My wife decided that she just couldn't face running TurboTax this year on her old PC (266MHz Pentium 2). Gotta get a new one. Wouldn't let me build it myself (too expensive :-). So after gathering requirements and doing a bit of research on the web we ended up at the local Fry's where we picked a Compaq Presario SR1300NX ($429 with $50 mail-in rebate).
It needed more memory and a floppy, so I jotted down some info so the sales droid could write up the ticket while I went to pick up the floppy and a cable. Products in hand, I swung back 'round the information/assistance kiosk, picked up my order form and headed to checkout.
SCREEEEEECH! (sound of coming to an abrupt and lengthy halt)
The floppy I had chosen had a sticker saying it was $9.99 but the computer said it should have been $12.99. Any customer service rep worth their salt would have immediately given me the lower price (Fry's price stickers identify the product, so there was no chance that I had switched the prices) and made a note for someone to check other products on the shelf to make sure that all were properly priced. But I was at Fry's. The register monkey had to GO LOOK AT THE PRODUCTS ON THE SHELF before it could do anything OBVIOUS! :-(
While I'm waiting, still (barely) patiently, I lean up against the counter and hear a muffled POP along with a sensation of something ever so slightly giving way to my hip. "Hmmm," I think, "What was that?" I reach into my jacket pocket and find that a ketchup packet (from Whataburger) has burst. Ugh. I pull out a hand full of red, sticky, "fancy" ketchup. It looks not entirely unlike blood. Would probably look even more not entirely unlike blood were it to ooze between my fingers as they were squeezing harder and harder around the neck of the closest Fry's employee.
After cleaning up my hands I glanced at the memory module that the reg-monk had fetched from "the cage" prior to swinging off in search of the floppy aisle. It (the memory) wasn't what I needed. Since my monkey was off researching errant floppy pricing I tried to get the attention of someone else to check on the issue with my memory module. Nice idea, wrong store. My monkey returned at the same time that I succeeded in getting the attention of a manager. He must've been waiting for the Clearasil™ to dry before he talked to a customer.
By the time I had the right memory and the $9.99 price for the floppy the ketchup in my pocket was dry. I had spent AT LEAST 30 minutes at the register. No wonder I purchase most of my computer stuff over the internet — I get it faster and with less hassle!
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2 comments:
ah Fry's. don't git me starttid!
when they first opened in Northern Californica, the owners were grocery store savvy but not nerd savvy. that said, today it's the only store i know where you can buy a 20 ohm resister, a nosehair trimmer, a copy of Penthouse, and a 6-pack of Jolt Cola. Oh, and a comb. everything a Nerd Needs.
i suspect they have a strong Hire The Homeless program, since the workers often know less than nothing about the products they're pushing (Fry's doesn't ask for a Ph.D. in their employee screening process). i've often asked a question for which i ALREADY KNOW THE ANSWER just to hear what they're telling customers.
i've not had to wait 30 minutes for a price check (which netted a $3 savings) before but have been frustrated with SIMM substitution (I'm one of those freaks who will pay a few quid more for NAME BRAND MEMORY).
on the plus side, if you live in Plano, their store isn't far away.
-GeBo
Since when do Nerds use a comb?
Fry's, well, you can't beat their loss leaders which are worth the 30 min (200 gig ata hd for 59$!) but they are not the best place for the rest. I just throw on my trenchcoat (remember they sell porn), hunker down, and head straight for the product that if that is all they sold would make them bankrupt in a month. The net works for the rest.
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