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Fry’s Electronics Consumer Survival Tips

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Written by Peter Carmel
Wednesday, 22 June 2005
I’m not really complaining. I like having such a great high-tech electronics and computer gadget store just a few blocks from my home. For the most part, prices are very good. The great selection of electronic stuff is practically hypnotic.. However, the majority of the sales help and customer service is terrible at Fry’s. I have witnessed people receiving exactly the opposite of the advice I would give to the same question. One thing is certain, you must already know what you want before you go into the store. Asking a question is not an option there. Unless you want to hear some nice BS. Fry’s runs these huge full-page ads almost every day in the SJ Mercury that are often just too good to pass up. Funny thing is that the majority of the time, when you go inside the store and look for the items on sale, the shelves are empty. I suppose most people either just buy something else, or go away empty handed. That’s what Fry’s wants you to do. The ads are designed to get you into the store to buy a particular item at a price you can not refuse. Chances are, you will give up and just buy something at regular price, rather than take the time to shop elsewhere. There are some things one can do to minimize the effect of the poor service. First off, always bring in the newspaper ad with you into the store. Since most of the staff can not speak English very well, it is essential that you have the ad so you can just point to what you are looking for. When you have located the place on the shelf where the product should be, invariably there won't be any left. Look above the shelf where lots of product is stacked up high. Often I have found more stock up there. Look around, perhaps the stock is way down the isle, or in the next one. At this point, drag any clerk over to the stock, and ask them to get it down for you. Don’t hesitate to ask for an item even if you can’t find it anywhere yourself. Many times the sales people hide the sale items, but will bring you one if you ask for it. Don’t settle for something that’s been opened, and/or returned, or is the wrong color, etc. The sales people sometimes put returned stock on the shelf so that you will buy that instead of the fresh stock that they are hiding. Because the Fry’s inventory control is terrible, don’t bother to ask the sales help if another store has what you want. Another option is to drive to another store. This frequently works because there are different people working at the other stores. Sometimes, you will find (to your amazement) that another store will have hundreds of what you want, whereas the store you went to before had none. Sometimes the ads say something to the effect that there is a limit to what you can buy, typically “one per customer”. This is pretty annoying but fairly easy to defeat. Just bring a friend, or come back in a few minutes. Don’t be afraid to stock up. You can always return whatever you decide not to keep. That’s one thing good about Fry’s, they have a liberal return policy. Just read the fine print on the back of the receipt. Some items are not returnable or have a very short return window. Another part of the game to play.
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 14 November 2006 )

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