for twenty minutes, then one disappears. He comes back with a new set of speakers and tells me the spray they used ate through the plastic. I get the system home and have there firedog tech set it up. It doesnt work .The tech says it is either the tuning unit or the remote. I call and they tell me to bring it back and they would replace it. I get there and they deny and knowledge of our phone conversation and tell me I bought the floor model system “as is” and refuse to exchange it. I lose my cool and I am physiccly escorted to the front door and ejected. I call the firedog tech and he sends me to a different store where they give me a new remote. Not for the dvd tuning unit but for a tv, so it doesnt work. Go back again and they finally straighten it out and give me a working remote. Never buy from Circuit City. Never believe there lies, and always know they are trying to scam you.
It’s easy to jump to conclusions, but there are a lot of scamming customers. So many, now even Walmart doesn’t have the easiest return policy. Nobody from management or district mnagement has a say, but as a cc assistant manager, I wil say that our upper management might not be stable, but we are not “Crazy Eddie’s” you can google that if you don’t know who he is. We take care of our customers in our district, which I will leave unnamed, but you need to think like this:
Just because there’s one bad cop doesn’t mean all cops are bad. The district took care of that customer, as he should have been, but we can’t be too easy on returning an item like that. I would have gone into IATS (an inventory control system) to see if we previously returned that item, and then sold to this person. OK, i’m getting off the soap box
also free deliver and setup is for the television, we have firedog service to do audio system setup. And there is no customer that can come here and say that they haven’t been taken care of, eventually.
I work for these idiots and believe me, they are worse than car salesmen. Once the sale is over with they could care less about the customer!!!
You should threaten to take them to small claims court and watch how fast your problem gets solved!
I like Circuit City, I bought my TV there and had n o problems
ok i know i’m very very late on this comment, but can’t sleep and i’m bored so i’m replying… and even tho circuit city is closed you should know this: first off any store you go to and try to return a product that’s not the same on the recipt they will refuse to return it with out looking into it wether you work there or not, it doesn’t take a dummy to realize that, on the other hand that manager should of not handled it the way he did. second for the people that said they worked there and they do shady stuff those stores are one of the reason (besides stupid upper managment decisions) circuit city went under. and the person that said he’ll go in there and start screaming and telling customers not to buy they’ll look at you like an idiot and laugh, trust me saw it a million times. and small claim’s court are you kidding me one of the funniest things i heard on here besides getting your gas money back. you know how many laws are in place to protect company’s from stuff like this, and consumers as well don’t get me wrong, but first thing they see is you returning a different model TV than the one on the recipt. the best answer i read on here was disputing the charges on your credit card, it’s best to have a big company like your credit card company take on another giant. all in all i’m glad you got your problem taking care of.
oh just to let you know one of your pic’s with the recipt still shows your phone number….might want to get rid of that one lots of a A-holes out there….
http://darkphetus.rayd.org/images/circuitcity/P5010867.JPG
Thanks for the heads up, I’ve modified the picture to remove the phone #.
I want to tell you that I worked at Circuit for 1 year and it was the best year of my life when it comes to working the people I worked with were amazing and the work was fun. I want to tell you that I did EVERYTHING I could to assure my guests got everything they needed and by that I mean I went out of my way to make sure they were happy and content. I had numerous guests come in and yell at me (as a csa getting yelled at was my job) but I took it as they didn’t understand so I explained it to them. I even filled out the form for rebates, put it in an envelope and stuck a stamp on there for the guest so all they need do is put it in a mailbox. I understand not every store had me and my need to satisfy, on behalf of myself, a former Circuit employee I would like to apologize for your experience.
I also wanted to tell you a story really short and VERY upsetting to me. One day I had a gentleman come in he purchased a 300 dollar ipod, two days later he came back with the ipod unopened I promptly returned it and asked him if he would like to exchange it for a different one (he said it was a gift) or if he would just like the refund. He opted for the refund. The transaction was completed. Since the box had never been opened we put it back on the shelf. The next morning I sold the same ipod to another guest, they walked outside and briskly came back in, with, not an ipod but a four pack of batteries taped to the top of the inside of the box. As you may have figured out, the box HAD been opened and the gentleman that returned it had taken out the ipod and replaced it with a four pack of batteries resealed it and brought it to me to return. when the new purchaser brought it back I wanted to cry i felt so horrible that they had purchased these batteries for $300. I quickly refunded their money and assured them that this was not a regular occurance.
What I want you to get from that story is that although it may look closed, never opened it could have been, and ALWAYS check inside the box before leaving the store! Because once it is out of the store it is hard for them to know if it was you or not.
Another time an employee purchased a nikon camera and returned it sighting it was too expensive, but actually returned a potato in a sealed box.
Please understand that not ALL Circuit employees were bad, I tried.
Ray